e link release date

[darrenmarkgreen]

Hi all,

I have an elite and are using the trial version of railmaster.i have preordered the elink system which as the railmaster software withit,but the date i now have from the shop is sometime in may this means that my trial version will stop working

 

by then.Does anyboby else know if this is the case for the release of the elink as i dont want to buy railmaster twice as i want to buy the mobile apps for windows ce and android devices.

Thanks

Darren

[Gregd99]

for the release date I think yo need to go to Hornby.

 

if any forum member does know (I don't) .... they probably cant say.

[96RAF]

There was a twitter posting from Hornby 25 Feb saying it will be May.

https://twitter.com/hornby/status/306312866074611712

Rob

[darrenmarkgreen]

Phul007 said:

I am interested to know why you want an elink if you already have an elite.
I was waiting for the elink but it was taking too long so I bought an elite + railmaster.
I know the cost of the elink + railmaster is good value

?

The only reason I would buy one now is to run the trains off the elink and the points/accessories off the elite as Railmaster allows you to have two controllers , (of course your wiring would have to be separate). This would give you more power of

3amps for the elite and 4amps for the elink for a total of 7amps of total power to play with.

[darrenmarkgreen]

HI,

I would be using railmaster with the e link and have the elite as by backup contoller if for any reason the computer control crashes all together i could still have a manual system to count on.

I dont know what the e link unit has in the way

 

of connections but when i heared about it was hopeing that it would have a expressnet port but i think not.

 

Thanks for the replays

Darren

[LMSTim]

If you think about it, the eLink doesn't need an Xpressnet port as it is 100% computer-controlled. What would you actually plug into the Xpressnet port? Walkabout controllers? Don't need them because you can use phones and tablets with RailMaster and at

 

a far lower cost than a physical controller (which also doesn't give you a track plan to change points/signals).

 

With 4amp power supplies on both an Elite and eLink you can power 8amps with one controller dedicated to locos and the other dedicated to

 

points, signals, turntables, tippers and other accessories.

 

Apparently, due to the scale speed operation of RailMaster, you can operate many more locos simultaneously than if you used, say, the Elite alone as RailMaster scales all speeds down to a realistic

 

level.

 

[96RAF]

LMSTim said:

Apparently, due to the scale speed operation of RailMaster, you can operate many more locos simultaneously than if you used, say, the Elite alone as RailMaster scales all speeds down to a realistic level.

Cruise

running current will be as you say less than flat out running whether via Elite, e-Link or Railmaster, but the total number of locos runnable will depend upon the individual characteristics of their motors - e.g. more newer Hornby locos can run at once than

older ones or say Helijan's national grid drainers.

[RDS]

I think this discussion has gone badly off topic!

[Fishmanoz]

Off topic but a useful discussion.

Just to make a couple of things clear about eLink and using it as a second controller:

 

- it comes with the 1Amp supply, not 4, so you will need to consider having to buy the 4Amp supply for it which will double

 

its cost.

- if you are going to use it as a second controller, you are going to have to run a separate bus for it - so one bus for the tracks and a second bus for accessories

- if you are going to run 2 controllers, you might consider separating your

 

layout into 2 power districts rather than separating locos and accessories. There has been lots of separate discussion on this and it's advantages, including that a short doesn't take out your whole layout, just the district where it occurs.

Not sure what

 

happens about your handhelds if you run 2 controllers. It is not covered in the manual at this point.

[darrenmarkgreen]

LMSTim said:

If you think about it, the eLink doesn't need an Xpressnet port as it is 100% computer-controlled. What would you actually plug into the Xpressnet port? Walkabout controllers? Don't need them because you can use phones and tablets

with RailMaster and at a far lower cost than a physical controller (which also doesn't give you a track plan to change points/signals).

With 4amp power supplies on both an Elite and eLink you can power 8amps with one controller dedicated to locos and

the other dedicated to points, signals, turntables, tippers and other accessories.

Apparently, due to the scale speed operation of RailMaster, you can operate many more locos simultaneously than if you used, say, the Elite alone as RailMaster scales

all speeds down to a realistic level.

[darrenmarkgreen]

If the eLink has no expressnet port how would i connect the hornby power booster that uses the expressnet port has i have one connected to the elite and in time would of got read of the elite and just used the eLink system.

Thanks

Darren

[peterz]

Fishmanoz said:

Off topic but a useful discussion.
Just to make a couple of things clear about eLink and using it as a second controller:

- it comes with the 1Amp supply, not 4, so you will need to consider having to buy the 4Amp

supply for it which will double its cost.
- if you are going to use it as a second controller, you are going to have to run a separate bus for it - so one bus for the tracks and a second bus for accessories
- if you are going to run 2 controllers, you

might consider separating your layout into 2 power districts rather than separating locos and accessories. There has been lots of separate discussion on this and it's advantages, including that a short doesn't take out your whole layout, just the district

where it occurs.
Not sure what happens about your handhelds if you run 2 controllers. It is not covered in the manual at this point.

[Fishmanoz]

darrenmarkgreen said:

If the eLink has no expressnet port how would i connect the hornby power booster that uses the expressnet port has i have one connected to the elite and in time would of got read of the elite and just used the eLink

system.
Thanks
Darren

There are 3 ways of connecting the power booster - expressnet, USB or track output of the Elite to input of the booster. So use one of the other two.

[Fishmanoz]

And you can avoid buying a 4Amp supply for eLink too by connecting eLink output to booster input. Now you have 2 separate controllers, one on each power district - 4Amp Elite on one and 4Amp booster/eLink on the other.

[RDS]

I notice on the latest Press release from Hornby, received via my InBox today (quote):

Make sure that you don’t miss The London Festival of Railway Modelling on 23rd and 24th March at Alexandra Palace in London where Hornby will demonstrate our innovative

 

e-Link system for the first time in England.