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Geo Jr. Speedway

79012 Views 500 Replies 43 Participants Last post by  Ade, 
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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...


Many thanks in advance for your help.

Heath
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Ade
Hi
Yes same track piece,and Yes again the psu will fit the C7042apb.


The apb does not come with a psu when purchased new but a used one might have one included.
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Hi
Although it limits you to fewer race management programs the pbpro can still be used on ssdc and I think pclapcounter has support for it as well.


But development for it is now at a dead end and if it is just a pbpro unit I would give it a miss as it needs the s/h power mod to make it any good for the serious racer.
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Looking goid Heath,the extra little outlay for conductive backing is well worth it,just tape over the pb and all the lc sections and it will all power perfectly
this is how mine is done,I can run 6 cars using this method on a stock apb,tape has been down nearly two years and has run thousands of laps.

Now for the tricky part which you have yet to do,from experience I can say this,if you are using a 3mm cutter or 1/8th wich is very slightly bigger then you will have problems getting the routed slot to allign EXACTLY in line and the car will jump into the air a little on entry to the lc section,trust me on this I pulled much hair on getting this right.

First off with the male lugs removed bend in a little the horizontal piece of rail before you install the lc section,now route upto the lc section with a 2mm or imperial version,now you can finish off the slot into the lc with glass paper for a precise finish,takes a little longer to do but well worth the effort.
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Hi
Looking really good Heath
just remember patience and care pay big dividends in the long term


Following with interest as it brings back a lot of memories,wish I hadn't deleted all my thumb nail pics now
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Ade
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Looking good Heath.
good call on smoothing out the corner,a corner that sharp puts the guide flag pick up feet and wiring under a lot of stress.

Pick up breakages are quite rare on my layout,but a friends plastic track has quite a few R1 turns and pick up feet and wiring tend to break more often.
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Ade
Hi
Yes Heath,after I finished the first slot I made another base with a pin in it to act like a stylus,routing the second slot took a lot less time.
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I did mine with one pin and a steady hand,well the pin was actually a drill bit,drill into the base and release the chuck from the drill bit,It's now stuck in place for you.


If you try two bits out don't forget to do a dummy run through the corners minus the cutter to make sure it runs nice and smooth.
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Really starting to come to life now Heath


You are now at the point where you can try out the smoothness of the cars entrance into the lc sections,push the cars by hand into the lc and apply a little pressure to the left hand side and the right hand side,you really want to feel no resistence in the transition from wood to plastic.

Another top tip is to spend a liitle time with a nail file and introduce a nice progessive chamfer to the guide blade,Scalextric ones come with a chamfer applied but it can be made much better ie shallower.
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Ade
Hi
No Heath you don't need a flipper,but you must not power the track with the tape finished like that as you will get a straight short.

I will go and take a few pics of my pitlane to show you how you need to do it.
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Ade
Hi
Heath,this pic shows a pit exit,the left hand lane is the pit exit,you should also be able to see the countersunk screws which have coppertape pushed into the recess and then the screw is pushed into place and then taped over,then from underneath just link the two screws together with some wire.

The pitlane also has one piece of tape cut short,this works the same as the dead spot on the flipper to prevent shorts,otherwise the braid would be touching the left hand rail and the right at the same time.
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Yes if the wire is like an elastic band when pulled then you have found your brake in the wire.


Video looks great Heath,now to get some laps in and lay down some rubber,you will notice grip start to appear.
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Ade
Hi
Gmyers is in the states and can repair/upgrade chips. To repair you just need solder and wire but don't be tempted to miss out the ferrite man,It's quite important in digital use and helps supply a clean signal to stop id loss etc.
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Just run the tyres over sticky tape,I use 3m double sided but only because I can get it free


The lane that has the jumpers in is broken by the pit exit so to complete the circuit the jumper is used. The dead spot is kept to a minimum and has not caused an issue.
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Ade
Hi
So you only have one car not reading on both lanes?

As regards track changes I prefer what you have shown but if you are running 100% power with Scaley throttles and no mag then control will be very difficult.

Much better to try different power settings before altering just yet,so try 70% to start with you may well be surprised at how much more control you have.


I have never had a body screw beat me yet,if they round going in then there is usually enough head left on the reverse to dig them out,I apply extreme pressure before turning and then feel for a bite,if that fails it will have to be drilled.
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I use inox on mine Heath,The Scalex track has the rail slightly proud of the plastic and with copper It's flush so there is a little bit of weight lost onto the braid.

I don't flair the braids just fit them as they come from the packet but just lift them of the guide slightly and inox onto braid.
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Hi
Heath I cringed when I saw that angle grinder but I think you have been lucky if the sensors are still working,sparks= molten metal and would stick quite easily to parts that should not have then.

But glad to hear you have got the lap timing thing sorted,next up get those power levels sorted for the slot it cars,once you get a laptop set up you can even alter throttle maps,S curve is fantastic for no mag.
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Ade
Hi
I drilldd a counter sunk the plastic and screwed into the mdf under the xlc,just used fine surface filler on the screw heads and then sand and painted the whole thing.
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2
Hi
The Armco is very difficult to paint and to get it to stick,there have been a few threads on this topic but none have come up with the paint that really works


Before finding this out I did use a plastic primer and a automotive rattle can,it did stick until a car deslotted and kept flaking off with each de slot,it was on a R1 hairpin though.

In the end I just blu tacked sponsors decals on
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Ade
Hi
I would be interested to know if this works out
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Ade
Hi
Hope this shot helps Heath
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