Does a club need digital?, Interesting question... Options

[moped rider]

sorry, but why does a club want digital, WHO said they wanted it?

Clearly a question from a club racer to all club racers.

Only club racers can really answer this.


Moped

[jonny s]

We do! That doesn`t mean that club racing as we know it has to or will change but looking at the boys over the water,it looks like more people can be involved and that`s got to be good. Waiting for a race in a club with a big membetrship is a problem so anything to give more time on the track is in my mind a good thing. It isn`t and doesn`t have to be for everyone but it`ll be good to have more choice.

[GRAH1]

NOT REQUIRED BY CLUBS ,Certainly not ours you can have enough carnage without the problem of lane changing,digital will only drive people away , asthere nice new scaley f1s etc would soon be reduced to a pile of rubble, certainly if any of the clubs I visit insisted on using digital I would not be intrested in racing there again. What Moped fails to take into account in his crusade to convert every one to digital is that club racing is much faster than anything he can attain at home on his kitchen floor . If moped would like to see how fast, I say just cast your memory back to the yellow porsche at wrexham and double it , Speeds at slot tech have soared over the last 12 months Even a slow magnet car does sub six second and I have done sub 4 so I wouldnt like to try chosing and changing lanes at that speed , So certainly in our case digital would be a no no , at home with the kids where its not serious probably a bit of fun ,

[moped rider]

For successful clubs with an ever expanding membership digital will be a godsend. No doubt about it.

OK, you may only be switching across 2 lanes currently with proprietory systems but that should not prevent 18 cars running on 3 x 2 lanes at a club (or 12 cars on a 2 x 2 lane circuit). There would still be the need for lane colours though but only 3 colours rather than 6 or 2 rather than 4.

Where are all the drivers going to line up?

And with 12 or 18 cars on the circuit at a time marshalling could be very interesting!

Has anybody ever marshalled a 12 or 18 car pile up?

My guess is the race would stop at this point.

By this time next year of course many of us will have more experiance.

GRAH1 has just posted. Speed will not be the be all and end all when digital is implemented. Guile and strategy will be big factors and that will require some thought during the race action. Anything that reduces the need for outright speed at clubs can only be a good thing leveling out the playing field.


Moped

[astro]

As some-one who is gradually being drawn into clubs, I must say I am impressed with the variety of clubs, from hardcore BRSCA clubs with huge rules, wooden no-mag tracks and apparently scratch built cars, through to enthusiasts clubs running more recognisable cars, to maybe pheonix, running on a more popular & commercial basis than some.

I am looking forwards to there being digital circuits on a scale unacheivable size and expense wise at home. I will definately try them! Whether I go again will depend on the distance/fun equation

[Wankel Ickx]

Sorry, promised myself I'd stay out of Moped's bizarre posts but can't help but choke on this one.

For successful clubs with an ever expanding membership digital will be a godsend. No doubt about it.

You should put, IMHO after that one. I doubt it very muchly.

And you hit the nail on the head with where are all the drivers going to line up. Where indeed? Most clubs that I've seen are pushed for space. They ain't got room for 18 smelly individuals trailing their wires about.

Eighteen on track? That's a lot of carnage. You're going to need two marshalls per corner to cope with the pile ups. Assuming (assuming, I said assuming) the average club track has five corners or so that's another ten punters. My, this is a popular club ain't it? I mean, they're all crammed in like sardines, they're crashing like bumper cars but no one seems to mind.

Saving the best 'til last...

Speed will not be the be all and end all when digital is implemented.

Oh, my. You best tell Minardi that all they need do is have a better strategy come race day!

[GRAH1]

GRAH1 has just posted. Speed will not be the be all and end all when digital is implemented. Guile and strategy will be big factors and that will require some thought during the race action. Anything that reduces the need for outright speed at clubs can only be a good thing leveling out the playing field.

Are you now unable to read english mope thats nothing like what I wrote

[Difflock]

I think tha moped was just stating that GRAH1 had just posted a reply. Then mope went on to say all that stuff.


Speed is life at least most combat pilots have that opinion!


Mark.

[astro]

very diplomatic, diff!!! maybe we will never know

[Scott]

Does a club need digital?

No

For successful clubs with an ever expanding membership...

Why is more and more members a sign of success? For most clubs (Golf, tennis, Goodwood, etc) a cap on memberships is required to maintain the quaility of experience for the existing members.

Anything that reduces the need for outright speed at clubs can only be a good thing leveling out the playing field.

Only if you don't like racing. Any race, with any type of cars on any type of track, will require speed to do well. Anything else is, well, railway modelling with cars. Fine if that's what you like and impressive if done well, but never the same as racing.

[moped rider]

Why is more and more members a sign of success? For most clubs (Golf, tennis, Goodwood, etc) a cap on memberships is required to maintain the quaility of experience for the existing members.

That sounds a bit elitist. I thought slot car clubs were attempting to move away from that sort of thing?

On the other hand the clubs mentioned above charge a membership of £10000 per year of more. Just imagine the sort of slot car club you would expect to join for that fee!

I agree with Wankel on the space issues.

Given that a club has a room then every clubs aim appears to be to fill the room with the maximum amount of track possible and the club forget that members then have to then enter the room, breath and race at the same time! So a club with little circulation space clearly could benefit from digital by downsizing the circuit from 6 lane to a 4 lane and at the same time permitting 12 members to race at a time.


Moped

[Scott]

The sociologists can give the details, but I think human nature is inclined to small groupings. As summed up so eloquently by Peter Gabriel, “there's safety in numbers - when we learn to divide”.

Which is to say, whilst being a lone slot car fan can be socially risky, to be part of a club is great. To be part of a big club will lead to internal divisions, at worst disenfranchised, disinterested members.

I think Jonny summed it up well when he pointed out that anything which can reduce waiting or non-track time is good, but he has the hard earned benefit of 20-30 folk per night. One club near here has just five regulars and my own fraternities have between eight and 15. We could easily do more external promotion, but no one seems that keen to do it.

The simple truth is that if you introduce more than one or two new people at a time the whole atmosphere in the room changes as the group absorbs the newcomers. Add five or ten and the whole social dynamic has been destroyed, possibly irrevocably. It is not physical space for more members that is the limiting factor, but ego space.

Also, big clubs need more running, more time and bring more hassle (right Jonny?). It’s nothing slot specific, just humans being. Digital will not change that.

[McLaren]

That sounds a bit elitist

I am charging to you the bill for the repair of the blood vessel which has just burst in my brain.

Elitist?!?!?! That's the whole stinkin' point! What compotition is not elitist?

I expect to see your letter to the Olympic Committee, telling them how they can introduce newcomers, and make it easier for the less talented to win (ie. levelling the playing field).

That is outragous! The best should win, every time. Now, I hate it as much as the next man that Schumacher wins every race, but I wouldn't want him handicapped (well, maybe...) so that others could win. That would be insulting to his competitors.

I, for one, would never like to compete in a non-elitest race, where a person is chosen at random and they achieve maximum points. Why would you? It's a bloddy raffle!

Think about it: Compotition = Elitist

Look up their respective definitions in the dictionary. You might be surprised.

McLaren

[astro]

<<< gets Mclaren a dictionary with the correct spelling of 'compotition' (sic) in it

only kidding - I agree with the sentiment - although I think the elitist isn't about who wins, but who is allowed to compete.

[RussGB]

This digital stuff is causing so many arguments! I wish it had never been invented!

Ok, clubs come in many shapes and sizes. SO because you race for club A doesn't mean you know what is good for clubs b and c and so on...


For us digital would be useless. We manage multiple people by specifiying the divisions before social dynamix (a bloke in Asterix books right?) causes them. Examples? on the road course we have two leagues. One costs a lot becuase there are six classes and quite a lot of mods allowed. Its by invitiation only. There are 18 people who race, but not everyone shows up so it is usually 12-15 racers. They start at 9:00pm Friday nights. The next league is four classes of near box stock cars. Lots of people. We divided into two divisions. Div B runs first with Div A guys running the races, then they swap. Around 14 people are in div A and 15 -20 in B. They run on Fridays at 7:30. Drag racers run on Sunday afternoons (or they will do starting in a few weeks), Womps will run on the oval on Saturdays at 3:00.

Races on the road course are crash and burn, with a master kill switch. Marshalling on the turns sucks, and takes too many people. C&B alleviates this need.

18 people in one race - bloody stupid unless you wnat a demolition derby and also want to completely intimidate new people. If I wnated to have full control of the car with lots of people, I would switch to mini R/C and save the expense of a large full time track system.

We are a big club (about 140 altogether), and we get at best 1 new racer every week or 2. When it gets too big we'll split divisions again.

Elitist - yes, you have to earn your way to the top, just like the Olympics. ANyone can join, practice, race until they get to the top and/or reach their limit of abilities.

Elitist - No, we don't cap our membership, or charge high fees (we don't charge at all except for a very small race fee).

I think the definitions of elitism in earlier posts are confused. the Olympics and F1 are not elitist per se. They are the top rungs of a very long ladder which (technically) anyone could climb.

Posh tennis and golf clubs where you have to buy or arse-kiss your way in irrespective of your golfing ability or tennis skills are elitist.

If you are saying that your club is big enough and can't handle more people without compromising the benefits to the members, find a way to grow, or help those who can't join to replicate what you have. Of course you could just say "i've got it like I want it, and sod everyone else" In which case you are like the expensive sport clubs only without the class and money. You would still be a snob....

I am not accusing anyone. All I am saying is if you are having fun, then share it. Expand your club, or help others form their own.