Moved from a previous thread

Another version of automation is being released

https://www.hornby.com/railmaster,126,HIN.html

 

 

By Max from another thread

 

Someone's been busy. :thumbs  If it works properly it should be fun for those who don't want to break the bank with RR&Co.





____________________
Nickel Plate Road circa 1950 DCC Lenz
Scratchbuilding sound projects
RR&Co TC Gold Dell Latitude D 600

When a company like Hornby realease software like this it will probably do many a favour as it will probably bring down the price of computer control software.

Plus of course as a large manufacturer is realising it a great deal more people will begin to dabble in computer control to varying degrees.

Of course its not going to be as sophisticated as R & co but it will probably give a good introduction to many people who have not tried it before.

My concern would be many watching that little video will think great i want that not realising that there are a number of hardware items required to do what happens in that video and setting up the software to do that takes time.

Also i do hope Hornby do realease a product that is fully compliant with other manufacturer equipment and not produce something that only works with purely Hornby products.

Plus for the masses the cost of this software will be a major factor.

Brian

Bet they weren;t fitted with Hornby decoders

Its an interesting development and on the surface looks pretty good i wish them luck anything has got to be better than pushing them awful buttons,

I look forward to a new thread on it i take it it works on Lenz expressnet?

Pete

That Hornby New sapphire decoder is pretty good performance wise but obviosly it costs a lot more than the hornby basic one.

Brian

Lenz??!  I think you must be joking, Peter.  :Red Card  Their stuff often doesn't work with their own other stuff, let alone with that furrin' stuff.

It's a brave try.  I'm looking forward to a chorus of cries for help . . .

It looks good but I do hope they've cleared all the gremlins before they brought it to the marketplace.  Hornby do seem to use the paying public as their test-bed.

Like Max, I await the bad press and screams for help ………………….

I think we have to remember Hornby as a company targets the mass population with their products .

This package may not end up being brilliant compared to some existing ones but they need to have something that will appeal to the playstation culture that exists in the world today if they offer something that can control trains via computer and is not difficult to set up its a way of dragging kids off the playstation getting them interested and then perhaps spawning an interest in actual hands on modelling.

So if it is a successfull carrot to get kids actually doing model railways rather than World of warcraft its going to be a good product.

Brian

I hope you're right, Brian.  It will be counter productive if adults buy it and it disappoints them.  Look at the number of members here who have struggled with "entry level,"  offerings.

Anything that attracts young people to the hobby is a very good thing.  :thumbs

Well, to state the obvious, for the more advanced DCC user:

• It runs via the USB socket on the Elite so should be XpressNet-like but I don't believe for one moment it will run a Lenz command station.
• The Elite doesn't have a feedback bus so there is no capability to add track detectors. All automation will have to be done by dead reckoning - not the most reliable or consistent method.
• It is aimed at the train set market so don't expect support of specialist (i.e. non-Hornby) accessories or signalling like RR&Co.

Would it be a problem if it wasn't Lenz friendly ?  Hornby are only interested in Hornby and, as Brian said, it's surely aimed at the "just above beginner" train-set market and not the computer programmer.  Once hooked, Hornby will be hoping that they'll only buy Hornby products.  If they make it "H" sensitive, then there's no option is there …………….market cornered - Q.E.D. :roll:

It's certainly not for me but, if it works, I can see it catching on with the "Space Invader" type.  Trains and computers must be a pretty good recipe for today's kids.

As I said, my main fear is that if it doesn't work (i.e. it has more bugs that a lousy cat) then it will put that type off for life.  They did have problems in the past introducing products too early and before they'd tried them out properly.

Has anybody taken a look at Hornby Railmaster or seen it in operation? I would be interested in any comments based upon experience.

Bob

I guess nobody has looked at this system, although it seemed to get a pretty poor write up before it was released, judging by the comments above?

Bob

Dunno, but Hornby have announced dissappointing Christmas sales figures, and re-announced their intention to make large numbers of double-decker and London taxi models for the Olympic visitors.  What, no bendy-bus?????

 

Septic [or should that be sceptic??]

[user=11]Novice[/user] wrote:

I guess nobody has looked at this system, although it seemed to get a pretty poor write up before it was released, judging by the comments above?

Bob

I didnt reply earlier because I thought a couple of guys had tried it. My knowledge is very sketchy but I believe it is very basic and somewhat inflexible………it is still featured/promoted in the 2012 catalogue I believe

Regards

Thanks John. I have taken a look at the free DVD that was handed out over Christmas and it does seem quite an outlay to get it up and running as it looks like you have to buy the Hornby Elite controller. It is not clear whether it would work with other manufacturers point decoders either, although I see no reason why it would not. I was really wondering how good the software was. There is a free demo version on the Hornby website which you can down load, but it looks like you have to connect to the Elite to run it.

Bob

It was my impression also that this was a marketing ploy (microsoft style) to hook you exclusively into Hornby DCC products  (Loco decoders being the obvious exception)………..on those grounds alone I wouldnt consider it.

As you may know I am an RR&Co enthusiast (usual disclaimer). Admittedly expensive but in my view and others well worth it. If you havent done so already have a look at their website………..they have three levels Gold, Silver and Bronze……..you can download them for free and the three month (?) time limit only kicks in when you run them live on a layout. In other words you can run them forever at no charge in simulator mode. Bronze is very much an entry product but I believe, compares favourably with Hornby

Have a look and if you are at all interested Max, Dave and I to name but 3 will answer the questions you will inevitably have.

Thanks John, I will. I have steered away from all of this, thinking it was for the whizz kids, but seeing the Hornby DVD has opened my eyes to the potential of such systems. I will take a look at RR&Co over the weekend and see what it offers. Good advice. Thanks again.

Bob

 

I dont believe I have ever been called a "whizz kid" before I have been using it for 4 years…..never once regretted it. Computor control transformed my layout operation

Regards

Hi Bob.

Here's something to watch while you're thinking . . .

http://www.youtube.com/v/jH-5OGYZbqw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH-5OGYZbqw

There are other examples there, just look under MaxSouthOz, but it will give you a taste of what's achievable.

I've always been a believer in the principle of getting the best you can afford.  My research showed me that for what I want to do, only RR&Co TC Gold, Loksound and Lenz will do.

Cheers