Brew Man Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 There's a pre-owned Elite up for grabs on Hatton's if anyone's interestedhttps://www.hattons.co.uk/977378/hornby_r8214_po51_dcc_elite_unit_digital_controller_pre_owned_like_new_box/stockdetail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 They are going up nicely, in price. I have 3, (dont ask) tis a long story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 Yes, a new one from Hornby will set you back £326.75 now, whenever they arrive in stock that is face_with_rolling_eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpjallan Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 That's an outrageous price really, isn't it. For what it is. Quite old technology... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 I have an Elite that I recently replaced with a Digikeijs. The Digikeijs is great for running trains, but I prefer the Elite for its programming functions. Most of the DCC controllers on the market seem to require you to have a knowledge of CVs to program things, whereas the Elite handles it with menus that take away the need for that specific knowledge. Whether that is worth all that money remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 The old tech is the DCC bit which is many decades old now yet surprisingly no one has come up with a better option. The data is serial, hence slow in electronic terms. The controllers don’t have that many variations for how to do things, so the only real difference is often a prettier screen, full NMRA compliance, incorporation of some aspects of a layout operating system like RM for route setting, track-plans, etc. The rest is down to the decoders themselves and what fancy extra things they can be made to do within the spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Actually 96RAF there is not a lot wrong with DCC, yes it is dated now but so is CAN (for vehicles) and the one that is used for audio. The thing I find most annoying about the Elite is the way to enter values. I used those rotary encoders with the built in switch on one of my projects and quickly figured that when you press the rotating knob, occasionally it would nudge the encoder and enter a wrong value. That is my biggest complaint and as the unit gets older and the rotary knobs get a bit looser it happens more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 @colinAgreed the rotary encoders are fickle. I turn them with thumb and finger of one hand and press with the other hand to preclude setting a wrong value.My Elite teardown (see signature website) has an Annex by forum member Ed Cairns (Canada) that details their replacement and the new encoders thus specified have a more positive ‘detent’. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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