Blue Day

Hi all. It's been a while ..... Ive more or less got my track laid and wired via a bus set up. I'm wanting a bit of advice on testing for dead track I.e. track which isn't receiving power for some reason. Best way of testing? 12v bulb with 2 wires?

Thanks fellas. Yeh will see how it goes I guess before spending money I might not have to.

Hi chaps. Getting to fixing track / drop wires and points. Just wondering if my 1amp eLink will be sufficient? I probably won't be running more than 4 trains at once maximum. The layout is not massive and will have a maximum 20 points operating via Railmaster also - although as you don't use all the points at once I'm guessing that doesn't matter much? Am I right in thinking if I do need to up the amps to 4 I just need a suitable power Supply for the eLink? Also, the point decoder (Hornby), can this be connected directly to the bus wire where required?

Thanks Chris. I kind of thought that but wanted it confirming before I continued

Quick question - thought I'd add to this thread than start a new one. so I've started (veeerrry slooowly) to solder drop wires to my track. Finding a tad tedious and fiddly but slowly getting the hang of it. so, I've read various stuff in points and fixing drop wires but in a bit lost. Do I keep the power clips in the points and / or attach drop wires?

Thanks again.

Thanks Chris. Altering the values in the .ini file did the trick!

Thanks Chris. I determined I’m actually running windows 8 (doh) so would that be the same? If so it looks like the correct driver is installed? Any ideas why I get the greyed out controller A? Everything else seems to have loaded ok but still not working.

I have used the help site, I’ve even checked the .ini file and one of the 2 commands it tells you needs to be there, wasn’t. So I added it

Ok. RM is installed. Elink is connected at port 3 which RM seems to locate, but the controller A remains inactive (which is the elink). When I check the driver installed i see USB serial port (COM3) - should I see Elink there instead? Ive tried updating driver but it says latest driver installed.

Hi AC, everything doesn't work, that's the problem.

Just to clarify, I uninstalled the driver and tried again. When I plug in the elink, the driver shows as the Emulation Demo one, then after about 10 seconds that changes to USB Serial Port (COM3) I assume it SHOULD be showing Hornby Elink?

Ignore that. 1.71 installed, but still it looks like the wrong driver for the elink is also

OK so i click the link, a small box shows its downloading then it dissapears?

Sorry, but where do I load v1.71 from?

sorry guys, I’m sure 1,000 questions have been asked on the subject already and I think I’ve read most of them. But I’m stuck. RM is installed on a win8 pc. Version 1.70 revision 2 is loaded. It would seem my Elink HAS been identified by RM (usb port 3) but when I look at the USB port in device manager it shows as USB serial Port (COM3) not as elite or anything else. Tried updating driver and it says latest driver is loaded. Help pls.

My issue seems to be locating the Elink. Struggling to download the driver for it (although it was installed before but I reinstalled RM). I’m actually running windows 8 (doh) which shows my scope of knowledge in such things

Thanks for the replies guys. Reckon I’ll stick with what I have. Just a little frustrated as after firing up RM after 10 months it’s decided not to work, and I was considering W10 being an issue. It’s probably the RM upgrades (as I read in other threads) so I guess it’s a day in front of the laptop for me 😢

hi guys. As im now getting to the point of my layout being ready to be powered and starting to test trains, I thought it best to ask. I’ve seen many people have problems with the software / connection to elite etc so, I thought I’d ask what OS is the best to run on a laptop for RM. I’ve seen XP being mentioned? I’m running 10 at the moment (I think) which I don’t think is best?

Thanks to both. Yes I’m using a CDU (already purchased).

Also, can someone please recommend a suitable power supply for my points layout? It’s a minefield out there 😢

Chris when I searched for the PL26 switch at my suppliers, it points me to a PL23 which it says ‘matches the PL26 range’. Will this be ok for me to use with the CDU and does the lever on the switch remain one side or other (not central)?

I think I’m gonna stick with the Peco switch idea and a CDU. I’ll look around for some power supply (might have got something anyway in a box somewhere). Just to confirm, the point motor to use. The R8243 is the surface mounted one (which I’ll use for track that’s OOV). Which is the equivalent under board motor to use? Also, while I’m here, is it possible to have 2 sets of points (used for a cross over) operated by one switch?

Hmmmm something to ponder. I’m edging towards the peco switches and somehow just numbering the points to the switch. Seems a lot simpler for someone of limited knowledge of electrics :)

Thanks again. Yeh I’ve looked at the Peco switches and the housing and they look a neat (but slightly more expensive) option. Unless theres another simpler way to identify point position?