Yeah, PB-Pro C7030 units aren't worth a tenth of the APB any more. I have two, and I only use one when the analog club comes around, as it's the only one that works with the RMS they use. The other is an overpriced Car ID tool for off-track car programming.
Geo Jr. Speedway
Hello Everyone,
You may know me from my briefcase track with 1/87 scale cars I was working on some time ago. Well, I'm still working on it and hope to maybe finish it off sometime soon. But in the meantime, I have been looking up at the incredibly high ceiling we have in our garage and thinking about a track that I could lower down. I have done some extensive research on the site, and having a winch system to lower it down looks pretty doable, but before I even start to amass the items to build it, I have a couple questions I'm hoping you kind folks can help me with.
Let me tell you first what I have decided.
I want the track to be digital, and I am thinking routed with embedded Scaley or Carrera lane changers (unless there is some way to put the changer hardware into routed pieces. I did some digging on the forum and this doesn't seem to easy).
I think think I can squeeze out a 6' x 14' track area if I have a connection in the middle. Only 6' x 12' without the connection.
As this thing will be hanging from my ceiling, weight is an issue, so right now I am contemplating using 1/4"MDF laminated with 1/2" pink insulation foam, which I plan to test out soon with some I have sitting around my garage. The track will probably lower down on to some folding tables and will somehow be fastened down to them to keep the track steady.
On to the questions...
I have seen on the forum where someone made a track entirely out of insulation foam (Expanded Polystyrene) as a kind of temporary track, but has anyone tried laminating MDF to pink foam as a light weight alternative? It seems like I would be stuck without elevation with this idea, which I am not excited about. Any good ideas how to have elevations with with this?
I really love the look of the 1/24 scale cars, so I would like to run those in addition to 1/32. Can I do this using standard Scaley lane changers? Is 6' x 14' even big enough to run 1/24 scale cars well or am I just dreaming? Please remember I want to run digital.
So many people seem to go with Scalextric, but is Carrera a good option here? How easy is it to chip cars from other manufacturers with Carrera chips? I definitely like the Scaley controllers better, as controlling the cars with my thumbs seems awkward at best. I will be stuck with cheap controllers at first as I am trying to keep costs at spouse approved levels.
Regarding the winch and mounting it to my ceiling, most of the systems I have seen have been electric winches. Anybody have some ideas for a poor man's manual version? I have some hoists for bikes already in my garage, maybe adapting some of those? The only problem I could see is that it would be difficult to keep the boards level while lowering, especially since I would need two hoists in a row for each side of the track. They also are only good for 50lbs per hoist. Here is a pic...
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Many thanks in advance for your help.
Heath
You may know me from my briefcase track with 1/87 scale cars I was working on some time ago. Well, I'm still working on it and hope to maybe finish it off sometime soon. But in the meantime, I have been looking up at the incredibly high ceiling we have in our garage and thinking about a track that I could lower down. I have done some extensive research on the site, and having a winch system to lower it down looks pretty doable, but before I even start to amass the items to build it, I have a couple questions I'm hoping you kind folks can help me with.
Let me tell you first what I have decided.
I want the track to be digital, and I am thinking routed with embedded Scaley or Carrera lane changers (unless there is some way to put the changer hardware into routed pieces. I did some digging on the forum and this doesn't seem to easy).
I think think I can squeeze out a 6' x 14' track area if I have a connection in the middle. Only 6' x 12' without the connection.
As this thing will be hanging from my ceiling, weight is an issue, so right now I am contemplating using 1/4"MDF laminated with 1/2" pink insulation foam, which I plan to test out soon with some I have sitting around my garage. The track will probably lower down on to some folding tables and will somehow be fastened down to them to keep the track steady.
On to the questions...
I have seen on the forum where someone made a track entirely out of insulation foam (Expanded Polystyrene) as a kind of temporary track, but has anyone tried laminating MDF to pink foam as a light weight alternative? It seems like I would be stuck without elevation with this idea, which I am not excited about. Any good ideas how to have elevations with with this?
I really love the look of the 1/24 scale cars, so I would like to run those in addition to 1/32. Can I do this using standard Scaley lane changers? Is 6' x 14' even big enough to run 1/24 scale cars well or am I just dreaming? Please remember I want to run digital.
So many people seem to go with Scalextric, but is Carrera a good option here? How easy is it to chip cars from other manufacturers with Carrera chips? I definitely like the Scaley controllers better, as controlling the cars with my thumbs seems awkward at best. I will be stuck with cheap controllers at first as I am trying to keep costs at spouse approved levels.
Regarding the winch and mounting it to my ceiling, most of the systems I have seen have been electric winches. Anybody have some ideas for a poor man's manual version? I have some hoists for bikes already in my garage, maybe adapting some of those? The only problem I could see is that it would be difficult to keep the boards level while lowering, especially since I would need two hoists in a row for each side of the track. They also are only good for 50lbs per hoist. Here is a pic...
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Heath
1 - 20 of 501 Posts
As long as the blades are sharp and you go really slow, then take the rails out and clean up the burrs from both the metal and plastic, it should be fine. While you're at it, do some metal and plastic work to widen the slot at each end so that cars transitioning from wood to plastic won't slam into the end of the plastic track's rails. A taper on the entry back to wood wouldn't hurt, either.
As for resale value, is that really a consideration? Are you not planning to paint the track, then? Your nice routed track will look kind of silly with black plastic where the lane changers are. Plus, you're lengthening the amount of space needed for the lane changer, by adding bits on at each end.
If you can route the slots to match up with a full piece of plastic in the wood, then you can certainly route them to match up with only part of the plastic track in the wood, plus you gain so much more flexibility with the slot after the flipper, and how much room you need for the run up to the lane changer after the prior turn. I'm not going to claim it's easy. I haven't done either. But I don't see how it would be harder to do it this way than not. Measure twice/thrice, cut/route once.
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As for resale value, is that really a consideration? Are you not planning to paint the track, then? Your nice routed track will look kind of silly with black plastic where the lane changers are. Plus, you're lengthening the amount of space needed for the lane changer, by adding bits on at each end.
If you can route the slots to match up with a full piece of plastic in the wood, then you can certainly route them to match up with only part of the plastic track in the wood, plus you gain so much more flexibility with the slot after the flipper, and how much room you need for the run up to the lane changer after the prior turn. I'm not going to claim it's easy. I haven't done either. But I don't see how it would be harder to do it this way than not. Measure twice/thrice, cut/route once.
If you'd like to fit all your cars with SureChange guides and the appropriate chips with the LED on leads, then that'll be fine.
If not, then some more reworking would be in order. The original one was fine, except for how long in advance a pit entrance would need to be planned. Here is how I think Marcel was suggesting the earlier plan be arranged:
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I also think this works better than the latest iteration, if only because the location of a lane changer IN a turn REQUIRES that all your cars are modified with a SureChange guide as previously mentioned. But also, the lane changer locations are spread about more evenly, and in what I believe to be effective locations.
Actually, now that I look at it, the XLC parallel with the pit should be one full straight sooner, or removed. I put the APB in last, and wasn't paying attention to where that lane changer was.
If not, then some more reworking would be in order. The original one was fine, except for how long in advance a pit entrance would need to be planned. Here is how I think Marcel was suggesting the earlier plan be arranged:
I also think this works better than the latest iteration, if only because the location of a lane changer IN a turn REQUIRES that all your cars are modified with a SureChange guide as previously mentioned. But also, the lane changer locations are spread about more evenly, and in what I believe to be effective locations.
Actually, now that I look at it, the XLC parallel with the pit should be one full straight sooner, or removed. I put the APB in last, and wasn't paying attention to where that lane changer was.
It's really hard to tell from the photo... is the lane changer embedded into the table surface, then? Great place to start. Once you get all the lane changers embedded, you just need to connect up the slots with some nice, smooth, routed slots.
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Just be sure not to get too creative with the gently curving slots prior to a lane changer.
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2
The board will only fit in the piece one way. Either it fits, or it doesn't. Then, just solder the wires to the rails. The polarity doesn't matter because it has a rectifier bridge on the board. The pin/bar in the solenoid is supposed to be able to come out, so just put it back in, and it should work fine. The trickiest bit, actually, is getting those little hooks on the solenoid pins to line up with the black plastic thing that moves the flipper. Once those are all in place again, get that back cover on before they come out again.
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Oh, and you should NOT need to do anything with the solenoid wiring. You literally need only move the parts over to the new entrance (old exit) piece and fit them in. The only wiring to worry about is the power wires that soldered to the rails. Get it all back together and test the functionality connected right to the power base with a single car running across. If the flipper works the wrong way (flips when you meant to go straight, straight when you meant to change), then just open it back up and physically swap the actual solenoids to the other side of the track from where they were. Make sure none of the little wires are being pinched, and reassemble.
Oh, and you should NOT need to do anything with the solenoid wiring. You literally need only move the parts over to the new entrance (old exit) piece and fit them in. The only wiring to worry about is the power wires that soldered to the rails. Get it all back together and test the functionality connected right to the power base with a single car running across. If the flipper works the wrong way (flips when you meant to go straight, straight when you meant to change), then just open it back up and physically swap the actual solenoids to the other side of the track from where they were. Make sure none of the little wires are being pinched, and reassemble.
1 - 20 of 501 Posts
