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KEEPING
CONTINUITY
Your track, whether permanent or not, is the most
important piece of kit, when when it comes to running slot cars.
You can spend hours tuning and preparing your favorite cars, but if
your track is not up to scratch, your steeds will never reach their
optimum performance! 
Here are a few basic things to check, to improve the electrical
continuity of the track, and troubleshoot any problems.
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MAINTENANCE
On the underside of each piece of Scaley Sport track, there are 8
important lugs. These are the 4 outer ones, at either end of the
rails.
4 hold the connecting pins in place, and the other 4 determine the
size of the hole for the connecting pins of another piece, to slide
into.
Even on brand new track, these 8 lugs are not always as tight as
they should be, and after use, the act of taking track pieces apart
also loosens them. (so they are always worth checking). 
Place the track piece upside down on a hard surface.
(worktop/laminate floor)
Do not do this on carpet, as the fibres absorb the direct
pressure, and the track bends instead of the lugs.
Using the tips of snipe-nosed pliers, push these lugs firmly down,
using a rolling motion, from the slot towards the end of the lug.
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Once you have done all 8 lugs on 1 track piece, repeat the process
for all track pieces.
I am doing this now in preparation for an event just after Crimbo.
There are only 205 track pieces!! Just 1640 lugs to press then! 
Next, make sure the rails are clean.
Using something like the Plebys or Re-Shine blocks, available on
Ebay, lightly rub the rails. You will be surprised how much tarnish
and dirt will be removed from even a clean looking rail!!
You can also use WD40 or White Spirit on a cloth, and rub along the
rails to clean them.
This will improve the electrical continuity between the rails and
the braid of the cars.
HANDY TIP
If after this, you still have problems, determine at which join you
lose the power.
If your car stops, 
then you have at least 2 bad pin connections, (as the juice flows
from the power unit in both directions)!
Cut some 1cm discs of tin foil (don't use too much cos you will need
some for a turkey in 4 weeks)!! 
If you fold the foil several times before cutting, you will have
many discs. Have fun piddling them apart
Wrap a disc over each of the offending pins,
and then push together.
Using a craft knife, make good the join, by chopping the excess off.
Pay particular attention the vertical wall of the slot. You must not
have any foil touching from opposing rails!!
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Once you have trimmed off all the excess, vacuum the slot to rid it
of any bits of foil. This is important!! If you don't do this, your
little shiny friends, will find a way to short out the track
You should now have a sound connection
Test track again using a car, and repeat wherever needed.
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POWER TAPS
If you have a large layout you may want to add a power tap, about
half way around the track.
On the underside of Scaley Sport track, the central lug is smaller
than the rest, and (almost)
lends itself nicely for a 4mm female spade connecter to be attached.
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Trim the small plastic bits at either side of the central lug. This
will make a little more space for the spade to lay flat in.
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Using a welding torch.. (sorry, craft knife) 
cut a path through the various plastic sections, for the wires to be
routed through.
Squeeze the connector a little to make it a tight fit on the lug. As
i stated above, "they almost fit".
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Measure 4 lengths of wire to reach from a straight next to your
powerbase, to the midway point in your circuit. Strip the wire ends,
and crimp the spade connectors to the wire.
Attach the spade connector to the lug, using pressure from both
sides, so the lug does not buckle.
Route your wires to the exit, and tape in place.
If your layout is a permanent one, a dab of solder on each
connecter/lug would probably be in order.
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Using bits of tape on the exposed wires, mark the lane No, and rail
(left or right in direction of travel) on each. This will make it
easier to identify each wire, when you repeat this process on the
other track.
Hope this helps some folks! 
Have fun!
Zipp
(November 2005)
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We're looking forward to more
articles
in our SLAP My SlotCar
Series.
Stay tuned!
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