Where to start?

Seeing as though the Elite has now been pushed back to the end of June (and possibly even later now the world has gone to pot), I've decided to pick up a R8213 Select, just so that I can get things moving and actually use the locos I've brought. I'll keep my Elite pre-order and just use the Select as a Walkabout when/if the Elite arrives.

But, as with most things in this hobby, there seems to be conflicting information. I googled this and found a thread on this forum from 2015 that was of some help, but I just want to clarify a few points in the hope that new and more up to date information is available.

Is the R8213 Select controller the exact same product as the R8235, but it comes with a power supply so it can be used without the Elite, as opposed to the R8235 which comes with no power supply, but rather an RJ12 cable which is then plugged into the Elite and draws power from it?

And, if they are indeed both the exact same product, a Walkabout controller is just another name for them?

Exactly as you say. Same controller.

Just some additional information which is related.

There is still some historical information published on the Internet and in old historical Hornby paper documentaion that quotes the Hornby R8236 as the Select 'Walkabout' cable. Due to operational issues with this cable [crosstalk due to its flat cable design]. The Hornby Walkabout cable was changed to a R8266 cable [new round cable using balanced twisted pairs to reduce crosstalk].

So whenever & wherever you see R8236 documented, read this as being a R8266 cable. This cable can still be sourced on ebay in custom lengths using the R8266 product code as the search term. Note that these ebay custom length versions are not made by Hornby but are 100% compatible as a Hornby alternative. The original Hornby branded R8266 cable [fixed length] is no longer listed in the Hornby shop.

I purchased the Select maybe an hour ago, Hattons had one left and I thought I’d better snap it up before that too disappears.

In their bargain section they had this:

https://www.hattons.co.uk/20674/hornby_r8236_rj12_leads/stockdetail

It was only a few quid on discount, so I thought no harm in picking it up. It does appear to be flat in it’s design, so this appears to be the older problematic version?

Edit: Also thank you to Rog for the clarification.

Although when used as a "Walkabout Cable" the R8236 was replaced by the R8266. The R8236 is still used with the obsolete Hornby R8239 Booster.

It would appear that the ebay seller may have stopped selling his custom length R8266 cables mentioned in my last reply. I'm now struggling to find the original ebay listing again.

If you get any issues using the Select as a Walkabout using your recent R8236 purchase, then in the first instance suspect the cable and search for a R8266 version.

EDIT: This is the same seller that sold R8266 cables on ebay, it would appear that he has transferred his business to Amazon (maybe selling charges are lower for him).

Hornby Compatible R8266 1 Metre - Connecting Lead

Hornby Compatible R8266 2 Metre - Connecting Lead

Hornby Compatible R8266 3 Metre - Connecting Lead

Hornby Compatible R8266 5 Metre - Connecting Lead

Hornby Compatible R8266 10 Metre - Connecting Lead

I made my own walkabout cable using 6-core cable with the outer two wires folded back.

I also sourced a 3m RJ12 cable in Wilco, details of which I posted on the old forum so the picture of the box is lost. Trials showed that it worked fine as a Walkabout cable.

In either case keep your Select and Elite up to date for firmware state as changes were recently made to improve walkabout response times to avoid command skipping.

I purchased a 3metre lead but knew it wouldn't be long enough, so I used the very handy cancel order feature on Amazon, (that I didn't know about), and got a 5metre one. That will be more than enough for any location in my loft. Many thanks for the links Chris.

I doubt I'll have any time to set things up and use this tonight, so this will likely have to wait until the weekend. But it's here, and I can finally get those locos moving! I'm excited, but also a bit nervous that I'll get a dud.

I'll have a thorough read of the instructions, then I'm just going to use a 2nd radius oval with the R600 and R8241, as I'm still missing various pieces of track I need.

Is 1.6 the latest firmware available?

Edit: I managed to set up a small section of track on my desk, it's just R607 - R600 - R8241 - R607 with my R3721 going back and fourth at low speeds. I saw a video by Sam that this loco was quite poor, and his had a rather shoddy crawl, but mine has an amazing crawl. Obviously I can't tell much from four pieces of track on my desk, but at least I tried it, and it works.

Yes, 1.6 is the latest version for the current hardware. There is supposedly a version 2 but on a later hardware platform. I've never seen it though.

Brew Man is correct.

The original Selects from version 1.0 firmware are upgradeable to version 1.6 firmware. Hornby recently released a new MKII Select with version 2.0 firmware. The new Selects can easily be identified because 20 displays as the firmware number during boot up and not 16. You will never find the original Select hardware loaded with version 2.0 - both the original and MKII Selects have the same R8213 stock code number. Thus, the 20 display during boot up is the only foolproof easy way of identifying the later MKII Select.

Both version 1.6 AND 2.0 are however identical in functionality and share the same 'User Guide Manual' documentation.

I am assuming that your Select box contains a version 1.6/2.0 manual. But if not, the version 1.5 Select Manual plus the 1.6/2.0 Select Manual Addendum can be downloaded from here:

Hornby Digital – Hornby Support

It came with a 1.6 "new features" pamphlet and a manual that reads as if it's from the 1.5 version. The pamphlet is obviously just a filler instead of rewriting the entire manual, which makes sense to me.