Railmaster/Elink problems

[Londonboi1985]

Hi all

 

Got the Hornby Western Master Elink set for christmas

 

I am having a nightmare of a time with it and getting ready th throw the thing out the window lol

 

Basically i have installed the Railmaster to my computer  got the track set up to test it all out cot the UXB plugged into the back of my pc tower with the cable from usb to Elink the power cable from elink to sock and the track connection wires from track to Elink

 

green light is on on the elink and when i stat up railmaster it is comming up with the error

Couldnt find the dcc controller so trying port 1-15 then unable to oped the dsignated DCC controller port

Hornby Elink

Com1: 11520, None,8,1
Check the come port in the control panel then power down the dcc controller and restart railmaster

I have checked the com port in device manager it is matching what i have in the control panel in the program i have uninstallted the drivers ticked the bos reinstalled drivers and still this thing is doing it.  It is driving me insane

 

i am running windows 10 on the pc have tried running in capability mode and running as admin no joy any help i would appreciate

 

thanks

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

Did you allow RailMaster to update itself immediately after installing to version 1.63?

 

If you didn't do this, or your antivirus/firewall software blocked this then you can download and install manually from www.powerpos.com/rail-master/rm_setup.exe

It is important that you add RailMaster as a full exception to both your antivirus and firewall software as per the Internet Security PDF guide on your Windows desktop.

 

[Fishmanoz]

Hi Lb, can I say that either you've missed a number of steps in the full setup procedure, or you haven't described them all.  Updating to the latest version is the most important, as HRMS has just described. One other obvious thing is that, unless you have mistyped it, your baud rate is wrong.

 

Can I suggest you go back to the RM forum and start by looking at the second top locked thread and follow everything there, making sure you have done everything in the questions asked.  Then go to the thread titled Hornby Railmaster and look at the HRMS post towards the bottom of page 1 and make sure you have done all of that. 

 

And don't despair, initial setup can be a bit tricky, but you'll get there for sure.

[Londonboi1985]

what i am finding is in the device manager it is not listed as R**** Hornby Elink its just listed as USB Seriel Port 6

[RDS]

What version of RM are you running?

It is essential to follow the advice from HRMS and the steps listed in the thread that Fishy has mentioned.

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

"USB Serial Port" is the correct entry under LPT/Com ports in the Windows Device Manager.

Did you download and install the latest version, or allow RailMaster to download and install it itself after you installed from the CD?  Without this having happened you cannot proceed to further troubleshooting.

 

[Hairy]

Hi Lb, have you updated the E-link firmware to 1.7?

I recently tried to connect a spare E-link to my win10 laptop with no joy until I had upgraded the firmware.

There is a file in the Railmaster directory called elink107.

Connect the elink to your pc and run this file.

I had to use a pc running win7 to install the firmware update.

Since updating the firmware i've had no problems connecting to win10.

Hope this helps

 

Regards  Chris

 

It's very good of Railmaster support to work on Xmas day, thanks guys.

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

We make a point of being available thoughout Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day etc. every year as we want to avoid any disappointment.  Usually things are reasonably quiet, which is good news for users.

 

[Londonboi1985]

Hi Lb, have you updated the E-link firmware to 1.7?

I recently tried to connect a spare E-link to my win10 laptop with no joy until I had upgraded the firmware.

There is a file in the Railmaster directory called elink107.

Connect the elink to your pc and run this file.

I had to use a pc running win7 to install the firmware update.

Since updating the firmware i've had no problems connecting to win10.

Hope this helps

 

Regards  Chris

 

It's very good of Railmaster support to work on Xmas day, thanks guys.

hi there and thanks

 

yes is see that file when i click that file i get a ltitle warning box pop up saying IOException error in the port!

so cant install that unless you people know how to do that

 

also thanks for the help on xmas day

[Londonboi1985]

and th software is all updated yes drivers are showing as updated but it still cannot connect to it from the spanner icon in the menu when i select the port it is showing in device manager and train still wont move

[Hairy]

Hi Lb, that's the same error message that I was getting using win10, which is why I ended up using an old laptop running win7. If you have access to a pc running a version of windows earlier than win10 try copying the file to thet pc and run it from there.

Regards  Chris

[Londonboi1985]

thats the problem i dont have any other pc only this one that uses windows 10 :( so looks like i am stuck with a piece of equipment i cant use then :(

[Hairy]

Don't get disheartened Lb, i'm sure HRMS will be along shortly with a solution.

[Londonboi1985]

doubt it i am seing lots of posts about this not working on windows 10 :(

[Londonboi1985]

it just cannot pick it up in railmaster no matter what i do its saying it is not connected etc when it is and showing in port 4 and the raildriver been set to port 4 but it cannot located it

[NormanQ4]

Hi Lb, a little bit less of the defeatism is called for here.

You know that HRMS is aware of your problem and are obviously monitoring this thread.

I'm sure that HRMS will be able to solve the issues that you are having as they have done with myself and many others on the forum.

In the worst case scenario they will ask your permission to enter your PC remotely to fix the problem.

It's actually quite interesting watching them problem solving and fixing the things that you thought you had already fixed.

If you reply to this post saying that you are still in trouble I'm sure they will get back to you.

Don't lose faith, IT WILL BE FIXED!

I don't think anyone has been left in the lurch by the very professional team at HRMS.

[Londonboi1985]

yeah thanks its just frustrating tbh trying to get it to work when it wont

 

can i ask are you on windows 10 64bit

[Londonboi1985]

ok its 0323am now and i am giving up for the night lol

 

basically this is what i have done tonight

Deleted the program and drivers again

Downloaded the up to date version of railmaster from the link on this site

Installed the latest driver from the hornby downloads for the elite (elite uses the same drivers as elink)

set it as admin when running and installing

allowing it to run in my windows firewall

I dont seem to have any internet security i did have macafee when i got the pc for a fre etrial that ran out and i have since deleted it off my system i cannot find any internet security programs in my program files so i assume i have none installed on my system to let the program run through as i never get any pop ups etc etc advising me of dangerious sites

 

All in all doing the above i am no where near getting this to work

 

Railmaster loads up and is activiated with the key in the cd sleeve i got.  the internet icon is green i have added the 2 lines to the text file all this does is tells me to disconned the cables the insert the power cable and tick a box then a new window pops up telling me to connect the usb connector then it fails to regognise it and starts it again remove the cables etc

 

i have set the port as port 4 which is the usb it is plugged into and this matches the device manager

the 2 usb ports on the front of my pc do not work as there faulty so it has to go to one in the back these ports come up as 4,5,15 so i put it in 4 i have tried it in the other 2 same results

 

again i am running windows 10 64bit

 

There is powe rcoming through it all when i put the loco on the track i can hear it accepting the current from the rails but it just wont budge as the elink is not getting connected to the railmaster for some strange reason if i can just get it to connect together i will be fine

 

Sorry for the long post and if any grammar it is now 0330am lol

 

i hope to get this working soon folks and thank you for your help in helping me

[Fozzy Bear]

Gday LB. I had a similar problem when Railmaster updated to 1.63. I found that when I set the port speed to 57600  , it connected and allowed the firmware update to my elink. Once it had done this, I set the speed back to 115200 and away it went.

Might be worth a try, sure can't hurt

 

Bryan

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

The first thing to note is that the eLink is a straightforward piece of kit with an industry-standard microcontroller and USB system at the heart of it.  It will connect to all versions of Windows going right back to 98, which means that any problems which arise can only be one of two things a) a faulty eLink (or USB lead or power suppply) or b) USB settings or system not right on the hosting PC (most likely in this case).

You have said something quite interesting, in that the front USB ports on your computer are faulty.  Ultimately, all USB ports on a PC are linked to the same USB subsystem controller on a motherboard so the question is, is your PC's motherboard the root of this problem.  This may be the case if nnne of te following resolves this.

You have reinstalled the RailMaster software (although there is almost never a requirement to do this) and you have installed the eLink driver, however it seems you have not allowed Windows to find it itself.  It is also not clear if you were ever invited to update RailMaster automatically after first installing an running, or whether you had to do this manually.  This is important as if RailMaster did not update itself automatically this is a sign that something on your PC is interfering with the program (most likely antivirus software, with McAfee and Norton being the most aggresssive).

It is important that every detail is covered when you run into problems otherwise you can spend hours going round in circles, as you have found.  Let us therefore ask these questions (some of them again) and see if we can get answers.

1. Did your RailMaster invite you to update to the latest version after installation?

2. Have you ensured that RailMaster has been correctly added as a full exeption to both your antivirus and firewall software? (Do not assume this is the case - check it)

3. Did you go through the Internet Security PDF guide on your Windows dektop to enure 2. above

4. Are you using McAfee?

5. Is your PC a standard or home-built one?

6. Did you also check the box "Delete driver" when you uninstalled the USB driver, as you indicated you did?

7. Did you allow Windows to download and install the driver afresh without you having to manually point to the driver on your hard drive?

8. After powering up is the green light on your eLink steady on or flashing? (if flashing it is faulty and needs to be replaced, although this is very rare)

If all of the above are overed then the system WILL work.  If you miss any point or assume it is okay you will continue to have problems.

If you still have problems then you can send us a Help Request from within RailMaster as we can see what we can do to find out more about what is happening on your particular computer.

[NormanQ4]

yeah thanks its just frustrating tbh trying to get it to work when it wont

 

can i ask are you on windows 10 64bit

 Yes, Windows 10 Home 64-bit, pre-installed not updated from Win 8.

[Fozzy Bear]

I hate to be Captain Obvious, but how can you hear a train accepting current from the rails? Do you hear a ticking noise? This is a short on your layout somewhere and the elink will not connect to your puter whist the short is there.

 

 

Actually I love being Captain Obvious but don't tell anyone

[Londonboi1985]

Hello all thank you for trying to help

 

to answer questions

 

hornby helper to answer a question you highlighted I know these usb at the back are working as there used to plug the bluetooth for my mouse and keyboard and wheel I use to play games

i am pointing it to my rail master software as stated in the manual

 

yes it is added as a accreption to my firewall and I ticked the box when uninstalling the driver

 

i do not have any internet security installed I trawled all through my program files cannot see any

 

i can hear the train making a small noise it is not ticking no I used to have a select years ago so I know the noise you on about I popped a small led into the track it lit up so power is reaching the rails 

It is not flashing green it is steady 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Londonboi1985]

Also yes it is updating the software when I open rail master it informs me there is a free update available would I like to download and install this now which I select yes to then it does a new install and I end up with 2 railmastet icons on my desktop. the new one and the out of date one I first installed. So I only use the new one 

[Fishmanoz]

Lb, I'm going to be a little negative for a start in order for you to get a positive result, and I can assure you you will.  First negative is that I and HRMS have asked you to go through a complete process of a number of steps and, as HRMS has said, it is essential you have done all of them.  I know you think you have but I can just about guarantee you haven't, otherwise it would now be working. You say you've found lots of people who haven't been able to get it working on W10, that is simply not true as, if you follow those through, you will find it worked in the end and it worked by following all of the steps.

 

Now a couple of things that have come up in the thread, apart from following all of the steps.  Again as HRMS said, don't uninstall and reinstall the software, it's not necessary.  Just install the latest from the link.  Throw your CD in the bin, it isn't the latest so it is useless.  You were asked about latest firmware, this should be installed as part of the installation of the latest version, and it will only happen once.

 

So I'm thinking you have a blind spot in that you think you followed the steps but in fact haven't.  So do this - from the RM Help window, email HRMS and tell them who you are and they've been trying to help in this thread.  You should get an immediate auto acknowledgement back and come back here if you don't.  Within an hour or two you should have a real reply and they will have some additional advice based on information on your system that goes to them with your email.  If you aren't able to fix it yourself from what they suggest you do, they will ask to log into your PC and they will fix it, guaranteed 99.99%.

 

Good luck and keep telling us how you're going and when it's working.