NCE Powercab famine


Darkscot

New Member
Is the NCE Powercab generally available in the US? I have been trying to buy one in the UK for weeks now and no dealers have them. They sell on eBay for more than the list price. I have looked at a few US model shops and they also seem to be out of stock.

In the UK the Powercab is a nice bridge between the likes of Bachmann EZ / Hornby Select and Digitrax / Gaugemaster Prodigy. If I could afford it I would go for Digitrax, but Powercab is more in my price range.
 
I think your best bet is to keep doing some reasaerch on availability, to get a handle on what's going on with then. I got my NCE system a few years back, easy to obtain. With this Covid stuff, the world situation has changed.
 
Is the NCE Powercab generally available in the US? I have been trying to buy one in the UK for weeks now and no dealers have them. They sell on eBay for more than the list price. I have looked at a few US model shops and they also seem to be out of stock.

Looks like you might be right. A quick look at the online shops I frequent, and all appear to be out of the Power Cab. It's not even available on the NCE website at the moment. Next time I'm around the LHS's in my area, I'll keep my eyes open, but the ones around where I live generally don't keep DCC systems in stock.

I can say, however, that I have a Power Cab system and although I don't (yet) use it to its full capabilities, I have been happy with it. I added a second throttle, which simply plugged in, and also have the USB-computer interface module where you can program locomotives and more using a computer. I haven't had much chance to play with that yet though.
 
I have been watching one on eBay, it started at £50 and has been at that price all week. Now with five hours to go it has jumped to £125 ($175) even though it has the 'jumping' scroll wheel issue. Though that is theoretically easy to fix.
 
...and also have the USB-computer interface module where you can program locomotives and more using a computer.
That is one of the attractions to me of the Powercab. It seems to offer a huge amount of flexibility for a very reasonable price. I currently use a Bachmann EZ command for general running and a SPROG II for programming via JMRI. The Powercab can replace both the EZ and the SPROG and only costs about $50 more than the EZ.
 
I work for a company that manufactures seat components for a major auto maker. Things are a bit slow right now due to the auto maker not being able to buy enough computer chips. There is a computer chip shortage/backlog right now, and that may well have something to do with the shortage of NCE PowerCabs.
 
In Europe, I'd be looking at either the Roco z21 system (I prefer wifi but it also works with wired handhelds) or a Digikeijs DR5000 (which can also be used with the FREE Roco z21 control app)...
 
Right now, almost all production of any electronics are being channeled to computer and automotive markets. A Google search of "GPU shortage" will give you a lot of info about that issue. I just had to pay the full new retail price for a used three year old graphics processor, and considered myself lucky to get it. DCC systems and decoders are back burner items to the major producers.
 
In Europe, I'd be looking at either the Roco z21 system (I prefer wifi but it also works with wired handhelds) or a Digikeijs DR5000 (which can also be used with the FREE Roco z21 control app)...
I have considered the Roco z21 system and I am quite tempted by it. However, it does not offer the 'everything in one box' that the Powercab does.
I have never heard of the Digikeijs before, but I will take a look at that.
Unfortunately I have just been made redundant, so non essential things like this will have to wait for now.
 



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