bazzamitch Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hey guys We've had a scalextric digital track set up on a wooden table indoors, and didnt use it for a couple of weeks and then we started to use it again and it has been having some issues. Yesterday we changed the track layout and nothing has changed. Sometimes the cars take off at full speed, and other times they just stop, and don't go again unless we lift them off the track for a few seconds and when we place them back on, it runs fine. it also seems to happen a lot more at high speed. Today my grandfather used the track, and driving very slowly nothing went wrong, but when I took it for a few laps all the issues came back and i couldn't go for more than a lap (less than 20m) without the car cutting out. We've tried all 6 of our cars and it happens to all of them,soI'm guessing it could be a problem with the digital system itself, possibly from the powerbase? I know that was a bit of an essay but any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itelectrical Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Just a general answer, I would hazard a guess that there is nothing wrong with the cars or the electronics but probably just with the track itself, consider looking at the track piece connections and the rails, ensuring that all the electrical connections between each piece of track are perfect and the rails are nice and shiny and clean. Do you have power taps, because a 20m track would require power going not just to one pice of track but jumpering, probably to 3 or 4 other places would be good. Quote JamieB ITeLECTRICAL Check out my Current Auctions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Sounds like you are using the DPR plugs in your cars which do that when they pass over an XLC. If this is the case there is a simple fix. Rumour has it they are redesigning the chip. Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozquad44 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Aussieslotter is pretty experienced in these matters so my comments are more directed at the basics. When using digital, I've found that its pretty important that all your components are very clean. Dust or buildup on the track has the potential to play havoc with the system signals. If I haven't used my track for a week or so i carefully rub the rails with alcohol swabs. I have also read that INOX and electrical contact cleaner are effective as well. But I had a heap of those little alcohol swabs in the individual packets and they do a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) After having had my digital setup for a month now, I am fast coming to the conclusion that scalextric digital is more problems than its worth. I have a 13m track, which shouldn't really require any extra powertaps, yet I find that some cars go really well around the track but other cars find weak points in the circuit and stop or stutter. I think scalexctric digital is extremely sensitive and you need to keep the system almost perfectly clean for it to go well. I have now taken to putting alfoil into the problem joints and this seems to be starting to cure the problem. I have also ordered the copper tape to put that down to see if it cures the issue. Analog runs fantastically well on my track so its not the voltage, its the digital signal getting thru the rails. I find if I bend the braid on the car to be almost flat, it gets a better contact and therefore seems to be a little better, but any frayed braids or anything that remotely loses its shiny silver colour - time to replace. Its just that sensitive. If the copper tape doesn't fix the problem, I'll be replacing digital with analog, such is my disgust at the moment. I'm using metho on the cars and the track almost every day now. BT Edited December 20, 2009 by BattleTweety Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 No, that aint your problem. There is a 5 minute $1 fix for this. Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Please feel free to disclose the $1 fix that takes me five minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Ok.... DPR, the solution Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hmm well I will certainly try the tape on the XLC's but I don't really have a problem with them as that article points out - my problem seems to be in other parts of the track. But I'll see what difference this little mod makes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) 13m new track shouldnt have continuity problems yet, but power taps every 5m is pretty much standard with SSD. Also use a screwdriver to tighten the female receptable on the trackpieces. Copper tape as last resort. Yer Scaley track is pretty much useless. The XLC mod is useful as it costs nothing, and if you use DPR cars its a necessary mod regardless. Its amazing how companies can release this crap and expect to make money on it. Good luck and if you go analog I dont blame you. If you pay hard earned $$$ for anything it should work! Edited December 20, 2009 by aussieslotter Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 I'm going to try a few things like laying all the track out on a flat surface to see if my elevation of various areas is contributing to the problem and causing the joints to become problematic. Powertaps every 5 metres sound extreme though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Well I took some section of track, laid it out in a small square shape and it still had problems. My digital formula 1 cars just stutter in various points and the digital high impact porsche's seem to handle it ok, except for one section of track. Now I'm really disappointed. If it doesn't work on a nice flat area and everything is shiny and new... does Scalextric Digital actually really work or is it just a scam, or is there something else I am missing because I'll be blowed if i can see it. I think its time to give scaley a call or take the stupid stuff back. One last thing to try - swap power bases.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Is the F1 a DPR car? Did you tighten the receptables? Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 The F1 cars are the standard cars from the 4 car F1 scalextric digital set so are not DPR. I do have a DPR car that doesn't perform too well either, but at the same points in the track as the f1's. The thing is, brand new that worked like a charm but the deterioration over 4 weeks has been nothing short of horrifying. My 40 year old scaley analog still works along with my 50 year old cars and these things have problems after 4 weeks?? You can probably start to hear the frustration in my message - no one should have deal with issues after just 4 weeks... I wonder if swapping out most of this shiny new sports digital track with my old classic track will make much difference... I didn't try the receptacles yet but will try that right now. I did have alfoil in between a lot of joints, but even this hasn't solved the problem although I thought I did see some improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 I did try bending the joint receptavles a bit with a screw driver and i can see some improvement, nowhere near what it should be though. I did notice an unusual amount of carbon buildup in the joints though - symptomatic of poor connectivity?? I'll have to take each track apart and give it a good clean at the joint area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Dont use Classic for digital, its worse. Id put at least one power tap and if its a permanent setup copper tape it, not that you should have to. Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Ok I have setup a smaller version of the track to do some testing on. Its just a little oval. I have taken each piece apart and cleaned it thoroughly with metho in the joints and then adjusted the female socket of each track to be a tighter fit. The difference is remarkable. The track has gone from stuttering to be almost negligble power outages. I say almost negligable because there is still some tiny evidence of fluctuations on a couple of tracks. But overall I would say its an outstanding improvement from where it was and definitely playable. Thanks for the tips aussieslotter. Now the question is will it stay that way, or do I have to rip my track up every 4 weeks and do the same cleaning and adjustments? Interesting advice regarding the classic track as I have a few pieces in my setup which I need to complete the circuit. They actually perform ok believe it or not... Now I have toc lean the erst of my track and hope this puts this problem to bed for the time being. Silly that I have should have to do this though on a brand new set that was placed in a permanent setup almost out of the box ie no pulling apart and putting back together umpteen times which tends to be the cause of problems.. Do others have similar experiences or am I in the minority here? cheers BT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) BT, Getting an SSD track of any reasonable size up to the standard of an enthusiast is an artform, lol. I have power taps every 5 metres, the track has most joins hardwired, and its copper taped. SSD is made in China. Carerra in Germany, Ninco in Spain, I think that says it all. I'd recommend Ninco anyday except their LC is so abrupt you need to put them in slow parts of the track only. The conductivity at joints is smick. The SSD track sucks, but their LC design is near perfect. Running data via rails was a nice idea, I mean almost any track piece was instantly digital compatible, but in reality unless you spend time any money it just doesnt cut it for any enthusiast. I guess most of us do it because we enjoy tinkering, learning, sharing tips, and the fruits of the work. A good digi race on a modified system with good drivers is a mind blowing experience indeed. Id say SSD is not the best system out of the big 4, but all the best aftermarket mods for software and hardware have been developed and made available by SSD enthusiasts. Rick Edited December 21, 2009 by aussieslotter Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Well I've taken the entire track apart and cleaned every single piece of track and its joints and narrowed every single female socket on every single track - what an effort. But I believe the effort has paid off. I'm now back to about 95% working. I say 95% becasue I can still see some slight stuttering from my very sensitive formula 1 cars. But the saloon cars and the posches from the triple cup set dont miss a beat. In fact the porsches are oblivious to anything they just keep on going.. I'll have to monitor the track over the next week and see how it goes. I'm wondering if the weather plays a part in its performance, ie hot cold, shrink expand.. I do notice some serious power degredation when the pit lane game lights up and chanegs from green to red lights especially when 3 cars are going around. I'm not too concerned as I'm waiting for the Scalextric PB pro to come out next year which hopefully will provide me with ample power for 4 cars, 3 lance changers a lap counter and the pit lane.... won't it?? So now its back to some fun racing and building some more scenery. cheers and thanks again Rick for your expert help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raikkonenwincupfan Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 i understand your problem im having it happen to me when i run my nascars im going to order a part in from armchear racer (one of the sponsers) that give power to the ferthest part away from the powerbase (the lead is only 3 meters) there is one set of them per pack (two of them per set because 1 per lane) see if thet solve your probs Quote f1 is the best and olso v8s and nascar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 Ok I have gotten back to 100% working track. I've put copper tape down over a single rail and that track is running perfectly. I don't have a problem with power, if it was analog the cars would be performing wonderfully. The problem is with the digital signal in the rails, the scaly track is just not up to the task after a period of time of being used. As soon as I put the copper tape down on one rail, it worked flawlessly - no power taps. Now if my theory is correct, given I just need the copper tape for getting the digital signal thru to the car, I only need to put it on one rail. I'll do that to the other lane and see how it goes. I'm actually very impressed with this copper tape, having not used it before. BT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattleTweety Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 It seems I have a new phenomenon occuring. I was playing late in the afternoon yesterday and the cars were playing up. Some of the old issues were creeping back. How can this be I asked myself.. coper tape and everything..Nothing I did could resolve some of the cars stuttering a bit which I was really disappointed. I went to bed wondering why. I woke up this morning and came out to try it and they work perfectly. I have an outside track at least nder a very well covered area but it is exposed to extremes in temperature. I believe the track enjoys the cold but the day and afternoons when its hottest seem to affect performance greatly. Anyone else noticed any issues with hotter temperatures affecting digital performance? Now I am thinking a sealed room with air conditioning to hold temperature steady. Is there anything that doesn't affect this scalextric digital rubbish? BT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul NZ Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 It seems I have a new phenomenon occuring. I was playing late in the afternoon yesterday and the cars were playing up. Some of the old issues were creeping back. How can this be I asked myself.. coper tape and everything..Nothing I did could resolve some of the cars stuttering a bit which I was really disappointed. I went to bed wondering why. I woke up this morning and came out to try it and they work perfectly. I have an outside track at least nder a very well covered area but it is exposed to extremes in temperature. I believe the track enjoys the cold but the day and afternoons when its hottest seem to affect performance greatly. Anyone else noticed any issues with hotter temperatures affecting digital performance? Now I am thinking a sealed room with air conditioning to hold temperature steady. Is there anything that doesn't affect this scalextric digital rubbish? BT Hi BT. Mate, you are on to it, its the heat, I ran a routed digital track using copper tape, it was @ 25m lane length with no power taps (you don't need them) and when it got humid the copper tape will crack and seperate, sometimes you can't see it very easy but the best way to find it is with a test light, the light will dim when near a break. Quote Paul NZ - Scale with Detail! Narangba Club Local Gold Coast Raceway 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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