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A few months ago, we introduced the next generation of the E-Z Command DCC controller, the E-Z Command Plus. We hope those who have purchased it so far are enjoying operating your DCC locomotives with the system.

For those who have not yet purchased E-Z Command Plus or have just purchased the system, and want to know more about how it works, we have made this introduction video showing off the features and operations of the controller.

Enjoy!

Williams by Bachmann / Are Williams trains equipped with Command Control?

July 10, 2023, 01:10:33 PM

All Williams/Williams by Bachmann locomotives are designed and manufactured for conventional transformer control. We do not make locomotives equipped with Lionel LEGACY, TrainMaster Command Control, or MTH Electric Trains Digital Command Systems. However, you can still control Williams locomotives using a command control remote in conventional mode only. Consult your command control system's instruction manual for specific directions.

Some suppliers offer aftermarket upgrade kits for DCS and TMMC that can be installed on Williams locomotives. However, Bachmann Trains does not offer installations and cannot provide support for these command control upgrade kits.

DCC / What decoder should I use for my DC/DCC Ready locomotive?

May 09, 2023, 10:48:20 AM

The short answer to this question is that any NMRA-compliant DCC decoder will be compatible with a Bachmann DCC Ready locomotive. Dependent on which item you wish to install DCC in, the decoder solution and installation process may differ.

For some locomotives, a decoder/module designed specifically for that model may be offered directly by Bachmann, designed and manufactured by one of our decoder suppliers. (Example: 44960 Plug & Play ACS-64 DCC & Sound Module is a TCS WOWSound® module designed specifically for the DCC Ready ACS-64 locomotive, included in the 00772 Amtrak® City Sprinter set.)
Most DCC Ready locomotives include an 8-pin plug for drop-in decoder installation. More recent and future DCC Ready locomotives will replace the 8-pin plug with a 21-pin (HO scale) or NEXT-18 (N scale) plug.
Some older DCC Ready Locomotives may not have an 8-pin plug and require soldering the decoder. In this case, and in general, the simplest definition of "DCC Ready" is that the motor is electrically isolated from the chassis of the locomotive.
If you wish to install a sound decoder, you will need a speaker in addition to a decoder. Some DCC Ready/"Silent" DCC locomotives come with a speaker pre-installed, while older models or models with limited/no space for a speaker may not.

DCC technicians and decoder manufacturers can offer advice and help select a specific decoder for your model. Some manufacturers such as TCS and Soundtraxx have decoder selection and installation guides on their websites.

DCC / What are the differences between the E-Z Command and E-Z Command Plus?

May 09, 2023, 08:30:01 AM

While many of the features are the same, the E-Z Command Plus (item no. 44933) has a number of improvements over the original E-Z Command system (item no. 44932.)

-The E-Z Command Plus can control up to 29 decoder functions over the original E-Z Command's 9 functions.
-An LED speed indicator has been added, so that the operator can determine the relative speed of the addressed locomotive when turning the control knob. This way, the operator can easily tell whether the locomotive is running at low, medium, full speed, etc.
-The existing E-Z Command has an emergency stop button that stops the movement of all trains on all tracks. On the E-Z Command Plus, you can also make an emergency stop of the actively selected locomotive by pressing down the control knob.
-LED indicators have been added or updated to the address and function buttons to more easily identify which DCC addresses/functions are selected and in use.

The only other major difference with the Plus is that due to internal design changes, it is recommended to have a separate programming track for assigning addresses to locomotives. "Programming on the main" is still supported, but changing addresses will cause the address of all locomotives on the main track to be changed.

All previous E-Z Command accessories such as the Walk-Around Companion, 5 Amp Power Booster, and Automatic Reverse Loop Module are compatible with the E-Z Command Plus.

Please refer to the E-Z Command Plus instruction manual for further information: https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/documents/44933EZCommandPlus.pdf

Also see the Introduction to E-Z Command Plus video here:

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