ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Is this cable any good for loconet on a Select. You would have to add your own 6 pin connector?https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004BM7JLG?ref=em_1p_0_ti&ref_=pe_2443691_510614531 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 The solution for walkabouts has always been the guy on ebay, who happily makes any length, in bright yellow. I have two, superb, and very reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 You obviously didn't read the link, it is USB to RS485 intelligent cable, not for a walkabout but to connect to a PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 It was my understanding that select will not work with railmaster. Hornby abolished their cable and software for select to attach to a computer. Hence even if a cable didconnect, surely it wont work.. what am i missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 I don't know I don't have a Select, someone said in another thread that it was because of the lack of cable. So I went looking for one. Perhaps that is why Hornby decided not to sell the cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Colin your cable won’t work because it won’t plug into the Select. Select has RJ12 for Xpressnet.You obviously do not read what folk write as I keep stating this and that it does not use separate software or drivers as it would have gotten its connection data from RM, which I also keep saying it does work with. In fact I am not going to respond to your posts anymore because you just ignore all written advice and blunder on down the same old path which is generally the wrong one. If you want to buy a cable with the right ends on it try the GM one, which does come with software and drivers and is designed to work with the GM basic controller. /media/tinymce_upload/50e63d36d656b0bf45040b8c19f42fe4.PNG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 i feel somewhat vindicated, as have 3 selects, and have kept up with all the Hornby proposals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 No RAF96 you don't read what I said, "You would have to add your own 6 pin". As I said will it do, obviously in you view it will not. There is no need to be so rude. I have a good percentage of my life writing drivers for PC software so I was just trying to help. You obviously have input to Hornby which I don't, unless GM are buying the lead off Hornby and the driver, I suspect that they are using a commercial product like 95% of the electronics world. In fact if I remember rightly when I connected my Elite with Railtrack I had to add a driver from the railtrack disk, so normally you load the particular manufacture's driver instead. As I said I used to design vehicle simulators, a little box that runs twin PICs communicating with a PC over USB. The PC then had a program that loaded up the data into the remote box. Sound familiar, just like railtrack does. I wrote both ends one side in C and the other in Windows C#. I used a commercial product in between the two. You obviously a very rude person, that cannot listen to new ideas. In my previos job I was the communications expert, if you want to link two computers together I was your man, so I think my old olleagues would find your post very amusing. For your information even the Hornby lead has to have a driver and somewhere in Railtrack there will be a .dll that talks to it, that is how all Windows programs work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 After reading this, I rest my case. It appears I was completely right.https://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=498According to this article, you just need to add the 6 pin socket to an existing lead RS485 lead, the extra pins carry the 12 volts to power the walk around devices, but I doubt for serial communications they are used. Hornby obviously designed their own, RS do one with the more usual FTDL chip in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 @ ColinB............I can find nothing rude in RAF96's post. There's nowt wrong with a man to man conversation or a bit of constructive criticism. PS.........there's no need to keep reminding us about your previous employments to prove you know what you are talking about. HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Colin, when you have been on this forum as long as many of us have, you will begin to know that constantly quoting your background, gets a tad tiring. . Its a model rail forum, CVs, are not necessary.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 Well why can he not do what I do search the web find the technology and then come up with a logical conclusion rather than criticise. As I said I was just pointing out it could be done with commercial components and yes I do find him rude, obviously you don't, there was no need for that rant. I see many stupid ideas on this site but I just let them pass. Incidentally GM doesn't have the leads anyway and looking at the picture they were the Hornby product. Obviously he didn't think I did know what I was talking about, surprisingly in electronics the devices get cleverer and faster, as I say I have been working with comms for years. If I had a Select I would try the idea out, but I don't have one and to be quite honest I have no need.Obviously, you are not like me I like to learn new things, as for my background then you shouldn't treat me as an idiot. I don't do to you, but I suppose you don't understand that. Actually, I would have thought some of my electronics and software knowledge would have been quite useful to you, but obviously not. If you don't want me to post I won't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 Actually, yelrow you seem to have a bit of an issue reading, where in my last post does it say I worked in computers. It says comms (communications), it says electronics, it says software but it doesn't say computers. I used to work in embedded software and hardware, look it up on the web, it is a bit different.As far as I am concerned subject is closed, for me some of you have shown your true colours. I suppose I should have known when I suggested point covers to cover the hole you cut for the point and got told to make some out of cardboard. I gather the guy that makes them for me with 3D printing does good business, so obviously not such a stupid idea. Anyway as I said subject closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 As far as I am concerned subject is closed, for me some of you have shown your true colours. I think that statement reflects more on your attitude than those members you are referring to......our "true colours" are simply for a harmonious Forum....HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Incidentally GM doesn't have the leads anyway and looking at the picture they were the Hornby product. The picture I posted was to the discontinued Hornby cable. I referred to a GM equivalent four wire adapter cable which has been on the market for some time before the Hornby announcement.Out of stock GM Xpressnet to Pc adapter cable - instructions for use downloadable on this page also. No guarantee this would work with a Select - try at your own risk.https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/model-railways/gaugemaster-dcc-brand5/gaugemaster-dcc55.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 I didn't follow your link, I went onto the Gaugemaster site and did a search. It tok several search attempts but eventually I found the reference to it and a nice picture with the Hornby logo on it. I was surprised, I was led to believe that they made their own, also it was a lot lower priced than what I was led to believe. It wasn't much more expensive than what I paid for a decent USB to RS232 for my Fleishmann. You have to be very careful with USB to serial comms leads, quite often the drivers don't work very well with every PC, especially the cheap ones from EBay/China, but as I say, they said they were out of stock.As I said I was only trying to help.In my case it is a bit academic, I run a Fleishmann twin track on my layout and an Elite to do my programming and general testing, I have no need for a Select. The only thing I would like is a means to switch DCC on and off remotely via a wireless/bluetooth link, so that when I am fixing a derailed loco, I can stop everything without having to go backwards and forwards to the control box and the fear of falling over a trailing lead.I have followed that link, that is what I would expected and nearer the price. What they have done is bought the module you can get from RS (they do it in several serial comms formats) and then attached the loconet cable to it. If you wanted to do some soldering the RS option is about half the price. The RS comms module is about £20.00 plus vat, I assume a loconet cable is a couple of pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 The SelectaLink picture was cropped from the pages of Hornby’s 2020 catalogue not the GM site.The GM cable is a completely different thing, nothing to do with Hornby at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Well when I did the the search on the Gaugemaster site that is exactly what I saw. Here is the link:https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/magento/catalogsearch/result/?q=select-a-linkSo obviously they were originally going to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Every retailer under the sun listed it when it was announced at the 2020 launch and Hattons still has R7135 on pre-order offer. Good luck waiting for that to come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 £60, for a unknown risk, an expensive punt. Idont understand why anyone would want one., given that the supporting software was never released Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Well I can't help that, I just did the search, I even checked on the date. Now to you and me we know it is the wrong one, the average person doesn't and proberly if Hornby had made it, it might have would have worked in the Prodogy if you were allowed to load the right driver, all it is doing is passing serial data. As I say I am not particularly bothered, you obviously are. As I said, to me, the subject is closed. The one good thing that has come out of this is I have done an awful lot of research on loconet, I suspect the link between my turntable and controller is such. Funny I used to have a lot of respect for your opinion, I though you were one of the good guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 i wish i could say the same. The good guys, of which there are many, have supported Hornby, and this forum for many years, as can be seen by number of posts. We dont make personal attacks, and limit our criticism to friendly banter.. Our private opinions, remain, just that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB51 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Can we please keep comments on here on topic and not personal please? Some of this is getting close to forcing closure of this thread. Not aimed at anyone and no further explanation is expected. R- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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