Elite and Select

[Homer]

Hi, how often should the above controllers need updating via the Web/Internet.

[Chrissaf]

• The Select cannot be updated DIY via the Internet. It can only be updated by 'return to Hornby'.
• The Elite can be updated DIY via download of a file.

 

As to how frequently. Well that depends upon Hornby. Some updates are released years apart. Updates are only released when there is a need to. Such as adding a new feature. There is no fixed schedule. Updates for just 'BUG' fixes are rare, as BUGs are reasonably few and far between and are usually identified just after a new feature update and the BUG is specific to that new feature release update.

 

For example, the Elite version 1.41 firmware was a feature update that proved to have a BUG, it was quickly followed within weeks by version 1.42 to fix it. There was then a gap of several years before 1.43 was released which turned out to be a BUG free feature update. The current version is 1.45 and contains a long outstanding BUG fix from a much earlier version relating to the Hornby Sapphire decoder fuel simulation that Hornby have only just got round to fixing [rather odd as the fix coincides with Hornby making the Sapphire decoder obsolete].

 

With regard the Select, the most recent releases have been version 1.5 followed by 1.6. Both of these firmware updates were both extensive feature updates [not BUG fixes] and again were a couple of years apart. Select firmware version 2.0 is dedicated only to the new Mark II Select hardware controller. The firmware [software] features of version 2.0 are exactly the same as the Select Mark I version 1.6.