Scalextric Sport Digital

Sorry Matt, your controller is a goner

Rich, six cars ARE the limit on a 2 lane track - the factor being shunts
The lane change mechanism should be quick enough - matter of fact it greatly depends on its geometry/location, and I'm betting on a solution that was aired here, if I'm not wrong
Did you notice that the Base Pack comes with only ONE LC ?

BTW, I posted the link on Slotadictos (of course crediting Slotforum) : it's causing a frenzy, with desperate people rushing to return their unopened SCX Digital sets (luckily for them, kids in Spain get presents on the 6th)

Well, that's fine and dandy, but what do I do for my project's electronics package - wait 10 more months or buy SCX at a discount ?

Beppe

Well, well, well - the night brought these thoughts (in no particular order) :

- a pit lane becomes essential

- with many cars, motor current surges even out - so you don't really need that much for the transformer - one thing to check (from trains) is that stalled rotor current doesn't fry the chip

- Scaley lane spacing at 77.5 mm (actually, I suppose it's 3"x25.4=76.2 mm , but I'm not quibbling) - IT'S TOO CLOSE > clubs will keep it just for the specialized pieces and reuse their Ninco (in abundant supply !!) for the rest of the track - Ninco just set a record with their 2 km track, so continuity is OK - Carrera might be even better, but there are no transitions

- lane change geometry : one LC is enough, hence functionally it must be lXl (not l/l + l\l a la Carrera) - with trackside actuators, it cannot be on a straight, I wonder where it'll be ? mmm... close, but no cigar : still room for improvement

- an unintended consequence is that MAGNETS WILL BE BANNED : magnetic cars are simply too fast to control (reminder : buy shares of company making tire trueing jigs)

- SCX Digital is DOA, Carrera Pro-X seems a losing proposition - apart quite possibly from the purely toy market

- for Davic, no change : DS was going nowhere before and will certainly stop now - so there will be a dozen hand assembled systems for those big European clubs who want to run long distance races with 15 cars - sad, but not the first (nor the last) time an excellent idea is doomed by lack of resources and marketing acumen

- Davic's patent : DCC is open art (admittedly for trains, whether transferring it to cars is patentable is debateable) but it just boils down to brute strength - and Hornby's got a lot

Beppe

-

Rich,
the two biggest hurdles for digital on a conventional slot track are not the electronics or the LC mechanism, but :
- the exponential increase in collisions
- a LC/track layout that ACTUALLY makes it possible to overtake

With 76 mm lane spacing, you're left with just 13 mm clearance between say LMP cars - that is if they're nicely aligned for a picture on a straight, not racing into a corner - in other words, you cannot overtake on the outside,if you do it on the inside the other guy's off. That may be acceptable when you have the luxury of waiting for the first propitious corner, as in multi-lane racing - but definitely not with digital where other cars will be popping up constantly in front and behind you

Now, the LC must make you lose the minimum amount of time (keep in mind that you're already well trailing, to avoid a shunt) and at the same time the trackside actuator must have a cycle time sufficiently low so that other cars close by are not affected. The Davic LC meets the first requirement, but definitely not the second - it's not (only) a question of solenoid type, cars are simply too fast on a straight
The obvious solution is to put the LC where cars are slowest, i.e. ........

Beppe

QUOTE Call me a dinosaur

Is that a trick question and complying would be considered rude ?

QUOTE you will no longer be able to use your favourite handle

Bravos from the NRA !!

QUOTE would be a big problem on some of the larger layouts

Pity the poor guys who spent 24 hrs on the 70 m track at Eupen

QUOTE I just don't think it has a place in the clubroom

What bothers me most is that I have to agree with Moped (some day I'll get around to tell what my personal beef is)

QUOTE I will...crawl back into my cave

Isn't your vision of the hobby a tad depressing ?

Well, now we know who's brainwashing the Inte kid - and, come to think of it, I haven't seen many dinosaurs or neanderthals around as of late

Beppe

Wankel,
I'm afraid we've got to face the harsh truth : Moped IS improving and he's occasionally right (BTW : where's Mr Mopibasher-in-Chief Tropi ? - he's missing all this fun)

About marshalls and lack thereof : have you considered the possibility that digital might actually increase club attendance, thereby solving the problem ?
And this comes from a notorious deslottophobe

Finally, rest assured - magnets WILL head for their rightful destination, the fridge door (have I been wrong so far?)

Ciao
Beppe

Edit : obviously posted simultaneously - but what did I tell you, he's actually making sense !

Very good post, wix

I'd just point out that the passiveness you ascribe to our scions is in fact already among us - how do you explain the extatic drooling over a new livery, or that you cannot even modify a chassis for fear of scaring away the "masses" and "killing the hobby"?

It's precisely this attitude that irks me most, because it doesn't have to be that way - things are made to be modified !

Take the SCX Digital lemon : it could have been altered to our purposes
Scalextric looks promising, but it will work better on a Ninco track - and I'm betting the LCs can be improved

My own Xlot project is designed to be built anywhere, by anybody who's willing to do some physical work and then graft on parts that were not intended for it - to me, that's where the fun is

Beppe

Russell,
you are a RIOT !!!!
Glad you came back, everything's forgiven, Slotforum needs you !!

Slotraccoon,

QUOTE I just can't believe so much negative comment

you've got to be kidding ! Here, I'm ecstatic because a good third of posters view digital favorably - try in Italy and Spain and believe me, all you'll get is stonewall

It's not going to be a cakewalk, I tell you

Ciao
Beppe

Chastened, but not deterred, by Gareth's pre-emptive denial doctrine

Wankel, Meco : of course SCX Digital cars have magnets - they couldn't negotiate the sharp LC without them - Scaley's LC, as a derivative of their curve crossover, can only be much nicer - but still not ideal

Other than that, this thread beat SCI's previous record for a technical topic, at about 110 comments / 2,400 hits - subject : The Xlot Track - beyond Digital - I wonder what this means

And, I still owe a reply to Thomas :

It would be futile to "do the marketing" for the manufacturers since we lack the expertise, the figures and mainly it's a different market altogether - we all know that slot racing today is an incidental byproduct of a toy segment
Likewise, IMHO it's no use to call for a common (possibly open source !!) standard/communication protocol : how are you going to get it, by pointing a gun at Hornby & C. ??
It may be a case of the grass being greener, but I suppose the NMRA exists because buyers are mainly regimentation-oriented adults
For slot cars, as Gareth explained to me the typical buyer is a father who gets his son a toy track like he had when he was a kid (another victim of the "quality time" myth) - progeny quickly breaks/loses interest - end of story

So what can we do ? quite simply use our judgement and decide which of the new products fits our requirements - in most cases, one can do that simply by looking at specs/pictures
We adopt whatever best stands a chance of wider acceptance - ideally mix-and-matching, to avoid the looming Scaley=Microsoft scenario, and hope that our numbers grow (also thanks to the net) and allow for a Linux

Beppe