Delayed notification of short circuit

[mallone]

Hi...whenever I get a short circuit on my layout, Railmaster + elink, there is a long delay of several minutes before I get any on-screen notification. Is this common, and if so, does anyone have a remedy?

Thanks...John.

[Chrissaf]

Make sure you have the correct values in your "railmaster.ini" file for these two entries:

Alternative comms=1

Check controller=1

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These two entries can impact on how the eLink short circuit detection functions. If you already have values =1 for these two lines, you could experiment with making one or other or both =0. But =1 should theoretically be the optimum values. Other's have reported that just the act of deleting the entries and retyping them in again afresh at the end of the file has effected a cure. After performing any edits, save the changes and restart RailMaster.

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Also make sure that these two entries are the last two lines in the file (one command per line). Open the inbuilt "railmaster.ini" file editor by using the bluish COG icon located in the RailMaster 'Help' window.

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For more information read the later part of the "Getting Started" sticky post at the top of the RailMaster & TrackMaster sub-forum. Look out for the section on using Windows 10 (note that the information contained within it with regard to the .INI file is valid for Windows 7 & 8 as well).

[mallone]

I don't know how you do it Chissaf, but as per normal a brilliant and knowledgable reply.

I tried changing the values of both commands, one at a time, and then both together but to no avail.

I then did as you suggested, copied and pasted the two lines to the bottom of the list and then deleted the original ones. 

HEY PRESTO!! Chrissaf strikes again.

Thank you for your help to me and everybody else.

very kind regards

John.

[Chrissaf]

I'm glad changing the line order in the .INI file worked for you. Why it works is a mystery. The solution defies all reasonable logic. In theory, the order of things in an .INI file shouldn't make the blind bit of difference. They are just setting 'variables' to a starting condition in the application code.

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HRMS....if you are reading this, would you care to make a comment.

[St1ngr4y]

Perhaps if they are in the middle of the file, there is another following command with a fault in its code which is undoing the settings of these parameters in some way - overwriting a bit of memory for instance?

 

Ray

[96RAF]

You could be onto something there Ray.

A job for someone who is bored (or will be by the end of it), cut and paste the top line of the ini file to the bottom of the file and try it again.

Repeat until the ini file causes a problem and we will know that the top line is likely to be the culprit.

Confirm by moving the suspect top line to the bottom and the fault should go.

[St1ngr4y]

Hi Rob,

It's an easy enough job to write a one-off program to do the cutting & pasting, with a save file and a pause between each one to allow RM to be tested on the re-arranged file.

Ray

[Chrissaf]

Just to add the last piece of the jigsaw. Here is an image showing the eLink controller short circuit reset button that appears in RM when a short is detected.

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Image courtesy of RAF96

[BagEndJct]

Thanks to this thread, I moved Alternative comms=1 and Check controller=1 to the bottom of my .ini file and for the first time ever, I have seen the short circuit warning! Thank you Chrissaf.

 

I would add that that reset button is a general reset button and not just for use after short circuit warnings. Having blown several DCC decoders over the past few months, I always always turn off power to the Elink and hence track before rerailing anything. I used to close and repoen Railmaster once done but then found that all I needed to do was click the reset button!