CTI Electronics Controls

[dickturpin]

Is anyone else using CTI electronic controls www.cti-electronics.com ?
I'm building a new modular unitrack layout in the UK and will be using these to control a 4 track system (20' x 2').
The controls will drive 20 turnouts, 30 sensors, sound boards and monitor my control panel.

Richard
Birmingham
England

[cteno4]

richard,

one thing i plan to try out later this year for a similar 4 track modular layout is to use a dcc controller and just use a ho sized decoder attached to each track so that each track is basically one of the dcc cabs. lets you do all 4 tracks on one controller and simplify the number of powerpacks, etc needed. for smaller trains/layouts this should work ok. downside is you need power busses for all 4 lines (instead of a single bus for dcc only), but if its already wired this way no problem. if you also put a dcc power bus down the layout you could power/control turnouts and other accessories along the way.

just an idea.

cheers

jeff

[The_Ghan]

Hi Richard,

I almost said yes to the system as a whole.  When I first considered automation about a year ago I had a look at CTI.  In my mind, the pros were:

• you retain your dc layout as a dc layout
• you don't need to add decoders to trains
• you don't have to automate your whole layout in a one-fell swoop, mainly because of the points I've just mentioned
• shorter construction time
• use your existing power supply
• lower cost option

However, as I researched the product I discovered that it does have its share of cons:

• it is still an analogue system and can't easily do the things that DCC can, such as:
  
  • multiple consists on the same loop of track;
  • multiple engines in a consist;
  • control of in-car features, such as lighting;

• trying to do some of the above makes the wiring as complex as DCC wiring, except you're wiring to CTI devices instead of DCC devices;
• there is no communication from the trains, which means a train could get "lost" in the system, which is the reason RailCom and Transponding exist;
• generally, the hardware is proprietary although there is an occupancy detector that is DCC compatible.  This is a bit confusing.  Is CTI in the DCC game or not?
• product availability: no dealers in Australia that I was aware of;
• product popularity: no users in Australia that I was aware of.  Having said that, just watch everyone raise their hands now;
• ultimately, it was a piece of misleading information on the CTI website about DCC that lost me, "One of the big drawbacks of digital command control is that it has no sensing capability. Thus, automated operation simply isn't possible. ".  That's simply untrue!  Maybe it is a legacy comment from days gone by, but it should be removed from the website.

Having said that, while I don't regret my decision to go DCC, or my choice of Digitrax with its LocoNet and Transponding, I do begrudge the extra hours involved in wiring, modifying track and installing decoders, etc.  My hobby time is severly constrained, further prolonging construction time.  So, if time is a constraint, funds limited, and the layout is relatively simple CTI might be a valid solution.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[gcmr_new_zealand]

Hi Richard

The comments by The_Ghan is a fair summary. 

In my case I have decided to stay analogue and I have most of the CTI range in my layout.  I am concentrating on layout construction rather than running so I have yet to give some boards a good workout.  Certainly I have had no problems to date.  There is a users group on Yahoogroups "cti_users" which is a good source of information should you give it a go.

CTI has its own "Train Control Language" where you can program the running of your layout.  But it can be a bit intense unless programming your own commands appeals to you.  Moduals are readily available from their website and some other online outlets (some cheaper).   

I use RailRoad&Co software which is very versatile and good at train tracking but can be expensive to get into.   

I think that if you are likely to move on to DCC then consider other options and in any event keep asking and searching before deciding.

As a footnote, an example of an Australian layout  that uses DCC for the trains and CTI for the rest is:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~judithandrichard/marbelup/signals.htm



Regards

Bob

[The_Ghan]

Geez Bob,

That's a gem of a link you've provided.  Thanks.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[dickturpin]

Thanks for your comments, although DCC compatible the yahoo user group seem to spend a lot of time discussing problems with CV's etc.

For myself I have accumulated about a dozen modules over the last 10 years so I'll stick with CTI and analogue controls for my next layout.

It appears to be only sold in the USA which is a problem but family over there help me out.

My aim with this layout is to have lots of 4' x 2' modules and keep the wiring down but still have a fully automatic layout using CTI.

Richard

[sid21177]

look at this one, compatible with TrainController

http://www.oaktreesystems.com/