Need Help With Updating RailPro - First Time

[MtRR75]

First, a little background…

I have a DC layout with two cabs, blocks and switches.  All of my locos are older DC steam locos (not even DCC ready).  A year ago, I began the conversion to RailPro.  I ordered RailPro from Yankee Dabbler and paid them to install the RailPro LM-2S in two of my locos.  I hope to convert a couple more locos in the near future.

{FYI – but not really relevant to my questions:  I still run my DC locos, but not at the same time with my RailPro locos.  I have installed a master switch that selects RailPro or DC (with a center off).  This makes it impossible for me to accidentally run both systems at the same time.  But, I do have to be sure that only the correct locos are on the layout before powering up.}

I have good computer skills, but I am strictly a Mac person.  I have used Windows on rare occasions but have difficulty navigating around in it.  No one in our household has a Windows machine.

My questions relate to software updates and the management of sound files.

When I originally ordered RailPro, I had asked that all steam-related sound files be installed, so that I could choose the ones that I wanted for my locos, without having to access the internet (because RailPro does not speak Mac).

When I got my system, I figured out that I could copy the files back and forth between the HC-2 and the LM-2S.  But it became clear that the memory was limited, and I could not put all of the files on the HC-2 or the LM-2S.  Now, I see that there is updated software available, and I want to update my system software.  Also, I need to retrieve one sound file that I accidentally deleted during my copying of files among devices.

My daughter’s boyfriend is a Windows person, who has agreed to help me.  But he lives in a nearby town.  So I want to be fully prepared when I go to his house, so that I will not have to drive back to get something that I have missed.  I have read the manuals, and here is my understanding of what I need to do:

(1) Establish a RailPro account.
Where on the website to I need to go to to this?
What info do I need to do this (username? Password? HC serial no.?)

(2) Update the HC-2 software.
Connect the HC-2 to the USB port on the computer (using cable that came with the HC-2) .
How do I find the software on the RailPro site?
Do I do this from the website or is there a screen on the HC-2 that I go to?

(3) Download all of the steam sound files onto his computer.
Where do I find the files?
Do I set up a folder somewhere to store these files or do they go into the Downloads folder?

(4) Transfer the sounds files that I want to use with my locos to the HC-2.
How is this transfer done?  Do use Windows to copy the files to the HC-2, or do I go into the HC-2 and retrieve them from the computer in some manner.

(5) After I go home, then I will transfer the sound files to my locos as necessary.
I have done this part before.

Is this the sequence correct?  Did I miss something?

[nodcc4me]

You have the gist of it. To establish a RailPro account, go to the Ring home page. In the top right corner, click on "Sign In", then click "New User". Follow the prompts and they will send you a password. From the main page, scroll down to the RailPro Software link, then download RailPro Assistant. That program will enable you to download all the light and sound files from their website, as well as any pictures you might find useful. With the program running, plug your controller into a USB input. Click on the top groups of files and pick the ones you want. They will show up on the right side of the screen. On the HC-2, touch "Tools, then "Update Software", then touch RE→Internet→HC2. The files should start downloading. They will go into their own folder automatically. Don't stack too many files at once or it will take forever.

It is much easier than it sounds. Let us know if you have any other questions. 

[G8B4Life]

Not to steal Al's thunder but let's elaborate on this a bit.

To set up a user account, on the top right hand corner of Ring's Engineering's website click Log In (not Sign In, sorry Al) and then New User.  As said by Al Ring Engineering will then send a password to the email address you submit. I'd suggest doing this before you go to your daughter’s boyfriend's place.

Go straight to this page http://ringengineering.com/RailProAssistantSoftware.htm to download RailPro Assistant. This will download an installer (so remember where it gets saved to) which you have to run that will download and install the actual program. Very backwards we know. Note, that downloading from Ring's site can take a very long time so patience will be a big help.

Once RailPro Assistant is downloaded and installed run it. In the lower right hand corner or there abouts of the RailPro Assistant screen will be a button that says Setup. Click it and enter the email address that you set your RE account up with and the password they sent you. Without this info the software will not connect to RE's server.

Plug your HC-2 into the PC using the supplied cable.  RailPro Assistant should pop up a message about a first time connection. Just follow the instructions and unplug the HC-2 and then plug it back in.

The rest is pretty much as Al said, the buttons along the top of the RailPro Assistant screen allow you to select files you want and use the HC-2 to download the flies.

Now when you download files from Ring Engineering's server, they are copied to the HC-2 and to a local (on disk) RailPro storage file at the same time. You do not copy them across from the PC to the HC-2 by any conventional means, it's done automatically by RailPro Assistant.

Also, make sure your HC-2 is fully charged, downloading files really drains the batteries fast.

And... do not get frustrated too much, sometimes RailPro Assistant and the HC-2 don't want to play nice and refuse to download files. This can usually be remedied by backing the HC-2 to it's main screen and un plugging it from the PC and plugging it back in; sometimes several times.

You can change the password Ring Engineering sends you by logging into to your Ring Engineering account .

- Tim

[MtRR75]

Thanks Al and Tim for the clear, concise directions.

One more question.  For sounds, like bells and whistles, how can I listen to them before loading them into a loco?  Can this be done once the sounds are downloaded onto the Windows machine?  Or can they be played while I am logged into my account?

[William Brillinger]

One more question.  For sounds, like bells and whistles, how can I listen to them before loading them into a loco?

Sadly there is no way to do this right now.

[nodcc4me]

I have previously mentioned to Tim the possibility of adding sounds to the files along with thumbnails of the picture files. He said that would be a possibility down the road. I believe the RPA program does not have sufficient memory to accommodate those sounds and pictures in the current version.

[MtRR75]

Well, I can't get past the first step -- getting a RailPro account.

I clicked on Log in, then on New User.  I get an error message that the server dropped the connection.  I tried several times -- same result.  Is this a Mac problem or a Ring Engineering problem?  Can Windows users get to the New users page?

[nodcc4me]

It's definitely a Mac problem. Their products do not work with Mac, and I would imagine the website isn't Mac friendly either. Everything should work fine in Windows 7 through 10. The website also works in XP.

[William Brillinger]

The new user form loads fine for me under Firefox on Windows.
Have you tried using Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari on the MAC?

[Alan]

The login site code is extraordinarily simple. Primitive actually. No reason Safari should have any problem with it. Message "server dropped" or more commonly "connection was reset" is often caused by your browser sending a new session request. That generally only happens on wi-fi. Are you on wi-fi? If so, try a hard connection.

<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Language content=en-us>
<font size=4 face=Arial>
<title>Ring Engineering Login</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<div align="center">
<Table width="800" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<tr>
<TD width="800">
<img border="0" src="Images/HeaderLogin800x90.gif"><font size=3 face=Arial><font size=4 face=Arial><form method="POST" action="https://www.ringengineering.net/ReOrderProcessor.dll">
<input type="hidden" name="Action" value="RailProLogin">
<TABLE align="center" width="800" cellpadding="2"> 
<tr>
<TD width="50%" align="right" >
Email Address
</TD>
<TD width="50%" align="left">
<input type="text" name="User" size="40"></TD>
</tr>
<tr>
<TD width="50%" align="right" >
Password
</TD>
<TD width="50%" align="left">
<input type="password" name="Password" size="10"></TD>
</tr>
</TABLE>
<p align="center">
<input type="image" img border="0" src="images/Buttons/LoginButton.bmp" height="40" width="100" name="I1">


</font><font face=Arial>
If you don't remember your password, just enter your email address, and the password 'forgot', and press login. After pressing login, your password will be emailed to you.&nbsp;


</font><font size=4 face=Arial>



<img border="0" id="img1" src="images/Buttons/NewUserButton.bmp" height="40" width="72"[/url]</p></font>
<font face=Arial>
<p align="center">
Create a new user to use <font color="#0000FF">Rail</font><font color="#FF0000">Pro</font>(TM) or to be added to our new products email list.</p>
</form>
</font><p align="left">
Copyright © 2004-2013 Ring Engineering, Inc.
</p>
</font>
</TD>
</tr>
</Table>
</div>
</body>

[darryl.trains]

Howdy   I could not use iMac Safari but did get to log in with Foxfire go figure?  Sure would nice to have Ring software that was Apple friendly.

I was thinking of buying a cheap Windows 10 PC as the prices were down around $100 but then it's not my problem to fix so I get by with what I have. I really think others that have Apple won't buy Ring products until something changes. I know my friend here in town is sitting on the well known fence. He has told me he would jump in if the software was more friendly to us. Oh well ! Win some lose some, again, not my problem. I have my share of those anyway. Old age comes to mind !
 
Keep on training #########  Darryl
 

[Alan]

Paste this (without quotes) into your address bar and hit enter. "https://www.ringengineering.net/ReOrderProcessor.dll?Action=RailProNewUserRequest" You may or may not have to remove the "s" in https:

[G8B4Life]

The login site code is extraordinarily simple. Primitive actually

It might be simple but it's full of markup errors. I'm surprised it works at all actually. I guess we're pretty lucky that most browsers are pretty good at interpreting bad markup. Sadly, Safari might be choking on the bad markup. As suggested you could try another browser on your Mac and see, different browsers have different capabilities when it comes to interpreting the markup. You can even get portable versions that run from a USB stick if you don't want to install them to the hard drive. OK, taking a step back you might be able to get portable versions that run on a Mac; You definitely can get portable versions that run on Winblows; well Firefox anyway.

- Tim

[MtRR75]

The new user form loads fine for me under Firefox on Windows.
Have you tried using Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari on the MAC?

I decided that it is not worth the effort to install a new browser just for a one-time use.  I would still need to get to a Windows machine to update my software and sound files.  It would be advantageous to get the login and password thing working before I haul myself and my stuff to my daughter's boyfriend's Windows machine.

It turns out that a friend who is visiting us for a couple of weeks has a Windows laptop.  I can borrow his computer to get the RailPro username and password. Unfortunately, he is no help for the software and sound files download, since he is leaving next week, and taking his computer with him.

Thanks to all for our suggestions.