I remember back in 2004 at the British Toy fair trying out Scalextric Sport Digital for the first time (article here) - sure it was a prototype and it didn't work 100%, but it was quite exciting being one of the first to have a go at this new product that would allow the slot car to break free from the slot.

Digital Slot Car Racing has developed quite a bit since then. More manufacturers are in the game, each offering their own system and products, different tracks, issues with compatibility and incompatibility etc. Where do you start? I'd think that anyone looking at Digital Slot Car Racing for the first time now, would be quite confused.

So perhaps a solution is at hand - Dave Chang's latest book: Digital Slot Car Racing.

The book, after an introduction, looks at the principals of Digital showing how it works and what it is all about. Methods of digitising a car are shown and getting the track optimally configured. Different people will take away their own information - the beginner, the expert etc. The biggest challenge is convincing the analogue racer to take the plunge.

The current Digital Systems available now are then show and talked about - Scalextric SSD, SCX Digital, Carrera Digital 132, Ninco N-Digital, Davic Evo3, Slot.it oXigen, Scorpius Wireless, SlotFire D-Race & BLST. Then how to get digital racing working on wooden routed tracks. The book is rounded off with a section of software and race management tools.

All the features are compared and discussed. The reader is left to make up their own mind on which path to take and which system to get, but everything you need to make the decision is given to you.

As this is basically a guide for somebody getting into Digital, I am not sure what an existing digital slot racer would get out of it. There are tips in the section on maintenance, but most racers would already know the basics. Once someone has bought into a system, they are basically tied to it so other systems are mostly irrelevant. Some systems, notably the wireless control systems can be used with some other Digital systems so it is interesting to read up on them.

It is obvious that Dave has worked hard to gather all this information into one book. I know that getting manufacturers to cooperate and share detailed information on their products is not easy. Quite a bit of time an effort must have gone into looking at the systems in such detail.

I enjoyed the book and looking at what there is on offer in the Digital Slot Car Racing world. Dave's book has great photos, clear text and tables and is an easy read.

Overall, a good book. I recommend it to anyone wanting to change lanes.

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: The Crowood Press Ltd (21 Nov 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 184797306X

ISBN-13: 978-1847973061

Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 18.8 x 1.3 cm

About the Author: Dave Chang is a record producer by day and a slot car racer by night. He has been deeply involved in the hobby for years. He is the author of the definitive guide to slot car tuning, The Slot Car Handbook (Crowood 2007). www.theslotcarhandbook.com