Train will not run on elink plus other issues

[Train Chick tres chic]

Hello All, we are newbies to the Model Rail Hobby, and are experiencing a few problems with running the trains on elink.

We have loaded an evaluation version of Railmaster version 1.68 on a laptop in windows 7 and this works.  We also have loaded an activated Railmaster version 1.7 on a different laptop (this is the one we will continue to use moving forward) but we have had no success in running trains with the version 1.70.  We open the Hornby Icon as usual but once this is open we are unable to view any information in the boxes in the System or Loco tab, they are blacked out (cant see the info info) and we cannot get the trains we have already to run.  Do we need to update this version to 1.70.2 or is there anything else amiss to fix this issue?  Judging by th fact (with us) that 1.68 is ok, how do we get back to this version. All help will be gratefully received as we are complete novices and are lookng forward to enjoying this hobby.

[Tomchatz]

i think that you need to update to latest the version and could you put screen shots of what happens

[Chrissaf]

There have been numerous changes to RM between version 1.68 and version 1.70.2

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Note that Hornby do not offer downloads of earlier RM versions, so unless you have previously saved the 1.68 installer file you cannot regress back to that revision. Unless someone outside Hornby has a copy (like me). Here is a link for a stable 1.69.2 version (note you will have to unzip the downloaded file to extract the installer).

https://btcloud.bt.com/web/app/share/invite/gRieaFOBJM

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Before continuing further. Please review the 'postscript' near the bottom of this reply.

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If your later version is definitely version 1.70 and not version 1.70.2 be aware that version 1.70 had problems communicating with the attached controllers from its very release. Hence why it was quickly upgraded to version 1.70.2. Version 1.70 must be replaced with the latest version 1.70.2 as the initial starting point.

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Also, be aware, that only major revisions such as going from version 1.68 to 1.69 to 1.70 trigger auto-updates. Going from 1.70 to 1.70.2 has to be done manually.

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I strongly suggest that you download the very latest version (which is the 25th March release of 1.70.2......there were more than one release of 1.70.2 on different dates) from the download link located at the top of the RailMaster forum index page. Once the installer file is downloaded to your PC with the 1.70 version on it, right click the "rm_setup.exe"  file and choose 'Run as administrator'. You do not need to uninstall the installed version first, just run this new installer file over the top of the current installation.

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This is only half the battle. If your eLink is immediately recognised and starts working without issue, then consider yourself very lucky indeed. If the eLink is not recognised....read-on.

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First thing first, you need RM to actually recognise that the eLink controller is attached. Try plugging the eLink into a different USB port and checking the entry in Windows 'Device Manager' before restarting RM. If possible ensure that the USB port on the PC is a USB2.0 port and not a USB3.0 one.

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Open Windows 'Device Manager'.

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Navigate to the Device Manager "Ports (Com & LPT)" branch of the tree. See image below (Windows 7 or higher).

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/media/tinymce_upload/98b6d675c3d99b47c661100cf39cc3e9.jpg

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In this example the USB Com Port allocated to the controller, is port 4 (yellow highlight). Make a mental note of the Com Port number allocated within your particular system.

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You can now close down Windows Device Manager.

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Start RM you may get unable to detect controller error messages. At this time just ignore their suggested actions and close them down. In the RM 'System Setting' screen you will see the Com Port number that RM is using for your eLink controller in a 'pull down' selection box. You need to select the SAME Com Port number in this selection box that was displayed in Device Manager. See image below. If the eLink entry doesn't show at all, then plug the eLink into yet another different USB port and then this time follow the on-screen error message suggestions. You need to get the eLink recognised in the 'System Settings' screen first before you can progress further.

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/media/tinymce_upload/212feb1c16e5bb24a6ae265357a600f7.jpg

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In the above example the DCC Com Port RM is using is port 3 (yellow highlight) and therefore doesn't match the Com Port 4 shown allocated in Device Manager example further above.

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If you make the RM Com Port entry MATCH the same as your Device Manager entry, then I feel confident that your RM will once again recognise your eLink. Remember, to keep using the SAME physical USB port on your computer to prevent this happening again.

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If eLink is shown in the dialogue box (image above) with a 'pink' highlighted background, then that indicates that the eLink is still not being correctly recognised by RM and more work is required to get this fixed.

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You will almost certainly then need to tinker with the 'railmaster.ini' file as well to get a fully working system.

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To check your 'railmaster.ini' file.

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Open the RM 'Help Screen' and click the bluish COG icon in the bottom left of the help screen window. Follow the on screen prompts and this will open the 'railmaster.ini' file editor.

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Look for the entry "Reset eLink on start=1"

Change this entry to "Reset eLink on start=0"

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Then look for these two entries....note that they may be missing.

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Alternative comms=n (where n is either 1 or 0)

Check controller=n (where n is either 1 or 0)

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Delete the entries and retype them afresh as the LAST TWO lines in the 'railmaster.ini. file.

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Initially retype the entries with both n values =1

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Save the amended file and close and restart RM. Test again for RM / eLink functionality.

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If you still have issues then systematically try the different permutations of n values for the two entries. Saving and testing between each .INI file change.

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That is to say:

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Alternative comms=1

Check controller=1

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Alternative comms=0

Check controller=1

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Alternative comms=1

Check controller=0

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Alternative comms=0

Check controller=0

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Hopefully, one of those permutations will give you a working system.

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If the above does not get you up and running, then there are further resources you can review.

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There is the RailMaster Help Site created by forum member AC:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/railmaster-help-site/?p=1

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There is also this previous thread that also relates to your issue.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/railmaster-elink-problem-after-new-download/?p=1

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Note that once you get these communication errors resolved and a working connection. Then as long as you keep on using the SAME USB port for the eLink to connect to, then future RM restarts should remember all the settings and connect first time.

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If all of the above still fails to get your issue resolved the only other option open to you is to request HRMS (Hornby RailMaster Support) to remotely log on to your PC and fix it for you. You make this request using the inbuilt 'Support Request' feature located in the 'Help About' screen.

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PS - You wrote in your query:

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.....we are unable to view any information in the boxes in the System or Loco tab, they are blacked out (cant see the info)....

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Do you genuinely mean blacked out or did you mean blanked out i.e no entry shown. If the dialogue box entries just display a 'black box' then that is very unusual indeed. In which case I suggest you post a screen shot so that we can see it**, there may be a rendering issue between RM (which was originally written for Windows XP graphics) and your PC graphics driver. You could try selecting a different RM 'colour theme' (manual pages 30 & 31) to see if the dialogue boxes then become visible again. The RM 'Metal Theme' works for most users. You need to be able to see the dialogue box entries first, else you will have little chance of being able to resolve your other issues if you can't see the RM System Settings.

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Note** to post an image see this 'How To' thread:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/how-do-i-include-an-image-photo-in-my-post/?p=1

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TIP: I write long posts. If you intend to write a reply, it would be appreciated if you didn't use the 'White Arrow in Blue Box' button. This is not a 'Reply to this post button. It is best to write any reply you want to make in the 'Reply Text Box' at the very bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

 

Particularly as my reply includes an image. If you use the blue button, any reply you write, may be held back for image approval. Even though it is already a previously published image.

 

 

 

[Train Chick tres chic]

Hi and many thanks for the reply.

Im sorry but i have no idea how you manually download the latest RM 1.7.02. I cant find a link at the top of the page. Ive tried a web search but it just keeps putting me into a "How to install RM" pdf.

Ive downloaded your 1.69. But am scared to run it in case it corrupts my genuine activation coded RM. Can i run it straight over the top of the 1.70 without deregistering RM. Or do i have to deregister RM first and then uninstall rm 1.70.

 

This is the screenshot of the user settings we get at the moment. All the boxes are black and why Cont b are grey is a mystery to me. I havnt got any controllers attached at the mo

 

 

  /media/tinymce_upload/c05dfde0c49a82730325cc8788d2b12f.png

[Chrissaf]

I have seen that screen rendering issue before. I recommend that you choose the RM 'Metal Theme' manual page 30 & 31 tells you how. The 'Metal Theme' should make the text boxes visible again. As I said in my last reply. RailMaster was written for Windows XP and some of the graphics are not always 100% compatible with the current batch of new laptop graphic card drivers. This is the second time I have seen this rendering issue reported.

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The download link for the 1.70.2 version is here. As shown circled in red at the top of the Hornby RailMaster & Trackmaster forum index page.

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/media/tinymce_upload/e5ed8269913096836b1915454e70cf73.jpg

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You can safely run the 1.70.2 installer over the top of your activated 1.70 version without 'deregistering' first. Just remember to right click the installer and chose the 'Run as administrator' option.

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Personally, I would get the current latest 1.70.2 version working rather than regressing to an earlier version such as 1.68 or 1.69. This is because RM updates are incremental, so if you don't get the latest one working now, you could potentially be stuck on an earlier version for ever and a day.

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You say that you haven't got any controllers connected at the moment.

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All of my original reply was based on the assumption that you had a controller connected but it wasn't being recognised. RM will run without an attached controller, but you need one attached to set all the communication settings in RM that I have extensively documented in my first reply and you certainly won't be able to run any trains without an attached controller. Your eLink should be recognised as 'Controller A'.......don't worry about the 'Controller B' boxes for the time being. They are for advanced users. Controller B should show "none" in the top dialogue box. Make sure that this 'none' entry is present in Controller B else you are more likely to experience other issues.

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Just one other tip that you may not be aware of:

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With reference the extract of your screen shot reproduced below. The little yellow box to the left of the clock tells you the main version number. In your screen shot it says 1.70

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But if you 'hover the mouse cursor' over the top of the little yellow box you will get a pop-up that tells you the 'revision' number. If you truly have RM version 1.70 installed the pop-up will say "Revision 0". When 1.70.2 is installed, the pop-up will say "Revision 2".

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/media/tinymce_upload/5a25a9ae4c51ed251815b2606364de64.jpg

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[Train Chick tres chic]

To download the software you have to be on the right page of the forum. Where i was looking from it wasnt there. There are two ways of getting into the forum and one doesnt display the software download link.

Anyway done that as admin,  hovered over the yellow bit and it reads "Revision 2" Exceeelent :)

Followed your advice and found how to change the colours and sorted that problem out. Yeah!!!

Made a test track this morning and tested it with a Gaugemaster DCC01. Working perfectly. Jinty potters up the track at 01. Fully working. Good.

Now connected the Railmaster E link to it. Fired up RM as Administrator. Seems to recognise Elink. Doesnt say its not there and finishes setting RM up. Power up the jinty. No Joy.

Will now follow the rest of your advice and get back to you.

Thank you

[Chrissaf]

Train Chick,

Since you haven't given any information regarding the Jinty and how you have entered it into the RM loco roster (something you have to do before RM can control it). It is unwise for me to just assume that you have set it up correctly, so this post is just provided so that you can check and confirm that you have set it up correctly.

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I am assuming that the Jinty is a Hornby loco with a Hornby R number. If it isn't a Hornby loco, then follow the alternative link that is embedded towards the end of my tutorial linked below.

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This thread link gives a 'step by step' tutorial for setting up a Hornby loco into RM and getting it to run under RM control. Note that this tutorial is for a TTS loco with sound. The likelihood is that your Jinty is not a sound loco, so just ignore the parts of the tutorial that relate to setting up the sound function buttons and labels.

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/loco-registration/?p=1

[TechImp]

 Hi guys, If I may intrude on the discussion. I had exactly the same problem - I had not run my system for some months because it was dismantled for creating some scenery backdrops.I finally got it all back together today and restarted Rail Master, which immediately updated and just as immediately stopped communicating  with elink. I checked everything to no avail and decided to check the forum. I read Chrissafs post and on checking the "ini" file discovered that non of those entries were there.

I entered them all set to "0" and lo and behold it all works. I have to thank you guys for the great job you do, particularly Chris, because although I have a background in electronics and computing, I would not have had a clue as to what should have been in that file.

I also have to say that I have never come across an update that prevents a system from working, although it must happen. It does not say a lot for quality control.

Thanks again guys!

[Train Chick tres chic]

Many thanks for all of your help.

We had already got it Railmaster working earlier on in the year, Hence why the Jinty was already there.

Followe the rest of Chrissaf advice and played with ini file. Job done. The trains are now running.

 

Thank you all so much.

Will probably be back when railmaster do the next update!!!!! Lol

[Chrissaf]

Followed the rest of Chrissaf's advice and played with ini file. Job done. The trains are now running.

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Glad to hear that my configuration method steps were a success for you.........they usually are.

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Just to satisfy my curiosity what were the two final 'n' values that you implemented on the working system for 'Alternative comms' and 'Check controller'?

[Fishmanoz]

TechImp, summarizing for you and others - I agree updates shouldn’t stop programs working but sometimes they do and we know RM later versions have been finicky on ini file entries for some time.  And we also know from Chris’s excellent research that v1.7 is worse than most, highly unlikely to work at all except in the latest rev 2 configuration (there has been more than one version of rev 2) and may still require user-specific ini file entries at this revision.

 

How any casual user of RM who happened to open the program and install the auto update of v1.7 between its first release and final rev 2 release, and who doesn’t read this forum, can now have his system working (remember that once any version of 1.7 is installed, the system will not prompt to update to a later revision, and particularly not to a revision of a revision), I have no idea.  I also wonder what Hornby thinks of this situation, it is very far from satisfactory.

 

HRMS configuration management has been questioned for some time, a change to have it follow generally accepted practice is now urgent.  While RM reports revision status, how many casual users even know to look for it or how to do so (is it documented in the manual?).  In fact, I’d suggest casual users would now have any chance would be if the program was now at v1.74.  That’s the only way the auto update feature would have got them through the various versions to the latest revision.

[TechImp]

 Thank you Fishmanoz, I believe you are Aussie as am I in Perth WA. You make my point well as many people do not have a tech type background but perhaps have recourse to Hornby to fix problems. This is a simple problem to fix but if you don't know how, it is insurmountable causing people to become disillusioned with the system. This of course reflects back on Hornby in a negative way.

[BadgerV8]

 I've just had the exact same problem. Booted the laptop up, started Railmaster, prompted to do update. Update completed, no trains would run!

This "update" is an extremely bad show by Hornby, putting out an update that stops people's systems from working - we're not all wizards with computer stuff you know! Or is this a ploy to make us think our eLinks have failed and buy another??

Anyway, followed the advice here (thanks Chris and others), added the 3 lines of command as none were present (reset eLink on start, Alternative comms, Check controller). had to play around with different combinations of 0 and 1 until the thing worked, hopefully future updates won't be so troublesome. And after all that, the new J36 isn't even in the database anyway! 

[96RAF]

We know Hornby is the Prime owner of RM, but the design, build and maintenance of RM is sub contracted out as has often been spoken to on here.

 

As such Hornby would task HRMS to do this and do that specifically, but the day to day running of the job is down to HRMS, to whom your main concerns should be directed. If you get no satisfaction from direct contact then of course you can let Hornby know including details of your past efforts at trying to reconcile the matter.

 

Just blowing steam on the forum will likely get you nowhere as no-one in authority is watching.

[BadgerV8]

 Yeah, I get that, but it's Hornby that gets the bad name as they are the retailer selling the product under their name. If you put your name to a product and that product is troublesome, then it is you that gets the bad name. Hornby ought to understand that, and apply pressure to whoever is contracted to do the work.

I wasn't really making the comment to blow steam..... more to add my small bit of info and pass thanks to those who have posted the help.

[Chrissaf]

The reason the 1:70 update went so disastrously wrong, is that HRMS were trying to fix the very long standing issues that many users were constantly complaining about. Namely the issues with the iPad / Android mobile APPS communication issues. The changes that they made to fix the mobile APPS unfortunately had a knock on effect on the normal Windows to Controller communications used by the majority.

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Yes....I agree that HRMS should have done more testing before releasing 1:70 but they claim that they could not detect any issues on their test systems. Obviously their test systems cannot replicate the sheer diversity in 'users' PC brands, systems and setups. Once that a severe problem with Windows / Controller comms was identified, HRMS did work pretty much 'round the clock' for the next few days 'logging on to affected users PCs' (mine included) to formulate a solution. It was unfortunate that the implemented solutions to the main RM communications code had a further knock on effect in that for them to work effectively, changes to the .INI file were required for some PC users. It should be noted that not every single RM user was affected by the 1.70 update issue, some were oblivious to the issues that stopped many users systems from functioning.

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As I see it, RM is using Microsoft's USB driver to communicate with the Hornby controller interface. MS's driver is obviously written for Windows 10, but HRMS are trying to interface with that driver using obsolete VB6 coding.....see next para. I'm sure that this mis-match in the interface coding has a bearing on the continual communication errors that we, the users, see.

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The core issue as I see it, is that RM is written in obsolete Microsoft Visual Basic 6 for Windows XP and really needs a complete from the ground up re-write using modern Windows 10 coding techniques. For which there is probably no financial budget available from Hornby to pay for it. So for the time being, it looks like it will be a continuation of 'make do and mend'. If a complete Windows 10 re-write ever does take place, then I predict that will be a 'pay for' type upgrade.

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On the positive side, the majority of the mobile issues now seem to be resolved (I don't use them, so can't be categoric on that statement), so I predict that the next few version releases will probably be relatively issue free for most.

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[BadgerV8]

All understood Chris, here's hoping future updates do indeed run without problems......

[Chrissaf]

😎