ib can be connected with the cs?
or they will create a connection?
they worth almost the same amount of money

some reasons to buy an ib instead of the cs?
cs will be more combatible with the rest digital components

Well,
for me it's the opposite way around. With CS you have the very limited choice of Märklin items. With IB, you have a range of interesting items from Uhlenbrock, Digitrax, and hobbyists, due to the LocoNet bus. IB is undoubtly the most 'compatible' product of the market, in every aspect. The only exception is that for the moment you can't control every aspect of a mfx-decoder. My guess is that also this will change in future, the question is merely when.
/Lars

Hardly a "frustrated IB user". First, I don't like touch screens in any application, second, the IB is a great and fleexible divice, and third, the IB exists, the CS doesn't right now. A better description is a "satisfied" IB user.

Last first. I'm certainly no rebel of Märklin, I'm a very happy Märklin user. And I'm very satisified with most of their trains, and tracks, even though, I would like to see more small pieces in wide radius. I'm also an owner of some Märklin digital products, as well as signals etc, and there was a time I wasn't aware of anything else. Now I know better. I go for Viessmann mainly regardning signals etc, and LocoNet as digital system, not because I need to justify any decisions, but because I personally find these items more to my liking. I can understand people who put simplicity before all, and then go for Märklin digital, because I admit that with their limited functionality they also have better reliability. But over the whole, over time etc, Märklin is far behind, as they try to do so much themselves.

Yes, regardning digital, Märklin are with Märklin/systems making the same mistakes as they did with the I2C system (6020, 6021 etc). As they are not taking benefit of the existing standards, (DCC, LocoNet, etc), they have to pay for everything themselves. They will supply a very limited range of products "take it or leave it". Märklin decides what everyone should like. And they will have to stay with their technology for a long time, 20 years again, who knows. And lagging behind again, as they did before. It's true, they have done good things for the user interface with the screen of Mobile Station, and the CS will also have some news that can be regardes as a step forward, but rather soon, buyer of them are locked in. It's me, a LocoNet user, who isn't locked in. I'm already using a Mobile Station together with my Intellibox (!), beside my IR recognition modules, Switch board and handheld control (Daisy), and thinking of getting more units that isn't available from Märklin and won't be. Like, a display at the switchboard that may show different states of the layout.

I'm not sure how Märklin regard Intellibox. They certainly are very irritated, but I would be surprised if their business wasn't really favoured buy firms like Uhlenbrock, who make Märklin layouts as mine more funny to play with. It seems that they regard other firms as Faller, Vollmer, Viessmann etc, as cooperating firms, and not competitors.

Frustrating me? Yes, Märklin is doing that. I thought I would try a new signal, some year ago, but it doesn't work in multiprotocol environment. That's just so stupid to frustrate me. But they are loosing more themselves, I won't buy any Märklin signals as there are much better alternatives.

/Lars

this does not sound right Lars.
marklin has given less to 3R cs?for what reason?
i guess i can answer that
2R is for more <open> minds.
3R(mostly marklin) has the plug and play philosophy which is more reliable.
i guess u can experiment as much as u like but marklin's safety and stability makes
her to create reliable digital systems,
less steps forward is the price for reliable products
i have 2R locos and believe me the sense that u have wasted ur money is much worst than that feeling for less progress that u have Lars.

Despite recent problems with Marklin I cant see firms like Uhlenbrock as being any competition. It appears that very few on this forum own IBs and as they do not make Locos and rolling stock or track etc the model world would not miss them if they disappeared which they may well in time.
I understand those who like IBs but with no dealers or support in this country (and no doubt others) I see no good reason to buy their products.
I do buy from others such as Brawa Noch and Faller who produce quality goods and are happy to speak to their customers.
David

David raised an interesting question. He says that "very few on this forum own IBs" I am curious as to how many of us have gone that way and of those of us who have, what have been our experinces with it?

I, for one, own and use and IB and am extremely satisfied with it. Both for manual control and computer control, since the computer interface is so much faster. Also, I bought an ESU wireless mobile controller, plugged it into the side of the IB and started operating. No problems at all with the IB.

I have an IB and I'm not frustated.
Only few weeks after buying the IB I saw the first pictures of the CS - and for a few moments I thought I had bought the wrong product.
But that was last year - and still I only saw pictures of the CS.
No matter if you have a CU6021 or an IB - to take advantage of the mfx and CS you will need new boosters and other new stuff.
And what is the benefit? CS will know if you put a new loco (mfx only) on the track - CU and IB will not know until you tell 'em. I don't wanna spend a penny for that benefit.
I think I only have 3 mfx locos now (from about 40 locos) - and even the mighty CS must be told about new non-mfx locos on the track.
After buying my first starter kit with Mobile Station I had to find that most of my M* locos with jumperless decoders are actually non-mfx (including the BR120.0 and the loco from the Feuerwehr starter kit).
Another benefit: only CS can activate more than 9 functions from an mfx decoder (MS, CU and IB can activate 9 functions). None of my mfx locos has more than 5 interesting functions - if the function mapping was different I would only need 5 functions per loco (compressor sounds, here a click, there a clack is not really interesting for me - and the decoder plays these sounds automatically in certain situations or at random).
Yet another benefit: LAN connector instead of COM port. That's good for new legacy free computers, but makes no difference as long as you use an old computer (or no computer) to control your layout.
Have I missed CS benefits?
Well: IB trains your brain because you have to learn which button maps to which function. This makes CS interesting for people with many digital locos; I'll train my brain until I see the first CS in the shops.

what is a bus?
will they produce improved versions of the cs?
fixing the bugs that will occur

Hi,

first of all - some great collection!!!

I'm not sure mfx-decoders are any better than the 6090x-ones (performance), however - they're adjustable (address, vmax and so on) without any dip-switches or turning potentiometers. And off course they can "talk" to the long awaited CS. This doesn't mean that you're forced to buy "it" (the CS), as all mfx-decoders happily will work as a "normal" 6090x one in combination with the 6021, or Intellibox. I would NOT switch digital system today if I were you, I'd wait and see:

a/ what the CS will really be.
b/ will IB be able to implement mfx?

I guess you're right that more and more mfx-stuff will be produced, but as they are 6021-compatible they will be IB-compatible as well (although not all functions will be reachable - yet...).

Fredrik.