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Investigating Hornby Railmaster by Stephen Nicholson
Part 2
Prior to the Elink becoming available I purchased a second hand Palm PDA from Ebay so that I could have a wireless controller. The Elink supports the popular tablets and smart phones, but I have neither. However it also has support for certain older PDAs. PDAs have gone out of fashion with the rise of smart phones, but Palm devices were sold in millions. (PDA - think smart phone without the phone!).
The Elink came available in July and one was duly purchased from Hattons. As I had prepared the computer and wiring beforehand it was a very straight forward to plug the device into a free USB port on the computer and connect one set of wires to the layout and the other to my programming track. The remaining software was installed, but initially the Elink could not be "seen" by the Railmaster software. After a good deal of fiddling about I got it working - however even now it's not completely reliable. I have yet to work out whether the computer or the Elink is at the root of the problem.
So, what does the Elink offer? It has all the features of a good DCC controller that you would expect plus a good deal else that hosting control on a computer allows. Here are some of them:
- Simple engine control, with a slider for speed and programmable buttons for lights and sounds if you have them. There is also one click shunt and cruise speed buttons
- A library of your locomotive stock with the ability to attach a photo and configure settings, such as max speed. Helpfully, every Hornby loco manufactured in the last 30 years is included in Railmaster with realistic speeds (sorry Peter).
- Ability to record train movements with sounds eg announcements. There is great play value with this, especially if you are 10 (I am happy to shed 40 years at the drop of a hat!). The main limitation is that movements are by time, so sometimes the train stops in the middle of the countryside. This feature will come into its own with location detection equipment, which is promised later in the year.
- Display a mimic diagram of your layout and use point and click to change points etc. As I don't have any devices that are digitally controlled, this is currently for decoration.
- Ability to read and write decoder CVs. Not for most people, but for the more technically minded and who like to tweak performance.
- Automatic updates. The software checks for new versions when you login. Coming soon is voice control - some of us may talk to our trains now, but this may be a step to far for some spouses!
So whats the verdict? I am still a bit undecided due the reliability issue - although a recent update seems to have improved this. However there is no doubt there is great potential for this device. Whether you are a Fat Controller, Signalman or Engine Driver type modeller there is scope for all three types of operation.
PROS
- Price
- Simple visual interface for control
- Future potential
CONS
- Setup can cause issues
- Configuration not intuitive in parts particularly when setting up wireless devices
- Software has rough edges
