Signals with Dual-Coil Drives

The dual-coil drive is the standard drive for semaphore signals in HO scale, sometimes affectionately called “click-clack.” It consists of two electromagnets, one for each switching direction. It is connected with three cables: a common power supply and one control line per electromagnet.

Note: Some dual-coil drives fail to switch or do so unreliably when reaching the end position. If operated with continuous current, the electromagnet burns out or fuses with plastic guides within seconds. Such damage is usually irreversible.

Light Signals

Light signals consist of LEDs (previously lamps). One pole of the LEDs is typically connected to a common positive terminal. The other pole is then switched against ground (GND).

The common positive terminal is connected to VBB of the CTC turnout module or CTC Multi-I/O board. The negative poles of the individual LEDs are connected to a switching output each:

• LowSide on the CTC Multi-I/O board (SW-1 to SW-8),
• LowSide on the CTC turnout module (W1-Red, W1-Green, W2-Red, or W2-Green),
• HalfBridge on the CTC turnout module-G (HB-1 to HB-4).

During configuration, one of the signal catalogs (universell-signale.xml, viessmann-signale.xml) is selected. When choosing the product, ensure whether it involves LowSide or HalfBridge connections.

Multiplex Signals

To reduce the number of connection wires, there are also so-called multiplex signals. Currently, these are not supported by CTC.

Please contact us if you would like to connect such signals.