[stmterrace]

Hi Guys and Gals,
I will start off with an apology, I am new to this digital lark having returned to scalextric after a "Grown Up" break but now with two sons who both want to race and obviously a Dad that dosent want to miss out on all the fun. I have done various searches on the forum and picked up snippets that have been a great help but do just to ask a couple of questions that have been asked before but none of the answers are clear enough fo an electronics dummy like me.

I fully understand that digital cars will run on analogue powerbase and that analogue will not run on digital 4 car powerbase but as we have a number of analogue cars we wish to run and the cost of chiping ever car is out of the question plus a number of AutoArt rally cars which we dont want to bash the hell out of we would like to be able to have various options.
I have built a track that can be lifted by two people on an 8x4 board using a number of 2nd hand sets including a digital set which includes a straight lane change and the original plan was to remove the end bend and replace the powerbase as to which ever system we want to use. This went well until fitting powertaps which off course to the experts completly screws up this idea.
What I would like to be able to do is wire in both bases onto a single piece of track with a switch that can isolate the bases from each other and the track something like a normal electric switch dont want to mess around with lots of soldering and circuit boards. The power taps I assume I could do something similar or try to do without them.
Now with all these things it is down to cost and knowledge I know that the latest 6 car base can be run in both modes but at around £100 quid I dont think we can justify this and obviously at about £9/£10 per chip and the problem converting some cars again puts this out a bit. Knowledge is the next problem I have a basic grasp of wiring etc but really dont want to work on the poke and hope system in case I blow up someting expensive.
I have read various posts about various options but they are a lille beyond my basic know-how so please explain in simple terms if there are any options that may be of help.

The other issue is lap counting/race management again I know the option is included with the newest powerbase and that there are various options on the analogue system, we have a standard analogue battery powered lap counter but this is a little limited and off course is no good for the digital. i have a spare netbook that i would like to hook up with a larger wall mounted display so that everyone can see what is happening. Again cost is an issue here so I dont really want to splash out on a digital lapcounter if I can hook it up to the netbook of save it up for the 6 car powerbase. I have seen various free software RMS systems on this forum but the problem is linking up with an interface.

I hope that this dosent sound to stupid or impossible.
I havent worked out how to post pics of the layout yet so cant help you at the mo .

Kind regards and a Happy New Year to you all

 

[sealevel]

Dave Chang's new book on Digital Slot Racing has instructions on how to do this as well as several other posts on this forum.
I have been looking for one done by another member that I cannot find (see my link below in my signature).

I am sure you will get lots of replies on this as this topic has come up several times recently.
FYI, you can use a digital PB for lap counting/times while DISCONNECTING the digital power connections to the track and using an analogue PB for the power ONLY. This is what I plan to do (wish I could find the other member's posting on this...)

Or just swap out the digital PB track and insert an analogue one to avoid wiring.

Good luck!
Cheers!

 

[stmterrace]

Cheers Sealevel I have ordered the book anyway as Im sure there is plenty of other stuff that will be of use.

I have no worries about unplugging the power supplies and the lane changer is not using any other additional power and if I add another changer it will be another straight not a curved one so the need to cut any ribbon cable is not needed.
Is there a simpler system which does away with the relay system and just uses a simple plug in for analogue/unplug analogue/plug in digital.

My idea which may very well be flawed is as shown on this link as far as I can see if everything is switched seperatly then it should be ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The thing that I am unsure about is the Brown capacitor used to bridge the lanes on the bowerbase and the positioning of that.
Im assuming that the relay as used in the other posts does the clever stuff without all my silly wiring.

https://picasaweb.google.com/10759535867325...293613630818834

The idea was to have some sort of connection board hidden in a pit building and then plug in the correct cables using similar plugs to banana plugs for speaker systems.

Like I said I have a limited knowledge in these things but I am intrested in the actual workings of these things

 

[sealevel]

Your diagram has two flaws in it that I can see.

Firstly, it assumes lanes 1 and 2 are bridged for power when using digital (which will not work with analogue).

Secondly, it shows both PBs connected to the track by switches and if the switches are not set properly (I would assume you are conscientious enough to not let this happen... but other users?) they COULD receive power back down the lines from the other PB. This can blow the PB that is NOT powered, even if not plugged in.

I found the other member (DaveKP) who has wiring diagrams and pics of his dual power on a budget layout. I would suggest reading his thread (link to DaveKP thread) to make sure all is done correctly. You should only need ONE switch to go from digital to analogue and back which will prevent "accidents" from happening.

Good luck!

Cheers!