NCE Cab Panels

There are 4 types of cab panel that were used with NCE system over time. Some were used by SYSTEM ONE. This section covers:

1) UTP (RJ12) PANEL

2) RJ45 UTP PANEL

3) PowerCab PCP PANEL

4) DIN PANEL

5) CBB PANEL

6) CBB PANEL REPEATER

7) CAB PANEL SCHEMATICS (See how the connections are made.)

1) UTP (RJ12) PANEL (Current Production)

This is the standard UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) panel used by all NCE systems for cab panel expansion for all NCE system. It is included with the PowerPro starter package. (PowerCab users should see the PCP panel below for more information.)

The panels all use 6P6C or RJ12 Telco jacks. The wiring is Pin to Pin on all 4 jacks. The panel can also double as a cab bus as a 1 to 3 splitter if used right at the command station. You must use Pin to Pin RJ12 or "data" cables. The typical standard telephone cables you find at any store selling phone supplies will not work. You must get them from

The LED is optional and could be used to indicate local track power.

Tony's Train Exchange sells a universal UTP board that works with NCE, Digitrax and Lenz. The LED is optional and could be used to indicate local track power.

2) RJ45 UTP PANEL (Current Production)

This panel is an ALTERNATIVE upgrade from the standard UTP panel for cab panel expansion. It has normal RJ12 jacks on the front of the panel but has RJ45 Ethernet type jacks on the back. The key feature of this Cab Panel system is the use of "Off The Shelf" RJ45 Ethernet Cables to run from command station to panel or between panels.

Why use RJ45 UTP Panels over standard UTP panels? Because the cables for RJ45 are off the shelf compatible, just as inexpensive and give better electrical performance than the 6 conductor telco flat cable.

To learn more about the technical details and advantages including the MANUAL for this panel go here:NCE RJ45 Cab Panels

The picture on the left shows the RJ45 panel from the rear side.

The picture on the right is showing a RJ12 to RJ45 adapter. You need one of these adapters right at the command station to allow you to use the RJ45 UTP panel system.

3) PowerCab PCP Panel

The PowerCab includes a special panel called the "Power Cab Panel" or the PCP panel for short. All the jacks are RJ12 type. The PCP panel is required for use with the PowerCab when the PowerCab is being used to power the layout. IT IS NOT a general UTP expansion panel. To expand PowerCab capabilities to supporting OTHER NCE CABS to be used with the PowerCab, you should purchase standard UTP panels as expansion panels.

The left front jack (LED at the bottom) is a special jack that allows track power from the PowerCab to reach the track connector on the back of the panel. Plugging in the PowerCab into the right jack will not allow the layout to run eventhough the PowerCab is alive and appear to be running.

There is only one RJ12 jack in the back. So the PCP panel must be located at the start or end of a given cab bus run.

4) DIN PANEL

The DIN panel uses RJ12 jacks on the back and 5 conductor DIN jacks on the front. This option is more popular in Europe apparently. Like the 1/4" jack used with the CBB panel, the idea was to use a plug/jack system that is more mechanically robust than the RJ12 system.

A special cab shown below is require to be purchased to replace the normal RJ12 cable that comes with all NCE cabs.

5) CBB01 PANELS (Discontinued)

There are two version of the CBB panel. Both NCE (Master Series), Wangrow (System One) and Ramfix (Ramtraxx) use this class of panels. Common to all CBB panels is the use of the old style 1/4" Stereo Headphone Jacks on the front of the panel. The use of a 1/4 jack require the support of electronics on the panel board. So there was a cost penalty associated with these type of panels.NCE later abandoned this class of cab panels in favor of the less expensive UTP panel.

V1.0 (Left Picture): Used by all 3 systems. Shown is the NCE version but there are other versions like it sold by Wangrow System One and Ramfix Ramtraxx that are similar looking but the 1/4 jacks are rounded on the top and not flat topped like NCE.

V2.0 (Right Picture) was only sold by NCE. This V2.0 board added inrush current management and were updated to the use of surface mount parts. The LED would blink when the cab was being talked too.

6) CBB01 Panel Repeater (Discontinued)

For large layouts using CBB01 panels

Divides the Cab Bus into three separate power protected legs for shorter wiring runs and to reduce electrical noise.

Multiple Repeater boards can be plugged together to provide as many 'legs' as necessary for you layout

7) Cab Panel Schematics

Below are schematics for various panels shown above. The purpose of the schematics is to help one understand the wiring involved in the panel.