E-Link Various Problems

[poliss]

If computers are so clever, why can't they work out all this for themselves? What joker thought of 'admin rights' anyway?

[GarH]

Give it time poliss, give it time. I think the problem is that putting homo sapiens between two pieces of high tech equipment ie a computer and an eLink unit or accessory decoder for example only aggravates and complicates the issue because homo sapiens

 

has the ability to think whereas computers and such like do what they have been programmed to do - unfortunately by homo sapiens.

 

As I said in a different thread I got the impression when I was setting up my new eLink unit with my new Windows 8 laptop

 

(Yes it does work with W8 thank you) that the kit knew what should be happening and following the instructions, instead of being diverted by a slight hiccup in the thought process by me, it would have been set up a lot quicker. I'm yet to have time to get

 

back to setting up the layout on the screen (yes it looks a bit twee but it seems to work based on a quick go at it initially and will no doubt be made better in time) and bringing the point decoders into the equation and my other locos set up and no doubt

 

there will be glitches but that's half the fun of it isn't it? I've had more problems with building my layout, trying to get track flat and correctly lined up etc etc to get locos running on the old DC than in the setting up of Railmaster and eLink. I do feel

 

for those who have had it bad but am much appreciative of you guys on these forums for the help and advice you supply us lesser mortals - keep it up.

[GarH]

I'm sure it won't be long before they actually do poliss. One has just stopped a longer response I've sent on the subject and held it back for moderation by a non computer!!!!

[GarH]

I think I used the Latin term for person and it thinks I'm being offensive which I clearly wasn't but hey that's the way it goes

[Graskie]

I wonder if you could get away with a word like "homogenous"?

[Graskie]

By the looks of it, yes. It do doubt wouldn't have been relevant to what you wanted to say, though, GarH.

[Fishmanoz]

Holding for moderation doesn't seem to be a temporary thing either. They never seem to appear. It seems the moderators have yet to take delivery of their round tuit.

[Railwaygun]

Do you live in Scunthorpe??

[Fishmanoz]

No, just a fraction further South. Sydney Aust.

[johnmh156]

chris c said:

PSummers said:

Having received the Hornby E-Link and Railmaster DCC controller last week, finally found time to set everything up and test... and so far... not good.

I will quickly state, i'm a Microsoft registered

IT Systems Engineer of 14 years, so would hope that might give me a head start (or set me up to fail!)...

First up... Does anyone else's E-Link buzz almost uncomfortably loud when plugged in? It leaves a ringing in the ear for hours after even not its

located under the baseboard!

I've installed RailMaster on a new machine dedicated for the purpose, the new machine runs Windows 8 (as would any new PC you'd have purchased in the past 6 months)... The setup process by Hornby's own admission is not straight

forward as would be for a new printer etc... Its a right fiddle! The problem is, for me at least - every time the PC is switched off, the E-Link is lost as a recognised device! Unplugged and reconnecting gives an error stating the USB device has malfunctioned.

Giving the PC a restart then requires the full driver installation process to be re-done.

RailMaster - This also has numerous graphics problems under windows 8 (running in compatibility mode doesn't help either)... When in full screen, icons become

blank squares, minimise etc are lost and windows ghost over each other...

Following a de-railment... All locos at stop - The only way to get running again is to close and reopen RailMaster, surely that can't be right?

Basically, I do not believe

Hornby should be quoting Windows 8 compatibility for this device... Have called Hornby support and await a response...

[johnmh156]

[reply]johnmh156 said:

 

 

I found a non DCC fitted loco buzzed but nothing else was heard, trying to work out why the e-link doesn't talk to a R8216 points decoder are these old units not compatable with the e-link, I thought I had bought a R8246

 

but the guy sent me a R8216 whether by mistake or hoping I wouldn't notice, a R8246 seems to be in short supply will a R8216 work with e-link???

[Fishmanoz]

The 8216 should work but double check the number on the unit to see what it says. Some were mis-packaged and are actually 8247s. It's a long time since the 8216 was available new.

[Oblong]

I have similar display problems under windows 8 as the original post. Main screen and pop screens open with invisible buttons, invisible scroll bars etc. scrolling the window off the edge of the screen ( both directions) makes the objects visible.

 

Also

 

the connection to the elink is fragile and is lost if the pc goes to screen saver requiring the application to be closed and the elink powered off to reset.

 

It was installed using an admin user account and I run it using an admin account.

 

I am

 

having problems setting a speed factor for a Bachman G2A - I have timed it at a scale 53 mph flat out but can't get elink to take that as the max speed using the timing screen ( I am entering both values). I have been using IT since the late 50's. and would

 

say that it is certainly not a mature product but shows good promise.

 

Also the elink buzzes but not loudly.

 

I have the latest software and firmware.

[Whistleblower7]

Hi All,

I too have similar problems with e-link, takes several attempts to connect (up to half an hour at times), will not up -date to version 1.04, every time it goes through update mode it crashes with error notice, Cannot Reboot Controller. I too

 

run Windows 8, on an all in one touchscreen pacifically purchased to run the e-link system. Have to say its the biggest load of rubbish I've ever purchased. Help from Hornby when I e-mailed then, basically non-existent, "download the manuals" the sum of their

 

help.

Very disappointed

[Fishmanoz]

Did you email "Hornby" via Hornby Customer Care or or email RM Support from within the Help section of RM. RM Support are well recognised on this forum as being very responsive and have managed to get many up and running with eLink, including replacing

 

faulty hardware, which has been an issue for some.

[alan10]

Whistleblower7 said:

Hi All,
I too have similar problems with e-link, takes several attempts to connect (up to half an hour at times), will not up -date to version 1.04, every time it goes through update mode it crashes with error notice,

Cannot Reboot Controller. I too run Windows 8, on an all in one touchscreen pacifically purchased to run the e-link system. Have to say its the biggest load of rubbish I've ever purchased. Help from Hornby when I e-mailed then, basically non-existent, "download

the manuals" the sum of their help.
Very disappointed

My system updated eLink to 1.04 after installing RM 1.53 but even after a successful(?) manual update of eLink to 1.04, RM still insists that eLink requires the update. This didn't happen

with previous incarnations of RM and eLink so I assume that RM 1.53 has 'broken' something and eLink 1.04 isn't recognised. I eventually got round it by restarting RM before the eLink error message which seemed to get round it. It took twenty minutes yesterday

to get RM and eLink to handshake and to bypass the 1.04 problem.

[Fishmanoz]

Alan, I take it you restored Windows to a restore point prior to the issue?

 

And I also take it you no longer have a problem?

[alan10]

Fishmanoz said:

Alan, I take it you restored Windows to a restore point prior to the issue?

And I also take it you no longer have a problem?

I don't normally create restore points before upgrading software, in this case

from RM 1.52 to RM 1.53. Using RM 1.52, apart from the 'don't let's shake hands before we've been properly introduced' problem from which a number of people seem to be suffering, RM and eLink controlled trains and points. Let's ignore the inability to read

CVs for the moment. Since upgrading to RM 1.53 it behaves as described above on two separate PCs. I've deactivated RM, uninstalled it, cleaned the PC with Active System Care Ultimate, reinstalled RM 1.53 from the download file, reactivated it and manually

updated eLink to 1.04 in case RM wasn't doing it properly. This latter queried the update as 1.04 was already resident but I did it anyway. All this has been carried out at least three times to no avail. Hence, I still have the problem.

[Whistleblower7]

Thanks, both Alan10 and Fishmanoz for your help, I will try reloading RM and see what results I obtain, hopefully positive ones

Many thanks Col

 

[dale_andrew]

I've been extending my layout recently so haven't used elink for a few weeks. It loaded fine on my laptop but the first sign that there was a problem was when the points didn't click on loading. There now doesn't seem to be any power going from elink to the track? Any ideas please? 

[Chrissaf]

DA, You have tagged your unrelated query on the end of a thread that was last accessed in 2013. This thread is effectively dead.

.

May I respectively suggest that you start a completely new topic of your own with your fresh query. It will confuse the forum users less that way and you may get a more specific response. I had to wade through 4 pages of old posts to get to your one.

.

I suggest you post it with a 'Topic Title' such as "eLink Power Issue" or something similar.

.

Use the Blue 'Add New Topic' button at the top of this page.

[Fishmanoz]

Alternatively, you could start with the recent posts on the RM forum and follow the solutions there which may well solve your problem.  The HRMS post near the bottom of page 1 of the thread titled Hornby Railmaster would be a good place to start.

 

Having hopefully sorted out your setup this way and if you still have a problem, then do as Chris suggests and start your own thread.