NCE--connections

When you say "starter set" I assume you mean the PowerCab. The SB5 is a 5 amp smart booster, meaning track power plus command station. The SB5 will use NCE's regular connection panel (UTP) to plug in the throttle cabs. You can use your PowerCab as a regular throttle, but use the UTP panel that came with the SB5 to plug into.

The PCP panel should be used on a separate track not attached to your layout at your workbench along with the original PowerCab handheld throttle and power supply for testing and programming the DCC decoders inside your DCC decoders. Keeping the test track separate from the main layout is essential with these lower function NCE throttles. The reason is that neither the PowerCab starter set and the SB5 have a separate programming output. So you have to do programming decoders on the separate PowerCab starter set with PCP panel.

The PowerCab without any other booster has a command station and 2 amp booster built in and is powered by the 2 amp wall wart. When you use the PowerCab throttle with the SB5, the PowerCab reverts to a plain ProCab throttle. NEVER use the PowerCab power supply along with the SB5 power supply.

The SB5 instruction should have a picture of how to hook it up with the UTP. Also when you got your PowerCab starter set, there should have been two cords packed with it -- a flat 6 wire cord which is ONLY used with the PowerCab when it is powering the track via the PCP panel and its own power supply wall wart. The starter set also should have contained a coiled cord which is used only when you are using the PowerCab as a plain throttle with a smart booster like the SB5. When you buy another throttle, like a ProCab or the smaller Cab06, it will come with its own coiled cord to plug into the UTP.

I suggest you join the NCE group on ,io:  https://groups.io/g/NCE-DCC/ , There are many experts on that discussion group to answer your questions.

Connecting Smart Booster and Power Cab

You can connect any two NCE cabs directly to the Cab Bus ports on the front panel of the SB5 Smart Booster using either the flat or curly cables. Note that, when the Power Cab is connected to the SB5, it behaves as a standard Power Pro cab. Ensure that you set the addresses of each cab (your Power Cab and the Cab 06) to be different - as explained in the Cab Setup section of the Power Cab System Reference Manual, page 18.

The SB5 does not support a programming track so, if you wish to program decoders, you will need to use the Power Cab with the Power Cab Panel. A possible system connection for your equipment, with the addition of one or two NCE UTP panels (not essential) is shown below -

The black dotted lines indicate the disconnection of the USB Interface (if you choose to connect your system to PC software, such as my own A-Track application or JMRI's Decoder Pro, for programming purposes) and the Power Cab from the SB5 and connection to the Program Track via the Power Cab Panel. The red dotted line represents a connection of the SB5 Cab Bus to the Power Cab Panel which should definitely NOT be present. Note that the SB5 and PCP should be fed from their own separate power supplies, and never connected together.