OssieB

Dodge, you may be able to find one here:- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001304536364.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.21.33853966c07GuQ&algo_pvid=11e37288-db40-4a68-9e05-2e7fafeab295&algo_exp_id=11e37288-db40-4a68-9e05-2e7fafeab295-10&pdp_npi=4%40dis!GBP!0.32!0.28!!!0.39!0.34!%40210384b917109519761344589e9fdf!12000015639785819!sea!UK!754451072!&curPageLogUid=GUOsz463KrtV&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch|query_from%3A

My experience over the last two weeks may have some bearing on not being able to communicate with HRMS. I have been trying to change my operating Railmaster over to a newer laptop, and have not been able to de-activate it on the current laptop. I then noticed that the internet icon was blurred out and not bright as it should be. I then checked on the newer laptop and on two other devices I have de-activated copies of RM on and had the same failure to connect to RM server. Now this happened to coincided with a problem I had with my ISP router, so I suspected that the connection problem was something to do do with the router. Yesterday, I took one of my laptops to my daughters house and connected to their internet, logged on to RM and straightaway it connected to the RM server, suggesting that there may be problem going through my router. So today, before contacting my ISP tech help line, I decided to check if there was still a problem connecting to RM server. To my relief, all four devices connected as they should do. This would indicate to me that the RM server has been down for about two weeks, perhaps in readiness for the promised update?

I have a old Lima Western Class 52, which I have fitted a CD motor in place of the ringfield. I have loaded the Class 66 sound profile, which I have found to be the best of those profiles currently available.

@Duck1 Yes, I have just started up RM and my iPad and had the same message. The update appears to have worked correctly and the iPad connected straight away to my laptop. BarryO

I am another Railmaster user who will be very disappointed if there is no further updates or support. Like a lot of other user, I have been waiting for the promised loco detection since it was first announced. I have been using RM for about 14 years now and have encountered very few problems. I started on Windows XP, upgraded to 7 and now onto 10. The forum has helped me on several occasions when I have had minor problems. On the time I had to consult HRMS support regarding emergency stopping not happening on Hornby decoders, they tried to replicate the problem, but in the end were unable to resolve the issue. It is still happening on Hornby decoders, but not on other makes of decoders, even though I have changed computers and my eLink. My solution was to put and emergency stop button alongside my mouse. I have over the last two years been trying Rocrail on my 6' x 9' layout and as it cannot be used with the eLink, I have been using my standby Elite. It took a little time to master the basics of Rocrail but I now have a fully working layout for points and signals and 17 locos. I have yet to learn how to read and write CV's. I have also been playing with an Ardunio, with motor shield and wifi shield, as a command station, loaded with DCC++EX program. However, I don't think I will be going down the route of splitting my layout into block sections to achieve loco control.

@Brew Man & Going Spare Thank you both for your valued comments. However, BM I still have not identified a Peco streamline point at 175mm long and even then as GS points out the radius will be greater than 2nd radius and would need some form of alteration to the track geometry. So for just one loco I do not think I will go down the route of replacing points, motors etc. If in the future I decide to re do my layout, I will seriously consider changing to electrofrog points. BarryO

@Brew Man Most of my points are standard length Hornby or Peco at 167.5mm long. As far as I am aware the shortest length electrogrog are 185.5mm long. As you can see from the part layout below, using electrofrog points would not fit in to the available length of my baseboard. I know that I could possibly use a single slip diamond crossing on the top area of the layout, which could help there. At the moment all of my point motors are surface mounted as all the under board motors with switching were too deep to accommodate within the depth of my demountable baseboard construction when I set out the layout. I believe that there is now one that is less than the 40mm available. There is also another consideration for me is the cost of replacing 23 points and associated point motors. BarryO

I run DCC and have experienced the same problem and have not been able to resolve it. I bought R3721 to potentially replace my earlier large prairie R2098D, which also was a poor runner especially over points. even though I had fitted a stay alive capacitor. i have very little trouble with any other of my locos, even my two old class Dapol/Airfix14xx 0-4-2's are better. My layout does not allow me to fit electrofrog points, due to the extra length needed. All my insulfrog points are as flat as I can get them with screws near the frog. I have striped down the under frame of the loco, given extra tension to the pick-up wipers and made certain they are in good contact with the wheel backs and this has not improved the running. The main problem that I consider is the cause, is that there is no vertical movement allowance on the main driving wheel bearings. Having nearly thrown £130 worth of prairie out of the window on several occasions, I decided to buy Dapol's new large prairie. After overcoming the well known fault on the rear pony truck, which was causing the rear driving wheels to not be in full contact with the rails, it runs well over the whole layout. My only disappointment with this loco is the quality of the sound on the factory fitted sound decoder. The chuffs in my opinion are nowhere prototypical and cannot be increased in volume and the background sound can hardly be heard. My other locos fitted with Hornby TTS are far better for both of these aspects.

From a quick research, I think the laptop adapter is a Toshiba and here is a link to a suitable one with the correct size plug. It is suitable for up to 5 amps, but this is perfectly OK. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133937233159?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item1f2f47fd07:g:xlgAAOSwXmNhlMv~&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAAA8HVuLg%2F18eib7LHL5C1N3g4e6ETLkJUH6QTUDSDbYNbt85DObuI0%2FG%2F1Wzn2oENMvrQGJ0hidkyZGOSIXNx8B0kqIhfqx7Vdx85Ulje%2BGeyxPhpOsmAEOL%2FBVFaf%2Bw08CaxhTmTYDiAqR%2BEX9lJR0rCzxvuX2VXcRvfcoOuY8Xq7WQx4p%2FYuCWYkrlCzE38W4VIk%2BkGAdm0II5gONVEBZfnHpavKmlrJureO6IJ2or%2B00v3r8MhWEMGcOz2uXnYhS9Nqqp%2Bcmuz6V8pOSjw5%2FDDv%2Br8R%2FLo6tHJk6IX%2BpzKPJ%2FPHCH3uxeHca48SrgtZSw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM9JW_vf1f OssieB

@Chris-K If you are going to upgrade to 4 amp adapter, you can buy Hornby's one or there is a suitable one for a laptop with the correct connection plug to suit Hornby Select, Elite and eLink. I cannot remember which laptop it is, but if you do a search of the forum you may find the correct reference. The pin size required is 6.3mm outer diam and 3.0mm inside diam. Alternatively, another member may have the details and will reply to this post. OssieB

@ Chris-K I have a standard Lais 21 pin decoder, without a stay alive, fitted in a Dapol Western class 52. I normally use Railmaster and eLink, with a 4 amp power adapter, for my normal control. However, I still have two Selects which have recently been upgraded to version 1.6. and I have just connected one up to my layout, in place of the eLink. I have tested the class 52 with the Select and it responds correctly to the controls in both directions. I appreciate that it is not quite the same set up as your loco, but I have not had any problems with this Lais decoder. Just out of interest, are you using a 1 amp or 4 amp power adapter? If you are using a 1amp adapter, then this may possibly be the problem, considering the current draw from the old style motor. OssieB

As GS has indicated, 4th radius are available from Hornby. Here is a picture of the method and parts required to achieve the passing loop. I hope this helps. OssieB

Yes, you can use TTS R7294 for Hall Class/Harry Potter decoder. This for a similar two cylinder GWR loco, with similar with sounds, including whistle. Hope this helps, but you may find that most suppliers are currently out of stock. Regards, BarryO

After originally using track pins, not fully knock in, to temporarily hold my layout as I developed it, I then finally fix it in required locations using track screws. I found that these were much easier to use and it eliminated the danger of damaging the rails with hammer and punch. Track screws are also much better for using to hold down (and adjusting) the frog on insulfrog points where these cause problems with short wheelbase locos. The pins I use are 10mm long x 1.37mm dia. If necessary to drill a hole in a sleeper, I use a 1.5mm drill and then a 1.0mm pilot hole in the baseboard. I do not remember where I bought my last screws from, but if you search for "model railway track screws" on eBay, you will find plenty of suppliers with a large range of sizes. BarryO

@Rochford Castle I have fitted a TTS decoder to my Caerphilly Castle with the small 3500gal tender. I found it necessary to cut away the inside of the body below the coal load to accomodate the decoder as there was not enough clearance above the weight housing the standard speaker. In my case I had already decided that I was going to use a sugar cube speaker for better sound quality, and this cutaway aloud me to fit the speaker below the coal load. In the photo, when enlarged, you can just see the extent of the cutaway. You can see that I have sealed around the edges of the coal load with blue tak, and this considerably enhances the sound quality. The sugar cube speaker size is 20mmx15mmx10mm. I insulated the decoder with a loose sleeve of heat shrink. /media/tinymce_upload/ac6d0c271009f8376757cf3daa1f3bf1.JPG . I hope this of some help for you in fitting your TTS. BarryO

The Castle Class were a further development of the earlier Star Class, which was a four cylinder loco and some of them were rebuilt as Castle Classes Therefore the Castle TTS is the correct one to use. I have fitted one to my "Princess Alice" which is also a Star Class loco. The Hall Class is a two cylinder loco. I found that in order to accommodate the decoder and the speaker, it was necessary to cut away some of the tender below the coal load. I have to add that this may have been because I was using a sugar cube speaker and not the one supplied with the TTS. Hope this helps, BarryO

To complete the "picture" of the installation of a TTS decoder and speaker in a large Prairie, I have taken the body off mine to enable me to take the attached photos. The size of the sugarcube 9 speaker that I have used is 15x11x10mm high. The overall space for a speaker and wires is 30x20x9-12mm high and a readily available one 25x15x10mm high could be used. @Spanner1048 - I don't know how you got on with your fitting of a TTS decoder, but from my measurements the channel under the smokebox is only 25mm long. The TTS decoder is 28mm long and therefore does not appear to able to be located in this position. /media/tinymce_upload/d22cd654c0d4d0d3b5324dc734a24c4b.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/25117f964c908dab38d3365f6cae2cb4.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/793c740dcbe0853e0a6d5cdcbfd4a778.JPG BarryO

I should have added in my first reply, that the standard speaker supplied with the Hall TTS will not fit in the base below the coal bunker. I used a Youchoos sugar cube 9 speaker, which just fits on rear end of the chassis below the coal bunker. I fixed it in place with a litle piece of blue tak, making sure that the was no contact of the metal plate on the speaker with any metal parts on the chassis. The TTS decoder just fits vertically on the right hand side of the 8 pin socket, in the area of the right hand water tank, with the wires coming out of the 8 pin plug on the left hand side and wrapped around the the rear of the socket.. In accordance with the TTS instructions I only protected the decoder with a single layer of sellotape. Anything thicker than this will not fit in the space available. Care has to be taken in replacing the loco body not to trap any of the decoder wires. Hope this is of assistance to you. BarryO

I have recently purchased a large Prairie 6110 and fitted a Hall TTS sound decoder R7294. The Hall class is a similar two cylinder engine with similar components and whistle to the large Prairie. The Hall TTS is currently available from Hornby and but some retailers have already sold out. OssieB

I have bought suitable screws from modelaccessories.co.uk. These are 2mm x 12mm self tapping screws. You may require different length depending on the thickness of any underlay you my have. They are silver in colour, but a dab of matt black paint soon covers the head. BarryO

To follow up on my last post, I have had a running session to see what happens to each of my locos when the "All Stop" button is pressed. With each loco I operated the stop at least four times. On all the locos fitted with Hornby H8249 and Hornby TTS decoders, the results were all as previously described - an initial sudden check in speed as if going to stop dead but then continuing on as a normal stop. All the other locos fitted with either DCC Concepts, Bachmann or Lais decoders performed correctly and stopped dead. My one loco fitted with a Hornby Sapphire decoder also performed correctly. All these trials were carried out with the Controlled Emergency Stops in RM settings unchecked. I tried each loco with this checked and all performed correctly, stopping in the normal way. In a follow up on Ray's comments regarding the out of sync of the large and small throttles, I used both with all locos and found that all operated correctly in sync. BarryO

Ray, in my case I am almost certain that I would of being using the small throttles. Since I can only use two large throttles and these cover a large part of the schematic layout, I would have been using others on the small throttle. I have not observed the same out of sync of the large and small throttles myself as you have found, but that does not say it has not happened without me noticing it. At the next running sesion I will see if I can replicate the out of sync. Since fitting some TTS decoders I have not tried using the "All Stop" button, so that is another thing that I try latter to see what happens and if it is the same a the standard H8249's. BarryO

As I think I peviously reported, I have fitted an emergncy stop button adjacent to my laptop, that when pushed cuts off the power to my DCC disribution bus. The link below gives you an idea of the type of ES button I use. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Mushroom-DC-30V-5A-AC-250V-3A-Emergency-Stop-Push-Button-Switch-kl/184281339086?epid=1290945819&hash=item2ae80614ce:g:OZ8AAOSwiYlZ9rO0 BarryO

@DK123GodsWonderfulRailway I reported this to HRMS some five years ago and as they were unable to replicate the senario, it has remained unresolved. Since then I have started using alternative decoders to the standard Hornby H8249 and all these, including a Hornby Sapphire, stop dead. The thread with the details relating the this can be seen on the link below:- https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/post/view/topic_id/8381/?p=1 BarryO

As WTD says, the latest version of RM can be downloaded from the front page of this section of the forum, so there is no need to use the CD. It is near the top and is priinted in bold red type. All you need from the CD package is the activation code - you can dispence with the CD as it has a very early version of RM on it, and would need to be updated straightaway. BarryO