Note: If you have purchased our WLAN login service, we know your WLAN name (SSID) and network ID (WLAN password), and you will generally receive your new CTC modules pre-configured. Therefore, you do not need to log them in and can proceed directly with “Chapter 4 - Configure Modules”. The WLAN login service is included with all CTC starter sets and CTC routers.

There are two ways to log modules in:

  • The first way may be familiar to you from many other products with Wi-Fi: you connect to the CTC module’s configuration Wi-Fi and enter your Wi-Fi data into a browser form.
  • The second way is much more convenient via the CTC app, but it often fails with temperamental operating systems, at least under Windows.

Notes:

  • The length of the password and SSID was limited to 20 characters until firmware 20230329. Newer firmware complies with the Wi-Fi standard: SSID (32 characters), Wi-Fi password (63 characters).
  • The CTC modules display their state through blink codes of the status LED or front light, see Chapter 3.3 “Status Indicators of the Modules”.

Booking in with the CTC App

Notes:

  • On iOS (iPhone/iPad), this feature is unfortunately not available due to the lack of suitable API from Apple.
  • On Android, the global “Location” function must be activated, just like it is needed for navigation apps. Depending on the manufacturer and Android version, the update of discovered Wi-Fi networks can be very slow - this is to save the battery.

The CTC app can recognize modules in configuration mode at the push of a button and write into the Wi-Fi configuration of the CTC module. After writing the Wi-Fi configuration, the CTC module automatically resets and then joins the model railway Wi-Fi.

A CTC module switches to configuration mode if:

  • it is a new CTC module (without Wi-Fi configuration).
  • it is already configured but cannot find its Wi-Fi. Then it switches to configuration mode after one minute, waits two minutes for a connection and then automatically resets.

You can recognize that a CTC module is in configuration mode by its status indicator (LED or front light) constantly on.

Via the menu Settings/Search New Modules the app searches for available Wi-Fi networks:

ctc-app-doku-picture

To book in, you provide the SSID and password of your model railway Wi-Fi and preferably also a name for the module. Then select the module and click on Book Module.

ctc-app-doku-picture

In doing so, your PC/tablet/smartphone logs into the configuration Wi-Fi of the CTC module and writes the configuration file netCfg.xml onto the CTC module. As with all configuration changes, the CTC module automatically resets itself and is then visible in your model railway Wi-Fi.

Notes:

  • Especially under Windows 10, there can be problems when activating the correct Wi-Fi. If the CTC app displays the message “I/O error during upload”, it usually helps to click on “Book Module” a second time. If that doesn’t help either, you can book it manually via the Wi-Fi management of Windows itself before clicking “Book Module”.
  • If your PC does not have a wired connection to the model railway network when registering, it will lose its connection to the model railway network during registration. Sometimes you have to manually reconnect it to the model railway Wi-Fi afterwards.

Signing In via the CTC Module’s Website

Note: This feature is only available starting from firmware 20210220, which is delivered with the CTC App v3.05 and is pre-installed on all modules delivered by CTC after 02/21/2021.

A CTC module in configuration mode can be seen in the list of available Wi-Fis on your PC, tablet, or smartphone. You can identify the configuration Wi-Fis of your CTC modules by the letter-number combination (MAC address in hex code) at the beginning. Here is an example from Kubuntu Linux: ctc-app-doku-picture


  1. Connect your PC, tablet, or smartphone to this configuration Wi-Fi.
  2. Open your internet browser and enter http://192.168.4.1 as the address. ctc-app-doku-picture
  3. Click on the link “Edit WiFi SSID and password”. Enter your SSID (Wi-Fi name, network identifier) and the password (network key) of your model railway’s Wi-Fi. ctc-app-doku-picture
  4. Click on “Save”. ctc-app-doku-picture
  5. The CTC module will automatically restart and should now be visible in your model railway’s Wi-Fi.

Note: The module remains in configuration mode for only about 2 minutes and then restarts. If the module has a Wi-Fi configuration but cannot sign into this Wi-Fi, it switches to configuration mode after about 1 minute. If you made a typo in the SSID or password, you will need to wait a minute before you can access the module again through its configuration Wi-Fi.

Note: You can tell whether the CTC module is in configuration mode by the status display of the CTC module.