how disappointing


I've only had a few MRC sound decoders, and only for a short time, all in Athearn (SD45-2, FP45's). Never had any trouble with any, (although the guy I sold one of the FP45's to did). I agree with dinwitty, their speakers put out great, clear sound (loud without distortion) and the little DC controller for horn/whistles etc is great. Unlike Tsunami which farts and chokes at the slightest excuse on DC, never had a problem with the MRC ones in this regard.
 
dinwitty said:
MRC has the best speakers, they are LOUD.
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Smiling, that was one of the original complaints against the MRCs that were in the Genesis units. They only had three volumes, too loud, 2 too loud, and way too loud. This over drove the speaker and caused it to be clipped, fuzzy, and/or the enclosure to be rattly.
 
Mine must have been on the middle setting then :p Funny thing was, when I swapped out the MRC decoder for a Tsunami, I had to turn up the sound adjusting CV to almost max.
 
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I have had the prodigy advance squared for about 7 years now and the only time I sent it back was for a upgrade to use the computer interface. Service time took about 4 weeks but the wait was worth it.

I think it is hands down the simplest, user friendly DCC system to use.
Their older decoders were not as good as others but I will say I have many that people think some are $$$$ high end decoders wheninfact they were $30
 
CSX_road_slug said:
From what I've seen, MRC is the Gold Standard for DC power packs. I started out with their Tech II series, and ended up with their Command2000 walkarounds; they all served me well during my DC years. As for DCC, I think they are a late bloomer - but I've known people with Prodigy systems and they were all quite happy with them. O/T: Does anybody know if MRC systems are JMRI-compatible yet? If so, that's another plus.
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Yes it is as of a few months ago. If you bought a prodiy system when it was fairly new you may have to send it back for a software upgrade before it can be used with jmri. You also need a computer interface cable that MRC sells.

I did hook up my prodigy advance to jmri a few times and it does work. I also found that a programming track booster was needed to program the high end decoders.

Last I checked jmri was working with mrc users to fix any bugs but I can say that I was able to use jmri and MRC to program my locos. I have yet to set up a huge roster of locos and read all their cv values but I did change many of the basic sound and speed values with no issues.
 
lmackattack said:
I have had the prodigy advance squared for about 7 years now and the only time I sent it back was for a upgrade to use the computer interface. Service time took about 4 weeks but the wait was worth it.

I think it is hands down the simplest, user friendly DCC system to use.
Their older decoders were not as good as others but I will say I have many that people think some are $$$$ high end decoders wheninfact they were $30
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I do hope you are right . I still cant comment because I still don't have the unit back . I am told now , hopefully next week , but at this point I am not holding my breath . It is frustrating for sure , and unfortunately at this point I think I would personally recommend against using MRC products regardless of how well it will or wont function if/when I get it back .
 
I have nothing against MRC…but being a big believer in the KISS principle I quite franklyfind the NCE systems the best….especially in the area of user interface and ergonomics. The actual system itself is very user-friendly and easy to understand. And I like the fact that I have the choice of either using the thumb-wheel or push buttons for speed and even direction control. Using the thumb-wheel allows one-handed operation so my other hand is free to use the turnout controls etc. Plus the Powercab system is a very simple and cost-effective entry-level system.
 
well , today finish my 7th week waiting and I still get the same answer , "about another week" . I believe that if I don't have it in my hands by the end of next week I will buy an NCE unit. They seem to be talked about a bit more highly than the digitrax. I think that waiting this long without calling and totally unloading on them has been more than fair . If they are really this busy that (to me ) just screams that they make an inferior product or have highly UN-trained service staff or both . Either way , I don't think I want to build a railroad around that controller.
 
I have been using an MRC power pack for years now with not a single problem. It is always there, never fails and is very easy to alter. I have some other items I could use as a door stop, but the MRC power pack fills this roll just perfectly.
 
Jim….start by getting the NCE Powercab…its a complete system that will be easy to install on your existing layout, it has the power output to run something like 3-5 locos at the same time, is easily upgradeable to increase the power and locos, is very very user-friendly and best of all…won't break the bank.
 
So today ends my 8th week of waiting and also my relationship with MRC. I got on the phone with MB klein and discussed my needs and wants and came away with an NCE unit with smart booster . I hope to have it in my hands next Monday , we shall see. If/when I ever do get the mrc unit back it will be for sale , unused and only open to check and see if its complete . I can not see myself ever again buying anything mrc , the people I have dealt with there are rude and the customer service is the worst I have ran across in quite some time . The way I see it a product is only as good as those who stand behind it or in this case those that don't.
 
No Carey , I still have not seen it . Good news is though that UPS tracking says my NCE unit will be here tomorrow . I just want to run my trains!!
 
Guess what I am doing right now. Well if you guessed watching my trains run with my newly repaired MRC power unit you would be WRONG !!! I am watching them run but with my new NCE power unit . It is amazing the amount of control and smoothness the trains have on DCC when compared to my old DC set-up . It was well worth the cost to me to upgrade to DCC . Now starts the long learning curve ahead ( although I did program my loco number into the cab ) to see what these things are capable of .
 
jim81147 said:
It was well worth the cost to me to upgrade to DCC . Now starts the long learning curve ahead ( although I did program my loco number into the cab ) to see what these things are capable of .
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What else is there to learn? I think I ran on DCC for about ten years before I learned more than that, and even so it is all just "frills and thrills" stuff, nothing really important. I think the next thing I learned beyond that was how to adjust the volume on sound units, which has nothing to do with the DCC system and everything to do with the decoder. Of course, I've always been into the running the train part, not the playing with the command system part.
 
jim81147 said:
Guess what I am doing right now. Well if you guessed watching my trains run with my newly repaired MRC power unit you would be WRONG !!! I am watching them run but with my new NCE power unit . It is amazing the amount of control and smoothness the trains have on DCC when compared to my old DC set-up . It was well worth the cost to me to upgrade to DCC . Now starts the long learning curve ahead ( although I did program my loco number into the cab ) to see what these things are capable of .
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Welcome to the NCE family....I think you will be very happy with the product...I've been using it for about 8 years and have only had good experiences with it. I found it to be easy, intuitive and very user-friendly. There are multiple resources for DCC info on the internet but two of the best that I have found are Tonys Train Exchange and the Yahoo NCE forum at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/NCE-DCC/info

i'm not a fan of Yahoo in general, and you do have to ask to join the group but it is a great knowledge resource for NCE products and if you run into any issues or have any questions its a sure bet you can find the answers there.

cheers
Gene

i have no financial or any kind of interest in any of the products or websites mentioned here....just a very satisfied user.
 
Well , here it is , May 26th and what should show up on my doorstep today? Nothing other that a package from MRC. I am assuming that it is my Prodigy advance2 unit that I sent in way back on MARCH 11 . I have not even opened it yet , my NCE unit is working fine and has been since the day I got it . It is one day short of 11 weeks . In that time I was spoken too rudely , lied to , they told me it was done and would be shipped out in the next day or two , then when calling 2 weeks later to see what happened to it they told me that the power supply was what was bad on the unit and one had just arrived that day and it would be shipped right out. So much for done and ready to ship 2 weeks ago. I cant comment on how the product works as I never got to use it and now have no need to even try it , but I can tell you the customer service at MRC leaves a lot to be desired. I see no reason for me to ever try anything MRC again . If anyone is interested in this unit and 2 extension plates , I would entertain all offers.
 
jim,

Have just read through your thread and wow, what a night mare you had with MRC (so called) customer service! I have to say that I have an MRC power supply and haven't had an issue with it; however, as was said - you can get a lemon with anything. Getting a lemon product is one thing, getting Lemon Service is another!

I have both Digitrax and NCE DCC setups and I love the NCE, think you'll be very happy with that.

You mentioned you were getting a couple of engines and already had a couple that were all DCC equipped. To answer your question re the decoders in them - NO you don't have to replace them. Bottom line is - "if it aint broke, don't fix it" :)

On a side note, and sorry for the diversion from the topic, was interested to read the MRC Decoders are crap and found their way into the Athearn Genesis Loco's - perhaps that is what was/is wrong with my Genesis engines.
 
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You are 100% correct Tony , everybody myself included , makes a mistake now and again and I have no issues with mrc making a mistake. My problem is the non-customer service and that is what I want to make people aware of . If you do anything long enough you will have issues. Its how you handle ( or don't ) those issues that makes the difference. Speaking for myself , being new to DCC , I was very anxious to get it up and running , so much so that after about 8 weeks I purchased another powerpack from a different company . Tends to get really expensive going that route . If this thread sheds some light on the matter for someone else , so that the customer service is not a surprise , then atleast its not a total loss for me . Hopefully if someone else purchases one of their products they wont need the customer service , that would be best of all but for me , I don't see any more MRC purchases in my future which is really kind of a bummer because I do on occasion buy an Academy plastic military model.
 
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