What's the difference....

[Ajay1]

Can someome please explain to me the difference between the R8213 Select digital controller  and the R8235 Select Walkabout ?  to me they look identical, I have both the Select and the Elite controllers  and I understand from reading somewhere which I'm not sure from where now that you can connect the Select to the Elite to act as a Walkabout, the problem is though , what exactly is the fuction of a Walkabout?

An explanation to help me in the understanding of this would be most grateful.

Antony.

[Rog RJ]

There is no difference in the controllers. The walkabout is supplied without a power supply but with the RJ12 lead.

[96RAF]

The reason the Walkabout does not have a power supply is because when it is plugged into an Elite using the RJ lead for use as an additional controller it takes its power from the Elite.

Under no circumstances should you power up a Select independantly when it is connected to an Elite in this way.

Be carefull which RJ lead you get as R8236 is only for use with a Booster not a Walkabout. You would need the R8266 lead not listed on Hornby Spares page at present.

Being pedantic here Rog - in an old post by poliss on the subject of these leads he states the booster lead is wired RJ12 whilst the walkabout lead is wired RJ11, although both have the same plug hence the possibility of confusion.

Of interest Hattons were advertising R8235 Walkabout Selects and supplying them with the WRONG R8236 lead.

[poliss]

Posted by Hornby Customer Care in 2012. R8236 - This is a standard RJ12 Cable with 3 twisted pairs in the standard RJ12 configuration with a 6 conductor connector. This cable is only used in conjunction with the Booster unit. R8266 - This is actually an RJ11 Cable with 2 twisted pairs in a non standard configuration with a 4 conductor connector. This cable is only used in conjunction with the Walkabout unit. **However they both use the same plug socket shell.

[Ajay1]

Thank you very much all of you for explaining the terminology between the two. I'm glad now that I asked the question as I just checked my  RJ lead and found that I have the wrong one. I'll have to make another purchase.

Would connecting the wong one cause a short or something drastic ?

 

[96RAF]

Not having the wiring configuration details I couldn't say for sure but better safe than sorry.

It would be better however if these things were made foolproof for everyone's protection.

I work on the principle - if it fits it should work, not always the case unfortunately.

[Fishmanoz]

People make some strange designs you know.  Goes back over 15 years now but the connectors from the power supply to the motherboard in a PC used to come in 2 sections that plugged in right next to each other.  It was possible to plug them in the wrong way and the result was a fried motherboard. 

[96RAF]

People make some strange designs you know.  Goes back over 15 years now but the connectors from the power supply to the motherboard in a PC used to come in 2 sections that plugged in right next to each other.  It was possible to plug them in the wrong way and the result was a fried motherboard. 

 

I must confess to having building pcs in the past based on which plug obviously went where and was there a hint printed beside it on the mobo. If not I resorted to metering to find out what was doing what, as often the associated publications weren't up to much in the way of precise help.

Dodgy methodology I admit...

[RDS]

... what exactly is the fuction of a Walkabout ...

Hi Anthony

A 'walkabout' is the term used by Hornby to describe the use of a Select controller as an extra controller, when plugged into an Elite.  The Select is more limited in it's capabilities than the Elite but for just having an extra controller, which gives you 3 knobs in total (2 on the Elite and 1 on the Select) it is ideal.

I have this combination and I find it quite useful to be able to leave the Select at the other side of my layout.  The other responses make it clear that you need to have the correct Hornby Lead and it is NOT a standard network lead and that you do NOT use the Select Power supply as it takes it's power from the Elite.

[Rog RJ]

Hi Anthony

A 'walkabout' is the term used by Hornby to describe the use of a Select controller as an extra controller, when plugged into an Elite.  

 

The Walkabouts can also be used with a standard Select, they are not limited to use with the Elite.

[96RAF]

The Walkabouts can also be used with a standard Select, they are not limited to use with the Elite.

 

I learn something new every day Rog...thank you.

 

[Fishmanoz]

You probably find that Select Walkabout on a Select is a more useful combination than on Elite.  Because I use long addresses on my Elite, I can't use a Select Walkabout to control any of my locos.  And if I could, I would find the very different throttle operation between the two to be quite annoying.

[Chrissaf]

Since R8266 seems to be out of stock on Hornby and other well known sites. There is a company advertising on Amazon making and selling R8266 copies in different lengths if anybody is interested.....see link below

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=hornby+r8266&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=42546330486&hvpos=1o2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3840455750652426548&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6yl77kv54q_b

[Blackbird]

From my memory on telephone connections, The RJ11 connectors are a 6P2C plug, although a 6P4C connection was incorporated. The prime connections (6P2C) are pins 3&4, with the 6P4C using pins 2&5. The RJ12 is a 6P6C connection using the 1&6 pins.If Hornby are using the accepted convention for RJ plugs and wiring connections, there should be no adverse effect in using RJ12 connections.

(P=No. poles, C=No. connections)

[Ajay1]

Have just been looking in the 2015 Hornby catalogue Pg 19  and it states that  the R8266  RJ12 Connecting Lead

and R8236  RJ12 4-wire 3M lead  can both be used to connect either a Select or an  Elite to a Walkabout Select.

Now I'm getting really confused,    I have in my hot  hand a R8236  lead, can I use this  to connect my R8214 Elite to  my  R8213 Select  or would it be safer to get a R8266 lead ?

 

[96RAF]

Have just been looking in the 2015 Hornby catalogue Pg 19  and it states that  the R8266  RJ12 Connecting Lead

and R8236  RJ12 4-wire 3M lead  can both be used to connect either a Select or an  Elite to a Walkabout Select.

Now I'm getting really confused,    I have in my hot  hand a R8236  lead, can I use this  to connect my R8214 Elite to  my  R8213 Select  or would it be safer to get a R8266 lead ?

 

 

I think this is something Adam should take back to Hornby Support and confirm yea or nay due to the conflicting historical documentation.

[96RAF]

From my memory on telephone connections, The RJ11 connectors are a 6P2C plug, although a 6P4C connection was incorporated. The prime connections (6P2C) are pins 3&4, with the 6P4C using pins 2&5. The RJ12 is a 6P6C connection using the 1&6 pins.If Hornby are using the accepted convention for RJ plugs and wiring connections, there should be no adverse effect in using RJ12 connections.

(P=No. poles, C=No. connections)

 

poliss has already said earlier (info from Hornby) that the R8266 cable is 4 core in a non standard configuration.

I certainly would not use either or cables with a definitive statement by Hornby that both were fully interchangable for fit and function if not form (different lengths and cable cross section).

All 6 pins are wired in parallel on both the Elite expressnet sockets. Pins 1 & 6 (outer) appear to feed back into the Boost circuits. The other 4 pins feed back to the main chip, so presumably Tx/Rx from the expressnet/USB circuits between the Elite and Select. This based on observation so I may have to borrow Fishy's spare hat here...

 

[37lover]

In 2013 I purchased a R8236 that was specifically advertised for connecting the Select as a walkabout. I have used it occassionally for that purpose without problem. Right now several major Sellers on Ebay advertise the R8236 for connecting the Select to the Elite. If Hornby say it is the wrong lead then I hope they [Hornby] will exchange mine!

As RAF says above it would be nice for Hornby [via Adam] to confirm one way or the other.

[96RAF]

The R8236 is the specific and correct Walkabout lead. You can safely use it for that purpose.

The R8266 is the Booster cable, but its use is in question as promotional material both from Hornby and on-line sellers is saying it can be used as a Walkabout lead - not so in my opinion based on previous dialogue in this and other threads.

[choralc]

This from the Hornby site a couple of years ago:

From the R8235 Select Walkabout description: Up to eight of these units can be connected to a single 'Select' or 'Elite' using R8266 Connecting Leads and R8257 Connecting Sockets. A power pack is not necessary when a 'Walkabout' is used in this way.

 

The R8236 was labelled as 'XpressNet RJ12 lead Elite or Select to Power Booster' but it also had in its description 'To be used to connect either a Select' or 'Elite' to 'Walkabout Elites'.

 

So what is the correct information?

[96RAF]

The R8236 is the specific and correct Walkabout lead. You can safely use it for that purpose.

The R8266 is the Booster cable, but its use is in question as promotional material both from Hornby and on-line sellers is saying it can be used as a Walkabout lead - not so in my opinion based on previous dialogue in this and other threads.

 

As they say in the Navy - Belay my last pipe - see Ch post above.

 

The sooner Hornby can clear this up the better.

[Chrissaf]

The R8236 is the specific and correct Walkabout lead. You can safely use it for that purpose.

The R8266 is the Booster cable, but its use is in question as promotional material both from Hornby and on-line sellers is saying it can be used as a Walkabout lead - not so in my opinion based on previous dialogue in this and other threads.

 

RAF, I think you have a typo error here. The Hornby web site (link below) states that the R8236 is the Booster cable, not the Walkabout cable. Unfortunately, searching for the corresponding R8266 'Walkabout' cable comes up blank on the Hornby site. The R8236 is a 6 wire flat cable, whilst the R8266 is a 4 wire UTP cable, They both share the same physical plug termination.

 

https://www.hornby.com/hornby-dcc-rj12-3m-lead.html

 

EDIT: RAF, just seen what I think is a retraction of your previous statement. "As they say in the Navy - Belay my last pipe - see Ch post above."

[Chrissaf]

This is one of my ‘war and peace’ moments. If you don’t want to know the detail, then don’t read further.

 

Just to finish off this thread, there have been previous references to both RJ11 and RJ12 cables. In the main, these references have been correct. But I thought a ‘recap’ for anybody who wants it might be useful.

 

"RJ" refers to the standard for registered jacks used in telephone lines. The abbreviation includes two numbers identifying the specific purpose for the connector. The RJ11 and RJ12 standards look very similar because they both use the same connector, which includes six wire positions.

 

The difference between an RJ11 and an RJ12 cable is based on the number of wires used within the cable and how the wires are arranged. RJ11 includes, in the main, four wires, and two connector positions are not used. RJ12 uses six wires in all six available positions.

 

RJ11 can also be seen referred to as the 6P4C wiring standard (6 Pole 4 Connections), and sometimes also referred to as 6P2C, with RJ12 referred to as the 6P6C wiring standard. One way to remember how many wires are used in each of the RJ11 / RJ12 standards, is too consider the RJ12 having two sixes in 6P6C adding up to12. Thus, the RJ11 cable has 4 or 2 wires implemented dependant upon the application.

 

Telephone lines use both wiring standards, but RJ12 is additionally used in some other applications, such as corporate private branch exchange phone systems. RJ12 is used less commonly in telephony than is RJ11, which is used frequently in home telephone services. RJ11 also is used in digital subscriber lines to provide broadband Internet access and for other purposes. Although, I have seen some of the more modern 'high speed' broadband modems / routers using special RJ11 UTP cables.

 

Thus, Hornby’s R8266 cable is RJ11 and their R8236 cable is RJ12. However Hornby's implementation of the R8266 RJ11 cable is slightly non-standard as it uses UTP cable (Unshielded Twisted Pair) - see comment about 'high speed' broadband above. Pure voice telephony applications are, in general, quite happy working over a 'flat' wire RJ11 / RJ12 cables.

 

PS - above based upon telephony in the UK.

 

 

 

[96RAF]

The R8236 is the specific and correct Walkabout lead. You can safely use it for that purpose.

The R8266 is the Booster cable, but its use is in question as promotional material both from Hornby and on-line sellers is saying it can be used as a Walkabout lead - not so in my opinion based on previous dialogue in this and other threads.

 

RAF, I think you have a typo error here. The Hornby web site (link below) states that the R8236 is the Booster cable, not the Walkabout cable. Unfortunately, searching for the corresponding R8266 'Walkabout' cable comes up blank on the Hornby site. The R8236 is a 6 wire flat cable, whilst the R8266 is a 4 wire UTP cable, They both share the same physical plug termination.

 

https://www.hornby.com/hornby-dcc-rj12-3m-lead.html

 

EDIT: RAF, just seen what I think is a retraction of your previous statement. "As they say in the Navy - Belay my last pipe - see Ch post above."

 

Yes I got it down-side up - sorry.

R8266 is the Walkabout cable and R8236 is the Booster cable.

Expect a statement from Hornby soon, which may explain the ins and outs of why.

[96RAF]

As a quick identification method the Walkabout cable is round section and the Booster cable is flat section.