ColinB

A Ford Sync used to take an hour and a half, a powertrain unit five to ten minutes. Most of the others less than 5 minutes. Ford came up with a bit of AI that looks for bit patterns that reduced the size of the file by looking for repeated strings of byte patterns and replacing them by a lookup table which reduced the transfer and reprogramming times substantially.

Actually most modern processor use a phase locked loop to multiply the frequency, well the the ones I used in the past do. A lot use a simple clock crystal and then multiply up. Generally inside the processor there are a set of registers to set the required multipliers. As to reflashing the device once, yes that is what I do, so I go away and have a cup of coffee. In my old job a flash time in excess of 5 minutes would always be problematic as it means more chance of errors and that "hot line" you setup will be glowing red with calls. So generally you try to keep the time down to give you an easier life.

I am no expert on this but I do know in Windows if you use the built in functions rather than writing your own for byte manipulation, they can take an awful long time to do the most trivial of byte operations. So perhaps that is what they did used an Android function.

Yes SteveM6 it looks like you are absolutely right, it is the smart device. I programmed my other HM7000 with my Android pad rather than my phone and yes it runs incredibly slow. The whole HW7000 APP runs really slow, the Z21 app which I normally use runs the same on both platforms.

It completely blows away the concept of an independent reviewer though.

Fortunately, I only have to use the app once to load the profile so if it takes longer then so be it, I am not going to buy an Ipad just for that. On my smart device it takes between 20 to 25 minutes.

Ok, I have just loaded a profile into my new HM7000. No it doesn't need the WiFi once it gets going, seems to be a bit of slightly incorrect information. One the programming had started I pulled out the power to my BT hub so no wireless, the reflash carried on exactly as it had always done. So it looks like it is as I suspected App copies file to smart device then does it "stand alone". I was surprised that anyone would try and do it any other way. I am now doing it with the WiFi enabled and it is taking the same time. It has to be the bluetooth. Incidentally this App is a xxxxxx if you haven't used it for a while trying to link into decoders that don't exist anymore. Mod note - naughty word edited out.

Ok I too am fed up with this. The powerpack has two wires, one I assume goes to ground the other feed Vcc via the diode. Now the transistor could be in the ground return, which is possible, in which case any "stay alive" circuit will work. I must admit I dismissed that as I considered the transistor would be rather large, but it is possible. It can't be in the feed as transistors can only pass current one way, so you would need a separate wire to the charge resistor. End of story, as for Hornby I did not say anything inflammatory, they are being careful with the information they pass to the testing team. As to their legal department they have bigger fish to fry. Actually thinking about it if it does switch the ground it should work with my YouChoos "stay alive" which normally stops you reading parameters on any other decoder it is connected to.

It could be the App was initially designed for iPad use and then modified for the Android app, which would make sense since it took considerably longer for the Android app to become available. Hornby are not lying, I just think there is a human interface issue somewhere. Either way it makes little difference we are not going to get it changed I suspect many of the issues are associated with the "bootloader" on the actual HM7000 device, which is virtually impossible to change now the devices have been released. The only issue I have is, if it isn't anything to do with the WiFi, then people are needlessly trying to improve their WiFi (like paying BT for extra devices) when there is no need. Anyway two new devices arrived today so I will do some checking.

I completely agree with you especially your last comment, I too have had issues. That is what I assumed to be the process, I know when I have used SPI devices they have been a pain. I also feel Hornby so called technical guys, are feeding duff information first we have the Powerpack that is controlled by the decoder, when anyone with a basic knowledge of electronics knows you need 3 connections to do this, rather than 2 (2 for power, 1 for control). Similarly the process for this. I have written many reprogramming routines but it wasn't until I saw a German company we dealt with use a different technique which involves command and response system and a retry method for failed blocks. I suspect the mobile phone companies use a similar approach. The old way used to be to use "timeouts", which means the download process is substantially longer than it need be. Mod note - defamatory wording struck thru' for your own protection.

I have two W1s, one from when they first came out and one from the second batch with changed smoke deflectors. I don't know if I got a good first one and I must admit I haven't noticed much difference between the two. On both I still have issues with the bogie lifting the front wheels when going slow. I will pass on the smoke fitted one, they only made of of these in reality, so you can only model one. I agree about the hype I was expecting something earth shattering, which it wasn't by no stretch of imagination.

I have got two new ones coming in the next couple of days, seeing as it takes generally 25 minutes to load I will switch off the WiFi once it starts doing the main reprogram. It could be the bluetooth, I know a knowledgeable guy on our audio design team was not impressed with it. 8 Mbytes is a pretty big file to download 8 bytes at a time.

To be honest, I still wonder if they are telling you the truth, some of my team frequently told our testing team incorrect information generally because they didn't know the detail. Normally you copy the file then pass it through a process that strips it into bytes of data. On the Pic processors I used to program, I think it was 255 bytes at a time, other processors it was different. Either way it doesn't really matter as whatever the process is, we are not going to change it

Ok if that is what they told you, it was 96RAF that told me they do it the other way. I must admit that is not the way you generally do it unless they were worried about storage on the smart device. You normally copy the whole of the file before you chop it up, it gets very messy if you do it any other way.

I will say it once more in case nobody else read the earlier post. If I remember correctly when I enquired about the system when it first came out, the smart device copies the sound file from the Hornby website to the smart device before it starts the upgrade. This is backed up by the messages on the screen of the smart device. The app on the smart device then chops the file into manageable blocks that get transferred to the decoder. Before the decoder can write the new data it has to erase the old data, it may be this that takes the time. Unless it needs to contact the Hornby server as it programs, then the WiFi signal is irrelevant at this point. The only thing it could be, is if the smart device loses the WiFi it starts scanning to look for one (although it doesn't need it for this process), stopping whatever processes it is doing while it does it. So that might be the issue.

Yes, I had had that issue. I generally go onto Road and Rails and find one that will fit. The big advantage is that the speaker from Road and Rails is better quality. Iphone speakers seem to work well, they are super thin. They also do a square bass one that fits in the hole.

Digikeijs is no more but YAMORC provide an upgrade. My Z21 app is still working with my YAMORC upgraded Digikeijs hardware, so when exactly did they block it.

If your coaches have leds then they must have a rectifier in them of sorts otherwise the lights wouldn't work when going backwards, although I did pick up some lighted carriages where the previous owner forgot to do that. As to the lighting I agree with everyone else they will work permanently, although they might be a bit brighter.

For me it has always been about 25 minutes. I imagine it depends what sound file you use. I doubt it can improve much because it is dependant on the bluetooth interface to the decoder. Without getting too technical it is one of those things that is difficult to change once you have released a product. As we have discussed many times before the transfer of the file from the Hornby website to the smart device is pretty quick, you can tell by watching the messages on the App.

It took them long enough to the accept 21 pin offering, so adding another one would be really radical. Perhaps 22 pin makes production simpler.

Actually unless the prices have changed a lot and you don't buy the 9f in a sale, the difference in price would probably compensate for the more expensive sound option. I must admit though in my opinion the Hornby is probably better.

I wonder why they change? It may seem like a silly question but some I can understand but others I elude me. Next18 is virtually the same size as a 6 pin if you take both parts of the connector and it gives a lot more advantages like VCC, speaker connections and function outputs. 8 pin, well they are just horrible as you have coils of wire to take up room plus a function on a flying lead and you are limited to 4 functions and no speaker wires. They are good for fitting into old locos as the PCBs are easy to solder to. Then we have the 21 pin, the only things wrong with this one is that is ever so easy to bend the pins especially if the decoder is a tight fit. So what does 22 pin give you, these must be a reason. If the Bachmann 9F has one I suppose I have never seen it as as bought the loco with sound fitted so I have never had the need to take it apart. So is it smaller?

It depends what you are used to, YAMORC produce an upgrade to the existing Digikeijs which is what I fitted, I gather they intend to produce new full units. If you think Digikeijs is an old system I dread to think what the Hornby Elite is. As I said there is the z21 app that sits on a smartphone if you really don't want to sit in front of a computer screen. If you want to control 5 or more locos then you need a decent sized screen. As I said I like it and from what I have seen of the others, not so out of date.

I did this to my Duchess of Montrose, I did it many years ago when Wrenn were still going. I think you can still get Wrenn spares so just use Wrenn wheels and Wrenn pickups that is how I did it. I do remember having to drill a couple of holes in the bottom to take the new screw location for the pickup plate. The bigger issue is the tender as in my case it was a Duchess of Montrose and every time the tender went round a bend the insulated wheels hit the metal body causing a short but in the end I found a way to insulate it.

Yes, but that is slightly different to what I am suggesting. Having two loco control panels side by side only really works if you have enough screen space so it limits it to a pad with a suitable screen and my suggestion was for all modes not just a consist. Of course if that is the intention then ignore this comment.