Thinking Of Getting An ESU Wireless CabControl DCC System

I am familiar with the ESU system and that throttle.    I can't help you there.

However, Digitraxx, NCE, and CVP(EasyDCC) all have wireless handhelds with knob controls.    The NCE and Digitraxx ones are the smaller "engineer" throttles not the large master throttles that come with the systems.     So if you want to look at other options there are some.    I have used both the Digitraxx and NCE ones.   They both have displays and and nice size knobs.  

Another thought is for O scale, you may want to think about the current capacity of the system.    NCE makes a 10 amp system aimed mostly O scale and Digitrax makes an 8 amps system I think.   Both of their basic systems are 5 amp systems.    Some O scale locos, especially older ones draw 2 amps or so under load. 

I have a ESU CabControl system and I like the system.  Unfortunately the MCII throttle has reliability issues.  I have two MCII throttles.  One throttle won't turn on and the other throttle has a screen that goes goofy after 20 minutes.  I ended up connecting two TCS throttles and a Protothrottle to the CabControl and only occasionally use the MCII throttle.  The wifi also has issues so I use my home wifi instead of the CabControl wifi.

I have it.

Overall I like it, but:

1. The built in wifi is lousy. My layout is not big, but it surrounds the staircase in the basement. The remote cant talk to the base with the walls in the way, even though its 8' away.  The fix is easy, I hooked it up to a $30 router. Now I can go anywhere.

2. The battery life of the remote is terrible. I dont know the reason for the short life, but your best bet is to get a USB cord with magnetic docking, so you can just click the charge cable onto the remote as needed.

3. If you have exclusively ESU decoders, the system picks that up and auto-loads the info.  If you have non-ESU decoders, you'll need to do all the setup manually. Its not hard, but its a real small screen to hit some of those android style keys on the keyboard.

Beyond that, if your layout is not large or complex, its a good starter system because power (7A, 15-21V adjustable) and control comes in the box for a very fair price.  I dont think its native to loconet, so for a big layout that uses a lot of DCC boxes or will have a lot of users, its probably not the best choice.

Thank you Boilermaker1.  You bring up a good point about the screen.  I can barely use the screen on my mobile phone due to my large fingers.  Eyesight not quite what it once was.  I'm always looking for user friendliness.  I was looking online and came across the DiGitrax dual throttle.  It has backlit softkeys to push and two knobs to rotate.  It looks like it supports 8 amps.  I will have a small layout for now so that would be adequate.  It looks like they have two different methods of wireless communication.  An infrared and a radio option. I would opt for the radio  communication.   They also offer an additional 20amp  power supply.

It looks like to get to 8 amps you need to add the:

• 8 amps with PS2012E power supply (sold separately).

So with everything I am looking at approximately $675 best online price.

I have the Digitrax starter system with the DT602D remote (radio). It works great! the Command station/booster included can run 5 or 8 amps. I use a $30 10 amp DC supply off of amazon with an 8 amp CB between the supply and booster to run my O scale engines. These systems can be found new on ebay for less then $500. The most common advice I see online is to use whatever system the local club has so help is always near by!

Thank you Darrell.  I think I am going to pull the trigger on the Digitrax system. A question, "I use a $30 10 amp DC supply off of amazon with an 8 amp CB between the supply and booster to run my O scale engines." I assume by 8 amp CB you mean circuit breaker? I went to your YouTube channel.  I see you are running DCC with 3 rail trains that you converted? Pretty cool.

I hope to post some videos to share with others.  That won't happen till I build  benchwork.  My train room will be in limbo for the most part till I retire in a couple of years.  However, I plan on doing a 2' x 8' shelf style layout so I can practice and learn more about 2 rail O'.  I think there is a need out there for information regarding this topic.  My train room is not that large but I'll still have fun with it.  I just need to run some trains for now!  Its been too long.

Me too! It’s been so long since I ran a train.

I have the NCE system and I love it. It’s super reliable. There were some issues with their initial design for wireless throttles but I have the second generation which work fine. I have never used any other brand of DCC system except once I tried out that very basic Bachmann system which seemed to work well but I was only playing with it for a few minutes.

Good luck with the Digitrax system.

Yes 8 amp circuit breaker to protect the booster, I use 7 amp ones between the booster and the tracks. The booster shuts down very fast when a short is detected which can save the decoders in the loco's.

3 rail DCC should be the standard, all the benefits of 3 rail (return loops and such), tighter curves for those who don't own a warehouse or are in the land of no basements. And if your decoder dies you're not waiting forever for the manufacturer to maybe make parts that will work in your loco, you just get one from your favorite supplier, doesn't matter who's system you use, it just works! But then you 2 rail guy's have been doing that for years.

There's a lady down the street who has an out building behind her house that is bigger than my house. It houses her late husbands 2 rail O layout. Now if I had that kind of room I could run 2 rail scale loco's! That and I already have 30+ 3 rail locomotives :-)

I really enjoy my Digitrax systems and think the Soundtrax decoders are awesome!

The power supply for Digitrax is separate from the command station.    So the 20 amp power supply can run an 8 amp command station, and a second booster to provide an additional 8 amps of output to the layout.  

The dual knob throttle is necessary for programming unless you use a separate programmer..   For running trains, the smaller UTility throttles are very convenient.

The advice to choose a system that other modelers that you know in your area use is good.    It helps a lot especially when you are getting started.