ELink and the 1 Amp Supply

[Fishmanoz]

This thread is primarily for HRMS following up on their recent post in the DCC forum. 

It is clear from reading the forums that more then a few people have problems with eLink out of the box using the 1 Amp supply (There are threads on this in 3 of the forums - General, DCC and RM). Many of these people report the problem is solved by changing to the 4 Amp supply. One of these people contacted HCC who said they would send him both a 1 and a 4 Amp supply so he could try each of them but in the end only sent the 4 Amp and that solved his problem. 

Most people with this problem conclude that eLink is at fault because it won't work with the 1 Amp. This is not logical in the absence of more information. It is just as likely that the supply is faulty, at least the current batch being used. Or there may be a tolerancing problem with eLink or the supply or both. 

Three things are clear with this issue. First, it is real for a number of people. Second, someone needs to get a number of the eLink and supply combinations reported to not work back to the test bench to find out more.  

Third, there is clearly a warranty aspect to this. If the hardware as supplied doesn't work, no matter what of it is at fault, it is not fit for purpose and should be replaced. It should not be up to the customer to have to buy a 4 Amp supply to fix the problem. 

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

A small number of these scenarios have come to our attention in recent weeks and we have been able to liase with two or three customers in detail regarding this and also had their eLink and power supplies returned for testing.  Upon receiving these units we have not found any problems, so we started looking at their PCs.

At this stage we believe this problem may actually be a driver related issue with late generation USB ports only on some makes of computer.  The driver supplied by Microsoft (automatically downloaded by the Windows Update feature) is from 2012.  We are testing a later driver (2014) from the manufacturer of the USB control circuitry on the eLink board and this seems promising.  A new version of the eLink firmware (1.06), to improve connection with the new driver is also being tested and these two will be part of the RailMaster 1.56 update, to be released officially imminently.  The latest version of the program, due to its many new sophisticated features, is currently being beta-tested.

Only a handful of customers have been in touch with us regarding this issue, which has made it somewhat difficult to get to the bottom of immediately as, even including those on the forum who may have eperienved the issue bot not contacted our support team, makes a tiny percentage of RailMaster/eLink users.

If you ahve experienced this issue and not yet contacted us please do so and we can let you test the new eLink firmware and driver separately.

[Fishmanoz]

Interesting possibility HRMS. Any idea how the 4 Amp supply appears to solve it if this is the case?

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

It is possibly that using the higher current power supply alters subtly the way the USB controller on the chip interacts with the driver (it could be a timer-related issue) although this is hypothesising.

On one hand it would be useful to see many more instances of the issue occurring to be able to be sure.  On the other, it is better that only a tiny minority of users have experienced this issue and we hope the new driver/firmware combination resolves the issue.

[Fishmanoz]

Thanks HRMS. 

For those who've had this problem, it is clearly a warranty issue that hopefully the new firmware and driver will resolve. But it will be interesting to see the approach that Hornby will take to those who have only been able to solve the problem until now with the additional expense of buying the 4 Amp. I'll leave them to take it up with Hornby though. 

[DRB49]

Nope, no difference.  Up to now, I could only get the E-link to work on my W7 laptop but only occassionally on my W8.1 AIO pc and even then running in Windows XP compatibility mode, (which btw HRMS considered to be acceptable).

I did manage the version 1.05 update as per the other thread but only on the W7 laptop.

I use the W7 PC with Elite and Railmaster for the trainset in the garage.  I wanted to use the W8.1 & Elink in the office connected to a end to end track as a sort of sandpit.

Upon reading the above posts I have taken the 4A supply from the garage, blown the dust of the E-link and connected to my W8.1 AIO. Unfortunatley, I'm still getting "failed handshake" or "can't find the DCC Controller". Swearing at it didn't help either.

For me the Elink is my most dissapointing purchase. As a MERG member I am considering other options.

[Yelrow]

DRB49, hi, you are one of the guys hornby wish to hear from, have you made contact, as they will arrange a specific time to give you a one to one session to sort out your individual problem. It is fair to say, the results are normally, excellent, john

[gilbo2]

I know it does not help you DRB49, but I have eLink / RM running fine on Windows 8.1 so it does work.

As John suggests, I would definitely contact Hornby to arrange a time to "login" to your system to try and fix it.

I'm sure it will be down to some strange configuration setting that is causing this but may also be a hardware incompatibility issue. Either way, Hornby should be aware of your problem and fix it for you if you have followed all the advice on here and the manual. You will not be the only one in the world who has given up and their eLink is now gathering dust, having a similar set-up as yourself.

Be prepared to get past the initial "no one else has this" syndrome, but recent posts are showing we're slowly overcoming this culture ;-)

[DRB49]

To yelrow & dgilbert2

The thread "USB not recognised" was started by me in January, so I have been living with this since then.

Furthermore, I did contact HRMS and was due to return the eFlink up to the point when I confessed to them that it worked in XP compatability mode.  Their response was ".. that's ok then, it works, no need to return".

I have persevered with diferent settings, all the USB ports available, different USB cables, re-booting, restarting, a start-up procedure that would bring comfort to a bomb disposal team. I am an electrical engineer and an early adopter of technology, but regrettably I am out of patience with the eFlink afterall it's only for "playing with trains" and it's not going to solve peace in the Middle East.

Spelling - if someone points out that there is no f in Elink, you'd be quite correct.

[Yelrow]

DRB49, hi thats fine, but hornby hook into your laptop, and diagnose exactly the problem. It is most unlikely to be the elink. It is a free service, that they offer, and usually takes about 30 mins. . If it turns out to be your usb or firewall, then surely its worth a go. There record of success, is commendable. Over to you, john

[gilbo2]

....Furthermore, I did contact HRMS and was due to return the eFlink up to the point when I confessed to them that it worked in XP compatability mode.  Their response was ".. that's ok then, it works, no need to return".....

That's not acceptable in my view, call Margate on Monday to get resolved.

[RDS]

Over the last 12 months or so, we have built up a very good and extremely helpful dialogue with the technical people at HRMS.  The responses we have received, even late at night and weekends have been excellent.

Please don't ruin it for the rest of us.

[gilbo2]

No intention of spoiling anything and in the past I have also valued the support offered. I know though from first hand experience that using RailMaster in XP mode causes other problems. For example, pop-up windows when trying to merge programs have problems and do not work. You need to be in native Windows 8.1

It does work fine in Windows 8.1 and the route cause to DRB49s problem should be investigated by Margate. I hate to see people who give up and allow eLink to gather dust. There could be plenty of people out there who similarly just give up and don't think about turning to forums or the manufacturer for help.

That concerns me, it generates gossip, unnecessary bad reputations for an excellant product, but it does need resolving.

[DRB49]

I'm not sure if RDS is having swipe at me for not contacting Margate but in any case I can't see how it is ruining it for others.  Perhaps RDS can explain what crime has been committed.  

I joined this thread after the request for feedback on the Elink working with the 4A power supply.  In fact, I was quite excited at the prospect of at last having a solution to W8.1 & Elink combination.  You can possibly appreciate my dissapointment when the 4A PSU made no difference and so my lack of faith in Elink is reinforced.

FWIW this is the reponse I got on 14th January:-

"If you have managed to get it working in compatibility mode, on Com5 then there is no need to return the unit.  Some versions of Windows prefer compatibility mode (usually XP SP3) however there is no pattern to this."

[gilbo2]

Dont worry DRB49, it's not you he was having a pop at :-)

Now, lets all keep it friendly!

[Fishmanoz]

Can I just make a point that seems to have been forgotten in this conversation - HRMS is not Margate, they are a separate organisation doing RM development for Margate. While I know John and others have had problems solved by having Margate do remote logins to them, it is HRMS who are trying to get a handle on the 1v4 Amp problem and you should start by emailing them from within RM. 

[gilbo2]

That's the point Fishy, as DRB does not seem to have power supply related problems, it was time for it to be escalated to the Margate team for assistance having also explored all the usual avenues.

[Michael_A]

Its funny but but I have bought numerous USB connected devices over the years, e.g. video cameras, cameras, printers, scanners, external drives, mp3 players, mobile phones, weather staions, wireless IP cameras and rarely, if ever, had a communication / connectivity issue. If any of these crashed or locked up as many times as my RailMaster / Elite connection does I would not be happy. (Imagine if the conection crashed while downloading a 50gb movie from your camera to your PC, or while scanning a 1200dpi image?)

What is it that makes RailMasters comms so flaky? Is it really pushing technology to the limits? If the PSU can cause start up issues, then I do wonder about the robustness of the drivers. Let's hope Hornby can resolve the issues, and it is fair to say, we must feedback any issues we have (without being told, to be fair, they may not be aware) and hope for a robust solution.

[Augustus Caesar]

Hi DRB49... take a look at the post I placed re Windows 8/8.1 under the thread you started a while back "USB Device not Recognised" and follow the instructions there to see if that will help you out.

When Hornby tell you there is no need to return the unit (eLink) because it works under Win XP compat. they are merely saying the unit works. It is therefore down to configuration or other program maybe getting in the way of the whole situation for you. A 4amp supply will only add power and not correct any inherent fault to a unit if it exists so it is no wonder you were disappointed at it not helping. The guide I have posted on the other thread may help you if you follow it through. Do it step by step and follow each part even to the point of where I mention the anti virus and anti spy/malware programs.

These will eliminate everything malicious on your system (if anything is there - remember NO one single AV program will EVER be enough to remove all threats from a system no matter if it is free or costs hundreds) and make sure your firewall is set correctly as stated if you use the Windows version. Sometimes turning off a McAfee or Norton (waste of space) firewall or the likes and reimplementing Windows own version is enough to solve MANY security blocks these programs put in place. The latter is the most notorious and I never offer it to anyone unless they insist but I always advise against it for these reasons. Also any program such as the torrent ones can also get in the way...

Hope this helps bud... let us know how you get on.

[NULL-176593]

Like a lot of others, I could not get railmaster to connect with e-link. I first tried a select power supply with no joy. Then I read this forum and bought a 4 amp transformer,guess what ? railmaster now works perfectly. I like others re-tried the 1 amp supply and the initial problem came back immediately. So I have to conclude that Hornby need to change their power supply so others do not suffer the frustration that I and it would seem many of you have !!!

[Fishmanoz]

Hi NULL, first I notice that this is your first post, so are you a new NULL and not the one that Admin has fixed to be NULL no longer, or is the forum playing up again?

Irrespective, have you read the 2 posts from HRMS on page 1 of this thread where they say they believe this to be a driver issue with some hardware configurations? They say it will be fixed in the next upgrade which is imminent. 

If after the upgrade the 1 Amp works, thus showing the system to have been not fit for purpose as sold, and it were me, I would be contacting HCC about warranty compensation for the additional expense. I'm sure many others will be doing the same. 

[coley65]

I can confirm the 1 amp supply that I have is faulty I bought a 4 amp supply and all is well.  But it does still not work 100%.  However I can not get over what brilliant product this elink/railmaster is well done Mr hornby

PS can I have £35.00 refund for the PSU

[Fishmanoz]

Hi coley, why do you believe the 1 amp is faulty, is it just because eLink didn't work with it and did with the 4?

If so, go back to page 1 of this thread and see what HRMS have to say, then see if the 1 amp works after v1.56 upgrade, then talk to HCC about warranty.