One of the questions often asked by model railroaders and those wanting to get into the hobby is “What DCC system do I get?” This is a good question as sometimes it has effects on what you do and how you run trains later on. One of the popular brands in the hobby is Digitrax. This brand is known for being more economical and easy to use and expand upon later on. Digitrax is also known for putting out command stations that combine a throttle and small booster all in one. The company calls these “Zephyr Command Stations.” In and effort to help those who are asking the question above or are just wondering about the products out there, we’ll go over the overall idea of the Digitrax Command station and how to get started with one.
The first benefit of a command station is the ease of use. For a small layout, this item may be the only DCC item needed as it contains everything a throttle has and is powerful enough to run several trains at once. It’s easy to wire up as well, requiring only two wires to the track and the power supply be plugged into the command station. Once the power supply is plugged in and track feeders connected, it is ready to go. Replacing a throttle, the front interface allows complete control over locomotives and stationary decoders. Many models have an easy to read screen that helps display what is currently going on, whether it is programming (yes, they can do that too) or switching turnouts.
A benefit of using a Digitrax system is the fact that it is easily expandable thanks to the system they have called “Loconet.” The Loconet is a network that connects Digitrax boards and items that can talk to one another. When looking at the Zephyr command station, two ports on the back are decided to the Loconet. By using these, one can add another throttle or add other systems that can run turnouts, boosters, or block detection systems.
