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Product preview by Doug Teggin
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The SCX Digital System has
been around for a year now and has been available for a couple of
months in Spain.
Apparently SCX wanted
to test the system in the public arena before doing a worldwide
release. I asked if the test was a success and if they had decided
on changing anything after their tests. Luca Porcellati of
TecniToys, explained that the test were fine and that they had
modified some elements of the lane change mechanism on the track.
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SCX Digital System is not an accessory, or a track...it is a new car-racing system, based entirely on digital technology:
· Smart Cars: the technology is in the car, not in the track.
· Multiple Racing: racing with up to 6 cars on a single 2-lane tracks.
· ChangeOver Lanes: switch to/from any one lane by simply pressing a button.
· Racing Information: constant display of racing positions of cars
Click on the images to enlarge.
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As we've seen, the lane changing is achieved on straight pieces with
each piece allowing either lane to switch over. The car has a
solenoid that actuates a lever, depressing a piece of plastic on the
guide and basically making it deeper thus moving the point and
switching lanes.
The cars are smart: a memory chip placed inside them allows the Cars to be programmed to operate with one of the controllers
connected to the Digital Power Base by following a few programming
steps. This configuration will remain stored unless the Car is re-programmed, even if the Car has been left undisturbed for weeks: once it is put back onto the
track it will recall to what controller from the Digital Power Base
it was last programmed. To facilitate rapid identification, it will
be possible to stick adhesive labels to each Car.
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Luca Porcellati of TecniToys (middle)
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The Digital Lap Counter displays the racing position for each one of the 3 cars at every
lap (this Digital Lap Counter can
be enlarged up to 6 positions) as well as the winning car at the end
of each game. Also, a desired number of laps can be set for each
game, up to a maximum of 999 laps, counting either up or down.
This accessory turns on its base in order to give maximum visibility from
any point of the track set.
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The Digital Power Base, it is capable of programming up to 3 cars and has 3 programming buttons available:
· Red Button: to program the Car to operate with a Controller;
· Blue Button: to enable/disable the Xenon Lights; and
· Yellow Button: to set the Speed, Expert for experienced drivers and Junior for novice & young drivers.
If more than 3 cars are raced it will be necessary to use 2 Digital Power Bases: a Primary Power Base (connected to the Terminal Track) and a Secondary Power Base (connected to the Primary Power Base by means of a cable and joined to a Standard Straight).
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The Digital Controllers, channel the bi-directional flow of information between the Digital Power Base and the Cars. They incorporate a special button, the Change Button, for changing lanes and have been ergonomically designed. The Digital Controllers are plugged into the Digital Power Base by means of phone-like connecting cables (RJ11 6-4) and the Digital Power Base and Digital Lap Counter are joined directly to their respective track sections, without the need for cables.
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Right, Shunting situation.
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The demo was very frantic with racing
with up to 6 cars on a single 2-lane tracks.
The Crash Barrier System (Washington-style) provides better protection for the track set and it is made up of two elements, a horizontal piece recreating the border and a vertical one to prevent cars from coming off the track.
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Oops! This happened quite often. The kind SCX marshals helped us
learner-drivers. One time, one of the bosses picked up my car and
just walked off with it - so informal and game-like was the demo
that no one imagined that anybody would be trying to race with these
things.
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Contents of SCX Digital System
TRACK SET - SCX DIGITAL SYSTEM
CONTENTS
3 Cars
3 Electronic Controllers
1 Digital Power Base
1 Digital Lap Counter
1 Electronic Transformer
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Contents of SCX Digital System Range
CARSSCX DIGITAL SYSTEM
1 Audi TT-R “Tomczyk”
1 Opel Astra V8 Coupé “Mücke”
1 Mercedes CLK DTM “Dumbreck”
ACCESSORIESSCX DIGITAL SYSTEM
Digital Power Base
Digital System Lap Counter Expansion Module
Digital System Standard Straight 360 mm (2)
Digital System Standard Curve (2)
Digital System Straight 180 mm (2)
Digital System ChangeOver Lane
Digital System Border with Barrier Standard Curve (2)
Digital System Tapering Border with Barrier (2+2)
Digital System Electronic Controller
Digital System Electronic Controller (18V)
Digital System Guide with Fitted Braids (3)
Digital System Power Bases Connecting Cable
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More info at:
www.scalextricdigitalsystem.com |
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Doug Teggin
January 2004 |
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