Can't wait to try them!!!!! I never liked the Pro-Cab but without feedback available on the Engineer Cabs this will be the best of both worlds! 

This seems like a nice improvement over previous NCE cabs I have used. I like that they have a single button for direction now. I still prefer the digitrax toggle for direction (you know what direction you are going by feel..) but one button is better then seperate forward-reverse buttons for one hand ops IMHO .I think the LED display and keypad is an improvement over the digitrax cab.

Chris

I am certainly very happy to learn about this. I need more throttles for my layout, but no need for any more of the large "Hammerhead" thottles (mostly due to the price and the desire to have something that takes of less room, plus I alrady have two as it is), but I was until now, not crazy about purchasing the handy "non-display" Engineers cabs. I have always wanted to purchase a set because the size was perfect for some of my operators who didn't want to worry about a big throttle with a tons of buttons (like my dad), and it just always bugged me that I had no visual confirmation of the channel setting when I want to make a change (I have enought o remember!) Now, (at least until the price goes down a bit, or maybe for a birthday present this November?), I can have my cake and eat it too! Looks like Tony's Trains will be getting an order for one or two sometime in the next few months! Thanks NCE!

RAH

Ralph ... given that Tony's is no longer an MRH sponsor, might I suggest MRH sponsors Litchfield or TrainTek for your DCC needs?

When you do business with an MRH sponsor, it helps keep the magazine free.

One thing I haven't seen answered on the new throttle yet is whether there is some sort of indication on the LCD readout of the loco direction (last I looked it wasn't mentioned on the NCE site or reported on the NCE Yahoo! group).  I'm notorious for forgetting what direction I last set, and like how the Cab 04 has separate buttons for forward and reverse (if in doubt, I can just press the desired direction and know what to expect).  The address readout eliminates one of the big weaknesses of the NCE engineer cabs, but the switch to the single direction button may be a step back as well.  If the new Cab 06 has no direction readout, I don't think I'll like using it as much. 

This was my first thought when I read Ralph's post too...I would give Litchfield a try before going to Tony's by default.

The new product looks very good.  NCE is one of the leaders on my "which system to buy" wish list so keep up the good work NCE!

The direction indication seems like a logical feature for the throttle to have.  Does anyone know if there is direction indication on it?

I hope to purchase a new NCE System, especially now with the new CAB 06R's coming out, and I will DEFINITELY be making this major purchase from an MRH advertiser! I was considering Tony's but now they don't advertise in MRH, they are off the "Vendor" list for the Pennsylvania & Allegheny RR! 

Joe, I mean no dissrespect to you and your magazine, but I have been well taken care of by the folks in Vermont, and as I live relatively close to them (OK, so maybe a six hour ride one way insn't exactly close, but Arizona sure isn't close by a long shot!), AND I see them at least once every February in E. Springfield, MA at the Big E show, so they will continue to get my business. I understand and respect your point, and I hope that you understand my reason(s) for why I feel this way. In fact, there is not a one vendor who advertises in MRH that I buy from. That has nothing to with anything other than that there just aren't any "goods or services" that I want or need from these vendors (nothing wrong with that, right?). I'm a loyal customer of Tony's, plain a simple, and I'm sure everyone can understand that, or so I hope. Just because Tony's thought it wasn't serving their needs to advertise in MRH, doesn't mean that I should have to forsake them now, does it? And yes, before the peanut gallery chimes in, I know, that if everyone thought like I do, and instead chose to do business with just one vendor that didn't advertise with MRH when they could have picked one that does, MHR will very quickly no longer be free. Please, I spent nine years with an advertising agency to know that this is just not nearly as true as you may think. Diehard loyal readers will continue to vehemently support MRH and purchase from supporting vendors above all else in light of trends/actions such as that, it's human nature to do so.

RAH

Ralph:

You don't purchase anything listed in the Walthers catalog? Walthers is coming on board as a sponsor, as well as a number of others from the Milwaukee show. It will get to the point here (if we do our job right) that there will be a sponsor source for just about any product you're looking for.

Tony's dropping his advertising with us is something of a mystery to us. If you check his web site traffic rank and ours on Alexa, it's clear our web site is getting way more traffic than his does, so we're not sure what he's thinking. Perhaps he will be back ...

Now it is true that this web site's traffic is growing much faster than our magazine circulation (the magazine is also growing, just much more slowly than our web site), so you can expect more paid advertising to be showing up on this web site to help monitize this venture. But never fear, I hate advertising junkyard web sites, so anything we do around web site advertising will be done in a classy, informative way. None of this dancing, in-your-face popup stuff.

It would be interesting if bloggers here could select a couple of preferred advertisers to be the ones shown when their blog is viewed.. or at least more often. For instance I use Digitrax and Scenic Express products. In fact, Scenic Express is my favorite vendor at the Big-E.

I have used Litchfield in the past but have no experience with the new company.

Chris