As most will most probably know i am planning to visit Goppinhen this September but would like some feed back in regard to a new digital control unit, either the new Marklin CS3+ or the new eCos System.
would like to hear or read other users feedback on both units and perhaps some insight as to which unit would 1. The more cost effective?
2. User Friendly?
3. Size wise(as i would be taking it back to Aus. in my suitcase).
Have seen several prices online in regard to the new unit from ESU and they seem to range upto $1200.
where i believe the new Marklin CS3+ is under the $1000.
If any one has solid prices for me then please feel free to let me know, currently i am leaning more towards the new CS3+.

Hope to get some good feedback from other users.
Many thanks
Peter In Adelaide.

P.S.
which ever unit i finally decide on there will be an offer in the for sale forum for the Ecos 5000 that i currently use.

the advice I would have buy the one you have the most options with by that I mean when creating a layout and buying locos what type of decoders would you prefer and when it comes to digital components what digital modules would you like to have, with other words I would stick with a command station coming from the same stable as the digital components. if you're happy buying a loco with standard sound slot functions go for the CS 3 if you like to explore more options go for the ECoS (50210).
the new updated ECoS comes now with a 6amp booster supplied with the ECoS (same features as the 50200).

if you have ESU decoders one thing you could also consider you have a 3 year warranty on most of the ESU items (I haven't had any rejection as yet) another point of interest is if your loco doesn't function or your Märklin sound decoder in your Märklin loco is faulty you don't have to send the whole loco back to get it repaired, with ESU decoders you just send the decoder back (pay for postage both ways).

looking at the Märklin guarantee and warranty (Australia based) it isn't worth it by the time you send it back to Märklin in Germany it could cost you an arm and a leg. so there isn't just the cost of each item (Märklin) but the logistic cost of it as well.

it took me several years to decide and this was long before I became involved with ESU and there are also other benefits using an ECoS connecting your old motorola mobile unit or the central unit to your ECoS, (up to 4 mobile units and x amount of 6021, 80F's and other train controllers. use your Märklin S 88's.
the ESU decoders also supports 12 functions on your 6021.

for me it was important to use one system to be able to use other components from the same manufacturer and I've sold over the years 100 of decoders (60901) and changed motors to a high efficiency motor, so ther was a price and multi protocol decoder issue as well.
I assume lots of modelers don't realize the benefits you can enjoy by exchanging your faulty decoder(even if it is your own fault) for free. at the moment I've got a switch pilot servo for repair.

your ECoS has several options when using ESU decoders,
1.) V 4.0 M4 = mfx protocol
2.) V 4.0 with RailComPlus = automatic recognition protocol
3.) switch pilots with automatic recognition protocol and feedback

of course there is more information on the ESU website

if your locos are mainly Märklin with märklin decoders I would suggest the CS 3 unless you're brave enough to make the switch over for what ever reasons you think is or make it worthwhile

John

It is nice to hear that these units actually have a big (red?) STOP button.

The MS2 does, too, but does not work as a stop button and in an emergency, I still mistakenly go there to stop the trains....

The ECoS has a STOP button and a GO button, the CS2/3/MS2 have a button that toggles between STOP and GO.
With more than one person driving trains it is good to have a STOP button, not a toggle button.

Pressing the STOP button while a long fast train is on a curve can easily lead to derailments (cars flipping over). The STOP button should be the last resort in case of emergency.

I prefer the small dedicated STOP button of the ECoS over the bigger toggle button.

On some systems two STOPs make a GO.
When playing with a kid and we both notice a danger, this can be a problem.
Even worse at club meetings with many operators.

It does work differently. At least it did in the past.

To me, a BIG RED button signals STOP. This means that in an emergency that is where I am naturally reaching for, both because of the size of the button and the colour.

The description of the MS2 says "A red lighted Stop button is included on the Mobile Station." This is misleading at a minimum.

Yes, the little stop button turns red when the power is out but otherwise is is not red, it's black. The red button is not the "stop" button.

I have often thought of finding a switch with big red button that actually stops the trains. If I find it, I will buy it in a flash.

(A derailment may be preferable to a collision where one loco could fall off the table. It happened to me very recently with a brand new steamer and NOT because of speed, but because of K track - the track became detached, I did not realize this - one loco lost its wagons and ended up hitting an adjacent train passing by - a derailment there and the third train came peaceably by, hit the wagon on the track and fell off the table.

Now the loco is at the hospital. Dr. Mike is trying to figure out how to save its life. )

Edited by user 10 March 2017 18:14:06(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Dale: "It also activates a second event that announces that one of the emergency buttons has been pressed so that there is an audio feedback that the button worked."

I love it!

You almost want to have an "event" just to engage the red button and the audio feedback.

Would it possible for you to explain how you get these sounds to play?

I would like to have some station announcements in Italian on my layout. That would be cool.

The only way I can think of is adding a couple of announcements to the Marklin entertainment car.

The problem, is HOW to get an MP3 sound that I could then swap in the microSD card in the entertainment car.

(Sounds you can only swap, not add. Songs I added, a whole bunch. )

Thanks.

Silvano

I play all my sounds through computers.
I wrote my own control software which runs on Windows. It can play any mp3 or wav sound files.
In addition I also created software called RemoteSign that display arrival and departure information on two other PCs in the train room. That software can also play sound files on demand, so I can define an event in my software that plays chicken sound effects on the PC that has speakers under the farm, and church bells on another PC near the church. Each computer can play multiple sounds simultaneously.

I have one event that plays thunder on one computer and then about 8 seconds later it starts playing the same file on another computer on the far side of the room. It produces a great 3D sound effect of a thunderstorm. Another pair of events play two different crow calls and it sounds like a second crow answers the first!

You can download and run the RemoteSign software from http://remotesign.mixmox.com
You can set it up to load files in a loop and each file can play a sound file, so with the program on a single PC you can set up a long sequence.

In addition to all that, I use the text to speech capabilities of Windows to do all the train announcements. Trains are named, along with the platform in question and the destination / origin.

If you listen to the video at http://cabin-layout.blog...e-around-the-layout.html you can hear an older version of the announcements. They now have a gong sound as each one starts.

I can also create events that use the text to speech to say any text of my choice. Such events can be triggered by an s88 or a button, whatever.

Dale reminded me of a program I had seen a couple of years ago that is a lot of fun.

It's a Text-to-Speech program. Enjoy:


Station announcements

I am very happy to report that Dr. Mike did indeed save the loco's life. She is now back on the layout running as nicely as before. Life is good.

I have no absolute technical info on point, but it stands to reason that if the loco is travelling in one direction and you suddenly make it go the other way, it cannot be good for the loco.

The slower the speed at that point the less the potential damage; even so, if you keep on doing it, eventually the loco may get damaged. Besides, it takes very little effort to bring it to a stop before you reverse the loco if it is already going slowly.

My usual 2 cents' worth.

Indeed, not sure if this applies to motors that have been converted to DC with a permanent magnet or only to the old AC motors only, but reversing the direction suddenly, reverses the magnetic field and when that happens too fast it can destroy the windings. A friend had this happen to him.

Now, when I calibrate a loco and have to change direction to measure the return speed, my software will stop the loco, pause and then reverse direction.

When the red reverse button is pressed on the MS2 the loco just stops. It does not shoot off in the other direction. You have to turn that control button again to start it moving in the new reverse direction, no doubt after a short interval and just as slowly as you want. Since there is no sudden change of direction, only a sudden stop, I can't see how that would be harmful. But what do I know.

The braking distance is shorter when you press the reversing button than when you press the STOP button - at least if the loco has load regulation.
Therefore I assume the decoder applies power to the motor when you reverse to stop it faster.

Is it harmful? I don't know. I don't wanna try it too often.

And typically the loco will just stop, but the exact behaviour depends on the controller and on the decoder. Sometimes the loco will reverse and go off in the other direction with the same speed.

That is probably a wise counsel for general application.
However, I will still risk using the reverse button to stop shunting locos moving at 'crawl' speed dead in their tracks to assure a clean shunt as I mentioned above. My choice only, not a recommendation.
Jabez

Sorry, Ausipeet, I am probably the worst offender in this regard.

Please do ask if you need more info on topic and I promise to NOT lead the discussion astray.