Please help me to select a controller Options

[Biased turkey]

I have the Scalextric rally starter set and would like to purchase an aftermarket controller.
I run the cars with no magnets
The set comes with the Scalextric sport power base.
I would like a controller that produces low maximum speed

I have 3 controllers in mind:

Parma 217N7 Controller, 60 ohm, for Scalextric Sport and Ninco

Professor Motor PMTR2113 Scalextric Sport / Ninco home set controller

Professor Motor PMTR2119 Sport Semipro controller for Ninco & Scalextric Sport
It says :suitable for low voltage and no magnet cars.
If I purchase that one, is there an easy way to reduce the voltage of the Scalextric sport power base ?

Any suggestion is welcome

Jacques

[stoner]

theres a 12v dc-8amp dimmer switch with 2 input and 2 outputs, on[ebay] that could turn the voltage down [experts correct me please if i,m wrong], but at only £3 a pop inc p&p i,ve ordered one to find out. comes from china so should be 3 weeks. i think you just cut the power leads from the controllers and connect it in line. i need advice as well, so could you electrical guys give me a few pointers. john.

[Ember]

I love my Professor Motor baseline controller. It can be upgraded at a later date to variable braking and adjustable sensitivity. However, I rewired my track and dropped in a variable lab power supply. Best investment ever made and it will move with me to a bigger track if I ever find the room. I ditched the Scalex power track and wired the supply direct to track (with inline fuses included) and went for the PM2120 instead of the PM2113. Note, the rewiring means my track now runs the same as most commercial tracks (positive wiring rather than the negative of standard Scalex) and I can take my controller with me if I go elsewhere.

Instructions for wiring track can be found at Fergy's Place.

The variable power supply is possibly the very best investment you can make if you have kids using your track.

Embs

[stoner]

hy guys, you may think my enquirey to be a knobhead question, but there,s hundreds of you that know the answer. c,mon guys i only need one answer. john

[Petr L]

Hi, easy way to reduce the voltage is diode limiter.



I use 10 diodes on rotary switch:

[JCS100]

To put Stoner out of his misery, then the short answer is that it should work as described. The problem is the £3 tag from China does not inspire confidence, and the 50/50 outcome could well be a pop due to over voltage from the power base (@16v?) or the 8A rating measured to the Itchifanne standard.

For £3 suck it and see as they say………….

Cheers JCS100

[RichD]

You can't put that voltage regulator in the controller circuit, it has to be located between your regular power supply and everything else. With the modular system that plastic tracks use that is difficult. You can put diodes any place because they are passive, more like resistors. You need to be careful that you do not put diodes in a section of the wiring that is part of the brake circuit.

[Savage]

..... measured to the Itchifanne standard.

That made me laugh out loud

[stoner]

hy rich d, i dont fully understand your answer. ive got a chinese! 12v 20amp regulated switching power supply[used almost daily for 5years] so which line do i cut to fit the switch. cheers john.

[RichD]

I was really hoping to avoid a full lecture with this thread. The wiring system that modern plastic tracks use make it easy for a beginner because he only has to plug everything in and he is ready to go. The disadvantage to modular systems is that it becomes much more difficult to add upgraded aftermarket power supplies and controllers. With the Scalextric Sport system the thing that plugs into the wall is a simple transformer with an AC output. The AC from the wallwart is converted to DC in the power base. The controllers are connected to the power base and there are no exposed wires to be tampered with. If you try to lower the track voltage by plugging the wallwart into an AC dimmer of some sort you could burn it out because some dimmers do not have a sine wave output. If the device that you want to use is DC then it has to be connected to the DC output of the power base, but ahead of the controllers. In order to do that you would have to open up the power base and do some surgery on it. If you have a complete regulated power supply you can connect that to the power base in place of the wallwart. The voltage output of the power supply would be higher than what you will get at the track because there is a voltage drop across the rectifiers in the power base. If the aftermarket power supply is good for more than a couple of amps the rectifiers in the power base could burn out if you run cars with powerful motors or had a short in the track. If you use a device that is simply a voltage regulator it would need to be connected to a plus and minus DC source, not in the controller circuit. The positive side of the power supply goes directly to the right hand hand track rails track rails looking in the direction of travel. The negative side of the power supply is connected to the controller circuit which includes the controller wiper and resistor and ends up at the left hand track rail for each lane.

[stoner]

thanks rich d. it needs to go in the positive conection to the track, right? ive got a diagram to by pass the power base and hardwire every thing for a controller plug connection, cos i,m fed up soldering wires to the circuit in the ninco power base. john

[RichD]

It? Our tracks are wired like this.


Plastic tracks come wired this way.


If you had a DC voltage regulator the input side of it would be connected to plus and minus from the power supply and the output of the regulator would be connected to plus and minus as shown in both diagrams. A voltage regulator is an active device, it requires plus and minus connections to work. Diodes can be used to drop the voltage in 0.7 volt steps and those are passive, like resistors, so you can put them in series any place in the curcuit. The reason for putting them in the part of the circuit that goes to the controller resistor is because they would not also be in the brake circuit. Actually you could build the diodes into your controller.

[stoner]

heartfelt thanks rich. for taking the time and effort for the diagrams and the clear explanation, that even i can understand. now to copy it all in my black book.[printers out of ink] cheers john.

[stoner]

oops!! double post

[beneke]

Hi,

I would go for the Parma 60 Ohm economy controller,and keep the power supply standard. The controller has a brake that can be wired into circuit if you wish.The brake stops the car quickly when the throttle is released.As far as I know the Scalex controller is also 60ohm but has no brake.
I have wired a switch in series with the brake wire which allows me to race with brakes or without brakes..sounds dangerous but it is dependant on the car.Scalex cars with strong magnets do not normally require a brake to slow down quickly.

I find Parma to be reliable and sturdy and if they do need repairing it is quite easy as the controller is simple to disassemble and reassemble.The resistor barrel can also be changed with one of a another value.
The way I understand it is that lower values of resistor barrels(45 Ohm,25Ohm etc) are meant for use on larger layouts with longer straights
Regards
Bryan in SA