i was looking through the latest model railroader and was skimming through the micro mark ad and saw they had mrc prodigy express for 99.95. i read through an older issue of MR and it looks like it matches up pretty equally with the digitrax zeypher. my layout i'm starting was going to be DC, eventually upgrading to DCC, but i was hesitant b/c of the $$. the ntrak club i'm in uses digitrax, but the control layout seems pretty similar to the DT400 throttles. does anyone have any input? is this as good of a deal as it seems? thanks in advance beast
I believe this is the older MRC system which is not compatible with their current Prodigy Advance system so be very aware of that. Their current DCC system is about $200. My suggestion is to go with the Zephyr, especially if your club runs Digitrax. You'll get all the support you'll need from club members.
mk, i called mrc and they said that the express is the same tech. as the advance so compatibility shouldn't be an issue. they said there is just some additional functionality that has been turned on.. of course, they're factory reps, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. the list on the express is like 180, so i thought that it could be a deal, b/c i can't/won't spend that kind of money to get DCC at this time and would stay with DC for a couple more years before switching over. my budget is stretched to the cracking point right now. beast beast
Compare your pending decision with that of buying a laptop computer two years in advance of using it... "Although my old Underwood and abacus work fine for me now, I know I want to go with a laptop in a year or two. There's this super-clean MicroCruncher 1200 that I can get for a good price. Should I buy now or wait?" Besides, two years of learning DCC on forums such as this is free!!
The Prodigy Express is the newest system from MRC. Their old system was named Prodigy. The Express is a scaled down version of the Advance. You can buy the Advance later on and use the Express as a controller. It isn't a bad investment if you want to get in at a rock bottom price without the equipment becoming completely useless when your needs grow. I think a better comparison feature wise would be the Zephyr and the Prodigy Advance. I think the Express was designed to compete more with Bachman's system. [ January 05, 2006, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: one after nine o nine ]
Ah, OK, my bad. I was confused with the regular Prodigy. Sorry for the misinformation. I still think you should go with a Zephyr especially your club running Digitrax and what not.
Go to a big local train show - they come around and the vendors should be there and hopefully you can try different ones. That is my plan. I'm still in limbo between the digitrax (chief) or Prodigy advanced. The Prodigy advanced can be had for only $175 - heck of a deal, but clubs all seem to use digitrax. I might want to join a club soon or near future. would be simpler to use/learn one brand system. Th PA has some nice features, It looks like the screen is better display too? but I really like the yard mode for the throttle and it seems so easy to use. look at the online manuals for both, prodigy advance is so easy/clear.
I was just at both websites and reading up on them both because I am torn between the Prodigy Express and the Digitrax Zephyr. The nice thing about the MRC between those two is the walk-about (corded) cab. Shouldn't you be able to plug your Prodigy cab into a Digitrax controller to control your own locos?
Here is a link to a review on Tony's Website of the Express. http://www.tonystrains.com/technews/mrc-prodigye-review.htm There are also reviews of the Advanced System-just search for Prodigy.
