Crosland Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 As electrical circuits and internal components that bear the CE logo have a +/- 10-15% tolerance threshold, I don't know where you get that little gem from, but there is no correlation between CE marking and component tolerances. Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 is the mains transformer ac or dc? <real pedant mode> A transformer is, by definition, AC in and AC out. A power supply can be either AC or DC at both input and output. </real pedant mode> Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I'm not aware that there is a separate (stand alone) booster for the e-link - other than hooking it up to an elite, if I understood a quick conversation with SK correctly. His suggested solution was to power it with a 4A supply. The other way to increase power to the layout is to use two e-link boxes driven from one PC. I believe that is a recommended solution for larger layouts - one e-link powering the points and accessories, one e-link powering the track and locos. Why wouldn't you just simply add a booster, I know Hornby don't do a "brand name" one so the trainset market may not see it as an option - but as you can now get a 5a booster for about £50 that's presumably substantially cheaper (and to my mind much simpler!) than buying and linking multiple systems - in fact for about the same cost as a second E-link and two 4a power supplies to upgrade/power them both you could have 3 boosters between the E-link and layout, giving you 15a safely! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hi If someone wants a Hornby Branded booster, here it is: http://www.Hornby.com/shop/digital/r8239-Hornby-dcc-power-and-signal-booster/ If you shop around, you will get it cheaper , and it comes with a 4 Amp PSU If you want an extra PSU they do those too. http://www.Hornby.com/shop/digital/p9300-digital-15v-4-amp-transformer/ again shop around for best price. Sticking my neck out again here...but... If your are a Hornby E-link type customer, then you are possibly? not the same person to be building MERG kits (today at least), so I would assume you want something that just works, straight out of the box. So why would you not just stick with Hornby DCC accessories at that point? Edited because i posted before i finished typing doh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2, 2014 I seriously hope that is not what they said, or maybe it is and they just don't understand, either. If the e-link has no internal current limit to protect itself, then I would steer well clear! Andrew Hi Andrew, No it's not what they said, my fault I've explained it wrong, I will amend it. All they said was they only recommend the maximum of the 4amp power supply and not go go above that. Nothing at all was mentioned about internal protection. This thread has turned into a complete nightmare. The Hornby system is, as everybody says a train set toy market(although I do believe it is better than that) it's now getting to silliness in to advanced electrical and electronics because of trying to do things thats not recommended. Most users will not understand the implications of this, they will buy the system and then follow the instructions which say that the 4amp power supply can be used and if more is needed use a booster. Most users including me don't have your knowledge about the electronics and don't really need to know if they follow the instructions. It just seems madness that this thread has got into what seems like I know more about electrics/electronics than you and it's all splitting hairs. I know you are only trying to help, and I won't question you as your knowledge is far greater than mine but for any newcomer this part of the thread will be complete brain fry time! Basically instead of trying to go beyond what Hornby recommends and causing potential harm or damage can't everybody read the instructions and follow what it says or call Hornby. The only point I was making is for those new to the hobby is don't read this thread and think you can just plug any old power supply in, just because someone is using a larger power supply and it's OK doesn't mean it's a good idea! Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 If someone wants a Hornby Branded booster, here it is: Thanks! At circa £100 you're paying a lot for the brand name though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thanks! At circa £100 you're paying a lot for the brand name though. That well known Liverpool retailer has them for £74, including the 4amp power supply, I don't know if thats good or bad though Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I've a portable power box* - that includes a pair of Tam Valley DAB002s, they're about £36 to buy in the UK (I got mine from Bromsgrove Models, but I see Coastal DCC now sells them) - but they need a PSU to be purchased as well (you can get suitable laptop PSUs for £15-20 from memory.) The boosters are rated up to 5a (actual output depends on the PSU you buy, mine are 4a ones) - and can be configured either as a track power booster (shuts down when DCC system cuts out) or an accesory booster (keeps power to accessory decoders for a time when the system cuts out) by moving a jumper. Great little product, dead simple to use, two wires come into it from your DCC system, two wires go out to the track, plug in PSU, bingo - working booster. (No connection yadda yadda yadda) (*Portable because I do modular railroading, so it both needed to be flexible and portable - if I was using one of these on a home layout i'd just screw it under the baseboard) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2014 Sticking my neck out again here...but... If your are a Hornby E-link type customer, then you are possibly? not the same person to be building MERG kits (today at least), so I would assume you want something that just works, straight out of the box. So why would you not just stick with Hornby DCC accessories at that point? Hi Kal, The Hornby Railmaster software has a list of supported accessory decoders such as ESU switchpilot and NCE Switch-it. The switchpilot has been on offer recently and as such is a better deal than the standard Hornby decoder. If I decide in the future to use a.n.other system, then I'v probably got more flexibility with the ESU unit. I could build the MERG stuff, but I haven't got time as I'm too busy doing yellow things....... Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hi If someone wants a Hornby Branded booster, here it is: http://www.Hornby.com/shop/digital/r8239-Hornby-dcc-power-and-signal-booster/ If you shop around, you will get it cheaper , and it comes with a 4 Amp PSU If you want an extra PSU they do those too. http://www.Hornby.com/shop/digital/p9300-digital-15v-4-amp-transformer/ again shop around for best price. Sticking my neck out again here...but... If your are a Hornby E-link type customer, then you are possibly? not the same person to be building MERG kits (today at least), so I would assume you want something that just works, straight out of the box. So why would you not just stick with Hornby DCC accessories at that point? Edited because i posted before i finished typing doh! say no more: Supplied with a 4 amp power unit but can be used with an alternative power supply to a maximum of 5 amps Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 2, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2014 say no more: Supplied with a 4 amp power unit but can be used with an alternative power supply to a maximum of 5 amps Maybe so, but that's not an e-link............ Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James90012 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I've just ordered this from Invicta for my first own layout after helping out on my Dad's for over 10 years. I intend to create a simple running loop to practice techniques on, but what I need to know is if there is any connector included with the e-link itself or if I need to get hold of a R8242 just to get something running? Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkwolf1877 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I've just ordered this from Invicta for my first own layout after helping out on my Dad's for over 10 years. I intend to create a simple running loop to practice techniques on, but what I need to know is if there is any connector included with the e-link itself or if I need to get hold of a R8242 [/size]just to get something running? You will need this or something similar to connect to your track as it isn't included. Enjoy Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I've just ordered this from Invicta for my first own layout after helping out on my Dad's for over 10 years. I intend to create a simple running loop to practice techniques on, but what I need to know is if there is any connector included with the e-link itself or if I need to get hold of a R8242 just to get something running? Cheers there was nothing in my box.. . if your just goin to do a loop i would just solder some wires on to the track. . as i dont know the size you are goin to have it. i would say at least a few droppers. . an example is i have a end to end shunting layout im in the middle of building and ive 20 droppers and the layout is only 48"&18" hope that helps ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James90012 Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I opened and set up the system today, overall I like it though I am still considering getting a handheld controller with a nob that can be turned/use my phone when I get round to it.It isn't the most elegant of software and it isn't the most intuitive either but I'm managing to rename locos etc and it's great being able to add a picture of the loco.. I do have a problem with authentication, when I type my code in and the e-link searches the web it consistently fails to be recognised - any advice? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold traction Posted January 22, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 22, 2014 The E-Link isn't searching the web the PC is, which needs to connected to the Internet. It's only the RailMaster software that needs the authentication code. Make sure you read the guide when you install RailMaster. It's in the RailMaster folder which is in the programs folder normally on the hard-drive you will need to hunt about for it. You need to follow the instructions exactly or you will get problems. Cheers Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James90012 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 After uninstalling and reinstalling multiple times I finally was able to authenticate it today. However, uninstalling requires that the E-link is reattached and formatted. Previously I just let windows find a driver for it and it all worked fine, but this time I followed the instructions and cancelled the windows powered search - and now nothing works. Really not intuitive even to those of us that are computer literate, which I like to think I am. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James90012 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Spent an hour on it today and managed to get it up and running again. If you're using the e-link my advice would be to use the Quick Start Guide that you get with it for the set up - it is much clearer than the PDF you get. The PDF is obviously needed to understand how to program etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold pheaton Posted February 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2014 Ive been following this thread for a while..... I think personally Hornby have marked e-link in the worst possible way.... what do I mean......I seem to recall that e-link has been offered on its own but I also recall that it mostly comes bundled with train-sets... namely.... R1172 and R1173 I start by asking who reading this thread has bought a train-set in that last 5 years? Ok so some of you may have, but in my humble opinion the train-set is aimed outside of the core railway modeller market. So taking R1172 as an argument why on earth would you need a pc to control 1 train and 1 loop....its absolute over-kill, I would hazard a guess of all the people buying R1172, 80% of them expect to take it home open it up and set it up on the carpet.....R1172 you get the additional chore for operational reasons tying a laptop to the train-set....that's before we get into setting it up downloading updates and installing drivers....im intrigued how many of us believe the core train-set market has the resources (a laptop and an internet connection) and the knowledge (including basic IT skills for the installation of drivers) needed to effectively utilise that trainset. You can probably imagine that on Christmas day the laptop is in use, and without it you cant use that train-set..... R1173 same applied but....the 2 trains and double loop mean this is to a much lesser extent (again in my opinion) but its still something a select would handle a lot better! And yes ok people here have there own opinions on the select but remember the core market this is aimed as isn't really going to care, because they are not yet aware of the other options out there.... Whats the result of the above.....well basically little jonny on Christmas day has to have the laptop to use his trainset....which really should be controlled using a very simple controller probably not even DCC, this put jonny and jonny's parent off model rail because they will have invested a 3 figure sum in something that well is a lot of hassle for not a lot! And then you get the impression that elink...is a train-set device by some of the wider modelling community....and Hornby have lost reputation and customer sales.... Potentially so far then its not been very impressive for the e-link has it..... I have been with railmaster since it was released, I have had a Hornby elite since it was released, and allow me to bore you with why....... when I switched over to DCC I dabbled with the Ez-command, which we all know is quite limited controller...I quickly out-grew this and needed to go up a level, and arrived at the junction of either the Hornby elite or Bachmann dynamis, both at the time were reasonably close in price (the Hornby elite was a lot cheaper when it was released personally I wouldn't buy one now) I chose the Hornby elite and a colleague (who had been modelling on DC for 25 years) chose the dynamis when it came to converting his layout. I chose the elite because it had more technical capabilities then the dynamis. But I quickly got annoyed with the poor (in comparison) interface. When railmaster came out I saw this as a way to overcome these problems with the elite, when railmaster came out....it was poor it was slow and a little unstable, but these problems have been corrected with successive updates and its now quite a viable piece of software. Now railmaster has incorporated the elink which as far as im concerned is an elite without buttons or a display, which has a lot of possibilities, a lot people criticise railmaster for "not looking flash" "not very good graphics" "looks basic" ok and yes it doesn't look very posh at all but....with good graphics and flash/posh displays comes something else.....higher system requirements those of us who play railworks 2013 know that if you want nice graphics and a decent framerate then you are shelling out for decent hardware..... This idea has two impacts as far as railmaster is concerned.... *edit if railmaster required higher specifications to meet the aspirations of people who wanted a visually better product* 1,) potential customers with low grade hardware wont be able to take advantage and not buy or will be put off by low performance 2,) customers who are prepared to swallow the costs of hardware upgrades are spending money on computer hardware which could have been spent on model rail products... either way you are limiting you customer base. The lower the hardware requirements the larger your audience, however as we know that's at the cost of visual (not always technical) quality of your produce (in this case railmaster) For example, the likelihood is your PC is more powerful than your laptop (I know this gap these days is narrowing) but who has the room to site a powerful pc next to a layout....similarly who would buy a powerful laptop just to operate it in the loft or the garage or the outhouse where your trainset might live (im married with a young child and try as I might the wife wont let me have the layout in the house ) the answer is your less likely to have a powerful machine for model rail use, so by making the specs low, you might have an old laptop you can use for this purpose. Heres my example.... Above you can see my layout is run by 2 tablets the tablets are HP/Compaq TC1100s they are about 8 years old and they cost me £40 off ebay, they come with 1.5gb of memory and 60gb HDDs they run windows xp and have full wireless and Bluetooth capability. They are also touchscreen! Because railmaster is so low in its requirements I can run it on very portable hardware that's very cheap In my setup it wouldn't have been practical to use my higher spec laptops or PC in that setting, so what you might think, that's you....yes its me but I expect its other as well. Finally a lot of people (not just here but elsewhere) say railmaster and the e-link are train-set technology, well all I can say to that is...it cant be that bad if I can control all of this via touchscreen and £40 hardware Just like to add by the way that my "man cave" is not normally this messy.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knapper Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Now railmaster has incorporated the elink which as far as im concerned is an elite without buttons or a display, which has a lot of possibilities, a lot people criticise railmaster for "not looking flash" "not very good graphics" "looks basic" ok and yes it doesn't look very posh at all but....with good graphics and flash/posh displays comes something else.....higher system requirements those of us who play railworks 2013 know that if you want nice graphics and a decent framerate then you are shelling out for decent hardware..... This idea has two impacts as far as railmaster is concerned.... 1,) potential customers with low grade hardware wont be able to take advantage and not buy or will be put off by low performance 2,) customers who are prepared to swallow the costs of hardware upgrades are spending money on computer hardware which could have been spent on model rail products... either way you are limiting you customer base. The lower the hardware requirements the larger your audience, however as we know that's at the cost of visual (not always technical) quality of your produce (in this case railmaster) For example, the likelihood is your PC is more powerful than your laptop (I know this gap these days is narrowing) but who has the room to site a powerful pc next to a layout....similarly who would buy a powerful laptop just to operate it in the loft or the garage or the outhouse where your trainset might live (im married with a young child and try as I might the wife wont let me have the layout in the house ) the answer is your less likely to have a powerful machine for model rail use, so by making the specs low, you might have an old laptop you can use for this purpose. I'm slightly confused by this this, as you seem to be saying the railmaster software is too demanding on systems as it is and needs to be capable of being run on low spec hardware, then you say this: Above you can see my layout is run by 2 tablets the tablets are HP/Compaq TC1100s they are about 8 years old and they cost me £40 off ebay, they come with 1.5gb of memory and 60gb HDDs they run windows xp and have full wireless and Bluetooth capability. They are also touchscreen! Because railmaster is so low in its requirements I can run it on very portable hardware that's very cheap which shows it has low system requirements? It seems a bit contradictory, or at least it does to me. If it's requirements are low, why will people need to upgrade hardware? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold pheaton Posted February 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2014 Where am I saying people need to upgrade hardware for railmaster? I used railworks 2013 (which is a PC rail simulator) as a comparison, (a poor one I grant you) and said that if you want a high framerate and good visuals you will need good hardware, then said that one of the reasons why railmaster is so low spec is so it can on low spec machines. *edit I see what you mean I haven't explained it very well so have edited it to make it a little clearer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knapper Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Thanks for clearing that up pheaton, much appreciated . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweasel Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Might be silly question,but I am going into DCC with this system. I have a Nokia N8 'phone. My question is, can I use this as a controller,and if so, how. Many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimhagan Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 The Railmaster software on your laptop or PC combined with the e-link interface is the command station or controller, you can also used certain mobile devices and tablets as throttles to control your trains and points from any position on your layout, this uses your internet router to communicate with Railmaster on your command station (computer) to send instructions via the elink then to the device you want to control whether it be a locomotive or switch a point change a signal etc. You will need to check whether your phone is compatible with the Railmaster app. Hope this answers your question. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James90012 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I think the N8 used the Symbian operating system rather than Windows so I'm not sure it will be supported. Take a look though as Jim said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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