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289 Posts
Does it affect all models fitted with it or just a few? I'm thinking of getting a couple of SCX DTM Mercs and need to know if I need to get some 100 ohm resistors and a soldering iron too.
This SCX xenon light issue when run on 16V Scalextric track.
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1,006 Posts
Hi Harry
Might be an idea old-bean.
You could just wait and see if they burn-out though.
I guess the Xenons are rated at 12v DC.
None of mine have ever burnt out though, and we have about 17 Volts from a 100 Watt transformer at MRW.
Surges of power from throttleing, are just as likely to affect the bulbs as 'straight' over Voltage.
Imagine switching a ceiling bulb ON & OFF 'continuously' for a few hours...
...wouldn't last that long, probably.
You CAN run most bulbs at a higher Voltage than specified.
But combined with the 'Thermal Shock' of repeated dimming & lighting; they could end up producing as much light as those NASCAR headlamps !
Cheers
Si.
If you get a soldering iron, you could make a simple 'constant lighting' setup for your cars.
It's perhaps a 'learning curve', but could be worth doing them as you go along, and the garages get bigger !
With LED's these circuits are fun, as the car headlights stay on for quite a while even after you take the car off the track !
If you ramp up your lecy-tech a bit you could put LED headlights, interior lights & working brake lights in the Aston old-chap.
If you fit the forward mounted .50 cal machine-guns as well; you might be able to do 'realistic muzzle flashes' with some micro LEDS !
That's what James Bond would do.
Or should I say 'Q'....
Might be an idea old-bean.
You could just wait and see if they burn-out though.
I guess the Xenons are rated at 12v DC.
None of mine have ever burnt out though, and we have about 17 Volts from a 100 Watt transformer at MRW.
Surges of power from throttleing, are just as likely to affect the bulbs as 'straight' over Voltage.
Imagine switching a ceiling bulb ON & OFF 'continuously' for a few hours...
...wouldn't last that long, probably.
You CAN run most bulbs at a higher Voltage than specified.
But combined with the 'Thermal Shock' of repeated dimming & lighting; they could end up producing as much light as those NASCAR headlamps !
Cheers
Si.
If you get a soldering iron, you could make a simple 'constant lighting' setup for your cars.
It's perhaps a 'learning curve', but could be worth doing them as you go along, and the garages get bigger !
With LED's these circuits are fun, as the car headlights stay on for quite a while even after you take the car off the track !
If you ramp up your lecy-tech a bit you could put LED headlights, interior lights & working brake lights in the Aston old-chap.
If you fit the forward mounted .50 cal machine-guns as well; you might be able to do 'realistic muzzle flashes' with some micro LEDS !
That's what James Bond would do.
Or should I say 'Q'....
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289 Posts
Mein Got! An almost sensible answer from you there Si! Danke.
I will probably run them until they break if what you say is true TBH.
The Aston is staying as an ornament on my desk I'm afraid. After some of the paint removing car/wall interfaces of the weekend I suspect that it would be smashed to bits in no time. Besides, it sits nicely with the Italian Job minis, the 007 Lotus Esprit (submarine car) and the 4" plastic Boba Fett figure.
I will probably run them until they break if what you say is true TBH.
The Aston is staying as an ornament on my desk I'm afraid. After some of the paint removing car/wall interfaces of the weekend I suspect that it would be smashed to bits in no time. Besides, it sits nicely with the Italian Job minis, the 007 Lotus Esprit (submarine car) and the 4" plastic Boba Fett figure.
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1,006 Posts
Hi again Harry
It's worth scoring a soldering-iron anyhow old-boy.
Wireing the Aston.
Fixing busted throttle cables.
Fixing dodgey wall-wart plugs.
Burning your fingers & screaming.
Repairing bike lights.
............
........
.....
Cheers
Si.
If you do, don't get a 'realy small' one, they're useless IMO.
It's worth scoring a soldering-iron anyhow old-boy.
Wireing the Aston.
Fixing busted throttle cables.
Fixing dodgey wall-wart plugs.
Burning your fingers & screaming.
Repairing bike lights.
............
........
.....
Cheers
Si.
If you do, don't get a 'realy small' one, they're useless IMO.
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1,006 Posts
Hi Harry
Who's Boba Fett ???
That underwater Lotus is just THE BEST Bond mobile ever isn't it !!!
Perhaps what I'm saying is UNTRUE !
&
I want all your lights to BURN !
( just kidding old-boy ! )
When have I been anything other than 'sensible'...
...it's my middle name old-chap.
GET THAT ASTON OFF THE DESK YOU SHELF QUEEN !!!
Come on, I know 'Q' doesn't like it; but Bond always puts a few 'dents' in his OHMSS equipment WHAT !
Cheers
Si.
Who's Boba Fett ???
That underwater Lotus is just THE BEST Bond mobile ever isn't it !!!
Perhaps what I'm saying is UNTRUE !
&
I want all your lights to BURN !
( just kidding old-boy ! )
When have I been anything other than 'sensible'...
...it's my middle name old-chap.
GET THAT ASTON OFF THE DESK YOU SHELF QUEEN !!!
Come on, I know 'Q' doesn't like it; but Bond always puts a few 'dents' in his OHMSS equipment WHAT !
Cheers
Si.
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289 Posts
Who is Boba Fett?
You, a grown man who is posting on a forum dedicated to toys* doesn't know who Boba Fett is?
![]()
He's the one in the tin hat next to Jeff Vader.
* I guess I'm going to get flamed for that.
You, a grown man who is posting on a forum dedicated to toys* doesn't know who Boba Fett is?
He's the one in the tin hat next to Jeff Vader.
* I guess I'm going to get flamed for that.
Joined
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1,006 Posts
Hi Harry
I had a feelin' it was Star Wars stuff after posting.
My mate is Star Wars NUT'S, I think I heard it from him.
Don't do Star Wars myself ( mybee I should ! ).
Haven't seen 'em cept for the 1st one.
More of a John Carpenter fan myself ( left-field ).
Lucus & Spielberg are OK...but...u...know...
Maybe 'Rubino' was doing a Star Wars 'desert-speeder' type stunt at Imola !
Cheers
Si.
"MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU HARRY"
I had a feelin' it was Star Wars stuff after posting.
My mate is Star Wars NUT'S, I think I heard it from him.
Don't do Star Wars myself ( mybee I should ! ).
Haven't seen 'em cept for the 1st one.
More of a John Carpenter fan myself ( left-field ).
Lucus & Spielberg are OK...but...u...know...
Maybe 'Rubino' was doing a Star Wars 'desert-speeder' type stunt at Imola !
Cheers
Si.
"MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU HARRY"
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4,644 Posts
Modern slot cars with lights use LEDs for then most part and those are fussy about the voltage they are fed. White and blue LEDs run at 3.5 volts, red LEDs run at 2 volts and even a half volt too much will greatly reduce their life. LEDs do not have filaments, so they are tolerent of rapid changes in voltage. With many lighted slot cars dropping resistors are used and those are sized based on the maximum track voltage. It appears that SCX tracks use a slightly lower voltage than other makes so their lights can burn out when you run the cars on another make of track. A more sophisticated lighting system would include a voltage regulator, which can cope with different track voltages.
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1,006 Posts
Hi Harry
That guy Boba's racing clobber looks a bit uncomfortable for driving.
I'm not sure that's an FIA approved skid-lid either.
Has he got any $1,000,000 ear-rings, like Lewis, under all that gear ?
Thing is about the old Xenon's is, a FAST appointment with the 'skirting-board', can off-'em just as easy as lecy power.
Kind of why they replaced the vacuum-tube with the transistor WHAT !
Cheers
Si.
NASA 'up-graded' the Hubble telescope to a 486 cpu chip.
You can get those on Ebay for a few dimes.
That guy Boba's racing clobber looks a bit uncomfortable for driving.
I'm not sure that's an FIA approved skid-lid either.
Has he got any $1,000,000 ear-rings, like Lewis, under all that gear ?
Thing is about the old Xenon's is, a FAST appointment with the 'skirting-board', can off-'em just as easy as lecy power.
Kind of why they replaced the vacuum-tube with the transistor WHAT !
Cheers
Si.
NASA 'up-graded' the Hubble telescope to a 486 cpu chip.
You can get those on Ebay for a few dimes.
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6,433 Posts
Harry, I had quite a few SCX cars that ran satisfactorily for quite a while on the 16v Scaley track powered by twin wall warts, and I had others that blew within the first couple of laps. But once they're blown they are blown. I think I recall someone working out that the failure wasn't in the LEDs but in a transistor on the circuit. Just plain easier to chop and drop in a 100 ohm resister and protect them from the Russian roulette of running on 16v.
I don't bother protecting mine anymore as I'm now running on a variable power supply and never need to run over 12v.
Embs
I don't bother protecting mine anymore as I'm now running on a variable power supply and never need to run over 12v.
Embs
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289 Posts
Just "scored" a couple of resistors from Maplin (26p each) and borrowed a solidering iron.
Time to buy some cars and burn some holes in them!
Time to buy some cars and burn some holes in them!
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485 Posts
If you go to the Resources page, scroll down to the 'Slap My Slotcar' section there is a fix for the SCX lighting problem by Taxi (and pictures by zipp) which explain how to fix this problem if it arises. I've done it to a couple of the SCX cars I had that blew their lights and have had no problems since. Picked up the parts off the bay for under $10 AU and have enough parts to do 100 cars if I had to, have even put some lights into non-lit cars the same way.
Matt
Matt
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289 Posts
Urgh… I've done a bit of reading up on this and the problem stems from 2006. Before I crack open a brand new car and perform surgery on it has it been resolved by SCX in the intervening 6 years? Will the potentially unnecessary addition of a resistor mess it up?
If I google it I get the thread about placing the resistor in series and this one!
The cars in question are.
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And
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If I google it I get the thread about placing the resistor in series and this one!
The cars in question are.
And
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289 Posts
So, does that mean that a 16V supply won't toast them and I've wasted 2 x 26p?
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289 Posts
…and finally a definitive answer. Just spoke to the man in the shop. He told me to put resistors in them. TBH if SCX have known about this for years it is a bit poor that they have done nowt about it. If I can fix the problem for 26p how much must it cost them to do it?
Pretty looking cars though.
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Pretty looking cars though.
QUOTE (RichD @ 19 Jan 2012, 16:41) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>A few years back I bought an SCX Corvette C6R just for the body. I just looked at the lights and they include a voltage regulator. The lights reach full brightness at 5 or 6 volts and do not get brighter after that.
Yes but unfortunately they got their maths wrong and at much over 12v the regulator transistor fails.
See this thread for details.
http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=200111
Not sure if SCX have updated the design since then? If not someone needs shooting.....
Rich
Yes but unfortunately they got their maths wrong and at much over 12v the regulator transistor fails.
See this thread for details.
http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=200111
Not sure if SCX have updated the design since then? If not someone needs shooting.....
Rich
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289 Posts
QUOTE (RichG @ 20 Jan 2012, 10:36) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Not sure if SCX have updated the design since then? If not someone needs shooting.....
Apparently not
Lock and load.
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£30 for 2 cars and 10 mins with a soldering iron. Can't really grumble at that.
Apparently not
Lock and load.
£30 for 2 cars and 10 mins with a soldering iron. Can't really grumble at that.
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485 Posts
You could just put the cars on the track and give them a run, if the lights blow do the fix, if they don't bonus, some blow and some don't but I can't tell you which will and which won't but for the cost of SCX cars at the moment and the cost to fix them they are still bargain material.
Matt
Matt
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