Help I'm confused

[paddythedog]

I recently bought the Hornby e-link and railmaster software along with the R8247 Points decoder hoping to drive a small DCC layout from my laptop.  It is not a pre-boxed train set.

I am using Peco Code 100 track (00 Gauge) and have four live "Electrofrog" points on the layout.  I had planned to solder the power wires directly to the outside of the rails and also control the points with Peco PL10-E Point motors connected to the Points decoder.  

No point clips or "programming track" as described in the railmaster instructions were supplied with the e-link box, nor any other kind of connector to actually connect it to the track.

I am now at a loss as to how I should actually power the layout.     In addition to this I am unable to activate the full version of the railmaster software despite running as administrator on Windows 7.   

Can anyone please advise. 

[Chrissaf]

Paddy, welcome to the forum with your 1st post.

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You seem to have a number of concurrent issues. From wiring up, to setting up, to software activation. To try and provide a reply to such a wide range of issues would require writing a 'war and peace' reply. It would be best to split your issues into manageable chunks.

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You are not the first to ask such similar questions, but not necessarily all in the same post. As a result of these regularly posted questions, locked posts in the forum have been created where common issues that arise time and time again are answered.

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Initially, I suggest you review these previous posts and work systematically through them. For example, your RM is stuck in evaluation mode because you haven't yet been able to activate it. This is a Firewall / Anti-virus configuration issue (guaranteed to be the case) see reference to Security guide below.

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The posts I am referring to for you to review are the locked post "Railmaster: Setting Up and Getting Started" located at the top of the forum Railmaster section, and "Getting Started with Extension Track Packs" for information on power and programming track located at the top of the forum 'General Section'. Note that this track guide was written for Hornby track not Peco, but the principles of connectivity are the same. When reading the guide note that you do not fit Hornby DCC point clips to Peco electrofrog points, but you will need to provide additional power feeds to make all track live. Note also that Peco electrofrog points require insulating track joiners on the output rails of the Peco frog rails. This means that additional track feeds are even more important to implement else you will end up with dead sections of track.

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Follow the guidance in these two informative posts. Then come back to document any outstanding issues that you might still have.

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PS - To activate your RM software, you MUST follow the instructions in the Hornby 'Security.pdf' guide installed on your PC desktop by the RM installation program.

[Howbi]

@ptd..........the programming track is just a long straight or a Rolling Road...........the power track connectors for Peco are ST-273, they just push into the track where required, best to have seperate ones for the prog track............not sure if you need point clips if using Electrofrog points!.....they need careful wiring.  HB.

[Chrissaf]

Addendum to my last post.

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The PC I wrote my previous reply on last night didn't have access to my browser bookmarks. Here are two web resources that will help you with DCC wiring (powering your layout) and Peco electrofrog points.

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Model Railway Wiring

Brian Lambert

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At first glance, the info presented on these web sites might appear daunting. That is because they are covering every permutation of DCC. The basics is all you need for a simple DCC layout where based on Peco Code 100 electrofrog track as yours is. All track live and Peco SL-11 (code 100 rail - 1 x pack of 12 [8 required for 4 points]) insulated joiners where necessary.

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My own layout is all Peco (switched live electrofrog). As you can solder (inferred in your original post), I highly recommend making all track connections via 'directly soldered to track' wires (termed droppers) to a pair of DCC distribution wires running under the baseboard (termed a BUS). All track droppers MUST connect to the BUS so that the left rail and the right rail each go to their respective BUS wire. If you inadvertently connect a left rail and a right rail to the SAME BUS wire then you will get a short that will be very difficult to find. I would use colour coded wiring and check for a short every time you make a 'dropper to BUS' connection to eliminate errors.

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Some on here use the wagon technique to prevent dropper wiring shorts. Take a small wagon apply a bit of tape to one side. Decide on a wire colour (I shall use Red in this explanation). Now push the truck around the track (never lift it off). Now whenever you stop the truck at an intended dropper connection location. You solder the Red wire to the rail associated with the tape side of the truck and your other dropper colour (say Black for example) to the rail on the non tape side of the truck. If you never lift the truck off the track, then the left rail will always be the left rail and the right rail will always be the right. This technique however requires all the track to be laid first. If you deploy this technique I would only lightly fix the track in place in case it needs to be lifted to reposition to resolve running issues (derailments etc) found when testing. Once testing complete OK, then fix permanently.