Is Bachmann accessory decoder compatible with Railmaster

[Carl_wood_1969]

Morning all,

 

So finally it seems RM is now beginning to be more stable with my new win 10 laptop and moving onto accessory decoders for my solenoid point motors. 

 

I have a couple of Hornby R8247's but i have noticed some Bachmann EZ dynamis 4-port decorders for sale (and lot cheaper) BUT when i click on the accessory decoder dropdown in RM they dont show?

 

Does this mean they arent compatible? do i need to do anything additional? I surely must have the most up-to-date RM version as only installed 2 weeks ago.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Carl

[Chrissaf]

If the Bachmann EZ dynamis 4 - port decoders are 'self learning' decoders. That is to say, the manual instructions in the setting up section say that you throw a switch or press a button on the decoder to put it into a 'learn mode'. Then they will not appear in the pull down list in RailMaster in the 'Accessory Decoder Configuration' screen. This screen is only used for decoders that are not 'self learning' and have to be configured using 'Direct Mode' programming. These type of decoders have to be purposely written into the RailMaster software, as they will be manufacturer product specific.

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Nearly all the major 'self learning' Accessory Decoders are compatible with RailMaster, but one has to be a bit cautious with the Bachmann EZ products. Firstly the EZ decoder is designed for the Bachmann control system and there might be a possibility of some propriety configuration protocols in use. Secondly the Bachmann EZ is a basic system and may not have full NMRA standards functionality.

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Finally regarding your last comment in your post.

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You can't expect Hornby RailMaster to incorporate every competitors controller product in the software. In the same way, Bachmann would be unlikely to support Hornby products in their system. Both Hornby and Bachmann market and sell the complete controller system. Whereas, manufacturers who just make and sell the Accessory Decoders who have no controllers in their portfolio want their Accessory Decoder products to be compatible with the broadest range of controller products available in the market.

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EDIT ADDENDUM

Having researched the Bachmann EZ decoder after publishing my initial reply above. I am adding this addendum.

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If the decoder your are querying is this one.

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These decoders are being sold on the cheap for very good reason ... they do not always provide robust operation of Solenoid point motors without deploying the external PSU support option. Hatton's will be selling them cheap because the shelf stocks are not shifting.

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Then there is history in this product and Hornby. A few years back Hornby had sold out of R8247's and there was an 18 month (plus) delay getting new stocks to market. During this void, Hatton's were offering this decoder as an alternative to the R8247. There were loads of posts on this forum about users having extreme difficulty in getting these to work with RailMaster. Even when they were got working, many users reported that they didn't work very well. Eventually, the configuration gremlins were resolved, but the reported poor performance aspect of them was only solved by using one of the unusual features of this product. Their ability to accept an additional external power supply to be used to actually operate the point motors.

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These decoders are re-badged by Bachmann. They are more commonly known as ESU SwitchPilots.

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CommunityModerator RDS uses these ESU SwitchPilots (via RailMaster) in conjunction with a 19 volt high current ex Laptop switch mode power supply. I daresay he will comment if he sees this thread. The need for the external PSU is because these ESU SwitchPilots do not have on-board CDUs built into them. If you do decide to use this reply to make an 'informed decision' to take a punt with these decoders. I daresay that RDS can offer guidance on the best way to configure them within RailMaster

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EDIT: After reviewing the online manual for the ESU SwitchPilot. The manual indicates that as well as 'configuring' the decoder on a 'programming track' using 'Direct Mode' programming. It also has a 'quick set up' option using a 'learn' switch / button on the decoder.

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TIP: As a relatively 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.

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Particularly as my reply includes an image, using the 'Blue Button' may result in your reply being held back for image approval, even though it is an existing image.

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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/

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[Carl_wood_1969]

wow thanks Chris, very informative and incredibly useful as i had read somewhere about 'self-learning' ones and i think i may just steer clear and go for the standard units.

 

Thanks again and stay safe.

[RDS]

@Carl

As Chris says, I have the ESU Point Decoders on my layout.  7 of them in fact.  I installed 5 of them in January 2014, over 6 years ago and added 2 more within the last few months.  I found them extremely easy to install and I control them using RailMaster.   As far as I am concerned they are self learning, because to install them, it is only necessary to connect the first solenoid, operate it using RailMaster and the other 3 point addresses are automatically allocated to the next 3 addresses.  I set them up with one solenoid away from the layout and then installed them, which makes testing far easier.

 

The ESU Decoders do not actually need a separate Power Supply but the fact that they could use a separate Power Supply was what attracted me to them in the first place.  I think that other members had found that occasionally the Solenoid Motors did not operate when using just the Track Power.  

 

I can thoroughly recommend them.  I had a spare Laptop Power supply that I used but these are relatively easy to obtain.

 

They are listed in the drop down list of Points Decoders in RailMaster (shown as ESU SwitchPilot 4 Port Decoder).

[Fishmanoz]

Scratching my memory banks from years ago when I spent quite some time reading the manual for these to try to help people to set them up (a curse on Hattons for ever suggesting these as an alternative to an 8247, especially as there were a range of better accessory decoders at the time and that you wouldn't denigrate by saying equivalent to an 8247 about them).

 

There were 2 problems with these from my point of view.  The first was that they are very capable with a range of different capabilities which, when combined with poor documentation and what I consider to be user-unfriendly mode selection, meant most (apart from RDS it seems) found them very difficult to set up and program.  Many were returned to Hatton's after failure to do so.  The second "problem" is no internal CDU, hence the need for a suitable external supply to get enough power to switch a solenoid reliably. 

[DaveU]

@Carl

As Chris says, I have the ESU Point Decoders on my layout.  7 of them in fact.  I installed 5 of them in January 2014, over 6 years ago and added 2 more within the last few months.  I found them extremely easy to install and I control them using RailMaster.   As far as I am concerned they are self learning, because to install them, it is only necessary to connect the first solenoid, operate it using RailMaster and the other 3 point addresses are automatically allocated to the next 3 addresses.  I set them up with one solenoid away from the layout and then installed them, which makes testing far easier.

The ESU Decoders do not actually need a separate Power Supply but the fact that they could use a separate Power Supply was what attracted me to them in the first place.  I think that other members had found that occasionally the Solenoid Motors did not operate when using just the Track Power.  

I can thoroughly recommend them.  I had a spare Laptop Power supply that I used but these are relatively easy to obtain.

They are listed in the drop down list of Points Decoders in RailMaster (shown as ESU SwitchPilot 4 Port Decoder).

I have just received 2 of these and would appreciate an 'idiots guide' to including them in my layout - I am just at the point of wiring in the various decoders. It is several years since I last used other than the ads-2 / 8fx decoders ( which are so easy to do!) I have found the ESU in the drop down list thanks to your post but if I say allocate ports 12-15 to the 4 ports on the decoder, do I then click on the point markers on the plan for it to learn? Also presume switch in K83 position? Then for my second ESU just allocate different port numbers and repeat the process? Sorry to be a pain!

[Chrissaf]

This idiots guide was originally written by another forum member. If you can't quite make it out (it is rather faint I'm afraid, but it is the best image I have got) right click the image and save the image file to your PC. You can then open it in an image viewer / editor and magnify it or enhance it as required. I recommend the documented 'Method 2' method.

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EDIT: I have found the original post by Michael published in 2014. It can be viewed here:

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/points-decoder-2/

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