How do I setup Railmaster with Elite?

[Chrissaf]

Please, I would like suggestions on connecting the Elite to Railmaster, do I set it up as controller 1 or 2? and what is the dedicated com port for the Elite when connected to the Railmaster?

Elite version 1.44 Railmaster 1.70.

Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit (10.0, Build 17763) (17763.rs5_release.180914-1434)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ASUS
System Model: All Series
BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/18/14 16:20:24 Ver: 21.03 (type: BIOS)
Processor: Intel® Core i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.5GHz
Memory: 32768MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 32702MB RAM
Page File: 6693MB used, 30871MB available
Windows Dir: C:WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 12

 

 

[Chrissaf]

The first thing to do is (if not done already) install the Elite driver. Doing this does not care what controller 1 or 2 the Elite will eventually become. This is something you set up later.

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The Elite driver is installed (or checked to see if it is installed already) without RailMaster (RM) running.

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Just plug the Elite into your PC and the PC will either bleep (if the driver is already installed) or should open the 'New Hardware Device' found dialogue box if it is detecting the Elite for the first time.

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If there is a bleep and no new Hardware Detected dialogue box. Then open Windows Device Manager (DM) to check to see if the Elite driver is loaded. The Elite must be plugged into the PC and powered when you do this. In DM look for this entry shown in the image below. If it is present, then the driver is correctly installed. If it is not present, then follow the link further below.

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/media/tinymce_upload/6c9d14636239831931f1c7f28956044c.jpg

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Take a note of the COMn number. In the image above it is 4. It may be a different number in your DM. You need to make a note of this number, it is important and will be needed later.

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This previous post describes the correct method of installing the Elite driver (note that the eLink uses the same driver and the same installation process).

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/windows-10-drivers-for-hornby-elite/?p=1

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Once you get to the stage where DM is showing a valid driver entry similar to the image above. Now and only now do you install or run RM. I strongly suggest that you download the very latest RM version from the download link at the top of the RailMaster forum contents page. Just run the installer over the top of any existing installation. There is no need to uninstall a previous RM version first. Right click the downloaded installer and choose the 'Run as administrator' option.

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Once RM is running, you need to open the System Settings screen in RM.

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/media/tinymce_upload/212feb1c16e5bb24a6ae265357a600f7.jpg

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Once this screen is open you need to use the pull down boxes to select the appropriate entries. At the top this screen is split into two halves. The left hand side is Controller A (which equates to your use of the Controller 1 term). The right hand side is Controller B (which equates to your use of the Controller 2 term) this should be ignored and left unused. That is to say the Controller B pull down box on the right of the screen should say 'None'.

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• For Controller A pull down box - select the Hornby Elite entry in the list.
• For DCC Controller port pull down box - select the same COMn number that was displayed in DM and which you should have taken a note of.
• For 'Baud Rate' pull down box - select 19200 (correct for an Elite)
• For 'Data Bits' - select 8
• For 'Parity' - select None
• For 'Stop Bits' - select 1

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For the moment, the rest of the screen can be left as default.

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Now close the 'System Settings' screen and restart RM.

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The Elite should be detected and selected without any error messages. The Controller icon in the very top right hand side of the RM main screen should be green in colour. Note that 'Internet Active' should be green if the PC is connected to the Internet, whilst the 'Loco Detection' icon should be greyed out and not active.

/media/tinymce_upload/3b314f67a7b17cf7d543baaee1006e1e.jpg

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If you get Elite communication error messages or other strange things happening. Then the 'railmaster.ini' file needs setting up correctly.

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Follow the guidance in this previous post:

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

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Note that eLink and Elite use the same driver, so the post above although written for an eLink is still valid for an Elite.

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If you follow all the above guidance you should hopefully get to a state where RM runs and the Elite connects without error messages. Once you get to that state, then come back here to this thread to tell us what you want to achieve next in the setting up process.