[sjc115]

I think I have finally narrowed down my new layout to something like what is in the picture. It will be built on a 5x10 table. May question is about the powerbase position.

I want to keep the powerbase contained within the 10'x5' footprint, so if it's on the front straight it needs to be facing backwards (which is no big deal, that is how I have it now and I'm used to working with it that way) on the left side. The problem with that is in the past I had issues running cars in the direction where they passed over the white line before the sensors on the powerbase (lap time issues). I know most of the issues have been corrected with v1.06 of Mr. Wallace's software update, I just haven't tried it out running that direction yet. If the issues are fixed then my question is irrelevant because I can move the powerbase to the end of the straight. If the issues are still present...

...what are the drawbacks to having the powerbase in the position shown on my layout?

Also, do you think the track will run good in the direction shown, or shown I reverse the direction? I am hoping to decide on a direction before I purchase the lane change (which is a Christmas gift for my son) in case the lane change track can't be switched.

 

[sealevel]

Why not put the PB near the end of the front straight after your pit lane?
That way it is easier to read/use and closer, too.

Or do a PB separation and run the cables under the table to the front where the PB can be located.
Remember that the PB will be where the lap counting is done.

Cheers!

 

[sjc115]

We ended up setting up a circuit similar to the one shown, but made a couple tweaks and it now looks like this picture.

There were several problems with the circuit you referenced. Running the direction shown was just not very smooth for some reason. Moving the powerbase two spots to the left and running the other direction was pretty fun, but magless cars (and some tail wagging mag cars) would miss laps. I tried moving the powerbase to the right side of the front straight (running left to right), but our fastest car would post laps times of 0.1xx seconds (not sure why, something I need to make Andy aware of I guess). No other car would do it, but it was annoying enough that we made one more switch to what is shown.

The other problem with that circuit was the position on the pit lane. There just wasn't enough room to consistently stop the cars in the pit lane. Moving the pit lane to the corner made a big difference in how that worked. The layout shown here isn't super technical, but it's a fair amount of track in a 5x10 space and it seems to be a nice compromise between technical and flowing enough for multiple pace cars.