Scalextric are bringing out two sizes of board, the smaller will be fine for the minis I am sure.
First to fry? (or POP went my sensor)
I think I just won a competition I didn't want to enter and became the first to fry a SSD sensor chip
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Along the way I can confirm that I was able to take the SSD circuitry from one of the hideous porsche boxters in the 'lane change challenge' (or is that 'lame name challenge?') and put it in a Scalextric Mini.
Removing the controller chip was the trickiest part as it is glued onto the boxter mount. I ended up breaking the mounts to get it out. The sensor chip was easier. Its held in place by melted plastic blobs. I just scratched at them with a tiny flat bladed screwdriver until they broke away. Then I unsoldered all the wires noting which side red and black went.
I mounted the tiny sensor board in the Mini's button magnet hole by rotating it 90º from its orientation in the Porsche. A dab of CA on the magnet mount rim was all that was needed.
Unfortunately this placed it right between the terminals of metal strips that run from the guide where I soldered the wires from the controller board. This would later prove to be my undoing. I soldered the wires from the board to the mount points on the motor and was ready to test...
.. and it worked!
At this point I was just testing it with the chassis but around it went changing lanes like a trooper. And then the lights flickered and dimmed and it stopped. I pushed it to the track and it started again. It stopped again. I fettled with the braids. It was off again! It stopped again.
I figured it was a contact problem so I had another look and realised that one of the metal strips that run from the guide wasn't contacting the braid securely, so I pushed it back straight then went back to the track.
BANG! Smell of burning circuitry. Uh-oh. Pull trigger. It goes! The lights stay on. It doesn't stop... and it doesn't change lane anymore. Bugger!
Seems when I pushed the metal thing back straight I also pushed another (bare) wire against the sensor board and it made contact. Oops.
For a while I had a digital Mini. Sort of. I tried fitting the car body just to watch it go round and quickly realised that the controller circuit wouldn't clear the interior. The only place I could see it fitting would be right by the motor which would require longer wires. I took out the interior and took it round a few laps anyway. Hope they get the retro-fit chips in soon.
Along the way I can confirm that I was able to take the SSD circuitry from one of the hideous porsche boxters in the 'lane change challenge' (or is that 'lame name challenge?') and put it in a Scalextric Mini.
Removing the controller chip was the trickiest part as it is glued onto the boxter mount. I ended up breaking the mounts to get it out. The sensor chip was easier. Its held in place by melted plastic blobs. I just scratched at them with a tiny flat bladed screwdriver until they broke away. Then I unsoldered all the wires noting which side red and black went.
I mounted the tiny sensor board in the Mini's button magnet hole by rotating it 90º from its orientation in the Porsche. A dab of CA on the magnet mount rim was all that was needed.
Unfortunately this placed it right between the terminals of metal strips that run from the guide where I soldered the wires from the controller board. This would later prove to be my undoing. I soldered the wires from the board to the mount points on the motor and was ready to test...
.. and it worked!
At this point I was just testing it with the chassis but around it went changing lanes like a trooper. And then the lights flickered and dimmed and it stopped. I pushed it to the track and it started again. It stopped again. I fettled with the braids. It was off again! It stopped again.
I figured it was a contact problem so I had another look and realised that one of the metal strips that run from the guide wasn't contacting the braid securely, so I pushed it back straight then went back to the track.
BANG! Smell of burning circuitry. Uh-oh. Pull trigger. It goes! The lights stay on. It doesn't stop... and it doesn't change lane anymore. Bugger!
Seems when I pushed the metal thing back straight I also pushed another (bare) wire against the sensor board and it made contact. Oops.
For a while I had a digital Mini. Sort of. I tried fitting the car body just to watch it go round and quickly realised that the controller circuit wouldn't clear the interior. The only place I could see it fitting would be right by the motor which would require longer wires. I took out the interior and took it round a few laps anyway. Hope they get the retro-fit chips in soon.
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