tractor_37260 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Thought I'd share my findings on using the Lokprogrammer with a new Intel i7 Win 8.1 64bit PC. I obtained the necessary FTDI chipped USB 2 cable and went searching for suitable drivers - as the mini CD disc supplied with the cable does not cover Win 8.1 - so not off to a good start. However, I decided to just download and install the latest ESU programmer software for Lok 3.5's and V4's. I then plugged in the Lokprogrammer, and low and behold it just worked !! I'm assuming Win automatically searched/downloaded/and installed the necessary drivers ? Job done - so no big hassle as expected. One tip if using Win 8 / 8.1 - if you don't like or use the "tiles" it's worth installing a start menu - it then looks/works more like Win 7 - see http://startisback.com/ HTH Ken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 hi ken just come across this as im serching for a driver for windows 10 as with my old lap top my lok programmer used the old leed but with my vista it has windows 8 now 10 and i can only connect the programmer by the usb but as some is i plug in it says there is a connection fault and i cant seem to fix it ive tried down loading new drivers from the esu site but nothing seems to work do you have any ideas the fault it keeps saying is serial port fault regards ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Slightly off at a minor tangent, I too have a recently purchased Lokprogrammer and downloaded the drivers directly from the ESU website as they have been guaranteed to be the most up to date and left the CD's in their sleeves. I used my old ( as in old!) laptop which still uses XP ( kept for sentiment as my main laptop is a MacBook ) and after a few minutes I was downloading and re-blowing two ESU LokSound decoders successfully. I seem to think I'd read somewhere ? that the Vista operating system was not comparable with the programmer so you may well have a conflict if you've upgraded ? Apologies if this isn't constructive, I'm not a techno computer buff and wish you luck in your quest to solve you problem. When you do resolve it you'll find the system pretty intuitive and fun ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 hi ken just come across this as im serching for a driver for windows 10 as with my old lap top my lok programmer used the old leed but with my vista it has windows 8 now 10 and i can only connect the programmer by the usb but as some is i plug in it says there is a connection fault and i cant seem to fix it ive tried down loading new drivers from the esu site but nothing seems to work do you have any ideas the fault it keeps saying is serial port fault regards ian Hi Ian Are you using one of these cables ? If not it's possible this may be the problem. My original Lokprog USB cable used to work OK on my old (fried) Win XP machine, but it would not work with Win 8.1 HTH Ken Further information To LokProgrammer As contemporary computers do not have a serial interface anymore we include a USB adapter cable. Since Windows Vista and Windows 7, cables that support USB 2.0 and are provided with a FTDI chip are required. The previous cables, available until the end of 2009, will not work with these operating systems due to their modified inner structures by Windows. If your LokProgrammer has been in use for a considerable time and you intend to switch to Windows 7 or above, you will need the new USB cable. Ordering information Art.No. Description 51952 Cable USB-A 2.0 FTDI to RS232; 1.80m, for LokProgrammer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Hi Ian Are you using one of these cables ? If not it's possible this may be the problem. My original Lokprog USB cable used to work OK on my old (fried) Win XP machine, but it would not work with Win 8.1 HTH Ken Further informationTo LokProgrammer As contemporary computers do not have a serial interface anymore we include a USB adapter cable. Since Windows Vista and Windows 7, cables that support USB 2.0 and are provided with a FTDI chip are required. The previous cables, available until the end of 2009, will not work with these operating systems due to their modified inner structures by Windows. If your LokProgrammer has been in use for a considerable time and you intend to switch to Windows 7 or above, you will need the new USB cable. Ordering information Art.No. Description 51952 Cable USB-A 2.0 FTDI to RS232; 1.80m, for LokProgrammer thx for the reply guys im using windows 10 and like the link says i dont have a serial port so im using the usb2.0 to serial port to connect this is were the fault it with my old lap to i tried it this way usb to serial port but that still didnt work but lucky for me on that laptop it had a serial port so i just changed leads and it worked first time . . do you think i might need a newer usb to serial port lead them . . thx again guys for your help . . ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 4, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 4, 2015 I bought a Lokprogrammer a couple of years ago, but only opened the box last weekend. I plugged in the USB lead to the laptop, ran the CD Rom and had very few problems once I got the hang of how to actually make changes on the decoder. Upgrades seem to happen automatically, but I think I ticked a box for that. The laptop is a few years old, came with Win 7 but now runs Win 10. Sadly I still can't work out how to alter the bell ring-rate on my Proto 2000 0-6-0. Such a facility doesn't seem to exist in ESU's options. Even cheapo old Soundtraxx decoders - i.e. pre-Tsunami - allow that change with a single CV. OTOH, I found it fairly easy to set up my R37 SNCF FNC railcar so the cab light switches off whenever the unit is moving. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor_37260 Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 OTOH, I found it fairly easy to set up my R37 SNCF FNC railcar so the cab light switches off whenever the unit is moving. Yes this is one of the Loksound 4 options that can be set up with ease using a Lokprogrammer for UK locos, I take it your unit cab lights also come back on when it stops........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 4, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 4, 2015 tractor_37260, on 04 Dec 2015 - 18:23, said:Yes this is one of the Loksound 4 options that can be set up with ease using a Lokprogrammer for UK locos, I take it your unit cab lights also come back on when it stops........ Yes. And I was able to change the function mapping to ensure that my Digitrax throttle works with the full complement of lights, F2 being momentary rather than latching on a US throttle, so it is now F5 for the rear lights. Nigel Cliffe of this parish had been helpful a couple of years ago in providing CV settings to achieve this on my Rail 87 Mobylettes, but the Lokprogrammer does it better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 hi all speaking to a guy at manchester today he was running windows 10 and said he just plugged in and away he went so im thinking it could be the leed . . a new one has been ordered . but for now this is the message that keeps coming up every time i plug it in Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 turns out the cable i had was totally not right and as soon as my new one came today to the shop i got home and he presto the programmer is working .. all i need now are sound files . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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