Building a Digital Slot Car Track - Design Considerations Part 3
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ม.ค. 2021
- A list of items to consider when designing and building a digital slot car track. This video highlights features examples on a 95 feet (29 meters) and two different 62 ft (19 meters) Carrera Digital 124/132 track layouts but topics apply to other slot car tracks like Scalextric and Ninco. Some items covered depend on whether the track is used for slot car club races or just fun with the kids. The video details the uses of shoulders, placement of lane change tracks, start/finish line, and pit lane as well as track power and marshaling considerations. Demonstrations of track features using the Pontiac GTO, Nissan GT-R GT500, BMW M3 DTM, BMW M4 DTM, Porsche GT3, Ferrari 458 GT3, Mercedes SLS AMG GT, Corvette C6-R, and the Corvette C7-R.
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Intro Music: Demilitarized Zone (Sting) by Ethan Meixsell
I look forward to these all the time. Plus the music combo is rad, gets me pumped for some Carrera Digital race action!
Always more funner that way! 00
Extremely well done video! It was as informative as it was funny! Some great tips!
Great video! Always informative and fun to watch!
Glad you liked it, and thanks for watching.
Awesome video, as always!!! Thanks for the tips!
You bet!
By far the Best CARRERA slot car videos on TH-cam.
Thank you, Gentleman. Keep the videos coming!!!!!
Thanks, will do!
Very interesting.. got me thinking. Thanks
Another great video
Good one mate.
Your vids are rad and fun to watch 😁
Keep it up mate and all the best ✌🏽
Thanks, will do!
Great information and entertaining as always...Thanks Johnnie Hobby :)
Cheers,
Jeff (Garage Maker Guy)
You bet. Thanks, Jeff.
Another great video from these guys. Not sure why someone would give a thumb’s down for this vid?
Hi Guys & Thanks for the useful tips!
I have one for you too: to avoid ghost cars crashing or pilot errors in the sections with lanes' changes I installed the German made ACS (Anti Collision System) I've found on eBay. In the US you have a similar electronic device called Lane Gate: these are just kind of switches that disable the IR sensor once a car enters the segment and reactivate it once it exits. They are not that difficult to install and they work faultlessly even on the Pit Lanes... HTH
Cheers
Sadly, the grabber tool you reference is no longer available, but I get the idea. Love your videos! Your advice has really helped me decide what I want to do with my slot car track.
Glad the videos are helpful. Thanks for the feedback.
Sweet peavey stack!!!!!!!
Remnants of the days playing in a band. Don't do that anymore so now it powers the home theater. Gotta be careful how much it's turned up so that stuff doesn't start falling off tables and counters upstairs.
working my way up to the digital cars, but i dont have the room for a permanent track setup. your track is great. I`m still analog with the GO cars and track...the tips are great but i do like the lane change option.
Excellent info as always boys. Most seem like simple things, but most of us wouldn't think of it before laying down the track. OH!!! "Reaching under the bridge could cause injury or death"?!?!? Got razor blades on the front bumpers or something? Damn! Death?
Correct. Slot car racing is more dangerous than many people think. That's why on the box is printed "ages 8 and up." They don't want toddlers getting hurt.
I'm contemplating routed with Scorpius gear.
Curious if you may have a video or know of one that shows how to add additional power to track with additional power supply? How to wire additional power for expansion track greater than 45 feet?
Not aware of a video out there on that (not a good one, anyway). Probably I should make one this week. Keep an eye out for it.
Hi Johnny, I'm new to all this slot racing and your videos are straight forward and very informative. By the way, I'm subscribed to your channel to keep learning tips and tricks, as a newbie I want to buy myself a track, but doing my researches, there are different brands with different types of starting options packages, also optional parts and opinions on which brand is better than the other.
In your honest opinion, Which brand will you recommend as starting point with the opportunity to lately add more cool features to make it more appealing and fun?
I have found that the Scalextric it's more economical (budget wise more appealing) than the Carrera tracks, but I think that it have less features for better upgrades. Or it's just me? What you might recommend?
I've found that Scalextric and Carrera are very comparable in price for track, accessories, and cars. When deciding on my track I ultimately went with Carrera because I knew I was going to have a large, fast track and Carrera is the only one that has the double-length lane changers that can be taken at full speed whereas the others have only single-length lane changers that can't be taken at faster speeds. If you are going to have a smaller or lower speed track then that won't matter. I like the cars that Scalextric offers more than Carrera, though (more American hot rods). But, the ability to run the 24th scale cars with Carrera is fantastic. They are a blast. Because it's 1:24 scale track, Carrera can take up more space given the same overall length of track. I would recommend that if you have the space, go with Carrera.
Warning Danger of Death. Also, a slot car could easily take your eye out whilst peering under a bridge.
Thanks for the helpful video... Did I miss the link for the grabber??
It's in the description but sometimes difficult to find depending on your device, like a smart phone. Here's the link:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
all three of these videos are very helpful, thanks
now only worried have scalextric rather than carrera ?
Nothing wrong with Scalextric. Each manufacturer has its pros and cons. What they both have in common is that they're a ton of fun.
@@johnniehobby thanks, that's helped !
Great Show ....... I have a Shit box 70 challenger. Where Are you guys.....Im from Bolton Ontario. HO GUY.....Built a 4 lane AFX TRACK 22X4X7 5 years ago. Lol.
We're from across the river. Used to go through the tunnel to Windsor when we were 19 and 20 where we could drink legally. Probably where we got the affinity for the Canadian brew.
Brand new to carrera digital (they’re bad ass) so I have a question
I have the carrera app connect and have downloaded carrera app and the one lap app .
In this video you make comment that you run with 6 drivers and two ghost cars, but all my ghost cars run as if one car , so the ghost cars are lapping me three to one ,
How is it possible to get my cars to lap individually?
And by the way I enjoy your videos lol some funny shenanigans goin on. Looking for your site for some of those accessories you have too.
Hope you have some answers for me and thanks.
In our races we don't count ghost car laps, only laps of the live drivers count and the ghost cars are just there to get in the way on purpose. For your situation it sounds like you are actually racing vs the ghost cars thus you want their laps to count. There is no way for the CU or AppConnect to differentiate between different ghost cars. I found the following article with a couple workarounds. Not perfect solutions but an improvement:
www.smartrace.de/en/the-smartrace-manual/race-fairly-against-several-ghost-cars/
Hey guys. I love your videos :)
I wonder if you ever tried to do the following: take 6 pieces of R4 high bank curves and form an arc, then take the next set of 6 R4 high bank pieces and form another arc, then connect them together facing opposite sides while inserting a couple of straights or a double lane change section in between the two arcs, so that an "S" shape is formed - 6 plus 6 R4 high bank pieces facing opposite sides, with double lane changer in the middle, between track pieces 6 & 7. Would that work? Would it stress the tracks, particularly the lane changer? Do you imagine this would be fun to drive? Im planning to get the R4 high bank curve sometime in the future but have no experience with it so far.
Thanks and cheers!
Funny you should ask this as our latest track -- of which we are putting out a video this weekend -- has such a similar s-section with banked banked turns. As a general rule, you should have two straights to transition to flat, and another two to transition to the next bank.
Ours has four standard straights between and it looks like a roller coaster. I don't think only two straights between would work as there would be too much twist, and even if it didn't damage the track, the cars probably wouldn't even keep proper contact while going through that section. While we've gotten away with putting a lane changer with only one straight section buffer after a bank, that was only going to flat, not twisting the other direction. You may be able to get away with having only three standard straight sections between banks, but I wouldn't try to force a lane changer in there.
@@johnniehobby great reply, many thanks!!
Great video! New sub and slotter here - or is it a slotty? slothead? aficion-slotto? slotbot? slot-nosed kid? "beam me up slotty"? Not sure how slot car racers refer to themselves yet. Haven't had a slot car race set since my Tyco set back in the '70's. I just got a Carrera Go! 1/43 Starter set for the youngin's and I’m pumped.
Anywho, quick question - where does one find a fine croupier stick? And I don't mean an "L" shaped piece of balsa from China for $2.99 on Amazon.
Thanks for the fun and informative videos! I’m really enjoying your channel. I feel like I'm entering a lightly overcast, nerdy underworld (as opposed to a dark, seedy one).
Welcome aboard, and good question about what we call call fellow slot car enthusiasts because I'm not really sure. I guess we just call them Sot Car Guys. As far as croupier sticks, we made our own in a "T" configuration with 1/2" Poplar stock, so it's not really a traditional croupier stick, but more like a chip rake. All-metal telescoping chip rakes are available online.
@@johnniehobby thanks for the reply. Since I've been forced into an early retirement and taken up woodworking to fill my idle time, I will take the opportunity to fashion one croupier stick. I will just add it to the list of 276 woodworking items/tasks I have queued up 🙂.
And those extended arm grabbers are a great idea! I have two different styles - a heavy duty one and one exactly like the one in your vid. Both have nice rubber grips and rotate and should do the trick.
I am currently tuning up my four new cars as per your video recommendations.. And WOW! It really makes a huge difference!
For now I’m going with "slot car dude" - until my kids think of something better.
Race on!
(Ok, the catchphrase needs some work...)
Is it possible to setup ghost cars eith the carrera app conect ?
Not sure. We're not too familiar with all the capabilities of the app connect. There's a link to the AppConnect software manual here:
www.carreraslots.com/pdf/app_step_by_step.pdf that may have that info.
Do you have a diagram of your tracks? Do you design them to have equal lengths for the lanes? If you do design them what software do you use and can you share your file or a parts list? Thanks
We do all our own track design and do try to make the lanes as equal as possible. We use a program called Ultimate Racer 3.0. Some of our track designs are available on our website here:
subhumanracing.net/carrera-layouts/
You can download the image and/or the project file which you can open with Ultimate Racer. Within that file you'll be able to see the inventory of pieces used.
Info on UR30 is here:
www.uracerweb.org/
What’s the best method of buying the first Carrera track set to get the layout you wish for? Most sets are have far too many technical curves especially for a 5’ x 10’ area. Should some one buy two of the same set to get the amount of track or buy one and buy a lot of pieces? Like I mentioned, I wanted to get started in a small area, maybe just run the perimeter of the 5’ x 10’ with a more technical portion inside that area? Is there software that creates track layouts?
Carrera sets all have about 24-28 feet of track and between 440 and 570 degrees of turns. If you are making an oval track with a technical infield section, you're going to need at least 720 degrees of turns. I would start with getting the track set with the most track you can. Add the Carrera track extension set item #30367. That will give you many more straights plus three additional lane changers. More info on that is in our video about expanding your new slot car set.
th-cam.com/video/fYwN3DThv5E/w-d-xo.html
You can sometimes find track lots on Ebay, but beware of those. Most are for the older Evolution track. While it is compatible with the newer track, they don't stay connected as well. Look for the 3-tab track (newer). The older track is 4-tab.
johnnie hobby, great advice, thanks!
johnnie hobby, wow, great info, thank you!
The track on
The floor would that fit in a 20 x10 space?
Wow I love your 66 GTO'S can anyone buy them anymore so cool I'm 65 love the old Muscle cars and I'm just getting started I don't have a track yet thinking of going with Carrera but the cars suck sorry I'm old school just wanna burn one and Race lol ok love you guys Take Care 👍✌💪 O I just ordered the 2021 Carrera catalog should be here soon Take care
Just about all cars Carrera makes are limited edition, including the 66 GTOs which haven't been produced in at least 10 years. You can still find them for sale on Ebay and other auction sites, just be prepared to pay much above MSRP.
I agree that Carrera's current car lineup is severely lacking in American muscle and especially street cars but they do have some that are nice such as the Chevy Monza, Ford Capri RS, Plymouth Road Runner, and newer Corvette C7 and C8. Scalextric's current muscle/pony car offerings are a 2nd gen Camaro Z/28, 3rd gen Camaro IROC, AMC Javelin, and Chrysler HemiCuda.
If you have an analog track you can run any analog car on it regardless of manufacturer. If you go with digital then cars from other manufacturers will need to be modified with the correct digital chip.
@@johnniehobby
Hey Thanks for getting back with me like I said on one of your videos I think I've watched them all but I'm 65 had a track when I was very young so I have nothing to start with but I ordered the Carrera 2021 catalog because they didn't have this year's and my budget isn't very big but I have grandkids I want to turn them on to the fun so I'm thinking of getting the digital set with wireless controls and get that addition you talked about in one of the videos I should get that catalog by Friday... I'm looking around my house and garage to see what I really don't need and selling it lol ok Thank you so much for everything by the way my name is Randy ok Take Care Brother 👍✌💪
Can you convert Carrera Go track and cars to digital?
You could convert the track as I believe the Carrera 143 Digital and analog Carrera GO use the same track, save for the digital pieces. You'd need to add a digital control unit, digital controllers, and also the lane changers. Carrera doesn't really support the digital 143 much so those parts don't look to be available individually. Your best bet would be to get a used digital 143 set from Ebay or something, then add your GO track to that set. Also, I've never seen any digital chips in 143 that you can use to convert a 143 analog to digital like you can with the 132. They may exist but not that I'm familiar with. So you may need to get all new cars (or new to you) from the used market.
is there a limit to how mutch lane changers can be interegrated into a c. digital track ? i mean defined by the central computer unit there ? not the cris cross things .. the ones with the switch inside !
No limit that we are aware of. The lane changers operate independently of the CU (basically they aren't addressable like the cars are). We've run as many as 9 lane changers plus two pit stop entries at a time. No issues.
@@johnniehobby i see thanks ... !!! very helpfull !
Carrera a quality iconique product from AUSTRIA
instead of power taps for my 20 meters track can I just add a second and third "control unit" and plug it? I'm using carrera 1:43... Please advise if that will work without breaking/overpowering/burn my track or cars....
I got here looking for help I even subscribe to he channel but got confused, not one power tap video on youtube shows where or how to connect cables on the other end? this video made me think/conviced that instead of going all that trouble trying to guess where to connect end cable A as end cable B goes to the "track" to just add a "control unit" every 10 mts and plug it into the outlet.... will tap work? please advise.... got really confused and not one video shows how to plug power taps on both ends.... just one end the one on the track....
basically I would buy 2 extra power supplies with 2 extra "control unit" track length and plug all 3 to outlets in order to make it work without having to build and put on the track those "power taps" ?
I have only heard of problems trying this. It is not a good idea. Power taps are easy to make and are not rocket science. If your cars seem to be slowing in some section of the track, run power taps from a section of track adjacent to your power track, over to the slow area. If your cars don't slow anywhere, you don't need power taps.