Matrix Element

The Matrix Element is a great, simple way to create route controls that throw all the turnouts to reach a selected track with a single touch. This small plug-in device connects to any Toggle input on our turnout control bases. It converts our Touch Toggles from directly controlling a switch to clearing a route through your track-work to reach the selected track.

Touching a track in your panel selects a route and shows green on that track. All other blocked routes will show red. Routes are easy to set up with plug-together simplicity. Matrix Elements are well suited to control most yards, or to add a few extra tracks to our Matrix Controller 8 .

Matrix Elements have memory, so all of the route and turnout positions will be unchanged between one startup and the next. Any train stopped on a turnout should not be disturbed.

Each Matrix Element can choose between the two routes available from a single turnout.

Linking Elements together can create a route control system through many turnouts. Each touch will set the connected Element outputs to their required positions.

Matrix Elements use short 3-pin jumpers to pass control information from one to the next about routes through any simple or compound ladder.

The Element’s compact, narrow design lets them plug into each input of any base you use to operate your switch motors.

Each Matrix Element has two Touch Toggle inputs and a linking connector. Usually the primary Toggle is used to select “this destination”, turning away from the ladder towards the corresponding spur track. The second Toggle input is linked to the next Element, and is used to set the turnout to continue up the ladder to the next turnout. Link connections seem just like Toggles to the preceding Element. Through the link, choosing any route further up the ladder will route the train on towards that turnoff. At the final turnout in the ladder each input will be connected to a separate Toggle, letting you select the last track, or the next to the last track.

Sometimes you will have a turnout leading to a separate ladder, or other branching arrangement like branching in a compound yard. In the case of a turnout leading to other turnouts that continue on both outgoing tracks, each of the Toggle inputs may be connected to link connections to the branching Elements in either direction. Here the yard-entry turnout is controlled only by its links to branching elements. This technique can be repeated to handle any complex compound yard.

Choosing the Toggle at the #1 position moves the turnout to the red position. The Toggle at the #2 input moves the turnout to the green position. You can reverse the inputs used for the Toggle and the link jumper to reverse the red and green positions of the turnout.

3-pin jumpers (supplied) are used to connect the Matrix Elements and let them work together. The Touch Toggles are usually placed on the tracks in the drawing as shown, and not on the turnouts.

Although links are daisy-chained up any ladder the first Element entering a yard will not use the link connector.

A Link jumper from a Matrix Element may also be connected to any Toggle input on a Matrix Controller 8 to add one or more branching routes.

Note that when first installed you will need to select each route, and cycle the power to lock in all the internal memories.

A Note about really really troublesome routes:

Our Matrix Element is designed to support yards with one Toggle for each unique route. This is plenty for most ladder situations. More complex situations can often be handled with our Matrix Controller 8. If you are unsure about what you need, please let us know (a sketch is always helpful). Often a thorny problem can be solved with just a new perspective, but occasionally the problem is as hard as it seems.

Legal stuff: This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer (lead). Unused or retired products should be recycled properly or may be returned to Berrett Hill for disposal in accordance with RoHS standards.

We manufacture our products in the USA. Orders over $140 include free shipping to US addresses.

Matrix Elements are shipping now.

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