MTH 50-1033 DCS Remote Commander

The DCS Remote Commander will run one PS/2 or PS/3 locomotive that has been reset to factory defaults.  It gives you much of the commonly used functionality of the full DCS system, but obviously not all of it.  One major omission is no control of smoke.

There is no issue running a DCS locomotive with the DCS Remote Commander and a TMCC/Legacy or LC/LC+ locomotive at the same time on the same track.

thanks John, can they be hooked up to a z4000 and control more than one loop?

You can only control a max of maybe 100 feet of track (or less, depending on the configuration), powered by a single power source with the DCS-RC.  When you start to talk about multiple tracks and power sources, you're talking about the full DCS system, i.e. the TIU.

What do you think would be the best option for my 5x8 layout. I have a z4000, one handle inner loop, one handle outer loop, with the loops connected.

If the loops are connected, what happens when the two handles are at different voltages? With those two short loops, for command operation, you could easily get by with a single power source.

The DCS-RC will only service a single power district, and it's really not practical to have multiple DCS-RC boxes as they would be interfering with each other.

I have a break in the center rail at the switches that way we are able to run conventional engines also.

Well, with two power districts, you couldn't control the whole layout with one DCS-RC, so you're really looking at a full TIU.

Would it make a difference if I hook this up at the power distribution block or can I plug into the z4000 directly?

There's no way to use the MTH 50-1033 with multiple power districts no matter where you connect it.  It was intended for small layouts.

I was going to use it for only one loop on my 5x9 layout, I have a set of wires that go from the transfer to a block that has multiple feeders to that one loop of track. Would it matter if I connect it there or at the transformer. I thought it would work on one loop.

It will work on one loop if the other loops have the center rail isolated from that loop.