MRC prodigy advance 2 vs express - Model Railroader Magazine

 You do realize this thread is SIX years old? Much has changed in 6 years. A little hitorical background would be helpful - priot to their current lineup, MRC had at least 4 other DCC systems - each one INCOMPATIBLE with the one before it - meaning to upgrade you had to throw out the old one and buy the new one. That is indeed no longer the case, you can buy a Prodigy Express and later make it an Advanced^2. But prior to the current lineup that was nt the case. They sold DCC systems like they sold DC power packs. You couldn;t upgrade a Tech II to a Tech 4 so I guess they figures why would you want to do that with a DCC system - never mind that all the other DCC vendors had this figured out, that you might only have a 4x8 today but in a couple of years maybe you would filla  bedroom. And then a basement.  

 One thing that hasn't changes is their decoders still stink. I'm not going on hearsay, I bought one. It's supposed to have 16 (or maybe 32) different horns, all selectable with a CV. I wrote to MRC tech support, asking what value in th CV corresponding to what kind of horn. Their response was that they don't keep track of that information.

 6 years ago, they were the ONLY DCC manufacturer who wouldn't work with the JMRI team to add support. They had their own very poor piece of software. I guess enough people kept harping on it here and on other forums that they finally relented and worked with JMRI developers to get MRC added. And it's a two way street, as you can see by the WiFi interface uses the JMRI WiThrottle protocol because that's the app you use to control trains directly via MRC's WiFi module.

 They still leave out important information, especially for those with large layouts. It's almost a secret that you need special powered cab panels when you have above a certain number of throttles (just like all the others - only the others come right out and tell you this). All the instructions do NOT fit on the back of the throttle, tht's just the basics and the basics for ANY popular system can fit on the back of their full size throttles. That complicated technical mumbo-jumbo that the other brands put int he back of the manual, MRC leaves out entirely - but that information is useful for a larger system.

 So no, I'm not particularly a fan of MRC's DCC offerings. For quite a few fact-based reasons. Let alone subjective things, like I think the sounds on the sound decoders is absolutely horrible, but that's a subjective.  

                              --Randy