No Clue on updates

[Jdiesel1319]

I have no clue what any of the updates are, or how to get them. I don’t know know what any of them mean or what I need to update. I’ve had my controllers HC2s and several LM3-s’ for two years. Any help would be great.

[G8B4Life]

Updates, amazingly, update the firmware in your HC's and LM's to fix bugs and add support for new features. By the sounds of it you might be quite behind. You don't have to update if you don't want of course, your equipment will function quite well on the firmware revision they have installed but there may come a time when you won't be able to use a product (for example, a future LM-5) because your HC's won't have firmware installed that recognises them.

Installing updates is easy. You need RailPro Assistant and your HC (or CI-1 and HC Simulator instead of a HC). Download the update to your HC / HC Simulator from RailPro Assistant and then update your products. It's all covered in the HC and RailPro Assistant manuals. I also have a now out of date guide that I need to update if I can find the original files here as well. It's still mostly right; I think it's just one button has different words now that what the guide has: https://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php/topic,466.0.html.

- Tim

[Jdiesel1319]

I have seen the updates on there, which ones do I need? What do they do? Do I download all? Does it replace the old firmware, or do I have to go in and delete the old to save storage space?

Thanks Tim

[G8B4Life]

I just said what the updates do ..."to fix bugs and add support for new features".

You only need the updates for products you have so if you only have HC-2b's and LM-3's then you only need the updates for those. You can check what firmware revision number is installed on your products by checking with the HC. On the HC pressing the Adjust Settings button will tell you the software revision number installed. For the LM's etc I forget exactly where but once you have the LM selected in the HC there is a button that'll tell you. Obviously if the version already installed and the version available to download are the same revision number then you don't need to update.

Yes, the update overwrites the old firmware. Note that the latest updates are always stored in the HC when you download them and you can't delete them (bad design IMO) so they do take up a bit of space in the HC; that's the reason not to download updates for products you don't have. It's also one of the reasons many of us got a CI-1; everything is stored in a file on your computer so it's easy to blow it away and start again.

- Tim

[gregeusa]

So no one maintains a detailed list of major changes/features for releases... the question asked.

It's unusual, but I'm surprised someone does not take a whack at this on his own, of course it would be purely by actual inspection... more difficult task.

Anyway, it is what it is...