Hi Joe,

I've got the Central Station 2 and I'm very happy with it. --> You can't do anything wrong when you take the CS2.

The EcoS2 is surely good too, but it hasn't mfx+. When you like to have mfx+, you should take the CS2.
The CS2 hasn't RailCom. If you wan't to have RailCom, you should take the EcoS2. But normally, you won't need it when you are Märklinist.

If the MS2 is able to plug into the EcoS2, I don't know.

I think, the two (CS2 and EcoS2) are both very good. What the "better buy" could be, must decide everyone for himself.

kind regards

Robert

P.S.: For more details, you could watch also the manuals of the CS2 and the EcoS2. They exists in English, too.

Hello Joe,

I think your question has already been quite well answered, so just my opinion

If you have some older Loks you wish to upgrade with new decoders, ESU is the way to go for ease of programming etc but you should also have an ESU Lok programmer ! That said, the Marklin decoders are cheaper and there is the decoder tool available but they can also be programmed with the CS2, albeit rather labourously compared to the ESU Lok programmer.
I am lucky in that I have good friend Dennis the "Train Doctor" to do all that for me !The Ecos makes fine tuning them a breeze, no worrying about CV numbers etc I have a CS1-R, an Ecos in a Marklin Case, as they were made by ESU but delivered to Marklin, and us poor suckers, the Marklin consumer, in a somewhat handicapped state, that is until the "Reload" was made available by ESU.

Hence Marklin's brave, but logical, move at the hand of the investment Bankers, to commission the CS2

Like Tom (HO) I enjoy using my CS1-R and I am very comfortable using it, but as yet am only "playing" as my layout isn't built yet and if it weren't for MFX+ ( a very cunning idea by M) I would not consider the CS2 because of it's sensitivities, not to mention higher cost.
I have a number of Loks with MFX+ and as my layout is not going to be large, except for the BTW which will dominate the front of it I considered MFX+ something to add a bit of operational interest (read play value ) to my layout and it will be built and wired accordingly

One thing if you decide for the CS2, do not under any circumstances connect it directly to the tracks of your layout ! Always run track power thru a Booster, and for MFX's sake a Marklin 60174 booster I believe this is absolutely critical if you have any M track on your layout
Reason; if you get a short circuit on the layout tracks, it will cut out at the Booster, and not fry the Software in your CS2
This Booster scenario, is however, also recommended for the Ecos as well, by those that know

I will have three Boosters for my 2.7 x 2m "L" shaped K Track layout. One for the main part, one for the BTW, (turntable has 16 spoke tracks and a 12 Bay M72883 Ringlok Shed, as well as the Marklin Digital Coaling Station. The third booster will power the "Schatten Bahnhoff"

All that said, your digital decoders for Signals and points etc are ok to be connected directly to the CS2/Ecos using it's built in booster, so everything is on a separate circuit and if a short occurs on the layout you can still operate points and signals, and the trains on other boosted circuits !

So that is my $NZ2.00 worth (approx. $US1.50, Euro 1.37 or GBP 1.01)

Hi Tom,

perhaps Märklin will improve mfx+ in the near future...

kind regards

Robert

Thanx Gents for all the replies thus far - I do feel that the CS will probably fulfill my needs. As mfx+ develops, and who knows what else Robert!! it would make sense to stick to M .... there was just this niggling in the grey matter about the problems some folk have had with their CS's.
And thanx for those tips Glen....more than just a "penny" worth!!
In South Africa our currency was Pound Sterling till the sixties, and whilst telling the grandkids how I could buy 4 toffees for a penny when I was their age, there was this long silence till the youngest whispered to his brother: "what's a penny!!"....
Joe

Hi!
Which track voltage have you set on your ECoS? With ECoS, the track voltage is adjustable in the range 14 through 20 volts with a factory default of 14 volts (to be on the safe side for small gauges).
That BR 39 came without powerpack capacitor and is known to make problems with track voltages below 19 volts.

Hi Payonotis,

Are any of your loks MFX+ ? and if so do you bother to use MWOO (Markin World of Operation) or "Cab Control" it very much ?

I had trouble with my Ecos not switching my C track switches properly until I realized I needed to turn the output up. For my Z scale trains, I was turning the output down to 14v until I bought the UP6Z from Digitrax. It reduces the output voltage by 4V or 6V so I can hook up to either/both my Z track and my HO track without having to fiddle with the power output.

Thumbs up for the Ecos - very happy with it so far.

Cheers!

Gene