e-link and unlisted decoders

[Chrissaf]

All my acc decoders, albeit Hornby types were programmed well before RM arrived and I just picked them as type from the RM list when designating points.

 

I would try programming them as normal outwith RM then try designating them to your points on plan as one of the various listed types and see if any work.

 

Have you tried reading one in RM to see what fields and values it does pickup if any, then maybe submit a request to HMRS to have them included.

Rob

[Fishmanoz]

Is it a Run Mode decoder where you set a switch on it to Program, throw the point you want it control, then switch it back to Run and it's done?  If so, this will be the only way to program it and it will be irrelevant its not being in the RM list.  Check out its manual which should be downloadable from the manufacturer's site.

[Chrissaf]

Here is a link for the online manual for the "Team Digital SMD82" Accessory Decoder. Refer to page 3 of the manual regarding the use of 'Smart Programming'. The Team Digital decoder home page is here.

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Here is an extract from the manual:

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As Fishy has suggested, the decoder supports a 'learning (smart) mode' where you program the decoder on the track and NOT on the eLink programming output. This means that following the RailMaster manual programming instructions is completely pointless and uneccessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to have this decoder listed in RailMaster. Just follow the instructions in the Team Digital manual and treat RailMaster as if it is a physical controller and not a programmer. There are many non Hornby accessory decoder brands that are configured in a similar fashion to this without any significant issue. In fact, most accessory decoder manufacturers have moved over to 'learning mode' programming. Hornby are lagging behind in terms of product development in this area.

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Bear in mind that the SMD82 manual uses 'Americanisms' so where in item 2 it says 'using the throttle select the switch'. Throttle means 'your controller' in this case your controller is RailMaster and selecting the switch means selecting your point in RailMaster.

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Basically you create your track plan in RM, add your points and allocate the DCC addresses you want to use for them. Save the plan and start RM in normal operating mode. You then press the 'Smart Button' on the decoder for 1 second until the LED starts flashing. This puts the decoder in 'learning mode'. You then use the point icon in your RM track plan to operate the point as if you were operating it for real. Using the DCC address you have allocated for the point connected to 'port 1'. The SMD82 is listening for any DCC Accessory Packet and configures itself with the DCC address of the first DCC accessory packet it detects. Job done. No messing about with a RailMaster accessory decoder programming window is required. According to the SMD82 manual you follow the manual documented procedure and continue to configure each additional port. I assume that the ports need to be addressed sequentially in an ascending numerical order. Just follow the SMD82 manual instructions posted above.

[Chrissaf]

Hi I am most of the way through converting a large-ish layout to DCC,  I am using Railmaster with e-link as it looked simple as an intro to DCC.  All has gone well so far and I am well pleased.

 I have picked up a Team Digital SMD82 8 channel accessory decoder for next to nothing from ebay, to see if I could get it to work. Test routines say it is all working as it should and I have re-set it to "factory settings" However the obvious problem is that it does not feature in Rail Master's list of decoders, and there is no "other decoders" or similar option.

There must be lots of other makes of decoders also unlisted, so how do you get them to work? In all of the Rail-master blurb there is no mention of unlisted decoders, or any other method of programming them other than through the acc decoders screen.

I have tried pretending that it is one of the  8 chanel decoders on the list, and in this way it appears to read the existing settings and says it has written my new settings, but it don't work !

Any suggestions from you wise and experienced people out there would be much appreciated.

 

NEIL

[neil_duffin]

Thanks very much for your detailed replies. I hoped I may get some useful comments but this surpasses all expectations, thanks guys.

I have the manual but thinking it had to be on the programming output rather than the track output, got nowhere.  You can press the button as much as you like on the prog output and not a whole lot happens. Perhaps my small brain would have got there in the end, but how nice to get a push in the right direction.

Now, off to the man-cave to see if it works, I will report back !!

 

Neil

[neil_duffin]

Chrissaf, Fishy RAF96

May future generations sing of your deeds. May mellifluous blessings fall upon you. May your circuits never short and your frogs be forever juiced.  It works. THANK YOU.

One wierd quirk worth noting if any other treads this path. It appears not to have worked until you turn the power off and back on again. Perhaps it needs a re-start after a change like windows does.  This is mentioned later in the instructions regarding a different programming mode but does not say it is needed for smart programming.

[Chrissaf]

DCC Concepts decoders also need a power cycle after programming for the configuration to take effect, so that does not appear to be unusual. Glad just a bit of gentle guidance and a push in the right direction got you sorted. We all like a happy ending on this forum.

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I'll be honest, before researching on the net to answer this question I had never heard of this Team Digital SMD82 product or even the Team Digital brand.

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However just for information, it did say in the second paragraph of the instructions above to connect the SMD82 to track power as part of the configuration process.

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PS - Hornby controller 'programming outputs' use very low power. Not enough to power the decoder to its full potential. Not only that, but this reduced power is only connected to the 'programming' output in very short bursts that coincide with when configuration DCC packets are actually being sent to the programming output. This explains why the decoder 'smart' button had no function, in effect there was no power connected to the decoder when you were pressing the button.

[neil_duffin]

I had never heard of them either but £5 for a pre loved, 8 port decoder seemed like a good punt and worth a bit of fiddlin-about .

 

Thanks again.