[montoya1]

As there has never been a large permanent HO track in the UK until now there has also never been the need to think about how to divide the track up.

With the HONK track last autumn (and again for the HOGP on the 29th of this month) we simply extended our usual practice of placing the temporary markers alongside the track to 100 such markers instead of 20:

(Image shows 13/100th and 14/100ths)

Longer term I would like to do something better. The options seem to be:

Measuring one lane (a middle one?) and marking the track at those points
Marking each lane individually
Footages

Not really sure how the last one works, but could those with experience of the above comment on the pros and cons please?

 

[Slotracing Al]

Chris Frost's web site tels you all about those two options for marking the 1/00th of a lap.

 

[montoya1]

Thanks. One method is a lot more work of course.

It did occur to me a hybrid method might work, in other words 10%, 20% etc of the track would be marked off the quick and dirty way, with the 9 sections in between being done accurately.

One thing I have found interesting is that I was told that, in HO at least, any track without bridges will have a total difference from one lane to the next of just over 239mm, regardless of layout. Software for track planning seems to back this, so when people talk of lanes being different by 10' or more I wonder how they come up with that.

Any comments on footages? Do these use sensors around the track?

 

[300SLR]

QUOTE (montoya1 @ 20 Apr 2012, 17:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>One thing I have found interesting is that I was told that, in HO at least, any track without bridges will have a total difference from one lane to the next of just over 239mm, regardless of layout. Software for track planning seems to back this, so when people talk of lanes being different by 10' or more I wonder how they come up with that.
The 239mm lane differance is correct for a constant 38mm lane spacing.
To come up with the lane differance for any lane spacings, multiply the lane spacing by 2 x Pi (approx. 6.283)
On a 1/24 tracks (where lane spacings of 100mm or more are normal) that works out at a little over 2 ft per lane.
There are 5 lane spacings between the inside and outside lane of a 6 lane track.
So 10ft or more differance between the inside and outside lane is right for a 6 lane 1/24 tracks with no bridges.

 

[300SLR]

QUOTE (montoya1 @ 20 Apr 2012, 17:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks. One method is a lot more work of course.

It did occur to me a hybrid method might work, in other words 10%, 20% etc of the track would be marked off the quick and dirty way, with the 9 sections in between being done accurately.
If the lanes are all the same length, the equal length method isn't all that much more work.
With a no bridge track it is more work because 1/100 of a lap is a different length on each lane.

Dividing up the track into tenths first then dividing each tenth into hundredths is a good scheme.

I once saw somebody working out 1/100 of a lap, stepping round the track marking each hundredth as he went and finding he had only done 98 "hundredths" when he arrived back at the start.