Hornby E-Link - Failed Hand Shake - Windows 7

[dugdug03]

I have recently brought the E-link and rail master

 

However i am having issues with the computer picking up the e-link

 

The ports are the same (com3) and set the correct drivers as per hornby helpline advice and i have right clicked on desk

 

top icon and gone to properties and set it with a tick next to run as administrator.

 

Has anyone else had this problem and know a fix?

 

Thank you for your time

[RB51]

dugdug03 said:

I have recently brought the E-link and rail master

However i am having issues with the computer picking up the e-link

The ports are the same (com3) and set the correct drivers as per hornby helpline advice and

i have right clicked on desk top icon and gone to properties and set it with a tick next to run as administrator.

Has anyone else had this problem and know a fix?

Thank you for your time

[RB51]

Unfortunately there are quite a few things to check.

Have you followed the on-screen instructions? Power down etc. wait 10 secs. I found that the e-link needs to be powered up for a little more than the 10 secs Hornby suggest before connecting to PC/laptop

 

and opening RM. If you are running RM on a laptop there is a possibility that your USB port is holding a small charge. The RM manual covers how to disssipate this. A pain in the proverbial but you should only need to do it once. You can try using another COM

 

port - theres nothing wrong with the one you are using probably but changing it sometimes does the trick. I still get this after a month or so and am now used to the power down down routine. Come back to this if you are still stuck after trying those few things.

 

R-

 

[dugdug03]

Hi Roger

 

Thanks for the reply, i have read the instructions and the light on the unit is a sold green,

i have taken all the steps advised, powered down everything inc laptop and removing battery.

I have attempted changing COM Ports but this

 

makes no difference, frustrated isnt the word :(

[alan10]

dugdug03 said:

Hi Roger

Thanks for the reply, i have read the instructions and the light on the unit is a sold green,
i have taken all the steps advised, powered down everything inc laptop and removing battery.
I have attempted

changing COM Ports but this makes no difference, frustrated isnt the word :(

Sounds as though you've got the one that I returned :-(

After relating all my troubles in another thread and having RM support agree that my second eLink was

faulty, I'm now back to square one with a complete lack of consistency in the behaviour of the iPad/Laptop/RM/eLink combination and I too am am becoming more and more frustrated.

I can't understand how, with all the reported problems, the RM/elink combination

was allowed to hit the streets. RM is the only software I own that has to be installed and run with Admin. Rights. eLink is the only hardware I own that is so sensitive to driver/port combinations and that combination, for me, is a recipe for disaster. I don't

doubt that for many people it works perfectly but that isn't really the point. It should work perfectly for everybody without having to jump through hoops to make it work.

Just my two pence.

[Fishmanoz]

Dugdug, not being an eLink user myself I can't give you any specific help, but it is clear from the DCC and RM forums that there have been some problems with this brand new item. And some have had their eLink replaced, with a greater or lesser degree of

 

success.

 

For a start, we know that on first getting eLink and RM powered up together out of the box, a combined RM update to v1.52 and eLink firmware update should happen. But if RM can't see your eLink, this can't have happened at least for eLink,

 

although it should have happened for RM as long as you are running it with admin rights as you said.

 

The best people to solve this for you are RM Support, so either ring them or email them from in the Help section of RM.

[Gregd99]

alan10 said:

Sounds as though you've got the one that I returned :-(

After relating all my troubles in another thread and having RM support agree that my second eLink was faulty, I'm now back to square one with a complete lack of consistency

in the behaviour of the iPad/Laptop/RM/eLink combination and I too am am becoming more and more frustrated.

I can't understand how, with all the reported problems, the RM/elink combination was allowed to hit the streets. RM is the only software I own

that has to be installed and run with Admin. Rights. eLink is the only hardware I own that is so sensitive to driver/port combinations and that combination, for me, is a recipe for disaster. I don't doubt that for many people it works perfectly but that isn't

really the point. It should work perfectly for everybody without having to jump through hoops to make it work.

Just my two pence.

There has been some variable experience with installing drivers for the elite as well.

I know that

it doesn't help the OP but with the elite and railmaster and the elink, using an XP PC, I just plugged them in and it all worked!

[dugdug03]

Fishmanoz said:

Dugdug, not being an eLink user myself I can't give you any specific help, but it is clear from the DCC and RM forums that there have been some problems with this brand new item. And some have had their eLink replaced, with

a greater or lesser degree of success.

For a start, we know that on first getting eLink and RM powered up together out of the box, a combined RM update to v1.52 and eLink firmware update should happen. But if RM can't see your eLink, this can't have

happened at least for eLink, although it should have happened for RM as long as you are running it with admin rights as you said.

The best people to solve this for you are RM Support, so either ring them or email them from in the Help section of RM.

Thanks

for the reply, once installed from disc it loads and asks me to update, at this stage i update, upon restarting RM after install i get the hand shake message, i have also tried using COM1 with no luck

[dugdug03]

Out of interest does the light stay solid or flash on other peoples working elinks?

[Fishmanoz]

So just to clarify dug, when you change to com1, do you go into Device Manager, change the com port number to 1, first ensuring no conflict with other devices, then change eLink to com1 in Settings in RM, so making sure it is connected to the correct port?

[dugdug03]

Fishmanoz said:

So just to clarify dug, when you change to com1, do you go into Device Manager, change the com port number to 1, first ensuring no conflict with other devices, then change eLink to com1 in Settings in RM, so making sure it

is connected to the correct port?

That is corrrect

[alan10]

dugdug03 said:

Out of interest does the light stay solid or flash on other peoples working elinks?

Mine stays solid except during a successful handshake, (never successful at the first attempt) when it extinguishes in concert

with a beep and then relights solidly shortly before the end of the handshake sequence.

My next move is to dump Windows 7 on the laptop and install Windows XP to see if that helps.

BTW, Handheld App v1.16 has been released.

[alan10]

Enlarging on my earlier post(s), I have two digital cameras, a Canon and an Olympus. I can plug either of them into any USB port on my laptop and the Canon brings up the Canon software and the Olympus brings up the Olympus software. I don't have to mess

 

about with Device Manager and COM ports. I plug them in and it all works. It's called Plug 'n Play. Why doesn't the eLink firmware work in the same way?

 

[Fishmanoz]

Alan, we could usually rely on the TnT twins to come to the Hornby rescue here, but in their absence, that is not a good attempt at a comparison. Effectively all your cameras represent is an SD card plugged into a USB port, just like a flash drive.

 

This

 

is a far cry from a system that needs to establish a stable and reliable two way communication channel for a relatively complex signal protocol.

 

Don't get me wrong, I can see room for improvement in what has been achieved to date, then I also see a

 

dedicated and responsive team listening to users and working to give them what they want. So criticise where criticism is due, but keep it real.

 

Now back to my last question, if not already answered, and let's check that the com ports have really been

 

set up correctly so we can eliminate that as a cause.

[RDS]

@alan10

I am tempted to do exactly the same (regarding dumping W7) but I have held off so far whilst I check that all the drivers that the W7 laptop needs, DVD writer, USB's, etc are available when using XP first.

 

[alan10]

Fishmanoz said:

Alan, we could usually rely on the TnT twins to come to the Hornby rescue here, but in their absence, that is not a good attempt at a comparison. Effectively all your cameras represent is an SD card plugged into a USB port,

just like a flash drive.

This is a far cry from a system that needs to establish a stable and reliable two way communication channel for a relatively complex signal protocol.

Don't get me wrong, I can see room for improvement in what has been

achieved to date, then I also see a dedicated and responsive team listening to users and working to give them what they want. So criticise where criticism is due, but keep it real.

Now back to my last question, if not already answered, and let's check

that the com ports have really been set up correctly so we can eliminate that as a cause.

Well, the cameras must represent a bit more than an SD card otherwise they wouldn't activate the software appropriate to each manufacturer rather than

the generic Windows software. I don't doubt that the RM team are dedicated and I've been impressed by the response I've had from them but the fact remains that there are considerable problems for a number of us which
don't inspire much confidence in the

product.

Establishing a reliable and stable two-way communication channel should be the easy bit. After all, there are countless computer applications that require it serving system applications far more complex than eLink. I was involved in such an

application in the late seventies when, then, it was a bit tricky but it worked. So why is this so difficult?

[Fishmanoz]

I agree they haven't achieved it yet with eLink, but they have already done it twice. They've done it with Elite and RM and with handheld apps. The latter took less than 2 months after release to be stable over a wifi link. And eLink is really only Elite

 

Mk 2 with no knobs.

 

So I'd expect to see it all resolved quite soon.

[alan10]

Fishmanoz said:

I agree they haven't achieved it yet with eLink, but they have already done it twice. They've done it with Elite and RM and with handheld apps. The latter took less than 2 months after release to be stable over a wifi link.

And eLink is really only Elite Mk 2 with no knobs.

So I'd expect to see it all resolved quite soon.

I don't think I'll reply to this one...

Thanks for the info.

[RAINESCOLIN]

alan10 said:

I don't think I'll reply to this one...

Thanks for the info.

[RAINESCOLIN]

RAINESCOLIN said:

alan10 said:

I don't think I'll reply to this one...

Thanks for the info.

[RAINESCOLIN]

I have exactly the same problem, if I switch the power to my Elink off end of use I have to go through the same problem every time I restart it. Disconnect power supply and USB cable then reconnect and restart Railmaster this restarting railmaster I have

 

to do numerous times before Elink flashes and connects to Railmaster. Alan is correct like any other system it should be plug and play and NOT plug and play around.

[dugdug03]

This was indeed faulty, Hornby replaced the unit.... I am on Unit 3 now! this one works but everything is slow :(

[beejack]

For me the green light stays solid. When rail master is connecting the light goes out then comes back on before Railmaster finishes connecting. The only time the green light has flashed is during a short circuit or when the firmware is being updated.

 

 

[Class_of.66]

dugdug03 said:

I have recently brought the E-link and rail master

However i am having issues with the computer picking up the e-link

The ports are the same (com3) and set the correct drivers as per hornby helpline advice and

i have right clicked on desk top icon and gone to properties and set it with a tick next to run as administrator.

Has anyone else had this problem and know a fix?

Thank you for your time

[Class_of.66]

I have the same problem,as well as losing the firmware on my elite due to a failed update!