[Ravenser]

Clearly there is a problem with your Select. It seems that early Select units may have had this fault - at least Model Rail's unit did, and it's been suggested that the first Selects produced went into the sets and that those sold separately may be better.

I'd contact Hornby directly . Regardless of warranties, F5-8 should work and if they don't they you have some recourse. Added to which I get the strong impression much of the Hornby dealer network hasn't got a clue about DCC. My own local shop has been sellling the sets despite the fact that neither the proprietor nor his 2 regular assistants have ever handled any kind of DCC equipment themselves. If you approach Hornby directly , at least you'll be dealing with someone familiar with DCC and the Select

It's worth saying that the Select (and Elite) are designed to be Xpressnet systems , so in principle it should be possible to use the Select as an extra controller with a full Lenz system (not the Compact? but presumably including the Roco Multimaus) Mind you , in principle F5-8 on the Select work .

However a Select definitely cannot be used in connection with a system from Gaugemaster, NCE, or Digitrax (although for the record it should in theory be possible to link it to a ZTC system), and presumably the same will apply to Bachmann's Dynamis

 

[Ravenser]

Lenz , or at least Mackays do likewise.

I gathered this from a retailer in the town where I come from , who admitted that he didn't stock Lenz because the importer required you to do a 2 day course and as they were starting up the business there wasn't time for them to do it. He does stock Gaugemaster , Bachmann and Hornby DCC , and in fairness does seem to have the sort of general DCC knowledge you'd expect from a user with some experience.

My local shop though - well although the individuals concerned are knowledgeable modellers , one of them has asked me a few questions about DCC (not technical support issues) , he having no experience of digital other than having fitted Zero 1 chips in a previous existance about 20 odd years ago. I'm hardly very expert.....

I get the impression product knowledge could be very patchy and some shops may be selling stuff without a clue how it works or the capability to offer even the most basic troubleshooting or technical support (Like "Have you tried removing the capacitors?")

How you actually train up a sales network that large in a few months before product launch is a very serious practical challenge. It looks as if Hornby may have been hoping their forum would provide one solution, as somewhere experienced users could help out novices. Trouble is, when the product first launches there are no experienced users. Dealer training may well be an area Hornby need to develop going forward, but the challenges in training up a mass market network ass oppoased to a small specialist one are uncharted territory.

My company's just launching a new global system. I know how much time and resource has been put into training in Europe over 12 months - but I doubt if the organisation has had half the training you would ideally have wanted in a perfect world