How Do I Get Started Most Easily?

The most cost-effective way to start with CTC is with a single locomotive or turnout. All you need is a suitable CTC locomotive module or CTC switch module. For communication, use your home Wi-Fi or an old Wi-Fi router from your basement. Power and tracks are provided by your existing model railway.

To explore the fascinating possibilities of CTC, especially train protection, you’ll need a bit more. For this, you need a locomotive with an IR or NFC reader, a signal, and two balises. Our starter sets are specifically designed for this purpose. If you want to use your own Wi-Fi, simply choose the corresponding supplementary set instead of the starter set. In a starter set, the CTC modules are already connected to the Wi-Fi of the included router. You can read how easy it is to connect the modules in Chapter 3.1 of the User Manual.

Beyond the offered starter sets, we’d be happy to put together a custom starter set tailored to your needs. Upon request, we can also install the CTC modules in your locomotives and turnouts.

Scenarios

We hope you’ll find a scenario below that matches your situation. If not, describe your situation to us, and we’ll add it to our scenarios. The three most fundamental scenarios, in our view, are:

The two articles on switching also cover (initial) parallel operation with CTC. Frequently asked questions and answers can be found in our FAQ section.

Let’s Go

You have your first CTC delivery in front of you and are wondering what to do next. This section will guide you through the process.

Step 1: Installation/Conversion

The CTC modules need to be installed in locomotives or connected to turnouts, signals, etc.:

  • For locomotives, you’ll find a general introduction and links to numerous photo guides of conversions we’ve done in the “Locomotive Conversion” manual.
  • For turnouts, the “Turnout Conversion” manual contains a table with most common turnouts, including item numbers. You can easily use your browser’s search function (Ctrl+F) to find the item number of your turnout and open the corresponding instructions. If your turnout is missing, feel free to contact us, and we’ll provide the missing description.
  • The connection of semaphore signals and light signals is described in the “Signal Installation” manual.
  • Assembly and connection of IR balises are explained in the CTC-IR-Balise datasheet.

Step 2: Power Supply

In the “Power Supply Basics” document, you’ll find basic information on powering CTC modules and layouts. For testing a freshly converted locomotive, we recommend using a roller test stand. It’s also best to power switch modules outside the model railway layout initially. Note: If you use a lab power supply, remember that it only limits the current in case of a short circuit. For a newly converted locomotive or turnout, I check the current display on the lab power supply and quickly turn it off if it shows unexpectedly high values. The CTC module itself requires a maximum of 50 mA, but the connected locomotive, turnout, or signal also needs some power.

Step 3: Connecting to Wi-Fi

If you’ve purchased a CTC starter set, a CTC router, or the Wi-Fi connection service, you can skip this step entirely. The CTC modules you purchase from us are pre-configured for your model railway Wi-Fi. The easiest way to connect is via the CTC app. You can find instructions on how to install the app in Chapter 2 of the User Manual. The actual connection process is described in Chapter 3.1 of the User Manual.

Step 4: Configuration

The configuration of locomotives, turnouts, and signals is described in the respective installation manuals (see Step 1). General information on configuration can be found in Chapter 4 of the User Manual.

Help from the Community

If you encounter any issues and the documentation doesn’t help, take a look at the CTC Community. As a CTC customer, you should be registered there (if not, please let us know). You can ask a question there, which will first be answered by our AI. If the answer doesn’t help, you can publish the question so it can be answered by other community members. The CTC team is also active in the CTC Community.