RailMaster Availability

[Buck1707822493]

Can anyone tell me if I can still by RailMaster and if so where?

[96RAF]

You download the demo from this site ... https://support.hornby.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360016155339-Railmaster-Evaluation-Copy

... and it runs in limited form for 90 days. You can buy the licence at any time from within RM.

You will need a suitable DCC controller (Elite or eLink) and an internet connection from the PC/Laptop you mount RM on.

You can buy bundled eLink and RM but be aware if the software has been previously registered the licence is not transferable, so if second hand it must be guaranteed unused.

[Chrissaf]

Yes RM is still available, but note the comments below.

Firstly the RM delivered on CD product is discontinued. See comment about second hand CDs further below.

The cheapest way to obtain RM is to buy the R8312 eLink & RM bundle. At the current time, not available as a direct purchase from Hornby, but stocks might still be sitting on retailer shelves.

RM is a software package which is developed by HRMS under license from Hornby. HRMS [Hornby RailMaster Support] is not part of Hornby Hobbies and you are buying RM from HRMS [a software company] and not Hornby.

Therefore, like nearly all software products these days, the software is downloaded as an "evaluation copy" and then you buy an activation key from within the application itself.

This is the process that is now adopted for RM to replace the discontinued CD. Be extremely cautious if anybody offers you a CD, the key is not transferable to a different owner and is extremely well policed by HRMS to prevent selling on. There is no workaround to recover a key if the original owner sells the CD on to someone else once the key has been activated.

As just stated, the RM key can be purchased from within the RM evaluation copy application. It is, from memory, in the region of £79. You can download RM from the links located on this website. See the sticky thread at the top of the RailMaster forum. Note that RM if purchased on its own will work with the Elite controller, but not the Select. The eLink interface is not available from Hornby as a standalone hardware product purchase, but can be purchased secondhand on the Internet without RM software.

Note that RM is now a very old application and the Microsoft Security Certificates for it have expired. This means that many Browsers and AV applications treat the download and the application itself as being "untrusted" you may have to go through several security override tasks to get the RM installer to download and then process the key to activate correctly.

Note that the downloaded installer file MUST be "run as an administrator" so right click the downloaded file and choose the "Run as administrator" option, failure to do this is likely to give you installation issues.

Expect to see installation messages relating to the PC Firewall. You must choose any and all "Allow" options that are offered in installation dialogue messages. RM requires full access to the Internet via your Firewall and AV protection to function correctly. This is the area where most "users" have activation issues due to the expired security certificates, as RM can, for some, become blocked from accessing the Internet. If this issue is experienced, it is very difficult to resolve and there is no "magic bullet" that can be suggested to resolve it.

Note that as a first time poster on this forum, your post was held back for moderator approval. Which is why it did not appear straight away. As well as approving your post above, I removed your two duplicate posting attempts which also did not appear straight away in the forum as they had been sent to the pending approval queue. Note that all image posts you might make are also held back for approval and will not appear straight away.

EDIT: Rob posted whilst I was typing my very long detailed reply, thus there is some duplication of advice given.

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