Re: CI-1 Now Available

[William Brillinger]

CI-1 Software and Product are now announced as released on Rings Website:
http://ringengineering.com/WhatsNew.htm
http://ringengineering.com/RailProHcSimulatorSoftware.htm

Sadly, the CI-1's I've had on hand, ready to ship have been recalled.
New ones are going in the mail from Ring Engineering tomorrow, so I should be shipping CI-1's starting on Friday!

[KPack]

Bill - what was the deal the with the CI-1's?  I have one of the betas and it doesn't play nice with my laptop.  No issues on my desktop.  The laptop recognizes it just fine (shows CI-1 plugged into USB port), but the HC Sim doesn't detect that it's installed.  I've re-installed both things multiple times, reinstalled drivers, etc.

-Kevin

[G8B4Life]

CI-1 Software and Product are now announced as released on Rings Website:

Yay!  (Bill, we need more Smileys).

I have the HC Simulator software running successfully on Win XP for those looking for that ability, however I won't be uploading the patched file until I have the CI-1 itself and can test it properly; and it will take at least 2 weeks from when Bill gets the new batch of CI-1's and posts them
for me to get it.

- Tim

[William Brillinger]

Kevin,

The recall is related to the labels falling off.

I assume you've discussed the non-detection problem with Ring?
Have you tried the latest software version? There are lots of other fixes in it too.

[KPack]

Bill, the problem appears to be with some sort of software issue on my laptop.  The CI-1 works just fine on my desktop.  Something on my laptop is interfering with detection of the CI-1 by the HC Sim.  The new HC Sim software hasn't resolved it for me.  My laptop is a custom build so something must not be right on my computer.  For the life of me though I can't figure it out.

-Kevin

[G8B4Life]

Kevin,

Without having the CI-1 yet this is all I can suggest.

Open up Device Manager. You might need to be in Administrator mode to do this:
1. Press Win+R (Windows key and R key) at the same time. A Run dialog will appear.
2. Type devmgmt.msc in the run box and click OK button.

Look for the CI-1 (it should be in the USB section). I don't know what it'll be called. If it has an exclamation symbol next to it then it is not installed properly; If it doesn't have an exclamation symbol then it is apparently installed properly. Either way there's two choices you can make in Device Manager which might get it working (Right click on the CI-1 in Device Manager):

1. Scan for Hardware changes, or,
2. Uninstall the device and let Windows find it again.

The only other thing I can think of is the USB port itself might be having an issue. This might need to be disabled and then re-enabled.

- Tim

[Alan]

Tims' reply made me think of an odd USB situation I have. I have an external USB blue-ray burner and a USB web cam that neither of which will work on two of the six USB inputs on my computer.  They work fine on USB 1, 2, 3, 4. But don't work on 5 and 6. All of the USB ports are located side-by-side and are on the same physical board in a Dell Precision. Interestingly, if I plug a USB hub into 5 or 6 and then connect the burner or web cam to the hub then the devices work! None of my other USB devices are picky about which port they are plugged into.

Try plugging the CI-1 into a different USB port.

[KPack]

Thanks for the tips both of you.  Tim, on Windows 10 you can go to Settings, then Connected Devices, and the CI-1 shows up under the connected USB devices as "CI-1".  From there you can click on it to remove the device from Windows, which I've done.  I plug it back in and it automatically re-installs the drivers will pop back up in the list as expected.

Alan, I've also tried all the USB ports (only three of them, all USB 3.0 which the CI-1 is compatible with).  The USB ports all seem to be working properly, as I have used each of them with many different devices.  All the drivers on the USB ports are fully updated as well.

My only other thought is a possible issue with the install of the HC Sim program, but I've deleted and reinstalled it several times.  This includes deleting the hidden folder under ProgramData.


I really don't think this is a problem with the HC Sim software or CI-1.  As I said earlier, I plugged the CI-1 into my desktop and loaded the HC Sim, and everything works flawlessly as expected.  Just something with my laptop I guess.

-Kevin

[G8B4Life]

Well Kevin it might be perplexing, but not surprising, not when MS is involved 

As the CI-1 works on your desktop are the USB ports on your desktop USB2 or 3? Just because RE says USB3 compatible doesn't make it magically so once it's plugged in; RE of course, cannot test every USB configuration out there.

Another thing that might be worth trying, if you have a powered USB hub you could try plugging it into that.  It's a real long shot but everything is worth trying. Also it'd be advisable to make sure Win10 is up to date. I'm sure it would be but still good to check.

on Windows 10 you can go to Settings, then Connected Devices, and the CI-1 shows up under the connected USB devices as "CI-1".  From there you can click on it to remove the device from Windows, which I've done.  I plug it back in and it automatically re-installs the drivers will pop back up in the list as expected.

Did you reboot before before plugging it back in after uninstalling? Sometimes that can make the world of difference.

A list of things that you can try can be found here (http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/Computer-Troubleshooting/How-To-Fix-USB-Problems-in-Windows-10-Windows-8-Windows-7-and/ta-p/283727). It's actually a good list and saves me typing the same info out here. I know it's a Toshiba forum but the troubleshooting applies to any PC with Windows on it.

I'd follow them in the order given; Reinstall Driver, Power Management and USB Controller, Uninstall and Reinstall the USB Controller and lastly, Safe Mode / Clean Boot. If none of those reveal what the issue was then we'll have to start digging even deeper.

- Tim

[Alan]

Remember when life was so much simpler? 

[nodcc4me]

Guys, Tim (G8B4Life) has posted his HC Simulator patch for WinXP for those of us still using that OS. I loaded it up today on my netbook and it is working seamlessly along with RPA and the CI-1. So a big "Thank you" goes out to Tim.

[HOSCALE PHIL]

Hi all,
I am only semi- computer literate so here goes.

I inquired, via email, to RE if they plan on making a CI-1 for Apple OS. They said most likely but it's on the back burner right now.

However, they said the current CI-1 should work as well. Does anybody have input on that? I know I can install windows on my MacBook or buy a cheap PC laptop but I am trying to avoid both options.

I am currently using NCE but I'm going to press the trigger on RP soon and I am looking for opinions on the pros of using a CI-1. I will start off with the RP starter kit so I will have a HC-2.

Thanks, Phil

[darryl.trains]

 Phil

 I too have sent Ring an email and most likely received the same answer. Too bad about not having the software to being able to utilize RP to the max. I also mentioned to him about others that are sitting on the fence waiting like one of my friends here locally that will not purchase anything until the software is usable. I know he has seen what RP can do but he says, no !   A lot of guys I know have an Apple computer.  Wonder how many more sales could be gained if ?

 Cheers, the old fardt in Oregon

[Alan]

Guys, I feel for you. I really do. But you have to remember Tim is running a business. Investment must return profit be that investment in software development or new RailPro products. The reality in today's PC world is less than 5% of all computer users are on a Mac. Whereas 88% are on Windows. Below is the data as of Nov 2016 per netmarketshare.com. Remember too, Tim is most assuredly aware there are options available for running Windows software on a Mac. If YOU were in Tim's shoes what would YOU do?

[glenng6]

Mac, on the back burner? Since I was basically told the same thing, quite awhile ago, I guess I will be sitting on the fence for quite some time. I will tell you that anything to do with Windows will never, ever, be installed on any of my Macs. When I need a sound fix, I will run my Sound Value engines and stay DC for the foreseeable future.

Glenn