Scorpius Wireless Digital & Slot.it oXigen Wireless Digital

Comparison

Review by Doug T.

It wasn't my intention to compare the two Wireless control systems, but as they both arrived at the same time, they were both installed and used at the same time - sometimes even together. So with one controller in my left hand and another in the right, I could come up with a few comparative points. My review helpers and I used both systems in the same conditions the only difference being the cars the decoders were installed into.

Note, the figures and specs below in some cases may be changed as the product comes to market. The figures are obtained by testing pre-production hardware and tested in a controlled environment. Depending one where the systems are used, results using production hardware may differ.

System features

	Scorpius	Slot.it oXigen
Wireless frequency band	ISM 2.4GHz band *	ISM 2.4GHz band *
Wireless lights	Output on decoder for connection to light board	Controller can operate SP16 light board
Upgradeable (Wireless)
Maximum number of cars	24	20
Multiple systems in one room	3 (coming 2012)	4
Ghost cars/pace cars	Coming 2012	Already built into the SCP-1 controller
Compatible computer systems	Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7	Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 **
Race Management System (RMS)	Scorpius RMS (due August 2011)	oXigen RMS, PC Lap counter
*ISM - industrial, scientific and medical ** Slot.it say that they will release Linux and Mac versions later. The RMS will be open-sourced, and the dongle protocol will be disclosed free of charge to allow development by others.

Compatibility

	Scorpius	Slot.it oXigen
Scalextric Sport Digital	( if rewired *)	**
Ninco Digital	( if rewired *)	( if rewired ***)
Carrera Digital	( if rewired *)	( if rewired ***)
SCX Digital
Custom routed wooden track	*	***
* Scorpius Lane brain needed (for every lane change piece) - rewire Lane Changer pieces, keeping flippers and solenoids. ** Slot.it O2 Cars are recognised by SSD, but SSD power bases do not control the car. Also, a bridge rectifier is needed on the cars. Slot.it supply one that fits over the guideblade of the cars. *** Slot.it O2 conversion electronic board needed (for every lane change piece) - rewire Lane Changer pieces, keeping flippers and solenoids.

Car decoder

	Scorpius	Slot.it oXigen
Size	30 x 15mm	27 x 27mm
Current rating	3A continuous, 6A peak	3A continuous, 6A peak
Track power	8.5V to 18V	9V to 18V
Photo-diode for LC detection	On fly lead	Built onto decoder
Hall effect sensor for magnetic finish line / pit lane detection
Upgradeable from PC (Wireless)
Price (June 2011)	AU$39.95 / US$43 / £26 / €29 **	AU$41 / US$44 / £27 / €30
** Prices here and elsewhere are rounded to the nearest US$, £ or €. They may not reflect importer or distributor prices. They do not include shipping.

Controller

	Scorpius	Slot.it oXigen
Format	Dedicated controller	SCP-1 cartridge radio interface
Power	3V (2 AAA batteries *)	9V
Transmit power	Not communicated	10mW
Range (between controller and car)	Indoors 20m outdoors 100m	Indoors 40m ** outdoors 300m
Number of selectable car IDs	24	20 Digital
LCD screen
Lane change button
Selective lane changing (see Slot.it oXigen review for info)
Brake button
Adjustable brake
Brake resolution	100 steps	255 steps
Throttle resolution	320 steps	255 steps
Adjustable speed curves	10 preset throttle curves	Selectable curve(s) / linear mode
Power reduction (Learner mode)
Battery saving	After 3 minutes of inactivity	***
Encryption (Controller to car)	Selectable 4-digit PIN	Unique controller ID
Driver Name	Set on controller or PC	Set on PC
Frictionless Hall effect speed sensor
Upgradeable from PC (Wireless)
Price (June 2011)	AU$179 / US$192 / £117 / €131	AU$81 / US$86 / £53 / €59 ****
* Not rechargeable batteries (100hr battery life) ** Controller-car link. For the car-controller link used for simple lap timing: 8m. *** Controller can be wired to track power and battery box has recharge circuit. **** For the SCP-1 oXigen cartridge only. SCP-1f controller (without any cartridge) is about €60 (so SCP-1f controller and oXigen cartridge together is AU$159 / US£170 / £108 / €119).

PC interface (dongle)

So what about my opinion?

System Compatibility

If you already have a plastic track, this is of course an issue. oXigen works with Scalextric Sport Digital, but Scorpius doesn't unless you want to start re-building the lane changer pieces. As this Wireless technology is in its infancy, there is an amount of hacking and re-building so perhaps that is not an issue for those who are motivated to do it. For wooden tracks both manufacturers make electronics that allow you to flip the flippers and count laps. Easier to build in at the start, but not too difficult to retrofit.

Controllers

Both Scorpius and oXigen controller fit nicely in the hand. The Scorpius is more Parma-like and if you know the Slot.it SCP-1 controller then this is essentially the same.

Personally I like the clean super-light feel of the Scorpius controller, but the controls are a little more tricky to operate than on the oXigen controller Having a battery pack in your pocket is no biggie - you are still mobile to walk around the track. It may even be an advantage as the line may save the controller if dropped. The Scorpius controller needs a wrist lanyard to protect it from accidental drops.

I'd like to see a rechargeable battery in the Scorpius controller so one doesn't have to take it apart.

I'd like to see a better solution to the external antenna on the oXigen controller to prevent damage to the antenna.

Dongles

The 2 dongles both have issues. The current Scorpius one seems to lack transmit/reception power and doesn't work well with its case, and the Slot.it one is just too big.

Setting up the drivers for the dongles should be done when the software installs. I don't want to have to mess around with drivers in this day and age.

Cars

The car decoders worked well with no major issues on either system. The one small issue with Scorpius is the antenna placement. I had trouble and I notice on the forums some others have too. Once the antenna is away from the motor and the decoder itself, it will perform optimally.

Range

I did a very rough range check. Basically setting the cars to a fixed speed and then walking away from my track. How far can you go in a garage? So basically I went upstairs into my workshop then out the back door into the garden. Scorpius stopped in the workshop, Slot.it oXigen allowed me to get about 4 meters into the garden. So Oxigen has a better range than Scorpius, but essentially the two systems performed perfectly in the track room. I would say that both systems would work perfectly in a large room - the type used for the manufacturers endurance race at Gaydon.

Software

The current range of Scorpius tools are really for testing and debugging. You can run a simple race using the lap counter, but it is no RMS. We are waiting to see what Scorpius produce in that department. Questions have been asked on the forum. Suggestions have been given and if it can do most of that then it should be great. I'll update the review when that gets to me for testing.

The Slot.it software is still being developed. I saw a couple of different versions of the software and I think I helped them iron out a few bugs. As it stands it does the job of basic race management and I'm sure it will get better. The fact that PC Lap Counter will work with oXigen is a big bonus.

I would very much like to see a simple one-step installation process. Right now, both systems have separate driver and software installations. Upgrades to software, drivers, firmware etc. should be automatic by preference setting as are so many programs you get these days. Upgrades should automatically manage previous versions, installing or writing-over older versions as required.

Manuals

Scorpius have some manuals - you can get them now from their website. Unfortunately they are not very clear and need a little work. Slot.it doesn't have a manual yet, but they are working on documentation.

Quick set-up guides are needed. Searchable PC-based reference manuals would be great. Keeping all the documentation, FAQs, downloads in one place is essential.

The big question: It is all worth it?

Yes, in my opinion. I find that over the past month, I have shifted my driving position from the wired position to a little further away down the main straight. I am sure that it is by force of habit that I stick to the same side of the track though. It is handy being able to self-marshal and retrieve a crashed car on the other side of a track starting up again as soon as you re-slot the car then walk back to the driving position whilst driving.

Sure, in club scenarios it may be better to keep the drivers in one area and not have them running around the track, but I am sure if you gave a set of wireless controllers to a group of racers who had no experience on the track, they would choose different positions - or perhaps fight over the one best spot on the track ;-)

I chose to have a BLST track made by David Caille a few years ago with the intention of running it with Wireless. We tried to run the track on another well-known-brand digital system and it just didn't work. It has come unto it's own with Wireless and I am sure we will see more of these BLST tracks in the future now that we have not one, but two good, full featured wireless systems to choose from.

We will see developments in wireless, with other companies coming into the arena working with these two companies and developing their own products. I am sure that eventually Wireless digital control will go mainstream as have game console controllers and DCC train controllers. Watch this space.

Check out our Introduction to Wireless Digital control.

June/July 2011