Hardware Support: CTI Acela System

Supported Hardware

CTI Modules

As described in the Acela documentation on the CTI web site, several CTI modules are available:

Limitations

Connecting

Creating Nodes

If the hardware is connected, nodes (CTI modules) are found automatically at startup. Nodes can also be defined manually with the Configure Nodes tool. Either way, don't forget to save them with the "Save" button on the Preferences window (under Edit in the main menu).

Wiring

The CTI Acela network is a true token passing ring network. Each module has two "four wire phone jacks". One labelled with a RED circle and the other labelled with a GREEN circle. To complete the ring, you should connect a straight through four wire cable from the GREEN jack in one module to the RED jack in the next module. The last cable should connect the GREEN jack in the last module back to the RED jack in the first module.

The CTI Acela module has the same RED and GREEN jacks as well as a third YELLOW jack. The CTI Acela module should be placed somewhere in the ring just as any other CTI module.

For the CTI Acela module a special four wire cable should be connected from the YELLOW jack into the serial port of the controlling computer (or a serial to USB converter).

Once powered on and started, if the red LEDs on each module are not flashing then the ring is broken (either no power to one or more modules or a bad cable or the cables are daisy chained wrong or a cable has become loose).

For completeness, on power up, each CTI module has a solid RED led lighted.

Once the Acela network is up, the red LED on each module will flash as a packet passes by (so you basically see all of the nodes flashing rapidly -- almost in sync).

The Acela module itself is different in that it always flashes a green LED to indicate that it is happy (whether the ring is happy or not).

JMRI Acela Tools

Documentation

JMRI Help

Naming of CTI Acela inputs and outputs is described on a separate page.

Third Party info

More information on the Acela hardware can be found on the CTI web site.