There does seem to be a fair amount of items being sent back. I wonder however, if half the problem is the people buying it do not really understand what they are playing with.
I would say the hornby Select is a bit quirky, and there are a few compatibility problems - but perhaps not as many as there are made out to be. Unless the puchasers have an idea of what to do to try to correct problems, things like poor track joints, connections, dirty rails, capacitor interference etc, they probably don't stand much chance with any DCC system - they will give up and send it back! All railway modelling needs a bit of patience to get everything working correctly, and in my experience a lot of 'train set' purchasers will not have the patience to get the best out of a unit such as the Select.
I have been playing with the Select now for about a month and to be honest, it does what is says on the tin - as long as you use Hornby parts. I think they may have been wiser to hold back on the launch - rushing it through before Xmas probably was not the best idea.
My problem with the Bachmann E-Z system was the limit of 10 locos, but then maybe this is a true starter system and the select was trying to be something more than it is capable of being?
Could we create a list of 'known' compatibility problems on this site somewhere? I think it would help lots of new comers make a good decision on purchasing the right system for their 'longer term' needs?
With the Select, the only way we are going to conclude on its compatibility issues is for all Select users to experiment with it and feedback with hard facts. Yes, perhaps there should not be any issues, but there are, so lets make a defined list to clarify it and make the best of what is out there.
I would say the hornby Select is a bit quirky, and there are a few compatibility problems - but perhaps not as many as there are made out to be. Unless the puchasers have an idea of what to do to try to correct problems, things like poor track joints, connections, dirty rails, capacitor interference etc, they probably don't stand much chance with any DCC system - they will give up and send it back! All railway modelling needs a bit of patience to get everything working correctly, and in my experience a lot of 'train set' purchasers will not have the patience to get the best out of a unit such as the Select.
I have been playing with the Select now for about a month and to be honest, it does what is says on the tin - as long as you use Hornby parts. I think they may have been wiser to hold back on the launch - rushing it through before Xmas probably was not the best idea.
My problem with the Bachmann E-Z system was the limit of 10 locos, but then maybe this is a true starter system and the select was trying to be something more than it is capable of being?
Could we create a list of 'known' compatibility problems on this site somewhere? I think it would help lots of new comers make a good decision on purchasing the right system for their 'longer term' needs?
With the Select, the only way we are going to conclude on its compatibility issues is for all Select users to experiment with it and feedback with hard facts. Yes, perhaps there should not be any issues, but there are, so lets make a defined list to clarify it and make the best of what is out there.
