I recently took delivery of Digitrax's latest product, the DT602D handheld throttle. This is duplex radio which communicates with a UR92 receiver connected to a Digitrax DCC system in the same way as the predecessor radio controllers including the DT402D and the DT500D.
This is what it looks like:
What is the same as the previous throttle models:
- The right and left knobs at the top of the throttle can still be used to control separate locomotives/consists. What is different is that the knobs are considerably larger and are very easy to turn with the side of one finger. I consider this a significant improvement.
- Double-clicking on one of the two knobs still caused the locomotive to change direction (no change).
- The number pad still is used to operate functions or when programming (no change).
- The terminology and general operation is very familiar to someone who is experienced with existing Digitax throttles. This is good because I felt right at home with it after a quick read of the "quick start" instructions.
- The power can be completely shut off, like it could on the DT500D but not on the DT402D (improvement).
What is different:
- The very clear, bright colour screen is fantastic. You can see in the picture above that locomotive 5994 is being controlled by the left throttle. The fact that the locomotive icon is green indicates that this locomotive is actively being controlled (improvement).
- There is a battery level indicator in the top right corner (improvement).
- It takes three AA batteries instead of a 9 volt (improvement).
- The row of digits across the top of the screen shows which functions have been selected. When on this screen a press of button A will immediately expand the number of functions to include those which start with 10 (improvement).
- Under the green locomotive icon, it shows that locomotive 8004 is active on the right throttle (no change).
- Under that it shows that locomotive 5994 is set to "forward" and its speed is 0%. (no change really but the screen layout makes it a little easier to read this sort of thing).
- The button with the three horizontal bars and the upward arrow opens up a whole lot of other screens. Here you can program locomotives and change the throttle settings (power saving mode, for example). While the former models did all this, the screens are written in plain English whereas they were a bit cryptic. This is an improvement.
In short, I think this throttle is a huge step forward. My only negative first impression after having used the new throttle for a few times over the past week is that it is about 50% thicker and is slightly wider than the old throttles. Perhaps I have small hands (to match my memory) but I don't think so. I find the new throttle to be slightly too large for my liking. After using it a few days I went back to my DT500D and find that it is more comfortable to hold for longer periods. Time will tell on this point and perhaps I just need more time to get used to it.