Switching from digital control to CTC is particularly worthwhile if the model railway is intended to expand further. Another reason for switching to CTC may be the IR balises, which offer significant advantages in locomotive position detection and automatic control.

What Do You Need for CTC?

• A power supply: Initially, this will be the digital control center or booster.
• A Wi-Fi access point: For initial tests, your private Wi-Fi will suffice. However, for around 20 modules or more, a dedicated Wi-Fi network for the model railway is recommended.
• One CTC locomotive module per locomotive.
• For turnouts and signals, either one CTC turnout module per turnout/signal or one CTC Multi-I/O Board for up to 4 turnouts/signals.

Simultaneous operation of digital locomotives/turnouts/signals and CTC locomotives/turnouts/signals is possible at any time. However, control is handled separately via the digital control center and the CTC app. Integration of both systems into a single control interface will only be possible once model railway control software can incorporate CTC functionality.

What happens to my digital decoders?

The digital decoders are replaced by corresponding CTC locomotive modules.

For locomotives with sophisticated sound decoders, it is also possible to place the CTC locomotive module between the track and the sound decoder. However, this requires that the locomotive has enough space for both the digital decoder and the CTC locomotive module. This is often not the case, especially in steam locomotives.

How do I get started?

The easiest way is to order one of our Starter Sets to familiarise yourself with the new world of CTC. You can start with either a turnout, a locomotive, or both.

In any case, you will receive a CTC router, CTC modules, and the CTC app. You don’t need anything else, as your existing digital control unit or booster will handle the power supply. The CTC locomotive can run on the same track as digital locomotives at the same time. The turnouts can be powered by digital current or a separate power source.

And what comes next?

There are several options for this:

• You gradually retrofit all locomotives, turnouts, and signals to CTC and eventually achieve a model railway controlled entirely by CTC.
• You only retrofit turnouts, signals, and feedback modules to CTC while continuing to operate your locomotives digitally.
• You only retrofit your locomotives to CTC and optionally install CTC-IR balises in the track, but continue to switch digitally.

Support for CTC in model railway control software will be added, enabling nearly any combination of classic digital and CTC operation. But we will do everything we can to convince you of the benefits of a model railway operated purely with CTC.

What happens to my feedback modules?

This becomes much simpler with CTC: the feedback bus is completely eliminated. Up to four sensors can be connected to the CTC Multi-I/O Board.

However, it’s worth taking a look at the CTC IR balises. Two of them can be connected to a CTC turnout module or CTC Multi-I/O Board. They allow the locomotive to determine its position and, if needed, receive commands (e.g., “Signal stop in 70 cm”). Using CTC IR balises, simple automation is possible without any intervention from the app.

In all cases, the mentioned feedback information, along with the status messages from the CTC modules, is transmitted via Wi-Fi.

Learn more about automation in the article Automated operation.