Hornby eLink [Manuals & 1st time Setting up]

[Chrissaf]

Hornby eLink is part of RailMaster so you need the RailMaster (RM) manual. The RM manuals are downloadable from here:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/railmaster-manuals

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But rather than use the manual for setting up (by all means read the manual, you will need to anyway to use the software) I suggest you look at the RM Help Site. The clickable link to the 'Help Site' is located here on the forum.

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

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Plus in addition to that, there are loads and loads of RM related 'How To' resources on this forum. You just need to ask specifically what you are having problems with.

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If your second-hand eLink came with a RM CD. I suggest that you download the latest RM version from the link at the top of the 'RailMaster & Trackmaster' forum section. Note that if your second-hand version has been activated by the previous owner, you will not be able to activate the software for your use. The software is not transferable to a new owner and the license key checks performed during the online activation process will not pass. If your activation key on the CD is still valid (i.e. not previously used & activated), it will still work with the downloaded version of the RM application....currently version 1.71.

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The likelihood is that you will have to perform numerous configuration tasks to get this Windows XP software to run on a Windows 10 PC. It will run on W10 but it is not particularly 'plug n play'. As said before, there are numerous 'How To' resources on this forum to help you get it working......just ask and tell us where you are stuck.

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TIP: As this is your very first post, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

[Chrissaf]

I have just got a new elink system and having problems setting it up, can anyone point me in the direction of a user guide, as mine was second hand, nd didnt come with one. Thanks! :)

[Chrissaf]

PS - Forgot to add. A full set of current manuals are installed on your PC when you run the RailMaster software installer.

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Another comment I forgot to make. Some people do unfortunately mix up Hornby product names. For example eLink for Elite and/or Elite for eLink. If you have indeed bought an eLink hardware box second-hand but did not get the RM CD with it. You have only bought half of the eLink system. The eLink has no knobs or buttons on it and can not be used on its own. It is controlled by the RM software running on a Windows PC (not Mac). If on the other hand you have bought an Elite which does have knobs and buttons on it, then the manual for it is still downloadable from this site here:

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/downloads/view/index/cat/3/

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If you indeed have the eLink, but no valid activation key. Then you have two options. Find a reseller that still has an 'old shelf stock' copy of RailMaster for sale R8144 (now not sold by Hornby as a separate product) that has never been installed and is still in the original factory seal. Or download and install the software (from the link at the top of the forum) and follow the within application 'activation key' purchase process. However, be aware that if you purchase the key online via the RailMaster application it is the full list price (about £70).

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For the initial 90 days you can install and run RailMaster in 'Evaluation Mode'. After 90 days, the software will not run unless you purchase the key and activate it. Uninstalling the evaluation copy and reinstalling it, does not reset the 90 day timer.

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Many first time installations experience 'cannot activate' errors. Hopefully you won't be affected by this (more likely to happen if you have McAfee or Norton anti-virus products on your PC). If it does, the issue can be resolved with the involvement of HRMS (Hornby RailMaster Support) via their remote access capability. But this can be time consuming - I mention it, just so that you are aware and advise you to use this forum to get instructions on how to involve HRMS. Note that HRMS are not part of Hornby, they are a 'third party' software house contracted to Hornby.

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Note: RM can be used with both the eLink and the Elite controller.

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Just as a recap to my original reply: You wrote:

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....and having problems setting it up

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Can you be more specific. Are your problems for example relating to any of these following commonly raised issues:

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• Activation errors.
• The RM software will not recognise the controller.
• I am getting controller errors and connection drops.
• I have issues setting up or controlling a locomotive in RM.
• I have issues configuring a decoder or changing its DCC address.
• I have issues setting up a track plan.
• I have issues setting up or controlling a point using RM.

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There are so many facets of RM that can potentially give newbies problems, just saying that you have a 'setting up problem' does not give us much to go on. You will need to articulate exactly what the problem is.

 

[Dominic H]

The problem I'm having is that when i plug the e-link unit into my pc, RM doesn't recognise it, and windows keeps saying its connected, then disconnected, and keeps doing that. I tested the e-link track output with a multimeter, and got a reading of 0. The light on the e-link flashes rapidly, and then goes solid, at this point windows says the device is disconnected, then the light starts flashing again, and windows says its connected. I checked all the device manager and RM settings were the same, and used a new wall wart for the e-link, none of these solutions brought joy though. I really appreciate any help that is given, thanks!

[Chrissaf]

Nearly all these type of issues can be fixed by modifying your railmaster.ini file.

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Follow my instructions in this thread.....then report back. Subject to what you report back, there may be more advice that can be given.

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/train-will-not-run-on-elink-plus-other-issues/?p=1

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When measuring the output of any DCC controller to the track. The meter needs to be on the AC range setting and not DC. On AC you should get a reading between 13 and 15 volts. When on the meter DC range, then you will get zero or as near as damn it. However, it is plausible that the eLink controller won't output a DCC track voltage until it has been correctly recognised by the RM application software. Therefore I would not use the lack of measurable output as proof that the eLink is faulty.

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To ensure that you have actually installed the eLink driver correctly. Then work through this previous post of mine too. Just check to make sure that 'Device Manager' is displaying the correct entry when the eLink driver is loaded, using my screen captures as a reference. I would do this first, before trying the methodology documented above. Note: read any references to Elite in my posts as being eLink. Both units use the same Windows driver.

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/unable-to-install-elink-driver-on-new-windows-10-laptop-please-help/?p=7/#post-263375

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From your issue description I suspect that the 'Reset eLink on start" setting needs to be set to zero (see first clickable link above). All of this reply assumes that you are using Windows 10.

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Since the eLink was purchased second-hand......if none of my suggestions in this reply give you any improvement...then you may need to consider that you have been sold a pup and the eLink unit is faulty.