Short Circuits on 1.62

[Michael_A]

But don't anyone dare to call it 'flaky'. They have had the cheek to reprimand me publicly (twice) on this forum now for saying that!

[96RAF]

But don't anyone dare to call it 'flaky'. They have had the cheek to reprimand me publicly (twice) on this forum now for saying that!

 

Been there, done that, etc....

...they do react badly to critiscism on the forum.

Support is good though especially out of hours.

[AncientMariner]

We do seem to be going through a bad patch right now. But RM is better than a year or so ago. I hope I'm not tempting fate, but I'm no longer having to restart RM to get points to change, or to regain control of loco's. Handhelds seem to be improved, particularly connectivity. Mind you some users of Win 10 must be right royally p***ed off.

 

I would like to see proper version/revision control re-instated: I'm losing track of all the revised 1.62s floating around. A formal bug tracking system would be good too.

 

Seems like we've been here before: "It's like deja-vu, all over again."

 

AM

[mallone]

EUREKA!!!!!!! Problem with getting no short circuit box now solved by HMRS.

After downloading Railmaster again and still not getting any further with this problem I contacted HMRS and they told me to make sure that two lines in Railmaster.ini files were present in the list.(Alternative comms=1" and "Check controller=1). I checked this and found the the two lines diidn't exist in the list. HMRS then said to add the two lines to the list myself and all is now working fine.

THANK YOU LADS AT HMRS....ONCE AGAIN YOU HAVE COME UP WITH THE GOODS!!!

John.

[96RAF]

So hopefully the default .ini file will now include these lines and all we need to do is delete our existing ini file, reload the latest rev0 to v1.62 of RM which will reinstate the new .ini file and all will be well or have I jumped the gun.

 

...I almost feel an upgrade to Win 10 coming on.....or should I wait till years end as cautioned by John (yelrow).

[AncientMariner]

Hmmm. Tried that a while back here on XP (it shouldn't matter which OS) - whilst it stopped the repeated display of the "short circuit" tile, it also prevented all other feedback from my Elite, and it didn't display the "short circuit" when it was supposed to.

 

AM

[Fishmanoz]

AM, see the posts immediately above.  You need to download the latest v1.62 from the link and check those lines in your .ini file.  It is now easy to update that if needed via the cog wheel in the Help window.

[96RAF]

Having just done all that and invoked a coin test my Elite shows ERROR but RM is blissfully unaware. 

 

I  reset the controllers using the klittle red square and it goes through the motions but the Elite is still showing ERROR until I ESC the fault.

 

Using Win 8.1 not Win 10 - a step too far at present until I see 100% reliability from RM/Win10....

[AncientMariner]

That sounds like what I'm seeing here. However, HRMS pointed out to me that the Elite does not respond to a remote reset unlike the eLink, so that bit is a feature not a bug. Even if it were all working correctly you would still need to ESC the fault.

 

AM

[WilliamDavid]

But don't anyone dare to call it 'flaky'. They have had the cheek to reprimand me publicly (twice) on this forum now for saying that!

So that's why I had a post rejected, counts as profane language, it seems.

 

[Jayah]

EUREKA!!!!!!! Problem with getting no short circuit box now solved by HMRS.

After downloading Railmaster again and still not getting any further with this problem I contacted HMRS and they told me to make sure that two lines in Railmaster.ini files were present in the list.(Alternative comms=1" and "Check controller=1). I checked this and found the the two lines diidn't exist in the list. HMRS then said to add the two lines to the list myself and all is now working fine.

THANK YOU LADS AT HMRS....ONCE AGAIN YOU HAVE COME UP WITH THE GOODS!!!

John.

Very good John - thank you for sharing this. Worked for me on 1.63, no short circuit notifications, now fixed, on Windows 7.

Anyone else attempting this - note there is a thread on using copy and replace to get around 'Access Denied' when you try to save the revisions to the .ini file:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/railmasterini-file/?p=1

WHAT a tribulation this product is. I had to reinstall Windows after Windows Update got stuck and could neither update nor be repaired.

I had to install Railmaster, uninstall Railmaster because Windows wouldn't even identify the device if the Elink / Railmaster part is done the wrong way around. Even when it is done the right way around, the ELink driver needs to be found and selected manually from the Railmaster program files.

Then I needed to ask for a key reset (I didn't deactivate it before factory resetting), then Railmaster updated itself from the CD version, then the Elink wanted to update to 1.07 as well. This promptly failed as it couldn't decide what firmware version elink was using and had to be done manually. 

Over 2hrs doing something that should take 20mins, only to find at the first short circuit the whole show needs to be rebooted because of something that never used to be a problem. At one stage the ELink even went back to being an unkown device. That takes some beating!

None of the other many and varied programs I have reinstalled today have asked for a key to be reset - it is bad enough to need one in the first place (remember that cardboard sleeve from the year dot? It is on the back!)

I suppose I should be thankful that as a new Windows install Elink went straight into Com Port 3, unlike last time when the Elink went at an address that couldn't be read by Railmaster and then had to be reassigned manually.

Dear Hornby - please take 6 months out from fripperies like automated turntable operation, carriage lighting and loco detection and get the basics sorted out. Access to ini files is denied for a good reason - we should not need to change them! Plug and Play, Plug and Play.

[Fishmanoz]

For Jay and others reading this:

 

Dont keep uninstalling and reinstalling RM, it is completely unnecessary.   But do keep your licence code in case.

 

Do download and install or update to the latest version (currently 1.63 rev 3) from the link at the top of the RM forum.

 

The RM ini file does need change from time to time to suit your circumstances.  But don't fiddle around with editing the file with Notepad, click on the gear wheel at the bottom of the Help window and do it with the facility put in RM for the purpose, much simpler.

 

Do go and read the HRMS post in the Hornby Railmaster thread on page 1 and do everything they suggest.

 

Jay, you seem to be in a right muddle.  If my post so far hasn't sorted you out, email HRMS from within the Help window of RM and they will.

 

And just one final thing - you put this post on the bottom of an old thread while your problem has been solved on multiple occasions in newer threads.

[Jayah]

Thanks Fish, I do now have it working. I searched the forum for short circuits and there are only 4 threads this one referencing specifically in the fact the short circuit notification has been taken away.

John's reply worked but I had to search the forum again for Access denied - I did not realise the file can be edited from the help screen.

I seemed to have no choice but to reinstall, because I did install Rail master and connect eLink in the wrong order. This meant Windows would detect eLink as an unknown device no matter what I did to either. This means it is impossible to install any drivers to it, even manually.

As a paying customer, I will reiterate the following key points: 

1) The short circuit notification / restart screen should never have been removed and pretty basic testing would have prevented this happening by mistake. Once discovered this should be corrected in an updste, not by making customers change code.

2) If Adobe and others can let you reinstall from a disk without resetting the key, I don't see why this product should be more difficult. Imagine having to deregister all my keys...

3) The installation process is weak, unstable, over-complicated and time consuming. I have a disk and an elink, I plug in, run the disk and go. No manual driver selection, firmware recognition issues, port detection problems, no unrecognised devices. Plug and play.

4) I should not have to edit the INI file. Ever. No other program requires this. This is what updates are for. Both the eLink and Rail master spent considerable time updating after the CD install, I should not be changing the INI to correct defects in the update, which worked fine in earlier versions.

[Fishmanoz]

Just some further info for others on some points made by Jay.

 

There is no wrong order of installing RM and connecting eLink.  If there were, HRMS's final instruction on manual installation of drivers in their post at page 1 of the Hornby Railmaster thread wouldn't work, and it does.

 

Throw away your CD, there is no point in installing an out of date version from it, ever.  Install from the link at the top of the RM forum, that is always the latest.  If you are having a problem at any subsequent time, download and install again, there may be a subsequent revision that will fix your problem.

 

Don't uninstall and reinstall, it isn't necessary.  If you absolutely have to for some particular reason, deactivate the software first, then reactivation will be simply a matter of re-entering your code.

 

Do check the correct lines and values are in your ini file, and edit from the gear wheel in the Help screen.  It is there so that a whole heap of things can be adjusted for your particular layout and equipment. That includes Windows version, whether eLink or Elite, how fast the accessory decoders for your points recharge, how fast your TT traverses, the list goes on.  There are so many things that might need adjustment, only the more frequent can be accommodated in the RM setup screens, the less frequent are in the ini file.

[old trainman]

I find the usb link between RM and elite is not at all robust. Any short circuit that shuts down the Elite controller causes the usb link to fail. The only solution I have found to resetting it is to open the setup dialogue box, change the comms channel to any other one listed ( usually comms 1 on my setup) let RM try to find it. then reopen the setup dialogue, set the comms to the one you normally use, switch on the Elite ( or unplug and replug the usb connector) and allow RM to remake the link. 

All this is very tedious, but at least works every time. I think the problem is with RM not clearing the usb link properly and therefore preventing it resuming after a shutdown. 

[Chrissaf]

I find the usb link between RM and elite is not at all robust. Any short circuit that shuts down the Elite controller causes the usb link to fail.

.

Very strange.....I have no such issues with RM connected to an Elite. After a short, I just press the 'Escape' button on the Elite and everything resumes (provided what caused the short is removed).

.

Have you installed the very latest version of RM (download link at top of forum RM section).

.

Have you got the additional two lines in your railmaster.ini file that are recommended see this thread 5th post down by HRMS. Review page 33 of the 1.63 manual to see how to access and edit your .INI file.

[96RAF]

If you 'lose' comms with the controller(s) in RM then go no further than the Big RED Stop button. Within it is a small red square, which resets the controller(s) without having to close and reopen RM.

 

This is separate from a short indication (Error) on the Elite, which as stated by others can be ESC'd to restore track power.