eLink Confusion

[Howbi]

Jim......you are not grasping the correct information..........you can download the latest version of Railmaster from this Forum  -  Hornby Railmaster & Trackmaster page, the link is highlighted........it is the evaluation version for a trial period then you buy the full version..........but you will need the Elite controller to use with it..........OR.......purchase the combined RM with Elink from the Hornby shop with 10% discount..........OR..........buy a new trainset with RM/Elink in the set, with locos, ready to run..........you don't need a power booster unless you have got a huge layout as big as a double garage.........then with Railmaster on your computer you will be able to run programs to control your locos, points & signals, eventually............HB

[Yelrow]

Fishy, dont agree. There are many elinks on ebay, i have 2, which i could be persuaded to part with. Also, once you have your secondhand Elite, you are good to go. You wont see RM at £5, again. john

[Yelrow]

MIJJ, get your £5 Railmaster cd from Hattons. Its a no brainer. john

[Chrissaf]

I want to run at least four locos (power booster required I assume).

.

No it is complete overkill to use a Booster, and over complicates the layout wiring as with a Booster you need to split the layout into discrete power sections.

.

Just replace the basic 1 Amp power supply with the Hornby P9300 4 Amp one.

[Howbi]

An Elite controller on Ebay currently @ £188 plus Railmaster CD @ £5 from Hattons is a good deal....... 😀...HB

[dynax]

personally i would get the western express set from hattons £125.00 + an extra copy of RM £5.00 so for a total of £134.00 with deleivery you get an E-link, 2 copies of RM( one as a backup/or for using on another pc/laptop, a TTS loco, 3 coaches and track,

 

Which is exactly what i did,

[Gitter]

Correct HB.   I would advise anyone, if asked, to go for Elite (budget permitting), and snap up Rm from Hattons. Someone  once described Select as an ideal door stop, if it was heavier.  If I couldn't have the Elite  I would go down the Elink/Rm road. Only because I believe Rm is going to give us a lot more yet.

[Bigskybirds]

 @Dynax

 

The Western Express is no longer £125 it went up last week to £199 at Hattons

[dynax]

@BSB, so it is, i didin't realise, still a bargain though at £199.00,

[Yelrow]

Gitter, add a cable from ebay, and the Select becomes a very cabable walkabout. I would be happy to have a second one. Could offer a elink for one, if one was allowed to. Up to date, of course. john

[Gitter]

                       Hi John, I never considered that. I control everything via mouse. very rarely do get out of seat, and then only to stretch my legs and switch the kettle on. Also on top of the The £199  Op will then require 4amp power supply at £40. = £239. Flip the coin time, I know which side I would have it fall on. And of course the cost of the cable to use the Select as walkabout.

[mjb1961]

Hi ,,,,did DaveAus go for the elink or not bother ,does anyone know ,i know it's  only been 4 years since he posted !!!

[Yelrow]

Like many people on here who we help and advise, yet again we /me are not aware of the conclusion.We continually ask posters, to keep us in the loop, but its the exception, rather than the rule, who do. john

[dynax]

Wait till the one post wonders start from the 25th Dec, you might get an odd one to say thanks,

[Fishmanoz]

I want to run at least four locos (power booster required I assume).

.

No it is complete overkill to use a Booster, and over complicates the layout wiring as with a Booster you need to split the layout into discrete power sections.

.

Just replace the basic 1 Amp power supply with the Hornby P9300 4 Amp one.

 

Keep it simple, you don't need a booster, unlikely to ever need a booster, and for 4 locos plus a few bits and pieces, you also don't need the 4 Amp supply.  You just need standard eLink with 1 Amp and RM, bought new or with eLink second hand at your choice (RM licence isn't transferable, must be bought new).  It's a while since they've said it but HRMS has posted previously this is all they use to power their large test layout.  At the most, you may want to buy a 4 Amp down the track sometime but definitely not a Day 1 purchase.  Later you may also decide you'd like the Elite, then the 4 Amp comes with it.

 

And there seems to be confusion as to the difference between the trial version of RM and the fully licensed version.  There is no difference, they are exactly the same, it's just that the trial is throttled as to capability (number of locos you can run, size of layout) until you enter an activation code that is what you buy with the licence.

 

PS.  Prices of eLink sets - I walked into my local model shop in Sydney at the weekend to just have a look around.  They had the Majestic set on the shelf at an eye-watering $849 (£530).  And they wonder why we buy from Hattons, saving VAT and not paying GST in the process, and not from them.

[Dazzler down under]

Sounds like the same place thats selling the $385 Thomas Hardy Fishman.

[Fishmanoz]

Hobbyco at Rhodes is where I was, didn't stay long as they've almost taken all of the model railway stuff off display.

 

PS.  Don't go all formal, Fishy please.

[Dazzler down under]

Hobby co out my way have done the same thing they have bugger all and the city store was near empty last time i was in there too.

[mijj]

Jim......you are not grasping the correct information..........you can download the latest version of Railmaster from this Forum  -  Hornby Railmaster & Trackmaster page, the link is highlighted........it is the evaluation version for a trial period then you buy the full version..........but you will need the Elite controller to use with it..........OR.......purchase the combined RM with Elink from the Hornby shop with 10% discount..........OR..........buy a new trainset with RM/Elink in the set, with locos, ready to run..........you don't need a power booster unless you have got a huge layout as big as a double garage.........then with Railmaster on your computer you will be able to run programs to control your locos, points & signals, eventually............HB

 

 

Thanks to all that replied.  It is all appreciated here, I realise how little I know about the railways and about model railways in particular

Ok, yes. I am totally confused and seem to be going around in ever diminishing circles.....

I am in the midst of insulating my garage for model railway operating and art.

I had better progress one stage at a time, that is:-

Make a baseboard first.

Lay the track.

Get 4 locos operational with DCC (I have two DCC Hornby freight sets) I will need some more track.

Then learn more about 'Software to Run Model Railways' as I am currently totally confused.  Does RM run other locos? Will it cope with Faller Cars? ( I hope to have a couple of these as well). I have two Selects, can I use two? Common sense says no.  How can I see the layout plan and program without a screen using an E-link?  In engineering DC has always meant Direct Current and AC for alternating current.  How come DCC is designated for model railway when it is really neither pure DC nor AC but something else? Variable Frequency Pulsed DC? The motors having permanent magnets must be still DC surely? Initially the rolling stock will be limited to that supplied with the two sets so consisting will be the order of the day and the light loading that goes with that. Anyway I am just acruing the bits and pieces that I forsee I need to motivate me to get the garage done LOL.

JimW

[Fishmanoz]

DCC stands for Digtal Command and Control, it has nothing to do with DC or AC.  It is a standard produced by the National Model Railway Association (NMRA) in the US.  Power is distributed in a 10kHz or so square wave and DCC commands are digitally modulated onto the square wave and received by decoders.  The loco control voltage produced by the decoder is the original signal pulse width modulated such that it's average DC value is between zero and around 15 volts.  Because the motor is highly reactive it acts as a low pass filter so only sees the average value.  And yes it's still the same DC motor.

 

RM will run any standard DC model loco with a decoder fitted to convert it to DCC.  That means everything some brands that use AC like Marklin.

 

From a quick look at their site, it won't run Faller cars as these are battery powered and couldn't be converted to DCC.

 

Yu can only connect one DCC controller to any one layout.  So you. An only connect one Select, or one eLink or one Elite.  However additional Selects can be connected to a Select or Elite as a walkabout so can give you 2 or more controllers but only one connected to the track.

 

If you are using eLink it can only be done via a PC/laptop and a screen, you cannot control anything without.

 

Trust your planning and track laying goes well.  Keep the questions coming, we have answers for all of them, some of those answers even correct!

[mijj]

Thanks for your reply and the expanation of DCC fishmanoz. I was aware of what it stood for but not where it came from.

I read on another site that RM had limitations in its applications to other products but perhaps I misunderstood ( not unknown here). Did you mean that Marklin uses AC on their rails?

I did not explain fully about the Faller Cars, I know they run off their own rechargeable cells it was the programming of the stop/starts and routing turns that I was thinking of. They would need to be operated in sympathy with the railway crossings. Yeah, traffic lights as well. I do assume that I'll have to arrange some sensing of vehicle presence at these points.

Thanks for the good wishes for my progress etc. I have to fit everything in and some days are totally lost to my modelling LOL.

JimW

 

 

 

[RDS]

@wensley

I have moved your post (and Rob's reply) to a new thread in the DCC section, named 'e-link has Failed'