[Shiraaz]

Hi

total newbie to this so please excuse the questions if they seem elementary. Saw a video on youtube and thought it was really cool so I did what any calm, rational, thinking middle aged man would do.. I rushed out and bought a SSD system.. bought it second hand though but at a really good price.. I just have some questions :

1) I have the 4 car power pack and after a few minutes of playing the cars stop and the green light on the power pack flashes. If I remove power and reinsert then I'm ok for another few minutes until it does the same thing again ?

2) The straight lane change track seems not to work. I press the lane change button on the control just before passing over the sensor but the lane does not react. If I try to move it by hand to feels pretty stiff.. Is there something I could try or is this throw away and buy new ? The curved one works just fine

3) Is there any way around the annoying fact that those pieces on the lane change tracks are plastic and as such cause the cars to stop as they lose contact with the track

4) I have some funny shaped flat grey plastic pieces with little slots in their edges. They're obviously meant to slot into the track somewhere but cannot figure out where ?

5) An extra that was thrown into the sale is the sport pack .. how does this fit into the scheme of things.

please see here for pics

http://www.fotothing.com/temptwo/photo/25b...72820aa7b12d56/

the power pack , sport pack , faulty lane changer and mystery "spare parts" are shown here.

Appreciate any help

 

[MrFlippant]

1) that's either an overload or a brown out. either way, you're running too many cars, or too much magnets in your cars, for the base and power supply to handle it.

2) See if you can figure out what's keeping it from moving. You might need to take it apart underneath, but it's not terribly complicated under there. Look for gunk, glue, rust, or even broken wires or things stuck places they don't look like they should be. Clean things up so that the flippers can move freely when it's all put together, and try again.

3) not really. stopping on dead spots is usually a problem of too strong magnets that bog down the car, and people still learning how to driver properly. If the car is too stuck down, then it will be hard to drive smoothly, and will stick and stop at dead spots like that. Open the cars up and see if they have more than one magnet. If so, take one out.

4) the gray things are supports for banked curves.

5) that's the Sport World control center. It was pretty cool in it's time, but it's for analog car control.

BTW, The 4 car base is carp. If you like digital, get the new 6 car base.

 

[Shiraaz]

Hi

Thanks for the reply and help.. ref the brown outs I only have two cars but will check the magnets.

I'm assuming it's just to change the powerbase to a 6 car unit if I want to run 6 cars ?

 

[Ade]

hi
yes to run six cars you will need either c7030 or 7042.The former can be modded to supply loads of power to the rails and pc connection but is only available second hand..

The latter is available now brand new off the shelf when stocks are in and also can be connected to pc for race management programs...

Sticking with the latter option means that you will already have one transformer for the new six car base as it's identical to the one with your current 4 car pb.

 

[hankscorpio]

Hi...

being new is always tough... The 4 car pb is a little underpowered... normally runs 2-3 cars ok though and the 4th ok if they are all super resistants with no lights...

The powerbase is switching itself into safe mode to protect from an overload...

Overloads are caused by the following things:

1: too many amps being drawn... That can be caused by running too many cars.... cars having big motors fitted... Too many magnets fitted in the cars.

2: Short circuits... Bridging anything accross the rails will cause a PB4 to trip out... as can untidy braids when crossing a lane changer... Bad track joints forced to fit.

3: Faulty PB... Keeps tripping for no reason

4: Use of improper PSU... Not enough amps avaialble so the volatge drops from the PSU giving a brownout.

My guess is like all guys new to the hobby with some secondhand kit... it just works or it doesn't... Scalextric digital especially rewards those that take their time to check for imperfections in thier setup one or two cause no problem... as they multiply it causes failures that often seem impossible to trace.

Start with a simple oval... check all the track joints... Click here for info. Then make sure each car is fitted with a new braid disc and that they lay nice and flat.... Make sure you have the right PSU... Plug all wires in before connecting the power and presto you should find a nice clean running track.... Then add the Lane changer and see if all runs properly.

"dirt" on the track rails... with second hand kit its always a problem. Getting rid of the tarnish (Never use sandpaper) is a must there are a range of fluids that can be used depending on your location in the world they often go by different names. If after cleaning the rails you still have problems... it will probably be with the cars... Best davice is to buy a new car and see if it is any better... People abuse cars and its impossible to know if somebody has damaged a motor by overheating it...

Six cars requires a 6 car PB... But you can learn all the good tricks and habits with a 4 car PB and then when you upgrade life will be a cakewalk.

The sportworld power pack is an analogue unit... NEVER put it in the track at the same time as a 4 car PB... It provides nearly all the functions of the new 6 car APB to to a 2 lane analogue track... It was a great piece of kit in its day... You need a manual though the menu's are murder without one.

 

[MrFlippant]

Oh yeah, there are lots of things that can cause a base to trip. It might be that the track just needs a good hoovering and fresh braids put on the cars.

 

[Shiraaz]

Excellent .. thank you all so much for the help.. got some maintenance work to do ..

 

[SSD slotguy]

Has anyone said welcome yet?
Welcome to the hobby, enjoy.

 

[Shiraaz]

Cheers !!

looking forward to it

 

[Capt_S]

yes indeed welcome shiraaz,

get some pics up of your layout/proposed layout on here as there is a mass of knowledge and experience always willing to be unleashed from the members of this site.

best wishes

S

 

[Martyn_]

If the XLC is sticking, it could possibly be a major factor contributing to the trip outs.

I don't know enough to guide you through dismantling and cleaning it all, but hopefuly one of the more experienced folks could step in and help you.