Model Railroading > Digitrax is proud to announce the DT602 family of throttles

https://www.digitrax.com/news/2020/06/23/digitrax-proud-announce-dt602-family-throttles/


~ Mr. MRL

MrMRL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> https://www.digitrax.com/news/2020/06/23/digitrax-
> proud-announce-dt602-family-throttles/

Looks like they put lipstick on a pig. I guess they had to do something to woo Prodigy owners over. I don't see how this new layout is going to make things any more intuitive over my DT500D (which is about as intuitive as quantum mechanics).

Well, whatever. I hope it's a success for them I'm eagerly anticipating a review from someone who isn't relying on Digitrax's ad revenue before I pass final judgement.

 

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

The only money I expect to spend on Digitrax going forward is hardware to adapt it to WiFi. No more Digitrax throttles. Maybe the TCS or Proto throttle.

Posted from Android

webpage with photo:

https://www.digitrax.com/products/throttles/dt602/

No thank you Digitrax, I'll stick with NCE DCC systems.

Stuart

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The only money I expect to spend on Digitrax going
> forward is hardware to adapt it to WiFi. No more
> Digitrax throttles. Maybe the TCS or Proto
> throttle.
>
> Posted from Android

I'm very impressed with the TCS UWT100 on Digitrax.  You can even use brakes with sound decoders in consist!
Barry Draper

Been a Digitrax fan forever- this new throttle looks cool, would like to try it! 

Mike Bannon
St Catharines, ON

Worst outfit hate there throttles and the way it operates in general too sensive screen so small you cannot read it. Glad I went NCE all the way.

Babi the Digitrax troll emerges again. and he knows nothing about DCC. He is just a broken record saying the same things over and over and over. Nice Bruce

BAB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Worst outfit hate there throttles and the way it
> operates in general too sensive screen so small
> you cannot read it. Glad I went NCE all the way.

I knew you would show up also LOL. 4th district, another old crusty angry NCE user  who does not sign his name. This is a Digitrax announcement. Why you old farts need to jump here I have no idea. Digitrax users or any users for that matter do not jump in on NCE. All the DCC companies make good products.

Bruce Friedman

4thDistrict Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And here is Bruce again attacking someone for
> having a different opinion than he does. He
> especially hates NCE users and bashes them
> whenever they say they like it better than
> Digitrax. I have been on the receiving end of his
> personal insults dozens of times just for being an
> NCE user. Nothing changes in Bruce's petty world.
> He is so predictable.
>
> And heaven forbid that you don't include your name
> at the end of a comment. For some weird reason
> this really gets him riled up. He'll probably make
> a snide comment about there being no name attached
> to this comment, even though he knows full well
> who I am. LOL!   
>
>
>
> brfriedm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Babi the Digitrax troll emerges again. and he
> > knows nothing about DCC. He is just a broken
> > record saying the same things over and over and
> > over. Nice Bruce
> >
> > BAB Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Worst outfit hate there throttles and the way
> > it
> > > operates in general too sensive screen so
> small
> > > you cannot read it. Glad I went NCE all the
> way.

Here's another view of the new throttle:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=49920.0

It's mostly an N-scale board but they have a broad base and lots of activity.

I like the original thinking of having two active engines quickly available with their own knobs.
Let one train run laps while switching with another?
Helpers that you could drop off on the fly?
One train grinding around a helix while another is busy somewhere else?
I am into NCE but this is interesting.
As they say in auto racing "Competition Improves the Breed".

Thank You. I appreciate the compliments!  Bruce Friedman

4thDistrict Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And right on cue, here he is, the most abusive,
> name calling, insulting member of TrainOrders,
> doing exactly what he does best - being abusive,
> calling people names, making insults, and
> complaining about NCE users and people not signing
> their names. He is soooooo easy to bait!!!! 
>
> My Name Goes Here
>
> .brfriedm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I knew you would show up also LOL. 4th
> district,
> > another old crusty angry NCE user  who does
> not
> > sign his name. This is a Digitrax announcement.
> > Why you old farts need to jump here I have no
> > idea. Digitrax users or any users for that
> matter
> > do not jump in on NCE. All the DCC companies
> make
> > good products.
> >
> > Bruce Friedman

Chevy vs Ford

Digitrax vs NCE

Both brands do what you bought them to do.

fbe

fbe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Chevy vs Ford
>
> Digitrax vs NCE
>
> Both brands do what you bought them to do.
>
> fbe

I would have agreed but chasing down some of the info from the Railwire comments there does seem to be some significant differences. Some of the 'features' can even be chased down to some reviews that are YouTube, the fixation with battery drain and removing batteries for example seems to go directly to a YT 'Chevy vs Ford' review.

Agree that if your crowd, or club, is using one brand there is a group knowledge base that makes everything run better. But there is a drive to improve the products, I think there's some basically good ideas coming out and it's good to air the laundry a little. I held off on the whole DCC thing until things made more sense, things are making more sense these days, imho.

Namecalling aside.... Separated at birth?

---

There will always be a few that have to fluff their tail feathers and call people names that don't go with their flow. Hmmm, sounds familiar.

Looking over the specs on the thing it appears they have made some improvements dealing with what I found were the most annoying things about my existing DT402D throttle.
From their website:

Features:

• Works with compatible LocoNet systems
• Color 2.4” LCD Display Screen - This would be an improvement over the current too small and crowded screen
• Advanced menu system and displays
• Built-in scrolling help and prompting
• Soft ON/OFF switch, with zero OFF power-drain - Finally, an on/off "switch." I've been meaning to add one to my unit.
• Advanced display Power Saving for longer wireless battery operation - Past experiences with devices that had "Power Saving" screen blanking makes me think this will be another annoyance.
• No more 9V batteries to remove! Throttles are now powered in wireless modes by 3 AA cells! - This could be a plus depending on how easy it is to replace the AA cells. At the very least it will get rid of those poorly designed 9V batteries.
• Can use recharged AA batteries - I would have thought this would have been a given unless they have provided a means of charging batteries in-place.
• Available in standard tethered or Radio Duplex
• Duplex Scan for available Networks and radio signal strength. Run without cords!
• All throttles come with a LocoNet cord that can be unplugged, and is replaceable - If the replaceable item means being able to EASILY swap out the device cable when the locking tab breaks then it's a plus.
• Dual throttle controls let you control two locos simultaneously
• Run locomotives with “encoder click” knobs for both speed and direction control
• Full numeric keypad makes loco selection simple - Looks like a new type of key being used. Hopefully they're more reliable that the ones on my throttle.
• Control light and sound effects functions with the press of a button - Not sure what this entails, improvement or status qou. This is a hands-on test item...
• Control 29 functions (F0-F28).
• Function active/inactive indicators
• Convenient step-by-step throttle option set up
• Supports simplified decoder programming - Have to see what it has vs what JMRI provides.
• Simplified 2 or 4 digit addressing setup
• Over 9,000 locomotive decoder addresses
• Supports turnout and stationary decoder control
• Over 2000 turnout decoder addresses
• Fast clock display
• Recall feature - this could be an improvement if it's able to be better controlled than what's there now.
• Advanced Route editor

So, much like Arved stated, I'll await a review from someone non-reliant on Digitrax's ad revenue and/or do an actual hands-on test before passing final judgment and forking over $!95.

best regards,
Mark G.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/20 09:28 by MarkG.