Boomer K. Founder I.A.R.R.R. said:
Enlighten me wise ones. What is the appeal of Crest Revolution? Not a single member of the NMGRR uses Crest so I have no experience with it. The battery guys use Airwire with one caveman holding onto his Loco Link, while the DCC guys are all Digitrax. For sound, Sierra is around but Phoenix reigns supreme (and has programmable sound suites from the internet with a USB port. It seems to me that Crest is a decade behind the power curve on this).
Is the Crest choice simply a matter of $ because I see it is cheaper than the Airwire or Digitrax / Phoenix combo.
How is the customer service after the sale? Is there a dedicated trouble shooter or is Navin a one man show?
Is the sound quality comparable to Phoenix? Are power boosters or amplifiers required to make it perform?
Do you find it more reliable or better performance than Digitrax, NCE or the old LGB system?
I am open to all opinions but I am especially interested in those that have bought, installed and use Crest. I am looking for both the technical aspects as well as the user satisfaction factor here.
First, I would never claim to be a wise one. I’ve tried Sierra and Phoenix on the sound side, and have experience with most of the controllers.
I had the Airwire (as well as other systems), and my Connie never ran right. I tried all sorts of different speed curves, but it ran away down hill and struggled up hill. With the Revolution, it ran the way I wanted. I typically use the Revolution with a Phoenix soundcard, but some of my locomotives have the Revolution receiver with sound.
Sound on the Revolution is just barely acceptable. Phoenix is MUCH better. I think that the attraction of the Revolution was the promise that ONE day the Revolution would have downloadable sound files. We projected all sorts of quality and abilities into this promise. But, like many promises it remains unfulfilled; I don’t think I would recommend the Revolution nearly as much today as I had in the past. But, I also don’t think I’d recommend something else. (Wow, is that not compelling???)
The Revolution delivered on range. Neither the Airwire nor any other system I tried ever did. I have a SMALL layout, but the Airwire could not signal the Phoenix to blow the whistle at “max” range. (Heh…40 feet?) The Revolution does that. Typically, I’m right beside my locomotive while it is running, but sometimes I like to sit on the patio and watch it run. The Revolution is the ONLY system that enables me to do that.