Baz48 Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Hi Everybody, I am thinking of investing in installing railmaster and e link to replace my select controller and I would welcome comments from you guys out there who use the system.I have a laptop which is several years old and runs on the now obsolete Windows Vista operating system which I believe is compatable with the system.- This is a sizeable investment for me and I want to do the research before I purchase and would appreciate anyconsrtuctive comments from experienced users. Many Thanks and Best Regards to you all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choralc Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Baz, I'm sure there will be a few contributors who will tell you to bin/ditch/drawer the Select and get the eLink. The eLink/RM package is far superior and well worth the investment paricularly if they come in a Train Set. As you might see from my signature I, too, am using a VISTA era machine. I did need, however, RM Support to remotely fix some settings and remove a lot of ACER bloatware to get iPad hand held to work properly, which may not be the case for your machine. So go ahead and treat yourself this Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Hi Baz, I'm not an eLink user myself so can't answer from personal experience. However, it's clear from all that's been posted on these forums that, for a start, the system works giving full functionality for DCC and is simpler to set up on older versions of Windows such as Vista than it is on current versions. Its also fair to say that some on here prefer RM and Elite to RM and eLink as they like to be able to run locos directly from Elite's knobs rather than RM on the PC screen, but that is a much more expensive solution and you seem to be budget conscious. And many use only eLink too. Can I suggest you start by downloading RM from the link at the top of the RM forum and have a play with it in evaluation mode to see what you think. Obviously you won't be able to run any locos as it doesn't work with Select but you will still be able to set up a couple of locos in evaluation mode and see the way the system handles them. And you can play with the track plans that come with it and start to put in your own. Then if you decide to buy, all you need to do is enter the licence code that comes with your purchase and you are up and running (after going through the eLink setup procedures). Also when you download it, it downloads the full manual and a few other manuals to your desktop so you will be able to do some reading about it too.t PS. Glad CS and I didn't contradict each other, we were replying at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westernwill Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Bear in mind that you need to get the Elink/Railmaster package if you decide to go this route.I am not sure if buying through the RM package itself will get you the Elink.You cannot buy the Elink by itself, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanQ4 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I have been using RM and Elink for over a year.I haven't used any other system other than analogue many years ago.I'm generally happy with it but just like other computer systems with licenced software when things go wrong you are often relying on others to fix it.If you don't live in the UK then your contactable time window can be significantly shortened ie. Adelaide, Australia around 3.5 hours.I had to contact HRMS last week and it was a few days before we got to talk to each other.The previous occasion when I had to contact them earlier this year was also a slow process.The end result this time was that my PC was too slow and I should replace it.I replaced it on Friday with a Win 10 installed PC and was then unable to activate the RM software.I tried all the suggestions in the forum to no avail so have been waiting all weekend for HRMS to return to work today.It's a waiting game so if you don't have patience it may not be for you.I know many on the forum are completely satisfied with this combination, and I would like to be too, and I have every confidence that one day I will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDS Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I am not sure of exact prices because of course it depends on where you are and where you can buy it but in the UK, RailMaster on its own seems to be around £60 and the RailMaster & e-link combination costs around £80. Although I do not use it myself, (I prefer the added manual control offered by Elite) it seems much better value to buy the RailMaster package with e-link included. The values I have quoted are very approximate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Norman, there was no need to wait all weekend, HRMS works 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinE Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Up until recently I would have said go for the RM/e-link package but after my recent experience with my RM's failure and lack of HRMS backup I cannot say that anymore. It appears from the many posts I've read that I was unlucky to have not received the backup others have received. I have since changed systems completely and because of this experience will offer this advice, use a computer program by all means as it does add a further dimension to running a layout but make sure you use a controller like an elite as well so that when the computer program gliches, which it will do, you can still run trains until you sort out the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornbyRailMasterSupport Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 "ColinE". Please would you contact us about the apparent lack of support you have received as we have no outstanding matters where people are not aware that we are looking into an issue they may be having.We reply to all emails and Help Requests promptly and offer (unofficially) out of hours support, even on Christmas Day.If you recognise that others have been supported and you apparently have not this would indicate a fundamental communications issue from your computer to our support system, i.e. incorrect email address used, antivirus/firewall software blocking your Help Requests.When you also say "When the computer program glitches, which it will do .... " this is misleading as the vast majority of users do not have problems with RailMaster and where they do in most cases these are due to the software being interefered with by antivirus/firewall software or a driver not having been installed correctly.If you contact us directly perhaps we can help you with your issues. You will find the Help Request function in the Help/About screen and it is documented in the RailMaster PDF guide. If you have difficulty sending us a Help Request befcause your antivirus/firewall software is preventing this then you can email us directly at support@rail-master.com.If your antivirus/firewall software is not allowing RailMaster to communicate with our servers then you should read the Internet Security PDF guide, also on your Windows desktop, to ensure you have added RailMaster correctly as a full exception to both your antivirus and firewall software and also set the program to run with Administrator rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornbyRailMasterSupport Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Norman, you will remember that we spent a considerable time logged into your PC trying every conceivable option before coming to the conclusion that your computer was not suitable to run RailMaster, especially with what you wanted to do. This is very rare as RailMaster was developed to be able to run on relatively old and not so powerful hardware, but something you have to admit defeat.You will also recall the problems with us trying to connect to your computer after several attempts and the limited time you were available (notwithstanding the time difference between the UK and Australia), which will have served to introduce delays with resolving your issues.We have, as yet, not received any communication from you over the last weekend or up until 14:15 our time on Monday so if you would like to get in touch we can assist you further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinE Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 "ColinE". Please would you contact us about the apparent lack of support you have received as we have no outstanding matters where people are not aware that we are looking into an issue they may be having.We reply to all emails and Help Requests promptly and offer (unofficially) out of hours support, even on Christmas Day.If you recognise that others have been supported and you apparently have not this would indicate a fundamental communications issue from your computer to our support system, i.e. incorrect email address used, antivirus/firewall software blocking your Help Requests.When you also say "When the computer program glitches, which it will do .... " this is misleading as the vast majority of users do not have problems with RailMaster and where they do in most cases these are due to the software being interefered with by antivirus/firewall software or a driver not having been installed correctly.If you contact us directly perhaps we can help you with your issues. You will find the Help Request function in the Help/About screen and it is documented in the RailMaster PDF guide. If you have difficulty sending us a Help Request befcause your antivirus/firewall software is preventing this then you can email us directly at support@rail-master.com.If your antivirus/firewall software is not allowing RailMaster to communicate with our servers then you should read the Internet Security PDF guide, also on your Windows desktop, to ensure you have added RailMaster correctly as a full exception to both your antivirus and firewall software and also set the program to run with Administrator rights. I 'have' been in contact with you through the help screen, there is no communication problem between us, my original help request was answered two days after being sent (the automatic reply came the same day) with instructions from yourselves which I duly followed, after that there was a dialogue of 6 e-mails and as I have said in a previous thread I was of the opinion my messages had not been read correctly. The last but one e-mail gave some more advice and offered to take over my computer, I replied requesting you did just that and I got a further e-mail a day later asking again if you could take over my computer which yet again I requested you did and I've heard nothing since. These last six e-mails were through the normal e-mail delivery service so it has nothing to do with antivirus and RM. In fact my RM computer didnt have any antivirus or spyware programs on it at all as it was only used for the railway.I think in my previous post that I was completely fair to RM by stating that I recognised other people had received help. Finally if you think glitches are unusual I suggest you read your Railmaster forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz48 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Many Thanks to all who have responded to my posting, - I have received loads of good advice to consider especially the excellent advice from Fishmanoz, I will follow this advice and then make a decision,Again Many Thanks, There are certainly a lot of very experienced and learned people contributing to this Forum, It is extremely useful for beginners and "returners" such as myself (after many years when 3 rail systems were the norm with 2 rail sysrems just coming in! ).Best Regards To All, Baz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornbyRailMasterSupport Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 "ColinE". As explained before, we do not have any outstanding emails from you. If you had invited us to connect to your computer and we had suggested it why would we then ignore your emails. It does not make sense. Did the possibility that we had never received your last email occur to you? We have still not received any further direct communication from you outside this forum despite us asking you to email us. Perhaps you no longer need any help?We never said that glitches are unusual. We merely questioned your opinion that everybody must have glitches. This in not a fair comment.It is odd that you will talk about your apparent lack of help on this forum however will not communicate with us directly when invited to do so. It is just rather strange.You know how to reach us if you want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanQ4 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Norman, there was no need to wait all weekend, HRMS works 24/7. I didn't wait all weekend to contact them I did that on Friday. I waited on them to contact me.I've seen this 24/7 claim before on the forum so accepted it as being true.When I was having some trouble communicating with them last week I asked what their business hours were.Here it is direct from the horses mouth so to speak.Business hours are 9 :00am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday but sometimes someone may be around on the weekend. I usually go to bed around 11:00 pm so with the Adelaide time difference that leaves a communication window of around 3.5 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinE Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 "ColinE". As explained before, we do not have any outstanding emails from you. If you had invited us to connect to your computer and we had suggested it why would we then ignore your emails. It does not make sense. Did the possibility that we had never received your last email occur to you? We have still not received any further direct communication from you outside this forum despite us asking you to email us. Perhaps you no longer need any help?We never said that glitches are unusual. We merely questioned your opinion that everybody must have glitches. This in not a fair comment.It is odd that you will talk about your apparent lack of help on this forum however will not communicate with us directly when invited to do so. It is just rather strange.You know how to reach us if you want to.I have just emailed a complete set of the correspondence that occurred between us from the 11th Nov to 20th Nov. It includes my original help request from the RM program and all 7 of your replies to my further emails. As you will see I requested twice that you log on to my computer and my last email was never answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornbyRailMasterSupport Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 And to conclude this "ColinE", if we had been communicating with you, and we answer all emails, the fact that we had not answered your last email may just suggest that we did not receive it? We have now received you email entitled "Help Request unanswered". Of course the Help Request was in fact answered as you know. Perhaps we can now help you resolve your issues.A note to all: We answer all Help Requests and emails. We never ignore them. If you do not receive a response to a Help Request or email it can only be because we have not received it and you should try again. If you are seeing errors when trying to send a Help Request from within RailMaster it is most likely because your antivirus/firewall software is blocking the sending process. You should read the Internet Security PDF guide on your Windows desktop and ensure the following:- 1. RailMaster has been added correctly (verify this) to both your antivirus and firewall software, including Windows firewall if applicable2. That you have set your RailMaster icon to start with Administrator rights3. That you have set your RailMaster icon to have full permissions for all users Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornbyRailMasterSupport Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 "ColinE" - in case you do not receive our email or we do not receive your reply we are just letting you know that we have sent you an email asking for an up-to-date review of the issue you are having, after which we can log into your PC if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Baz, thanks for acknowledging the assistance given, always appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geochoice Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Railmaster and elink work perfectly well together, personally I prefer a knob to control loocs so use N*E but RM is a great system and controls me entire layout for points etc. It also does away with the need for a track plan as it is all on screen of course. HMRS are brilliant, always been there for me and have sorted a couple of issues but more importantly the members of the forum usually step in and guide me, thanks to all, Chrissaf and Fishy in particular. Merry Christmas everyone, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Mentioned in the same breath as Chris, wow. Merry Christmas to you too geo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geochoice Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 You have both always been there for me, and not being very pc savvy always helpful never sarcastic, sincerely thank you. I am building a new layout shortly so I may well be back for more assistance though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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