Cab02/Cab03

This class of cab/throttle is called the BASIC cab. NCE had stated at one time that these cab would be released again but only offered with built in radios. No release yet and no date given.PART NAME & NCE PART NUMBERS:CAB02r [no part number found]CAB03r [no part number found]PRODUCT GOAL:An idiot proof cab. These cabs are limited to running one train assigned to them and nothing else. These are the type of cabs you would give to young kids or a member of the club that always seems to have a problem running his train or effecting layout operation because he did something with the cab.PRODUCT HISTORY:

The CAB02r/03r are updated versions of the original CAB02/03 cabs offered by NCE's under it's discontinued MASTER SERIES DCC system brand name. The older discontinued CAB02/03 cabs were 100% identical to Wangrow's SYSTEM ONE DCC BASIC CABS which were sold at the same time. The only difference between the NCE and Wangrow versions was the name on the label. It is unclear how many the older NCE CAB02/03 were sold. Sales volume was known to be low.

SPEED CONTROL OPTIONS:

The Cab02r uses a Potentiometer (Think CAB02pr). The picture incorrectly shows an encoder knob (no black line on face of dial/knob).

The Cab03r uses Buttons.

DESIGN FEATURES:

NOTE: The photo above "appears to be" of prototype cabs with some of the buttons mislabeled. Notice old "Master Series" label.

The best way to look at these CAB02r/03r cabs is that they are the same as the CAB04r/05r respectively but have the entire number keypad and the ENTER keypad removed. Also removed is the toggle switch on the top of the cab that would allow one to switch between two trains.

Beyond the speed controls (Buttons or knob) all you will have the following buttons Left to Right top to bottom.

1) REV (Reverse)

2) BRAKE [OPTION KEY POSITION]

3) FWD (Forward)

3) Headlight [SELECT LOCO KEY POSITION]

4) Horn {Doubles as Power On Key for Radio}

5) Bell [MACRO KEY POSITION]

The Status LED gives you status information about the state of the keyboard and button press action.

1) When the LED was off, the keypad was being used as a function control keypad. Each key number was a function number.

2) When the LED was on, the keypad was setup for data entry of something like a engine number or a macro number.

3) The LED would always blink when a button was pressed. It did not matter if the LED was ON or OFF. This gave you physical verification that your button was pressed.

SETTING THE CAB ADDRESS:

Unclear how this was done with this new version of the cab. With respect to the older and discontinued MASTER SERIES CAB02/03, they used a "Dip Switch" inside cab where one manual set the cab address. See Alternatives below for more information.

PRODUCTION STATUS:

CAB02r/03r are discontinued. They were advertised in both the NCE 2004 & 2006 product catalog/flyers but removed in the NCE 2007 catalog/flyer. Apparently there were no significant orders generated to justify production. No manuals were made available.

ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS:

The only cabs similar in function to the CAB02r/03r are the NCE MASTER SERIES CAB02/03 or the Wangrow WCT11 and WCT21 Basic Cabs. There are all discontinued cabs but did have some limited sales. One will have to find them on the open market (EBay) or HO TRAINS sale websites.

To learn more about the older NCE MASTER SERIES CAB02/03 and the equivalent Wangrow versions, go here:W-Basic Cabs

To learn more about Wangrow history with NCE, go here:NCE/Wangrow History

LED Trivia: If you have a cab with a GREEN LED, you have a old version of the cab that uses DIP switches in the back to set cab address. It cannot be upgraded to support radio. To Set the Cab address, go here: Dip Switch Cab Address