Elite display issue

[Brew Man]

It could be the display itself, but it sounds more like the driver chip to me.

[Deem]

Thanks @Going Spare will check with them as well.

On separate note, I borrowed bare-bone DCC controller with 1.75amp power supply from my friend, if I remember correctly, this was for under 50 included postage from ebay by person name Nigel. Not my cup of tea, I am just testing few loco which are DCC fitted so I wanted to check to make sure they what they were, as they were sold. Unique setup but everything works as it should.

 

 

Edited August 5 by Deem

[SteveM6]

Deem, might I suggest another short term solution?

I don't know if you are an HM7K user but you could buy the dongle which plugs directly into the Elite and which still powers the track . Use the HM7K app to control your DCC locos from a suitable phone which will give a much more user friendly display. The only drawback is that you won't be able to programme non HM7K locos from the app but it will only cost you £40.

[Deem]

1 hour ago, Deem said:

Thanks @Going Spare will check with them as well.

On separate note, I borrowed bare-bone DCC controller with 1.75amp power supply from my friend, if I remember correctly, this was for under 50 included postage from ebay by person name Nigel. Not my cup of tea, I am just testing few loco which are DCC fitted so I wanted to check to make sure they what they were, as they were sold. Unique setup but everything works as it should.

 

 

 

This was for the attention of @LTSR_NSE, just another option to have in mind. As cheap alternative.

Edited August 5 by Deem

[Deem]

54 minutes ago, SteveM6 said:

Deem, might I suggest another short term solution?

I don't know if you are an HM7K user but you could buy the dongle which plugs directly into the Elite and which still powers the track . Use the HM7K app to control your DCC locos from a suitable phone which will give a much more user friendly display. The only drawback is that you won't be able to programme non HM7K locos from the app but it will only cost you £40.

Thanks for your suggestion
@SteveM6, I do have Bluetooth dongle put in storage last year when I had to pack up all my railway stuff to allow my nephew to stay in my Man Cave room. I am getting that room back this week so I will set up a layout first before I bring everything out, at that time I will be using HM7K with app, powered by elite or HM7K power supply which I bought last year as well, if by then my elite is not fixed.

[96RAF]

15 hours ago, Deem said:

Thanks for your suggestion
@SteveM6, I do have Bluetooth dongle put in storage last year when I had to pack up all my railway stuff to allow my nephew to stay in my Man Cave room. I am getting that room back this week so I will set up a layout first before I bring everything out, at that time I will be using HM7K with app, powered by elite or HM7K power supply which I bought last year as well, if by then my elite is not fixed.

Remember you can power a layout with an eLink which doesn't have a screen or any controls. With a dongle you can operate all your locos from the app - bluetooth and regular dcc.

Edit - be aware the eLink does not have an Xpressnet port for a dongle, but it can be used to power a bus.

[Dodge1965]

33 minutes ago, 96RAF said:

Remember you can power a layout with an eLink which doesn't have a screen or any controls. With a dongle you can operate all your locos from the app - bluetooth and regular dcc.

@96RAF What voltage does the eLink give out for track?

[What About The Bee]

@Deem

Perhaps this auction is of interest https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296596276863

The person claims it works, except for the "9" key.  Maybe strip the display and keep the rest for parts?

Bee

[96RAF]

12 hours ago, Dodge1965 said:

@96RAF What voltage does the eLink give out for track?

15.4 dcc volts as seen on an RRAMP meter, same as Elite and Select. Note an Edit to my earlier post about eLink and dongle port.

Accuracy using a multimeter on AC volts scale will depend upon the sampling rate of the meter being close to DCC frequency.

 

[96RAF]

3 hours ago, What About The Bee said:

@Deem

Perhaps this auction is of interest https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296596276863

The person claims it works, except for the "9" key.  Maybe strip the display and keep the rest for parts?

Bee

Usually a key failure is down to the toy button pressing method used by these controllers, i.e. a triangular sprung contact held in place by sticky tape. Often if out of use for a long time the pcb traces become oxidised, which can be 'cleaned' using repeated button presses.  In this case the contact may have come detached or misaligned.

A single button failure would point to this, as I have a Select where half the buttons and the speed knob failed indicating a PIC chip problem.

In any case the price asked is good as it includes a 4-amp brick.

 

[Deem]

8 hours ago, What About The Bee said:

@Deem

Perhaps this auction is of interest https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296596276863

The person claims it works, except for the "9" key.  Maybe strip the display and keep the rest for parts?

Bee

Thanks @What About The Bee, it is already on my watch list and I will see, if I win the auction then maybe I can use the lcd from this and give the rest to another fellow modeller who have asked me.

[SteveM6]

2 hours ago, Deem said:

Thanks @What About The Bee, it is already on my watch list and I will see, if I win the auction then maybe I can use the lcd from this and give the rest to another fellow modeller who have asked me.

If you get it and it's only the "9" I would see if Hornby can replace or clean the faulty switch in that unit first. They did that for me last summer on a unit from 2007.

[Deem]

33 minutes ago, SteveM6 said:

If you get it and it's only the "9" I would see if Hornby can replace or clean the faulty switch in that unit first. They did that for me last summer on a unit from 2007.

Mine is 2007 as well but this summer they are refusing to repair it.

[ColinB]

51 minutes ago, Deem said:

Mine is 2007 as well but this summer they are refusing to repair it.

It seems to new management are enforcing all the rules. Sure if you can't get the parts to fix it it I can understand it, but normally you would replace the pcb inside with newer parts and charge the Customer accordingly. When I took mine apart to fix the keyboard (I bought mine broken) the technology was pretty old school and if the numbering is to be believed, mine is a 2015 model.

[SteveM6]

56 minutes ago, Deem said:

Mine is 2007 as well but this summer they are refusing to repair it.

Maybe they are unable to replace the screen/driver on your current unit but a pushbutton switch on the potential replacement may be a different matter?

[ColinB]

4 minutes ago, SteveM6 said:

Maybe they are unable to replace the screen/driver on your current unit but a pushbutton switch on the potential replacement may be a different matter?

Yes, but they don't know until they look at it. That screen looks proprietary so I would be surprised it they have changed it in all the years they have been making them. It would cost too much and on the number of units they make probably not worth it. I keep trying to remember what the hardware was on the displays we used, but it is a long time ago. They say they can't fix it so end of story. 

Edited August 6 by ColinB

[SteveM6]

I am just suggesting that while Hornby have already been asked and declined to repair the screen issue, they have not as yet been asked to repair a pushbutton on a yet to be purchased secondhand unit.

There seems to be an assumption that they will not repair any Elite fault but there is no harm in asking if/when the replacement is sourced.

[ColinB]

1 hour ago, SteveM6 said:

I am just suggesting that while Hornby have already been asked and declined to repair the screen issue, they have not as yet been asked to repair a pushbutton on a yet to be purchased secondhand unit.

There seems to be an assumption that they will not repair any Elite fault but there is no harm in asking if/when the replacement is sourced.

Possibly, normally what you do with pushbuttons is take the unit apart and either clean the pad with a solvent or ink/track rubber. The pad seems to attract all sorts of gunge. On my one the big red push button had lost its end, I temporarily fixed it with a cocktail stick until Hornby supplied me with a new one free of charge. I get the opinion that wouldn't happen now.

[What About The Bee]

Hi @SteveM6

I agree that which ever way gets Deem to a working controller is good.  Cleaning the contact, swapping keyboards, swapping displays?  It matters not, he just needs a controller.

As the ebay offering is an auction, we will just have to wait and see.  Fingers crossed Deem wins.

As to Hornby?  We must consider that Hornby is a business, not a benevolent public institution.  If it is no longer commercially viable to perform a service, then they should not perform it.  I would prefer, personally, that Hornby remain in business, rather than to go bankrupt attempting to salvage old kit.  A 2007 unit is 17 years old.  How long do we expect it to last?

Bee

[Deem]

I am hoping to dismantle my Elite again to see if I can find any information on the screen which allows me to find, something similar from Ali Express.

[Deem]

1 minute ago, What About The Bee said:

Hi @SteveM6

I agree that which ever way gets Deem to a working controller is good.  Cleaning the contact, swapping keyboards, swapping displays?  It matters not, he just needs a controller.

As the ebay offering is an auction, we will just have to wait and see.  Fingers crossed Deem wins.

As to Hornby?  We must consider that Hornby is a business, not a benevolent public institution.  If it is no longer commercially viable to perform a service, then they should not perform it.  I would prefer, personally, that Hornby remain in business, rather than to go bankrupt attempting to salvage old kit.  A 2007 unit is 17 years old.  How long do we expect it to last?

Bee

I totally agree with you @What About The Bee but can I add a finer point to this, which was mentioned by someone else here as well, maybe Hornby can keep spares in stock like car manufacturer have parts available for older cars more than 17 years old. I do understand if Hornby provide parts than customer will not be buying new items, but taking into account this hobby is gone quite expensive, maybe it is equally important that parts are available so people like myself can carry on enjoy this hobby. Not everyone can afford RRP £300.00 plus for a controller.

[Deem]

3 hours ago, ColinB said:

Yes, but they don't know until they look at it. That screen looks proprietary so I would be surprised it they have changed it in all the years they have been making them. It would cost too much and on the number of units they make probably not worth it. I keep trying to remember what the hardware was on the displays we used, but it is a long time ago. They say they can't fix it so end of story. 

Thanks @ColinB

[Deem]

2 hours ago, SteveM6 said:

I am just suggesting that while Hornby have already been asked and declined to repair the screen issue, they have not as yet been asked to repair a pushbutton on a yet to be purchased secondhand unit.

There seems to be an assumption that they will not repair any Elite fault but there is no harm in asking if/when the replacement is sourced.

Fair point @SteveM6

[96RAF]

1 hour ago, Deem said:

I am hoping to dismantle my Elite again to see if I can find any information on the screen which allows me to find, something similar from Ali Express.

The daughterboard is listed in the teardown.

 

[Deem]

6 hours ago, 96RAF said:

The daughterboard is listed in the teardown.

 

Yes, that's correct and thanks for sharing @96RAF. So far I have not found anything any where which is similar to this display. Search will goes on until I win the auction on ebay or I am going to find cheaper alternative.

Edited August 7 by Deem