RailPro User Group
RailPro => RailPro Specific Help & Discussion => Topic started by: Prostreetamx on December 01, 2015, 08:01:38 PM
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Installed an tested a new control module in a new engine. Everything worked fine with the original plug and play install with a 8 to 9 pin adapter but I didn't like the yellow lights mounted on the factory DCC ready board. Engine ran and lights worked other than ditch lights which have some funky way to work them without a decoder. I replaced all the factory lights with LEDs and deleted the factory board. After the new install, the HC-2 controller can no longer find this module, even though I previously programmed it. I had this issue before with another module in the past and Tim sent me an Email on how to fix it but it is no longer in my folder. I was able to check all my wiring with a module from another engine the first time to verify that it was a programming issue, not an install mistake. Unfortunately all my engines are now put back together so I don't have another module to test with like the first time. If anyone can post the fix, it would be better if it was permanently have the fix posted here for reference since I have had this happen 2 out of 8 modules. I remember it was a pretty fix but not how I did it. The controller can not find it by password either even if I do the password reset.
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Was finally able to reacquire the module. First I went to the engine selection page and deleted this engine. Following the instructions in the manual of tilting the engine off the track on one side did not work. Also turning off the power supply or removing the power from the test track also did not work. I finally removed the 9 pin connector and put it back in. That worked so I was able to find this module and reprogram it as if it was a new install. Everything now works as it originally was intended.
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Glad the controller found it again. I seem to remember this coming up in the past either with one of mine or with one of Bill's. I searched through my emails but couldn't find anything on it, so I don't remember exactly what happened and how it was fixed.
Wonder why it was lost in the first place? Possible short while working on the lights? Or too much heat? Or could just be a random glitch. Best to make a record of these things so that we can bring it to Ring should it be a problem that shows up again. The more info we have on how and when it happened will allow Ring to find and fix the bug.
-Kevin
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I finally removed the 9 pin connector and put it back in. That worked so I was able to find this module and reprogram it as if it was a new install. Everything now works as it originally was intended.
I wonder if the connector just wasn't in all the way?
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I had the same issue a few months ago and Tim sent me an Email fix I forgot to save. The connector sure looked to be firmly seated but I did remove it while putting in the new lights. All the lights worked just fine after the module was reacquired. I'm an electrician so pretty careful with my wires but who knows. Mainly the fix is to delete the engine if it is still on your selection screen, remove power from the engine and within 10 seconds after powering it back up, search for new products. I found an older thread that was similar but he lost the picture of the engine so was not able to pick it to be deleted. I just went through my shelves and found at least 13 more brand new engines I bought over the last few years and forgot about. This is going to cost some money and time. 8 down and 13+ to go as well as the few more I plan to buy.
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I lost an engine from the controller today while copying and deleting sound files to it, so I'm sure this is not a wiring problem. There is a blank spot on the screen where this particular locomotive used to be. Resetting the power did not work. I am charging the controller now and will post back if I get it figured out.
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I had to send my HC and the LM2s in to Ring when this happened to me.
Call him, maybe he has an easy fix for this. as I recall, he said this had happened to some units that had been used with certain beta software.
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There was another thread I found where that guy also lost he picture. Don't know what his fix was but I have had several issues when deleting or swapping out sound files. The controller normally won't let you remove a file that you are currently using, such as a picture file but who knows. Can you select the blank engine picture and select the stock Ring engine temporarily? I unplugged my power supply while downloading a file and got a pretty strange display when I tried to select it. I had to delete it and start over. If you can at least select this missing engine, you might be able to load a new picture file onto it. You must make sure the HC-2 stays within range of the engine and do not interrupt the power during the entire process. Any interruption will corrupt the file.
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I am using some beta so that could be the problem. There is no picture to select. That spot on the controller is blank no matter which operation I am trying to do (select, copy, delete, etc.). I believe a phone call is in order.
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The fact that the space is blank makes me believe that the controller at least thinks something is there even though the file for the picture is not complete enough to display it. Can you go into delete files and touch the spot where it is blank and make the controller at least select it, even though there is no picture? I would try first with Tools, then Remove Product, select Locomotives, then touch the blank spot. If you get the Remove screen, even with no picture, something is there.
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Tried that. Touching the blank space doesn't do anything. It's a ghost. :D
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Bringing up an old topic here...
Al, did you ever get your issue resolved? I just ran into the same problem....blank space where the locomotive was, can't select it, can't delete it, etc. Right before it disappeared into the nether I was getting a weird graphic scrambling on the locomotive settings page (where the name and picture are). I renamed the loco, then noticed that the picture disappeared (just the stock RE one, hadn't loaded a custom one on there yet). Then when I selected a different loco this one disappeared completely and I was unable to select it at all.
Hoping I don't have to send the module and HC back.
-Kevin
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Kevin, your problem is exactly what happened to me. At his request I ended up sending both the controller and the module back to Tim. He wiped and tested the controller and sent me a new module, which was found by the controller along with the blue RE photo. I haven't yet put the correct locomotive picture back on, thinking that maybe there was an error in the picture file. Tim said he checked it so I downloaded it again in RPA and to the controller. I just haven't had the time to copy it back to the new module. Too busy in the summer.
I still don't know for sure what caused the problem, but I believe it had something to do with the beta testing.
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I also had to send the HC in when this happened to me.
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Well, crap. I guess I'll email Tim tomorrow and get the controller and module off in the mail.
-Kevin
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Should I be offering a controller Rental for these situations?
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Bill's new business venture - RailPro Rentals Ltd ;D
Should I be offering a controller Rental for these situations?
Kevin, you didn't say what you were doing when this happened. It sounds like to me that the memory in the LM, possibly the HC as well is more easily corruptible than we might have thought. Beta software can cause corruption for sure but you weren't using any so I wonder if you might have been programming the module and broke the 2 foot rule? I know we have feedback from modules when running but when programming I don't know. There might not be a good mechanism in place to check whether files have been transferred byte for byte or if settings have been saved correctly, and a greater distance the transmitter from the receiver the greater chance of misread/dropped/bad bytes.
What I find strange is that there is not mechanism to reset a module back to "default" (something that DCC mostly enjoys), and to a lessor extent a way to back up and restore your HC. Both would be very handy.
- Tim
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What I find strange is that there is not mechanism to reset a module back to "default" (something that DCC mostly enjoys), and to a lessor extent a way to back up and restore your HC. Both would be very handy.
If the controllers and modules keep coming back to Tim, I would think he would eventually adapt the firmware to be able to do a factory reset. For now, he probably wants to find out what is causing this problem, so he has them returned to him.