Ditching Elink for Elite

[Spireblade]

Hi. After one too many problems with Elink I am seriously thinking of ditching it for the seemingly more reliable Elite. Could someone inform me as to what I need to do to change over. Will I need to change software? If so will I have to pay for it AGAIN as Hornby seem to like you to do, and does the Elite come with the software disc?

I am so disgruntled with the Elink. It works when it wants to, but mostly communication errors. 

Thankyou

[96RAF]

I presume we are talking about RM software, in which case all you have to do is swap over the elink and elite and in the RM setup screen pick elite as your controller A. You should then adjust the railmaster .ini file per the widely posted instructions on the RM forum to ensure elite feedback and comms is correctly configured.

[Spireblade]

Thankyou

[RB51]

You will also find that the Baud rate is different. R-

[Spireblade]

So no extra costs then? ( other than the elite itself)

[Chrissaf]

None

[Spireblade]

[Rog RJ]

Problem is, will changing from elink to Elite solve the problem or is it the Railmaster software or PC that's causing the problem?

[RDS]

@Spireblade

It is a personal choice of course but I would always go for Elite over eLink because I prefer to be able to use the manual control knobs occasionally and not be reliant on having to turn on a computer to get RM up and running.

 

With Elite and RM, you can use just the Elite on its own, or use RM or use a combination of both.  

 

As Rog(RJ) says above though - you need to ensure that the problem is eLink, otherwise you may have the same problem again when controlling from Elite.

 

I am pretty sure that there is not a reliability problem with eLink and most of the problems that people seemed to have had when operating eLink (or Elite for that matter), have actually been a problem with their PC, quite often Virus Software or a Firewall.

[Spireblade]

Thanks for the info.

Im using a brand new windows 10 laptop with only antivirus and Google Chrome on as well as Railmaster. I have reinstalled RM  to no avail which makes me think its the Elink. It is assigned to port 3 but I am forever getting the on screen message to unplug the USB and leave 5 seconds before retrying. I nearly threw it through the flippin  window!

 

If I did a reinstall of Windows 10 and then reinstalled RM would I have deactivate the old version first?

[Chrissaf]

Spire. Please do check your railmaster.ini file (click the cog icon in the RM, Help, About, window). Make sure these two lines are there:

Alternative comms=1

Check controller=1

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Even if they are there and regardless of their current values. Delete them and rewrite them at the end of the railmaster.ini file as the last two lines. Another forum user recently cured his eLink issue by rewriting the above two lines at the end of his .INI file. In theory it shouldn't make any difference where the two lines appear in the .INI file, but it did appear to make a difference in the other users experience.

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Save the file and exit the editor.

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Close down RM and restart it, to ensure that the edited .ini file is loaded. Then monitor RM for recurrence of the USB error behavior. No guarantee that it will be any different but it is worth a punt.

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If I did a reinstall of Windows 10 and then reinstalled RM would I have deactivate the old version first?

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Yes, else your current version of RM will be locked out.

[Spireblade]

Dumbfounded. Reinstalled Windows 10 and a fresh updated version of RM. Attempted to write a CV to the new Rm.

Was called away to eat and on my return the CV had updated correctly but a Class 47 (not the one that came with the majestic set) had mysteriously set itself going and rammed the buffers in a siding, wheels still turning! I hadnt even got it programmed in. Its primary address was 48 so it shouldnt have been an issue at all.

Just wierd!!!

[RDS]

@Spireblade

Are you using a separate programming track, completely separate from your layout?

[Spireblade]

Yes. All seperate.

 

Anyway, just bought myself an Elite and so far so good. I've been advised to send the Elink back to Hornby as its still under warranty ans see what they think. Rails in Sheffield have come accross a fair few problems with Elink and were not surprised to hear of mine.

[Chrissaf]

If you want the Elite controller knob (throttle) positions to feedback into RM and move in sync with the appropriate loco RM throttle sliders. Then make sure "Elite feedback=1" is added to your .INI file.

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Just for complete clarity, you have to select the loco using the physical Elite loco selecting procedure so that you can control it using the Elite physical knob. Let's say for example a loco with DCC address 11. Then with the "feedback" entry added to the .INI file, the RM slider on screen associated with loco address 11 will move in sync. If you then want to continue using the slider in RM instead of the physical knob, then that will work too. In other words, the Elite will accept either loco throttle control method simultaneously in real time. Note: that the second throttle in ProPack should also do this, but doesn't. Outstanding RM bug. At least I think it is still outstanding as I don't use ProPack.

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This means (using Standard Pack RM) you could have three locos under simultaneous control. One on screen using a throttle slider (large throttle) and two physical via Elite knobs, but with two small throttle sliders moving in sync controlled by the two Elite physical knobs.

[Spireblade]

I am finding the ini file thing going way over my head but I will eventually get there with it. 

Does RM allow you to choose locos that I've just programmed into the Elite and vice versa? (as in if loco number 1, class 55, would show up on the RM screen?)

[Chrissaf]

I am finding the ini file thing going way over my head but I will eventually get there with it. 

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I have given a fuller description to .INI file editing in your other new post you have just made. See clickable link at bottom of this reply.

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Does RM allow you to choose locos that I've just programmed into the Elite and vice versa? (as in if loco number 1, class 55, would show up on the RM screen?)

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I don't understand the question. If you mean that you have given your locos "names" within the Elite menu system. Are these names automatically transferred to RM, to display on screen, then the answer is NO.

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From a RM perspective. Controlling your locos from within RM is exactly the SAME as you are used to, when you used your eLink. There is no difference. The screen displays for the locos are the same, the control of the locos is the same. The setting up and configuration of the locos is the same. The Elite is just a DCC interface box to get your DCC digital signals from your copy of RM onto the track and into the loco and accessory decoders.

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The only additional function of the Elite that is fedback into RM are the throttles, as I described in my previous reply above in this thread.

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Link to the other new question on the same topic:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/ini-file-15677/?p=1

[Spireblade]

Ok, thanks for your time (and patience). I think we have lift off!

 

:-)

[Spireblade]

Well after a few days "issue free" all points to a faulty Elink. As I bought it direct from Hornby I will send it back. 

I really like the Elite, the speed controls especially but the only thing I find strange is the direction arrows are the opposite way round to Railmaster. The left arrow is forwards rather than backwards as I expected.

Anyway, no more communication issues and no runaway locos.

[96RAF]

You can change the direction problem to accord with UK railway convention i.e. trains enter a station from the right therefore left arrow is forward. - its all in the manuals.

 

RM will only list those locos you have entered into the local plan, either by pulling them from the RM database by R number or by manually listing them.

 

There is no reciprocal chat between RM and the Elite about locos in use, and you should also be aware that the throttle positioning feedback is one way only i.e. You adjust the Elite and it echoes on RM, but if you adjust the RM throttle it will not echo on the Elite screen, its just not smart enough to do that.

[Spireblade]

I haven't got that far into the user manual yet but I thought it would be changeable. Everything else I am very happy with so far. I will more than likely use the laptop for point changing etc and control the locos from the Elite, the fine tuning on slower speeds is sooo much better.