[richardtheforth]

Dear All,

I never did get around to posting an introduction, so please accept this topic as my 'Hello" instead.
I thought that posting this now would be a good way to get the new year & decade off to a flying start.

Like all worthwhile pursuits slots seems to have its fair share of CJA that we ignore or pretend/assume we understand.
I was surprised how much of this I thought I understood, but didn't. It's taken me a while to work a lot of this out, hopefully this will be a useful resource to help SF members (especially noobs) to negotiate the forum discussions.
I've tried to keep it as simple and general as possible, avoiding complicated explanations. Sorry for errors/omissions/disagreements.

I've had SO much entertainment and information from SlotForum over the last few years that I really wanted to put something useful back in. Thanks to you all!
Happy Slotting,
Richard

Slot Jargon & Acronym Buster

1:24 - Larger slot car scale. Popular for club tracks. Expensive foray into 3 lane Super124 system
nearly ruined Scalextric in the late 1960's
1:28 - Recently released scale from Ninco, branded Xlot
1:32 - Standard (most popular) scale for slot cars, adopted by Scalextric in the 50s
1:43 - Recent slot car scale addition (Carrera Go!)
1:64 - Small scale slot car scale. eg: Micro Scalextric , Tomy/Aurora, Mattel.
Anglewinder - Motor positioned at 45degs to rear axle
AFX/Tomy - A Slot Car manufacturer - (Aurora Plastics Corporation)
BSCRA - British Slot Car Racing Association
Can - Sealed motor
CJA - Complicated Jargon & Acronyms
Classic - Scalextric Track system up to 2002 with round lugs, softer more grippy plastic
CLC - Curve Lane Changer (SSD) - specific to Digital Slot track
C-number - Scalextric product identification system
Contrate - Cog on axle of inline set up, with teeth on side of cog rather than edge
D132 - Second generation (current) Carrera version of Digital slot racing
DPR - Digital Plug Ready - Scalextric swappable digital car plug system
F1 - Formula 1 - Racing series originally evolved from Grand Prix
FF - Small, powerful motor fitted to Scalextric F1 cars, amongst others
GP - Grand Prix - motor racing originally as organised French road races
GT - Gran Turismo - endurance racing series (incl. GT1, GT2 and GT3 classes)
H0 - Smallest slot car scale (varies from 1:87 to 1:76) approx. half '0 scale'
HRS - Running Gear for mounting scratchbuilt bodies onto
Inline - Drive layout with motor front to back along centre of car
Kit Bashing - Making a model based on/using bits of other kits
LC - Lane Changer - specific to Digital Slot track
LED - Light Emitting Diode
LM - Le Mans
LMP - Le Mans Prototype - cars run in Le Mans 24hrs race
Mags - Traction Magnets - produce magnetic downforce at the expense of top speed
Mint - Often misused term on ebay - seems to mean either 'factory fresh' or 'cool'
eg: 'This car is mint' vs 'This car is totally mint, bruv'
MDF - Medium Density Fibreboard, a popular board for routed tracks
Mods - Modifications - performance tuning. Or forum moderators
MRRC - A Slot Car manufacturer (Model Road Racing Cars)
NASCAR - National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing - US racing series
N-Digital - Ninco version of Digital slot racing
Noob - Newbie - recent slot convert/future slot addict
NSR - A Slot car manufacturer
OTB - Out of The Box
PB - Powerbase - connects & controls power to track
PB pro - Powerbase software uppgrade (also PB pro SH)
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCS32 - Chassis/running gear for scratchbuilt or kit bodies to run on
Pinion - The gear attached to the motor shaft
PLG - Pit Lane Game (eg Pit Pro)
PM - Private Message (through Slotforum)
POS - Negative critical evaluation of slot related product. (Piece Of Sh*t)
Powertaps - Wires carrying power to far end of circuit to maintain current
Pro-X - Early, now obsolete Carrera version of Digital slot racing
Proxy Race - Building a car to be raced by a guest driver in another location
PSU - Power Supply Unit
R/C - Remote Control/Radio Control
R1 R2 R3 R4 - Radius 1 to 4 scalextric curves
R1 = 18in outer diameter
R2 = 30in outer diameter ('standard' curve in sets)
R3 = 42in outer diameter
R4 = 54in outer diameter
Rare - Term (mis)used on ebay to mean 'unique' or 'old' to help sell any old c*ck
RMS - Race Management Software
Routed - Home made/designed track, using a router to cut the slots into a board
RPM - Revs Per Minute
RTR - Ready To Race/Ready to Run - car not needing work/mods to be competitive
Rug Racer - One who sets up and uses a carpet based temporary layout for slot racing
Scalex - Scalextric: fond, easier to type abbreviation
Scaley - Ditto above
Scratchbuilt - Model made from scratch using modelmaking skill rather than a kit
SCX - Spanish Scalextric offshoot company with complex historical connection.
Owns & uses Scalextric brand name in Spanish market only
SCX-D - SCX version of Digital slot racing
SF/SFI - Slot Forum/Slot Forum international
S/F line - Start/Finish line
Shelf Queen - Car enjoyed for it's cabinet filling, rather than on track abilities
Sidewinder - Motor placed across the car, usually just in front of the rear axle
Sport - Scalextric Track system since 2002 with flat tabs & harder, less grippy plastic
SRS - Super Racing System - space frame chassis made by SCX in the 90s
SSD - Scalextric Sport Digital - Scalextric version of Digital slot racing
SSDC - Scalextric Sport Digital Console - PC connected to PB for race info display
SSW - Scalextric Sport World - failed venture into internet connected slot racing
Tampo - Process of printing accurately onto curved 3D forms, instead of transfers
TCR - A Slot Car manufacturer - Total Control Racing - with jam car & lane changing
Thingies - 60's originated trend for performance orientated slot cars with outrageous
original styling using lightweight vacuum formed bodies & brass chassis
TP - Track Power (track design software)
UR3.0 - Ultimate Racer (track design software)
Wallwart - Mains plug & transformer in one. Ugly wart like lump on the wall
WRC - World Rally Championship
XLC - Crossover Lane Changer (SSD) - specific to Digital Slot track

 

[Graham Lane]

Excellent piece of work Richard. Well done.

All we need now is an obvious link for Newbies.

 

[bennettio]

that's a big help, thanks!

as a massive newbie i'd find it very useful to have a few links for the first few stages...

from my own situation-i've got stock cars that came with the boxed set, it'd be good to know what will affect the handling, speed, acceleration just from a handy thread

or if it's worth upgrading the cars i've got or buying a more expensive other type of car etc.

there's obviously variables (F1, rally, etc) but a nice handy thread will be superb

just incase anyone finds lots of free time like

 

[rick1776]

Nice one. I'll add:

Slot, The thingy that the guide goes in.

Rail, a concept that died in the early 60s (someone help me out) and was replaced by the slot

chees
rick1776

 

[bres3000]

NitPick Amendments:

1:24 - Larger slot car scale. Popular for Commercial Raceways and some club tracks. Expensive foray into 3 lane Super124 system nearly ruined Scalextric in the late 1960's

Anglewinder - Motor positioned at 45degs at an angle skewed to the angle parallel to the rear axle. The angle may vary from as little as 8 degrees to as much as 45 degrees, depending on performance and space requirements.

Can - Sealed motor - the metal part of the motor which houses the magnets as opposed to the endbell, which houses the brushes. Motors may be either sealed or unsealed.

Thingies - 60's originated trend for performance orientated slot cars with outrageous original styling often using lightweight vacuum formed bodies or other hand-formed bodies & brass chassis.

Additional:

NOS - New Old Stock

Vintage - Cars or Parts from an early era in slot car history.

Retro - Cars and Racing aimed at reproducing those cars and races of a Vintage Era.

 

[Gone Racin]

A few more minor changes

RTR - Ready To Race/Ready to Run - car not needing work/mods to be competitive

How about
RTR - Ready To Race/Ready to Run - car not needing work/mods to run

(Some ready to runs need a lot of work to make them competitive)

Anglewinder - Motor positioned at an angle skewed to the angle parallel to the rear axle. The angle may vary from as little as 8 degrees to as much as 45 degrees, depending on performance and space requirements.

How about
Anglewinder - Motor positioned at an angle skewed to the angle parallel to the rear axle. The angle may vary from a few degrees to as much as 45 degrees, depending on performance and space requirements

(Quite a lot of anglewinders have the motor at less than 8 degrees, it's still an aglewinder when the motor is at 3 or 4 degrees )

PCS32 - Chassis/running gear for scratchbuilt or kit bodies to run on

PCS32 - One make of chassis/running gear for scratchbuilt or kit bodies to run on

(Most scratchbuilt or kit bodies run on other makes!)

 

[ronMcRain]

QUOTE (richardtheforth @ 1 Jan 2010, 15:47) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>/ ... / I've had SO much entertainment and information from SlotForum over the last few years that I really wanted to put something useful back in. Thanks to you all!
Happy Slotting,
Richard / ... /
Very Good richardtheforth. Very, very good!

.. and could be indeed most useful for beginners [and us, old farts, checking so we aren't yet senile, which I apparently am!]
It could need some minor adjustments or additons .. Mods, make this into a pinned topic, eyh? And keep it updated ..

-- ron --

 

[montoya1]

Mags - Traction Magnets – produce magnetic downforce at the expense of top speed, but usually result in lower lap times.

 

[dgersh]

Richard,

Hope you don't mind if I make a couple more comments on your scale definitions, which are a bit too limited and way too modern!

Don

1:24 - Larger slot car scale. Popular for club tracks. Expensive foray into 3 lane Super124 system
nearly ruined Scalextric in the late 1960's
As pointed out, this is mostly for commercial racetracks, and some clubs. The largest size of slot cars commonly run, ranging from all-out "wing-cars" with very unrealistic Lexan bodies to highly detailed cars with plastic model kit bodies, using commercial or scratchbuilt bodies. Popular in the US, Germany and the Nordic countries in clubs or commercial racetracks.

1:28 - Recently released scale from Ninco, branded Xlot

1:32 - Standard (most popular) scale for slot cars, adopted by Scalextric in the 50s
The original scale for rail/slot racing, adopted by British clubs in the mid-50s. (the early Scalextric cars were more like 1/27, then 1/30, before they finally made real 1/32 cars). Probably the most popular scale worldwide.

1:43 - Recent slot car scale addition (Carrera Go!)
One of the many scales that were tried in the early days of slot racing, along with 1/52, 1/48, 1/40, 1/36, etc. (not always to strict scale). Several companies are seeking to establish this as a standard again.

1:64 - Small scale slot car scale. eg: Micro Scalextric , Tomy/Aurora, Mattel.
HO - originally 1/87, to match model railways, later enlarged to about 1/64 to make it easier to fit bodies over the motors and chassis available at the time. Probably the best selling scale in the US, and was a huge seller throughout the 60s and 70s, with cars by Aurora, Tyco, Atlas, Faller, etc. There were also a number of "slotless" systems in HO, especially TCR. Still a very popular scale in certain countries, especially for home racing, but also some clubs and even a few commercial tracks.

 

[wedgie74]

This is an excelent thread for noob's (like me ) it should be made a sticky

 

[MrFlippant]

I was working on a glossary too, but yours blows mine away. I did have a couple things you didn't, though:

Chip - The small electronic component that is installed in a digital car to enable control and usage on a digital track. Chip types include DPR, F1DPR, Saloon, and F1.

Pit-Pro - Pit Lane Game "Pro" version. An upgraded Pit Lane Game that adds interactivity with a computer running a Race Management System such as SSD Console or PCLapCounter.

Saloon - Any non single-seater (A1/F1) type car. Also used to denote the saloon SSD chip, which is a larger chip suitable for use in cars with enough interior room to house it.

SH (S-H, Simple-H) - Simple-H is the name for a replacement power bridge for digital powerbases. It is a product of Robot Power and can be installed yourself or by one of the forum members who offers the installation as a service. Simple-H is what makes any digital system, including SSD, a reliable system for any number of any type of car.

Now we just need to get a Mod to let Richard update the first post with all the additions and changes.

 

[richardtheforth]

Dear All,
Thanks everyone for comments, additions & corrections so far... (I've no idea where I got 45degs for an anglewinder from!)
I would be happy to edit the original post, and/or have this thread made 'sticky' as couple of posters have suggested but not sure how to do either.

Some of you have added definitions of terms, which is brilliant, whereas the original post focussed on jargon & acronyms, the sort of stuff you'd be hard pushed to look up. Thats my excuse for stuff I missed!
It all helps though, please feel free to keep adding stuff.
Cheers,
Richard

SLOT - Silly Love Of Toys?

 

[MG Brown]

And then there's John Ford's Slot Car Racers Dictionary that has been on-line for some years.

 

[rooster364]

Excellent thread & very useful to all slot heads. I've been into slot cars, collecting, building & running cars for about 2 years & I'll still don't half the lingo so this is very helpful. Thanks.

Rod.

 

[PCSlot]

richardthefourth

I am so glad that this has popped up and i saw it! being new to this myself it is a great help !

Many thanks and well done!

PCSlot (another Richard!)

 

[roblees]

>>>Saloon - Any non single-seater (A1/F1) type car. Also used to denote the saloon SSD chip, which is a larger chip suitable for use in cars with enough interior room to house it.

err, we see to have lost sports cars!

Saloon - an enclosed car with enclosed wheels and four seats, or the racing derivative thereof, ranging from production cars like the Jaguar Mark II to those raced in NASCAR and World Touring cars

Sports or Sports/GT - an open or closed one or two-seater car, ranging from production sports cars like the BMW Z3 to Le Mans prototypes like the Audi R8

We seem to be missing something to mesh the pinion with on our anglewinder so:
Spur gear - gear with its teeth cut into the edge of the disc, used in anglewinder and sidewinder applications

And my spur is slipping so I probably need a

Set screw, small machine screw in the boss of a wheel or gear, set at right angles to the axle, used to clamp the boss to the axle.

Allen screw, popular type of set screw with hexagonal indentation.

Allen wrench, tool with hexagonal tip for tightening allen screws.

Drill blank, steel axle, prized for straightness, roundness and durability.

Oilites, bronze bearings used to carry axles or motor armature shafts, which reputedly absorb oil, hence the name.

Pitch, the number of teeth to the inch in a gear, for example 48, 64 or 72 pitch. Gears of different pitches will not mesh well together.

Mesh, the alignment between a pair of gears (pinon/spur for example). We are aiming for just barely perceptible backlash for a perfect mesh.

Backlash, the back and forth motion between two meshed gears. For perfection this should be minimal, but there.

Endplay, the side to side motion in a fitted axle. For perfection, this should be minimal, but there. Also applied to motor shafts, sometimes referred to as end float.

CJA can only mean Chris Adams!

VBR very best regards

ABS Andy Brown Searle

 

[ronMcRain]

QUOTE (MG Brown @ 24 Jan 2010, 18:51) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>And then there's John Ford's Slot Car Racers Dictionary that has been on-line for some years.
Great linky MG ..

Not trying to be picky, but acronym [or abbrevations] are one thing .. jargon is something else! Could we please separate and keep those 2 apart?

*Acronyms/lettercodes* are like hebreic for me in some way [but I once upon-a-time started learning radio-traffic codes in the late 70-ies, they still pop up in da head sometimes] So .. GOOD if we can create a list. Slot Hobby Acronyms.

*Jargon* is for me a glossary for words used within a field of hobby or in any kind of trade or work. *green stuff* don't mean nothing if you're not familiar with Kneadatite or putty [putties? .. and no, it's not sn*t] So another list of those, please. Or copy all useful from the linky by MG

.. sorry about the rant, but working as a translator from time to time gives you some defectes of trade .. [/EOR]

-- ron --

 

[richardtheforth]

QUOTE Not trying to be picky, but acronym [or abbrevations] are one thing .. jargon is something else! Could we please separate and keep those 2 apart?
No

Richard

PS (postscript)
QUOTE And then there's John Ford's Slot Car Racers Dictionary that has been on-line for some years.
Thanks MG. If I'd known about that before it could have saved me loads of time!

 

[ronMcRain]

OK .. fair enough!

Spent actually a while reading mr Ford's Dictionary last night .. Great Fun and also a very useful dictionary!

-- ron --

 

[superhornets]

Hi Guys
A very important one you.ve all missed!

NERF
this is what happens when an opponent tries to drive round the outside of you ,and by skilful use of the throttle the rear of your car whacks into his and helps them into the scenery .If done properly you will not come off and thereby gain an advantage

Cheers tony