LuLuJo Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 My dongle arrived at the weekend so I dug out my elite on the desktop. Followed the instructions and linked it to the elite. Set up a duchess fitted with a loksound 4 chip. Got the blue connection on the dongle and in the App. So set it up the elite on the layout and was able to run two Txs chipped locos and the Duchess with sound and motion all at the same time. I was very impressed. The day after I switched the system on again and whilst the green light on the elite flashes green then steadies to a glow the screen is dead. The dongle shows both blue and red leds and the app shows a blue connection. However there appears to be no track power output. I have tried switching on and off many times . Switching on holding the loco button but no sign of life on the screen. It appears as if the elite is faulty. Any suggestions please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 If you remove the dongle. does the Elite work as it should standalone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Also the docs are here, have you tried a Hard rest on the Dongle? https://uk.hornby.com/hm7000/hm-dcc-guides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 If you power cycle an Elite too quickly it will freeze. Switch it off, leave for 30 seconds then repower. As suggested unplug the dongle and check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLuJo Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 If I remove the dongle the elite still does not respond. I have an old select and so plugged the dongle into that and it seems to work as it should. It feels as if the dongle is okay . I swapped it from one IOS device to another without any issues. But the elite is not. If you power it up with the dongle missing the green led flashes a couple of times then glows solid green. But no screen display. Connecting to railmaster the device manager says its working properly but its not loading up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 It's probably working OK except the screen display is not working. If you have a loco set to the default address of 03, try putting it on the track an see if it moves when you turn control knob 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 2 minutes ago, Brew Man said: It's probably working OK except the screen display is not working. If you have a loco set to the default address of 03, try putting it on the track an see if it moves when you turn control knob 1. But they said there was no track voltage coming out ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Ah, sorry missed that bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Just now, Brew Man said: Ah, sorry missed that bit. Makes a change for me to read the whole post !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 26 minutes ago, LuLuJo said: If I remove the dongle the elite still does not respond. I have an old select and so plugged the dongle into that and it seems to work as it should. It feels as if the dongle is okay . I swapped it from one IOS device to another without any issues. But the elite is not. If you power it up with the dongle missing the green led flashes a couple of times then glows solid green. But no screen display. Connecting to railmaster the device manager says its working properly but its not loading up. Do you know the firmware version of the Elite and Select? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLuJo Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 I think that the elite is 1.44 and the select is very old and needs updating. Not sure how to bring up the version on it There is no power output I got a very small reading with my meter on the track output. I have a voltmeter permanently set up on the layout and that shows no output. Putting the elink in the system again and the voltage is normal. It seems to me like I have a power issue with the elite. Any idea if that can be repaired? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Hornby do offer a repair service for the Elite. There are posts and instructions online , for hoe to upgrage the firmware. Rob one of the mods, has a link in his signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 The Select has to return to works for the update - call customer services to get the returns number - cost £15 or so. To update the Elite, which is worth a try as it might kick it back into life if someone has previously bricked it on a bodged update attempt. Download v1.45 from the handy links post. Then come back for more instructions, but you need a windows PC and a printer USB A to B cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLuJo Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 2 hours ago, 96RAF said: The Select has to return to works for the update - call customer services to get the returns number - cost £15 or so. To update the Elite, which is worth a try as it might kick it back into life if someone has previously bricked it on a bodged update attempt. Download v1.45 from the handy links post. Then come back for more instructions, but you need a windows PC and a printer USB A to B cable. File downloaded and cable to hand. Awaiting further instruction please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge1965 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 @96RAF Is the man to help you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 With the update .exe file on your desktop, ready to launch with a right click - run as admin, do this. go to device manager and as you plug in the powered Elite USB cable note which Comm Port it uses. turn off the Elite and unplug the USB cable. press and hold the red stop button as you power up the Elite - needs 3 hands. Wait 30 seconds and release the stop button. Screen will be blank and green led will be on. plug in the USB cable and wait 30 seconds. PC will bing-bong upon connection. launch the .exe file in admin mode. dialogue will ask for the Comm port noted earlier. dialogue will ask for a PC type - try 2. (If an old PC try 1 or if super new try 3). a progress bar will take about 2-4 minutes to complete if all is well. (If all is not well the progress bar will pass quickly and you will get notification of failure. If it takes forever make a cup of tea as it will likely be OK but can take up to an hour - worst case scenario). once update is complete Elite will reboot into Standard mode and confirm v1.45. You may get a comms error which likely means you have USB problems, so try a different USB port and note the new Comm port number. You may find the update fails and the Elite goes totally unresponsive (i.e. it bricks), if so start from step 1 again. You can do this many times. Hopefully this will restore your Elite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Aren't computers and technology in general wonderful!. I don't know what we did without them. 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 To talk to all of us, you used pencil/pen and paper to write out a draft, gave it to the typist to type up with as many copies as you needed, put them all in envelopes with stamps and addresses and put them in the letterbox. Then you waited 1-2 weeks until we received yours and did similarly to reply. Was much better in the old days, wasn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 • Spend half an hour locating a piece of paper - if it ain’t lined, reader is going to feel seasick! • Spend an hour locating a pen - longer for one that actually works! • Spend a week attempting to form legible words - eventually give up and create an impressionist masterpiece! • Spend 2 hours locating an envelope - discover the glue tastes disgusting & is not sticky anyway. • Spend 3 hours locating tape, scissors & getting tape stuck to itself & you - but none on actual envelope! • Attempt to locate a stamp, find several empty books/pages & miscellaneous rubbish - but no stamps. • Walk to nearest Post Office & discover it’s shut/moved/closed down & next nearest one is 3 hours away! I’ll have technology please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 apologies for being led astray… 🫢 I believe the issue was an Elite not working properly… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 7 hours ago, LTSR_NSE said: apologies for being led astray… 🫢 I believe the issue was an Elite not working properly… 'Twas but a humorous diversion whilst we wait for @LuLuJo to report back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Hey guys, it was only a joke, I used to manage a computer network in an NHS department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 28 minutes ago, Brew Man said: Hey guys, it was only a joke, I used to manage a computer network in an NHS department. I was only (half-heartedly) apologising for my own post - certainly no criticism intended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLuJo Posted February 29 Author Share Posted February 29 19 hours ago, 96RAF said: With the update .exe file on your desktop, ready to launch with a right click - run as admin, do this. go to device manager and as you plug in the powered Elite USB cable note which Comm Port it uses. turn off the Elite and unplug the USB cable. press and hold the red stop button as you power up the Elite - needs 3 hands. Wait 30 seconds and release the stop button. Screen will be blank and green led will be on. plug in the USB cable and wait 30 seconds. PC will bing-bong upon connection. launch the .exe file in admin mode. dialogue will ask for the Comm port noted earlier. dialogue will ask for a PC type - try 2. (If an old PC try 1 or if super new try 3). a progress bar will take about 2-4 minutes to complete if all is well. (If all is not well the progress bar will pass quickly and you will get notification of failure. If it takes forever make a cup of tea as it will likely be OK but can take up to an hour - worst case scenario). once update is complete Elite will reboot into Standard mode and confirm v1.45. You may get a comms error which likely means you have USB problems, so try a different USB port and note the new Comm port number. You may find the update fails and the Elite goes totally unresponsive (i.e. it bricks), if so start from step 1 again. You can do this many times. Hopefully this will restore your Elite. First a very big thank you for the above and everyone else for their suggestions. The above process worked at the fifth attempt using computer type 3 the fastest. The previous attempts with 2 and 1 failed and I had almost given up. The elite is now working again with sound and motion on TXS and historic decoders. Railmaster also loaded up first time. I dont understand what happended as no attempt to update the firmware has been made as it was at 1.44 and i had the elite from new. But that's the least of my concerns. The one interesting quirk is that on the managing the dongle screen its showing a locomotive with a TXS decoder as available to assign. The TXs decoder in the loco is already active in the APP and responding to instructions. I am pretty sure this should not be possible and I have resisted temptation so far. Its the only one of 20+ TXS decoders visible Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTSR_NSE Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 (edited) @LuLuJo - since the HM7k decoder has a DCC address it most certainly can be assigned to the dongle - however this is unnecessary as you are already linked to its Bluetooth. I’m guessing it’s the only TXS loco currently live/active - hence the only one available to be assigned to dongle? Edited February 29 by LTSR_NSE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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