Propagating Loco Icons Across Handheld Controllers

[Espeelark]

I have two HC-2b handheld controllers and was able to successfully upload a custom image of my SP SD40T-2 #8306 to one of them. Let's call that HC-2 #1.
Then, using HC-2 #1, I successfully loaded that image to the LM-3S module installed in Athearn SP SD40T-2 unit #8306.
Then, a few days later, I picked up HC-2 #2, selected SP SD40T-2 #8306 (which still had the generic Ring Engineering blue loco icon attached to it) and got a notification something to the effect that there was some kind of update that needed to be saved. I assumed this was the new loco icon/image I uploaded with HC-2 #1. So I hit "save", expecting the loco icon/image to change and it didn't. I then went into the "Adjust Setup" page, hit the generic RE blue loco image, then selected the SP SD40T-2 image file listed on screen, and it came back saying "file not found".
What am I missing?

[nodcc4me]

Try deleting the loco on HC #2. Then Find Product to bring it back. That should also acquire the picture, I think. 

[Espeelark]

Thanks - just tried that, unfortunately still no joy. 
As a small clarification to my original post, the error message I get is "file not local", NOT "file not found".
As an aside, both HC-2's were also upgraded earlier today to the lastest s'ware version 2.26.

[William Brillinger]

Try uploading a copy of the same photo to the HC that is giving the error.

[Espeelark]

Hi Bill.
I thought about that but was hopeful to avoid uploading an unnecessary file to an HC that then can't be later deleted. Trying to minimize having superfluous stuff an any of my HC's.
I think I'll send an email to RE and see what they suggest.
Thanks however!
Paul Mac

[William Brillinger]

You can delete images from the HC later. You can delete everything except program update files.

[Espeelark]

OK Bill - now you've piqued my interest....
How does one delete images from an HC? I don't see that specifically discussed in the RailPro Assistant Software User's Manual or the RPK-1 RailPro Model Railroad Control System Starter Kit User's Manual.
The reason for my concern about adding superfluous files to an HC is because of comments I read earlier somewhere (sorry - can't point directly to it now) in this Forum stating that files can't be deleted and therefore need to be managed due to the finite space available in each HC.
Thanks again!
Paul Mac

[G8B4Life]

OK Bill - now you've piqued my interest....
How does one delete images from an HC?

Page 10 in my old Illustrated Downloading, Copying and Updating guide: https://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php/topic,466.0.html  Ok, no real need to go and look at it, from the main screen of the HC just select Tools -> Software update (the button is different to what's in the guide) -> Delete Files, then press to select product and then select the HC.

You can delete sounds, pictures and light effects from the HC, you can not delete product programs and for some stupid reason accessory programs.

As for propagating pictures across controllers, from memory, on HC #2 you'll need to go into the setup of the LM, select the new picture and save the configuration, or remove the LM from the HC and re-detect it.

- Tim

[Espeelark]

Page 10 in my old Illustrated Downloading, Copying and Updating guide

Thanks for that Tim! That's a useful guide you put together and will come in handy!

As for propagating pictures across controllers, from memory, on HC #2 you'll need to go into the setup of the LM, select the new picture and save the configuration, or remove the LM from the HC and re-detect it.

I've done that twice now. Once at Bill B's behest and a second time after RE sent an email saying the same thing. Unfortunately however it didn't work either time.

I'm thinking the "file not local" error message I get is the key here. I just don't know what that's trying to tell me to do!
I just may go back and delete all my .bmp files from both HC's; re-load the final .bmp image file (because I tweaked it a couple/few times) to the subject loco and see what happens. Unless of course someone else has a better idea.... 

[William Brillinger]

Did you copy the loco image to the HC like I suggested?
I've seen this before. The image was not copied to the HC correctly from the LM and it needs to be updated. Each HC stores the images for each loc they know locally.

[Espeelark]

Success!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had tweaked the .bmp file a couple/few times. I did that because when I downloaded it to HC1 and viewed it on HC1, I found the image to be too, dark, too low, too big, etc. Each time I revised the .bmp file I just saved it with the same file name and then downloaded that same file name to HC1.
I also only ever used HC1 to load it to the LM-3S module.

RE's first recommendation was to 1) delete/remove SP 8306 from HC2, 2) use HC1 to re-select the loco image for SP 8306 and save it, and then 3) re-acquire (find product) SP 8306 on HC2. I did this and had what I would call a partial success. The loco image for SP 8306 on HC2 finally changed from the standard, blue RE loco to my custom picture of an SP SD40T-2, but it was of an earlier version that I didn't like. Huh!? The two HC's were showing two different images for the same LM-3S module! All I can figure is that somehow there was an artifact in the file (because of the numerous changes I made to it) that caused this to happen. Remember, I never downloaded the image to HC2 from RailPro Assistant. HC2 only got that image via/through the LM-3S module. Strange huh?

So, RE finally suggested 1) I remove/delete SP 8306 from HC1, 2) save the final version of my .bmp with a new name, 3) download that to HC2 (not HC1), 4) use HC2 to copy it to SP 8306's LM-3S module and then 5) "find" SP 8306 on HC1.
Voila! That worked!

Lesson for the day - anytime you revise a loco picture/image file, DON'T simply save it with the same file name and upload that to the HC, label them something like PICTURE 1, PICTURE 2, PICTURE 3, etc., so that the HC will have distinctly different files to utilize.

Whew - glad that's over!
P.S. I wish I knew who I was conversing with from RE so as to thank them. They never "signed" their name on any of the emails...

[nodcc4me]

Glad you got it figured out. Most likely you were dealing with Tim Ring. It's a very small company. Tim has always been very helpful to me over the last ten years.