SlotForum banner

Analog tyco HO lane changer.

4K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  Slotcardan 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
One experiment lead to another...

Modified tyco NASCAR showdown set, switched to AC power.
440x2 cars modified with diodes to run on AC power.

2 ghost cars, 1 passing car setup, one lane change section.



Fun times.
 
#3 ·
I'm guessing you can't - not without making HO Digital. I assume both ghost cars are running at the same constant voltage (no reason why you couldn't make it 3 or 4 cars!) - just like sticking multiple cars on the same lane on an existing ho track. Then the controller runs the one 'live' car.

Looks fun! How do the Tyco turn-offs work? Been interested in setting a pitlane up, but after inspiration how to automate things.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
You can configure this track a few ways.

2 drivers and one ghost car is possible. i have not made a proper ghost car yet. but i will explain.
2 drivers and two ghost cars are also possible.

A proper ghost car would use a full wave bridge rectifier to suck power from both player cars because the track allows for lane changing it is possible for both ghost cars to not hang up on each other.
so the ghost car would take power from both player cars and it would require re-gearing to slow it down. 2 reasons: 1) you want the car to act as a blocker 2) since the car can suck power from both player cars it is possible for the ghost car to have an overvolt situation and run faster then both player cars. to compensate you need to gear the ghost car much lower then the player car. this would also force the ghost cars to maintain lanes and prevent collisions.

this track can also be configured for 4 players you would lose the lane changing and the pit areas would then become passing lanes. in this case game play would be more complex, you could also add cross over tracks and squeeze tracks.
for 2 players each full lane can be a passing lane is only 2 cars exist on the track then you can be in the lane opposite the other car and treat it as a passing lane.

It works pretty much like the larger scale analog lane change cars except there is no flapper for the lane changer or a plunger used to select a lane.

there are problems obviously with power, load balancing becomes an issue on the track. its not perfect. A digital system for HO scale would be needed to take it further .

The turns offs are from the Hotwheels Nascar showdown set and were originally used as pit lanes. a similar setup was used with an electronic lap counter that also uses pit lane turn offs.
Inside the entrance track slot there is a plastic hump. as the cars speed up they jump over the hump and there is a landing ramp on the other side just passed the turn offs. so you go fast and the car jumps slightly and continues straight. if you slow down the car does not jump and falls into the slot for the turn off.

the original track needed modification to work smoother i had to fill in all the imperfections on the section to allow the guide pin to travel smoothly.

the cars have each been modified, in addition to electrical changes i replaced the original metal guide pins with Plastic to lower the wear on the track surface and prevent deformation of the special turnoff tracks

the more ghost cars the more a nightmare it becomes if you have 4 players there is no ghost car. 2 players you could run 1 or 2 ghost cars.

if a digital system came out for 1:64 HO more could be done with PC interface.

i never saw a set like this done in HO 1:64 scale so i figured why not. I know faller did have a 4 player porsche set with passing lane setup but i never saw one with a true lane change function like this. it might exist i just never saw one. I also wanted to see what was possible with off the shelf track parts.

nothing has been damaged so you can easily convert back to DC power and just run as a traditional slot car set.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top