September 7, 2001

Digitrax "Zephyr" DCC System.

According to the rumor mill and to be announced in Chicago this week, Digitrax is planning to introduce in the near future a new, entry level DCC Starter System named "Zephyr". The Zephyr is Digitrax's answer to the Atlas "Commander". Some tentative specs include:

2.5 Amp DCC output.
4 Digit Addressing.
4-5 Functions.
Knob Speed Control.
Console Format.
List Price about $200.00

More information should be available in a week.

"The Zephyr is not a "reaction" to the Atlas product. It is actually a result of over two years of joint development (started before anyone was aware of the Atlas / Lenz product) between Kato and DigiTrax to create a package of DCC functionality appropriate for the Japanese market. It was unveiled at the Japan Association of Model Railroaders (JAM) Convention in Tokyo in August. In working with the product it became apparent that it had a feature set that would also appeal to many North American and European model railroaders. DigiTrax will market the product outside Japan under the Zephyr product name."

Charlie Vlk
Kato USA