ELink and Win 7

[96RAF]

need help with e-link controller. Iam running e-link on windows 7, when i tray to run a train i get note to say no dcc controller can not be found , i have power to line the program have be running ok till the other day , the next time i ran the program this is what i got

[Chrissaf]

Edit the railmaster.ini file and change the line:

.

Reset eLink on start=1

to

Reset eLink on start=0

.

To open the railmaster.ini file editor to make the change. Go to the RailMaster Help Screen and click the blusish COG symbol found in the bottom left corner. Then follow on screen prompts.

.

If that doesn't work as a quick fix, come back and tell us and further instruction can then be given.

.

TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, 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.

.

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/

.

[RB51]

Hi Wooddogs - welcome to the forum.

 

Could you also let us know if Chris's recommendation sorts your issue out, please? It's good to have the feedback.

 

R-

[wooddogs]

thankyou for your help, I have gone to railmaster help screen and cannot find the line reset e link

[wooddogs]

this is help page editor

tipper timer=86.6 turntable speed=40 turntable timer=19.30 points timer =0.75 conveyor speed =65 tcp start port =30 check serial port =1 show upgrade buttons =0 allow deactivate =1 use default curves =1 polling time =1 confirm time =1 classic buttons =0 detection timeout=5 button bar vertical1=0 throttle timer=5 palm interval =7 ask to set points=0 handheld plan area=1,1,135.135 program tick sound=1

[96RAF]

@wooddogs

You simply need to amend that file per what Chris said earlier. After doing that restart RM to invoke the new file settings.

[RDS]

If you don't have the relevant line, add it to the end of the list and press return, to complete the list.

[Chrissaf]

You have got an .INI file with the absolute basic level of entries and a lot of missing important entries. Your .INI file should look something more akin to this.

.

/media/tinymce_upload/65b9bd7980d954a8937e42cd523d16bf.jpg

/media/tinymce_upload/41bddcb32594ad6cf32a29f5c7411000.jpg

.

The yellow entries are [in the main] the ones listed in your reply as entry lines you can see. All the lines that are not highlighted in yellow would appear to be missing from your list of entries in your posted reply.

.

The bluish entries are lines that are needed.

.

The red lines are lines that are critically needed and essential.

.

Now it strikes me that your .INI file does indeed contain more entries, but you didn't scroll the editor page down to reveal them. If however, they are genuinely missing, then you can either type them in manually OR force RailMaster to generate a new .INI file.

.

If you choose to type them in manually, then type in the blueish lines as a minimum, plus the two red highlighted lines. However, the red lines will need some experimentation to arrive at the values that will work with your set up. Since you have an eLink then I suggest that as a starting point you try these values:

.

Reset eLink on Start=0

Check controller=1

Alternative comms=1

.

These should also be the LAST lines entered at the end of the .INI file. If the Cc=1 and Ac=1 lines do not work, then try all the different combinations till you get working entries i.e Cc=0, Ac=0 or Cc=1, Ac=0 or Cc=0, Ac=1

.

Where Ac represents Alternative comms= and Cc represents Check controller=

.

Forcing RM to generate a new .INI file.

.

1. To do this, close down RM and manually delete the 'railmaster.ini' file from the RM program folder [or move it to a 'temp' folder].
2. Download the installer from the link at the top of the RailMaster forum [currently version 1.72]
3. Ensure that your eLink is connected and powered and that the Windows driver for it has loaded.
4. Right click the downloaded installer and choose 'Run as administrator'. Do not uninstall the existing RM installation first.

.

This should create a brand new .INI file with all the missing entries in it.

.

Now open the .INI file in the editor again and check the new entry structure. You may still need to tinker with the values as discussed in this reply to get a working installation.

[wooddogs]

Thankyou for your help, all up and running

[96RAF]

Thanks for the feedback.

It will give confidence to others that this tried and tested methodology actually does work every time on all Win platforms.

[Chrissaf]

Thank you for your help, all up and running

.

For the benefit of others, could you just outline in a few words:

 

1. What method you used i.e. manual amendment or forced .INI file regeneration.
2. Was it a case of not scrolling down to see the missing entries?
3. What were the working values arrived at for Ac & Cc?

[Geoff G]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread. Having decided to use my eLink/RailMaster solely as a "signal box" some time ago, I was more than a little disappointed to discover "Controller inactive" when I tried to activate my 45 newly installed point motors (via DCC Concepts decoders) yesterday. After uninstalling and reinstalling the eLink driver to no avail, I discovered via this thread that, like wooddogs, I too had a similarly deficient ".ini" file, half of which was missing. In fact, searching within the RailMaster root directory it does not appear to exist! Nevertheless, typing in the missing lines, including "Reset eLink on start=0", appears to have cured the problem, so thanks very much...but I wonder how many other users are dogged with this phantom file? 

[Chrissaf]

...but I wonder how many other users are dogged with this phantom file?

.

Well I would estimate that there are potentially hundreds, of which many will have given up on RM as a result and looked elsewhere.

.

Given the number of times I give my 'How to fix communication issues' advice, it is almost a weekly occurrence. Then that would indicate maybe 40% of RM users that frequent this forum have had issues at some time and either used my advice to resolve them or engaged HRMS to do it for them. Many users find my published advice in a search (as you did) and resolve their issues silently. In other words heed the advice, but leave no comment - at least you left a comment and I thank you for that.

.

Now if we extrapolate that only 33% of worldwide RM sale users actually frequent this forum to look for solutions, then the number of non forum users that still have unresolved communication issues or have given up completely must be phenomenal.

.

All percentages are guesstimates.

.

Finding the file. In Windows 7, 8 & 10 the default 'Windows File Explorer' is configured to hide 'system' files and some other file types. Because "railmaster.ini" is a file located in an application program folder and also the default 'Windows File Explorer' configuration is to hide file extensions of known file types. These two default configuration options can then sometimes account for why some files are not easy to find. It is not that they are not present, it is just that they are not always visible. Which is why it is preferable to use the 'railmaster.ini' editor that is built into RM (blueish COG in Help Screen).

.

Whenever I install Windows from new....I always change these default options in 'File Explorer' to display and show 'hidden system files and file extensions' it makes using 'File Explorer' so much easier. It is not obvious where you make these configuration changes. In 'Control Panel' look for 'Folder Options' [Win7] or 'File Explorer Options' [Win10]. You are looking for the configuration dialogue box shown below:

.

Select 'Show hidden files'

&

Uncheck 'Hide Extensions'

.

/media/tinymce_upload/a271b4d0d06ff5e3afa0ac4c04afccc9.jpg

.

You can also find the above configuration dialogue box by typing "Folder" or 'File Explorer Options" in the bottom left corner search box.

.

TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, 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.

.

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/

.

[Geoff G]

Thanks again for the Windows advice.