Gaugemaster DCC01 Prodigy Express Starter Package

I've only just got this so it's too early to tell but I can say so far I'm really impressed. The ease of set up and use is brilliant. I got it working within five minutes of the parcel being delivered.I've only recently started with this hobby but have become hooked very quickly. I bought a Hornby Majestic set from Hattons for an absolute steal at £230 which came with the elink controller and railmaster software. I'm not going to knock Hornby but it really isn't the easiest thing to get working or keep working and at times it became really frustrating. It's not that it doesn't work it's more that it doesn't stay working for long periods of time. Mine kept disconnecting so I had no control over the locos on the track. One time I even shut the laptop down and the trains were still running at the speed there'd been set at, I had to pull out the transformer to stop them. The final straw came when I bought a new loco only to discover that windows was performing updates on my laptop which seemed to take forever. Whilst I was waiting I kept thinking how much easier it would be to just plug a controller in and run trains. So now I can, I only wish I'd bought one sooner. Just pick a loco, turn the wheel and it moves. What could be easier. They even print the instructions on the back of it so you can't lose them. Only thing worth mentioning is that if you get a short the overload message comes up and you have to turn the power off for about five seconds. After that it's good to go again.

I was enjoying programing the locos and everything worked well until I made an error and smoke poured out of the gadget. My fault entirely as the instructions warn you in bold letters to avoid this mistake. Bought a replacement from local model shop.

Excellent starter system delivered quickly

Very easy to use and set up. Easy to program locos and gives great control. Only slight downside is the emergency stop button will only stop the loco that it is currently set at rather than everything. Ideal for a beginner like me. Old lima locos I have converted run very well with it. Good value as well.

easy to set up ,instructions a bit sketchy in places.

Excellent easy to use hand controller, programming decoders is as easy as talking!!

Excellent quality product to control a DCC layout

Great price and fast service.