RM and other controllers...

[96RAF]

I found this on the interweb (old data) which suggests you can use other than Hornby controllers with RM.

 

http://www.powerpos.com/rail-master/support.html

 

If anyone has an 'alien' controller as listed could they please download the RM demo and give it a try please.

 

Thanks Rob

[Augustus Caesar]

It's at moments like these when one wishes one had an 'alien' controller... I look forward to seeing what anyone comes up with.

[choralc]

I'll second that. Or is it third that?

[Bigskybirds]

I have an ECoS 50210 and Gaugemaster DCC02 both connected to the PC but Railmaster config only selects the Elink, Elite or None. Therefore it does not work.

[96RAF]

¥HFM

I understand that RM only lists Hornby controllers, but what we are trying to establish with this old claim is if other kit that can be connected to a PC via USB will work with that protocol.

 

e.g. connect the alien kit, select RM each time as an Elite then as an eLink and see if there is any response - full, limited or none.

 

I suppose the controller None option is just to inhibit warning flags in the demo.

 

It may be RM says controller not detected or it may be fooled and accept the alien in disguise. I am not expecting RM to recognise the actual controller by name just see if it accepts it and passes commands.

 

Rob

[St1ngr4y]

A similar question would be "What software is available for the Elink/Elite as well as RM?" or is such a question not allowed here?

Ray

[96RAF]

Rocrail and JMRI both work with Elite.

 

Rocrail works after a fashion with eLink, but repeat commands. Never got both to work satisfactory together as separate loco and points controllers.

 

Several commercial package work with Elite, but don't know about eLink.

[Bigskybirds]

I normally use JMRI but when I start Railmaster with the correct com port it cannot find a controller with either elite or elink selected. When i start JMRI it finds my controllers first time. 

[St1ngr4y]

It's a pity there wasn't a VBRMI. I think that would have been a lot more popular.

Ray

[96RAF]

It's a pity there wasn't a VBRMI. I think that would have been a lot more popular.

Ray

 

I agree Ray

 

A simple plug in to RM that allowed you to input a few parameters and bingo your controller/acc decoder/device of choice would work with RM. 

 

I think that would add immense value and status to the package..

Rob

[Chrissaf]

Big Bear software works with Elite, but not with eLink. However, note that BigBear is not as feature rich as RailMaster. For example it cannot read and write CVs and obviously there is no Hornby loco database in it, everything needs to be manually configured. It only supports up to F17, and before anybody asks, AFAIK it does not support any form of loco/block detection.

.

Just for information. The RailMaster version that RAF's earlier link connects to, is somewhat out of date and relates to version 1.01 - I downloaded and installed it (not on my normal RM PC) and captured this screen shot. As you can see, RM has come a long way since version 1. Note also, this version 1.01 occupies 11MB of disk space compared to 67MB of the current version.

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/media/tinymce_upload/7a82eb2747c2d57d7ff533965558e1f3.jpg

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[Pete172]

Hi,

I too have Railmaster and would like to use it with another controllor instead of my Elite.

If they say "" Rail-Master will work with any DCC (Digital Command Control) system that uses the standard Xpressnet/NMRA protocol "" then I would expect this still to be the case.

Granted, Railmaster has elvolved a lot since version1, but one would expect it still to work as they describe, unless they have deliberately disabled this feature.

[96RAF]

I did say it was a link to old data, hence wondered if it read across to the latest versions.

Rob

[Bigskybirds]

Why not log the question via the contact link within Railmaster and see if you get a reply?

[Fireman_Ian]

@RAF96

Rocrail and JMRI both work with Elite.

 

Very strange, I have been using JMRI with my Elite for years to program my sound decoders, I have not used it for a while - today I started JMRI and it no longer works with the Elite??

 

The fault is not with the Elite as Railmaster works fine so I can only assume that something has changed either with Java or JMRI itself.

 

EDIT: I have just googled the fault I am getting and it seems it is a known fault with JMRI and Windows.

 

The error message I get is:- Java platform SE binary has stopped working.

 

Thank heaven for Railmaster and its ability to program cv's !

 

Ian.

[RB51]

 Hi Ian that's very unfortunate. Can I ask have you tried rebooting your PC/laptop as this has cleared the error in the past for me?  Have you downloaded (or has your machine done so for you) the latest Windows update? R-

[Chrissaf]

Have you updated JAVA to the latest version [Java 8 update 131] using the JAVA control panel located within Windows Control Panel. This version of JAVA works with my Elite last time I checked.

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/media/tinymce_upload/678ca2293b839e25df4953bf2a5dc468.jpg

[Fireman_Ian]

Thanks RogerB and Chrissaf, after deleting and reinstalling java and jmri I managed to get jmri to load and see my Elite but now it will not read or write any cvs all I get is a timeout error 306.

 

Given up on jmri, trouble with free software its usually rubbish, thats why its free. Too many people changing the code to suit their own requirements and wrecking it for everyone else.

 

Long live Railmaster.

[RB51]

I personally find JMRI too complex for my needs but rarely have I had difficulties with Decoder Pro. I have taken the liberty of "lifting" this from a hobby site to save typing it all out again. I offer it only as a solution for you - I have no connection with the site. R-

 

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"306 — timeout talking to command station

The program did not hear back from the command station when it expected to.

This is by far the most common error message when people first start using JMRI. In that case, it usually means that the connection to the command station isn't correct. This could be a problem with the cable(s) making the connection, or a problem with how the preferences are set. Picking the wrong serial port is particularly common.

Once JMRI is working properly, this error may occasionally happen due to a transient error. DecoderPro generally will retry it successfully in that case."

Is JMRI starting? If so under "Tools" click on "Power Control" then turn the track power on and off and see if that makes a difference. It might not, but whenever my system acts up thats what I do. Im using a NanoX-S88 homebuilt system.

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Credit: MRHMAG.COM