Hornby Select Compatibility with Newer DCC Products

[BritInVanCA]

I have a Hornby Select Controller purchased in 2009 (from a Canadian Hornby stockist). I have not purchased any new decoders for about six years but am looking at TTS decoders (Hornby A1/A3) as well as new release Hornby locomotives with steam functions (Black 5 Autumn 2022).

I am seeing comments regarding older Hornby Select firmware and compatibility with newer chips/functions. Do I need to upgrade my controller in ordered to use these newer functions/chips? That would be rather disappointing considering how much I spent on the Hornby Select.

Thanks

[Chrissaf]

2009 is now 13 years old. I would assume that the firmware in your Select is lower than version 1.5.

Many electronic products go through firmware upgrades to keep up with ongoing product development and feature upgrades during their lifetimes and DCC is no exception. The difference with the Select, is that there is no mechanism to support 'over the Internet' upgrading, which is a feature of the eLink and Elite controllers as they have USB interfaces.

You need as a minimum version 1.5 for full support of TTS sound decoders. TTS Sound use functions up to F25. The original version 1.0 only supported Functions 1 to 4, a later firmware update increased function support to F8 but function support up to F28 was added in firmware 1.5. Firmware 1.6 expanded the Select functionality to include writing to CVs in the 1 to 255 range.

Very early firmwares can sometimes exhibit limited support for more modern decoders, but full NMRA standards support is in the later versions.

So the question to be answered is what firmware does your Select have. This information is displayed as the very first number to be briefly displayed on screen as the Select is powered up. The number will fall between 10 and 20, version 1.5 will display as 15. Version 1.3 as 13 etc.

Firmware upgrades are a return to Hornby upgrade and a "returns number" will need to be obtained first from Hornby Customer Services. The upgrade charge is typically £15. Selects will be upgraded to version 1.6 and will typically be turned around in about 10 working days or less.

Once upgraded you will need to download the full version 1.5 Select manual PLUS the 1.6 - 2.0 Adendum Select manual as the user interface [how you use it] is completely different. These manuals are downloadable in PDF format from the "Support" section of the Hornby UK website. A link can be provided if you struggle to find them, as their location is not particularly easy to find.

I am not aware of any upgrade centres closer to your Canadian location, so the cost of posting to the UK needs to be factored in to your costs. Hornby typically fund the return costs out of the upgrade charge.

The Select is an entry level controller and competitively priced as such. The latest 1.6 or 2.0 firmware versions in my opinion significantly enhances the Select controller compared to other entry level brands with similar pricing.

As this is your very first post on this forum and my reply is very long, it would be really appreciated if you used the 'Reply Text Box' at the bottom of the page to make any reply and ignored the within post blue button.

[BritInVanCA]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply.

I had been doing some parallel investigation myself and found out how to check the firmware version (1.1) but you gave me lots of detail. It's good to hear that even after 11 years this is not a "throw away" product as other technology can tend to be. I'll go through customer service to determine the costs from Canada.

[96RAF]

You are well advised to have your Select updated as v1.1 has a serious bug that will affect and damage any R8247 points accessory decoder connected to it. If you have such a module or intend to use one do not connect it to your Select until it has been updated. It is OK for use with loco control until then, albeit limited as Chris said.

[Chrissaf]

Other threads and posts on this forum, seem to indicate that TTS decoders do not work with Select firmware version 1.1 at all. But those reports might be 'operator error'. Version 1.1 is even earlier than I thought your Select would be, and I think you have been very lucky to not have had other decoder issues before. As Rob says, the version 1.1 can damage the later R8247 Accessory Decoders so I would assume that if you are using Hornby Accessory Decoders for points, they must be the earlier R8216 ones.

PS - Now that I am on my PC this morning [instead of Android tablet], I can provide a link to where the 1.5 and 1.6 Addendum manuals can be downloaded.

Hornby Digital – Hornby Support