Drivers for DCC e-Link for Windows 10

[Chrissaf]

I am setting up Railmaster.The version I bought was on CD and came with e-manuals that were dated March 2014 and I updated the software to version 1.72. During that upgrade I got a new Railmaster guide e-manual dated December 2019 that described setting up 

 I successfully activated Railmaster using the supplied key.

 I came to set up the e-Link DCC controller and found the emaula said on page 14. 

"These instructions assume you are using Windows XP. Windows 98 and Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 may be different. See the separate Driver Installation PDF guide if you require more information."

 The version of the drivers pdf on the supplied CD is dated March 2014 and goes up to Windows 8. I am on Windows 10. The above instructions on page 14 didn’t tell me where to get an updated version of the Driver Installation PDF, they just said “see” it.. I couldn’t find it referenced elsewhere. Does anybody know how I get this please?

 

[Chrissaf]

The current version is 1.74 not 1.72

 

You can download the version 1.74 installer from the link at the top of the RailMaster forum index. Note that the text on the link says 1.73, it just hasn't had the text on the displayed page updated yet, it will download the 1.74 version. Right click the installer and choose 'Run as administrator'. You do not have to uninstall the 1.72 version first.

 

The drivers on the CD must not be used for Windows 10, they are legacy drivers for Windows that predate Windows 7. For Windows 7 to Windows 10 and above, the Microsoft provided drivers must be used. These are automatically downloaded from the MS driver repository and installed as part of the 'Plug n Play' new hardware detection. Therefore it is important that the act of plugging in the eLink into a USB port triggers this detection. It the trigger doesn't happen, then uninstall any drivers that you might have previously installed to force 'Plug n Play' to find the eLink again. It is important that any installed driver that is preventing 'Plug n Play' detection, is totally uninstalled, this includes deleting the actual driver file from the HDD.

 

The issue with installing the RailMaster software version that was on the CD [due to its age] is that the 'railmaster.ini' file is unlikely to be optimised for Windows 10 using an eLink. So make sure you implement the Addendum Instructions further below. It really would have been better if you had used the downloaded installer and just used the 'activation key' from the CD. It is because RailMaster was originally written for Windows XP, that the tweaking documented below is required to get RM to run on a Windows 10 PC.

 

Rather than reinvent the wheel and duplicate effort unnecessarily, follow the 'step by step' guidance given in the link below:

 

Read my replies which are the 3rd and 6th posts down on the page that opens.

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

 

Note that the instructions in the link above were written for the Elite. This is not an issue. When reading and following the instructions just substitute each reference to the Elite with eLink. They both use the SAME Microsoft 'USB Serial Port' driver and the installation process is identical. Note that when the driver is correctly installed there will not be any reference to Hornby/Elite/eLink in the Control Panel 'Device Manager' Window. The correct driver is a generic Microsoft 'USB Serial Port' one. Also note that the post in the link above was written as part of a tutorial guide for updating the Elite firmware. Thus the references to running the Elite firmware updater software can be ignored as you are only interested in the initial driver installation part of the written guide.

 

Addendum

 

RailMaster version 1.7x .INI file changes needed to run the eLink with Windows 10 and version 1.7x RailMaster software.

 

Firstly, the 'railmaster.ini' file editor is opened using the Bluish COG icon located in the bottom left of the RailMaster 'Help' screen.

 

First of all confirm that you have about 40 lines of .INI file lines in the file. If there are only about 10 lines or less, then you need to rebuild a new file. I will tell you how to do that, but only if you need to. For the present, I am assuming that you have a full file list present.

 

Look for and locate the line:

 

Reset eLink on start=1

 

edit this line to

 

Reset eLink on start=0

 

I also suggest that both the following lines should have =1 values for an eLink being used as Controller A.

 

Alternative comms=1

Check controller=1

 

I also suggest that if the two lines above are present but further up the file and not at the end of the file as the last two lines, that you delete the original lines and re-type them as the very last two lines in the file. I don't want to digress into reams of text why you should do this, just trust me and follow the guidance.

 

Once you get to the stage where the eLink is recognised by Windows 10 with the correct driver loaded. Then open Windows Device Manager and note the allocated Com Port number. Ideally it should be either Com 3 or Com 4.

 

Then open 'System Settings' in RailMaster and ensure that the same Com number is selected in the pull down box.

 

This 'System Settings' configuration box should also have eLink selected as Controller A

 

• Baud Rate = 115200
• 8 Data Bits
• Stop Bits 1
• Parity None
• Flow control none

 

Controller B should = none

 

It is important that you always use the same physical USB port for your eLink. RailMaster was written for Windows XP and does not dynamically manage Com port number allocations well if they keep changing. Using the same physical USB port should stabilise the port allocations. It is also better to use a USB 2.0 port rather than a USB 3.0 port on the PC.

 

The version of the drivers pdf on the supplied CD is dated March 2014 and goes up to Windows 8. I am on Windows 10. The above instructions on page 14 didn’t tell me where to get an updated version of the Driver Installation PDF, they just said “see” it.. I couldn’t find it referenced elsewhere. Does anybody know how I get this please?

 

If you run the RailMaster 1.74 installer as instructed in my guidance above. The 'Installer' will also install all of the current latest PDF manuals, including the latest 'Driver' PDF. The installer places 'shortcuts' on your Desktop to these manuals, as long as you have that option ticked in the installer dialogue box.

 

THIS IS A VERY LONG REPLY. PLEASE DO NOT CLICK THE BLUE BUTTON TO REPLY. Please read the TIP below to reply.

 

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. TIPs include 'How to post images' and 'How to make links clickable'.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

 

 

[Charles1707820877]

Thanks Chrissaf. Very useful.

I downloaded 1.74 (despite Microsoft Defender Smartscreen telling me it was dangerous) and updated okay. 

I also updated the .ini file.as per your addendum. There were 34 lines. I changed it as you suggested. Alternative comms wasnt there so I added.

However I cant get the PC to recognise the e-link and I tried it on 2 PCS.with the same result as below. Its a brand new purchase. Any ideas?

Consequnently nothing showing in drivers.

 

[Chrissaf]

The drivers for the eLink have not been loaded [possibly not installed correctly either]. Hence they are not showing in your Device Manager screen capture.

 

Go back to my earlier reply and follow the clickable link third way down the page. The instructions in my reply above were very detailed. You have to see Windows initiate the 'Plug n Play' driver install process when you plug in a powered up eLink into a USB port. If this process is not initiated, then you cannot install the drivers correctly.

 

I would also advise that RailMaster is NOT running when you try to install the drivers. The drivers need to be installed as a completely separate task before you start to run RailMaster.

 

Your eLink may possibly be faulty and creating the 'USB Device not recognised' error.