rpjallan

Did you fit the decoder or did it come already fitted? What controller are you using? Sounds to me like a capacitor problem. Did you remove the capacitor on the motor when you fitted the decoder? Rob Mod note - OP says he has a Select controller.

I have to say that I have never had a problem with my Hornby RLM. I do know some people who have had problems with other brands of relay based modules though. Why would you need Bluetooth on a RLM?

Zimo decoders support a similar thing. I've never heard of anyone using something like that though. And why would you when you can get a great result using CV's. Anyway, once your loco picks up a bit of speed it's impossible to tell, even with a TTS decoder where the chuff is way too slow.

Well it works…

I wasn't having a go at him. Just saying if he had trouble touching the correct button on an iPad of an app he developed, how am I going to go on an iPhone screen 1/4 the size!

Other sound decoders such as those from Zimo & Loksound don't need to count the spokes to synchronise the chuffs... Thanks for your earlier post with the features list by the way, That's very useful.

Yes, I quite often have trains sitting in my reverse loop for a while also.

I have tried many things over a long period of time to make my insulfrog points as reliable as possible. I found the Hornby point clips to be very unreliable after a short period of time, especially if you want to weather and/ballast your track. The method I have settled on now is as the 1st pic on the page linked above. However, where it shows the stock rails and point rails joined, I continue that wire to be the dropper to your bus. What I do that is not shown in the diagram is fit insulated joiners to the frog rails. Obviously, you need the track joining the points to be powered also. I also tried isolating the frog area & then switching the polarity as if it was an electrfrog point but this didn’t prove any more reliable than what I have described above.

A spoke sensor. Gee, that sounds a bit over complicated!

The new M1 Macs can run iPhone, iPad apps because the processors now have the same architecture. Being only able to operate this on a mobile device is the biggest downside for me. Now I am getting older my eyesight/dexterity is not what it used to be. Like I said previously in another topic, I have a phone, a good laptop (running Railmaster) & a good desktop computer. I have several spare monitors I can connect to my laptop if need be. I have the Railmaster hand held app on my phone but I rarely use it because it is just too small. I do not have and do not need or wish to spend the money on a tablet. Just one more thing on this - on watching the demo video, the guy (George I think his name is) kept touching the wrong buttons & going to the wrong pages etc. It wasn't a great advertisement for ease of use (I didn't think anyway)...

For non-DCC Ready, you will need to fit a socket, 8-pin will do, then buy an 8-pin decoder. If you are unable/unwilling to fit a socket, you are best not using it I think this is very poor advice & I see it all the time on here. What is harder about direct wiring a decoder into a loco than wiring in an 8-pin socket? Just my thoughts...

What about, as far as the sound decoders go, synchronising the chuffs with wheel rotation. I have only 4 locos fitted with sound - 3 with TTS & 1 with a Zimo decoder. The TTS decoders seem fine on their own but when compared to a properly set up sound decoder there is far too few chuffs per wheel rotation. Especially considering the TTS locos I have are 2 three cylinder & 1 four cylinder.

Having had a reverse loop on my layout for many years (using Hornby's original Reverse Loop Module) & having many locos fitted with stay alives, from small ones to quite large, I think that would be a very hit & miss (mainly miss) solution...

I don't think this will be the death of Railmaster but I can see development slowing down even more now. I just can't see how this new system could do everything that Railmaster does right now, such as Programs & Route Setting, which I use quite a lot. And good luck with loco detection. I think that truely is dead in the water now! Who knows what Hornby's plans are though? @96RAF, I seem to remember talk of Stingray's system some time ago. Is he open to letting forum members try it out?

So a few upgrades over the old decoders (apart from the obvious). Auto Braking Support & configurable speed curve probably the biggest for me. Is it possible to adjust the starting voltage? It's a pity they haven't included some sort of shuttle setup.

Now a few days have passed since the new announcements, does anyone know if the new decoders have any new features other than Bluetooth operation? Or are they still a very basic decoder underneath? I was also very surprised by the release of a new Reverse Loop module.

Like @96RAF & @LuLuJo says, the new system has a long, long way to go before it has anywhere near the functionality of Railmaster. I think we'll just have to wait & see what happens over the next few years.

I doubt we'll see any new locos from Hornby with TTS sound or any new standalone TTS decoders either for that matter. But I guess we don't really know where this new system will lead yet...

I don't know if anyone can answer this but I find it curious that this is the 3rd release of the Gresley Teaks (I think) & the sleeping coach has never been re-released after the 1st batch...

So, is there any chance of it working in the other direction - Railmaster or stand alone Elite/Select controlling a loco with one of the new Bluetooth decoders fitted via the dongle & phone/tablet? As I see it, this is just for loco control? It has an awful long way to go to give the functionality of Railmaster. If the two can be used together that is fine. In my case, I have a good desktop computer, a good laptop (running Railmaster) & a good phone (which has the Railmaster mobile app installed). I rarely use the phone because of the small screen. I neither need nor want a tablet. So, it will be interesting to see how this develops. I did notice, however, there is absolutely no mention whatsoever of Railmaster in any of the blurb to date. Make of that what you will...

He already said it works ok with other controllers - the bachmann ez command control...

How many retailers would keep 10 Elites in stock though?!?

“Custom DCC chip” rings alarm bells. What other DCC controllers have you tried it with?

Yes, something for them to fix in the next revision…

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the centre wheel set is about 1mm above the rails & the traction tyres are brand new. I completely stripped the chassis down & cleaned it, including the holes where the springs locate, and even blew them out with compressed air. When I got the loco it looked like it had never been used so I doubt that it had ever been apart, let alone the springs replaced.