It just keeps getting better

[Josephbw]

My reason for going with Rail Pro was to avoid the complicated CV's and setup in Digitrax. But in all honesty Rail Pro has just as many gotchas as Digitrax.

Today I wanted to download the diesel sounds for my engines. I tried to use my laptop down in the basement, but I kept getting the message that it couldn't connect to the interweb. So I came upstairs to use the desktop and the following happened.

The computer (Railpro Assistant) says   - HC to computer "USB Connected" - select box says "Handheld controller loading now - please wait.

The HC says "Please wait" "waiting for internet". The file progress box is blank, and the overall progress is blank also. However, the computer hard drive light has been on steady for 4 hours now. The battery in the hand controller is almost dead, and I have to leave in a bit and will be gone for several hours. I'm going to have to shut it down. My wife has been waiting all afternoon to use this computer and if I can't see any progress, there's no point in leaving it hooked up.

BTW, I put 5 files in the box to download, which was probably a mistake. How long does one engine file usually take to download?

Unhappy Joe

[KPack]

It takes a while for a prime mover file to download.  Some of the larger files take 20 minutes at least.  When I first got Railpro I tried to download multiple prime mover files at once.  It didn't happen.  I learned that one prime mover file at a time is best.  Smaller sounds and files can be downloaded multiple at a time.

When the computer is downloading the files from the internet you will see the progress percentage in the Railpro Assistant.  That percentage shows up immediately.  If it is not there then it probably isn't downloading.  If you have multiple files then it will download each one sequentially.  The first will go all the way to 100%, then the next one, and so on.  Once they have all been downloaded to the computer then they will begin to load onto the HC.  The HC will not show any progress until all files have been put on the computer first.

If the files are not downloading, unplug the HC from the USB and it will say "cannot connect" after a few seconds.  Plug it in again and try it again.  Perhaps restart RPA and see if that makes a difference. 

You can use the computer while files are downloading.  Being on the internet shouldn't really affect files downloading to RPA. 

[William Brillinger]

This is certainly the biggest issue with RailPro. Downloading the prime mover files is currently tedious at best.

I am truly hoping the Computer Interface will solve this issue.

[G8B4Life]

RPA strikes again? Possibly not.

As of right now I cannot manually login or get RPA assistant to login to their server (not the website server, the one used by RPA and the old internet access program to get content).

This could have been Joe's problem, the server just stopped responding.

- Tim

[William Brillinger]

Can't Log in in RPA - yup, me too.

Also cannot log in on the online RailPro account pages.
The general website is still up.

[nodcc4me]

I just logged in on both RPA and the RE account page with no problem. They must have been working on the server earlier.

[William Brillinger]

yes, it's working for me now too.

[Josephbw]

Crap, I probably broke it.   

I'll try again tonight or tomorrow and see what happens. On my computer, RPA didn't show any progress bar, but the thing that puzzles me, is that the hard drive light was on steadily the whole time.

Joe

[nodcc4me]

I have found that when I want to download a file using RPA, I get the "Unable to connect" message on every first try. If I unplug the controller and plug it back in, the file usually downloads, along with any other selected files. I also download only one file at a time because of the length of time most of them take. Tim also told me that a wired internet connection is far better than a wireless one for downloading files. I can't say that I have found any difference.

Joe, you may have a glitch in your RPA software. If it doesn't work for you later you might try deleting the entire RPA folder in your Programs folder. There is currently no Uninstall for it in Control Panel. For a full deletion of all RPA files you will have to do a search in the Windows folder for a file called RailProAssistantStorage, and delete that as well.

[KPack]

I've gotten the "unable to connect" error as well, and there's a way to connect the HC that makes it work first time.  I can't remember off the top of my head if it is plug it in first then turn it on, or if it HC on then plug it in.  I haven't had to load files for a while as all the ones I typically use are already on the HC....with 3% storage space left .

RPA is still in its infancy and will probably go through several revisions until everything runs predicatbly and smoothly.  For the most part it works and does its job, but there are few issues that can be aggravating.

I did have an error develop in RPA that corrupted my user profile file.  It probably came because I was beta-testing RPA and other files and something corrupted the other.  Deleting the RPA folder didn't solve the problem because the user file is kept elsewhere and is hidden.  In normal cases it shouldn't have to be deleted.  If deleting RPA and reinstalling doesn't solve the problem then I can post the info on how to find and delete the user profile. 

-Kevin

[SD90]

Why is there so many issues downloading prime mover files? Is Ring's server hooked up to a phone line? Is there any word from Tim on when this will be fixed?