shadow_rusty Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Didn't get to test much as my other 3 drivers went to their uncles for the weekend... A very quick test tonight looks promising... Changes are, lane changer powered externally and the jags are now magless... More testing needed... Hopefully tomorrow night... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 In short dont waste too much time on the 4 car PB. It was a debacle. Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Whilst that's true, the PB4 is still better than analog for me... I may be getting another pb4 as part of a selection of track soon, so I will probably just double my current capabilities with a master/slave setup which should keep me satisfied till I can afford an APB... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieslotter Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Good plan. Quote Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there. www.scorpiuswireless.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeGas Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 I have the PB4 running on my track using a toshiba 15v 5a transformer and have had no major issues. Having said that though I don't have any lane changers, it is purely to allow cars to run on the one track. I have had 4 running at one time without a hitch, only done this a couple of times though. mostly only two or three cars running at once 1 Quote Cheers Grant . Home Track..........Corvette C1 Build..........McLaren M1A Build..........Maserati 300S Build..........Allard J2 Build..........50's Diner..........Iso Griffo A3C 3D Printed Adjustable Chassis..........3D Print Projects If life gives you lemons, take them, free s#!t is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted January 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Okay, it seems that it was the lane changers causing me the issues... All 4 Cars (3 with magnets), 1x unpowered lane changer, and 2x powered lane changers, and 45 mins of racing and all good... It was a more technical track, but it still proves that 4 cars with 2 changers doesn't work... In a couple of days I will rebuilt the 'kit' track (which definately had issues previously) with powered changers, and magnets in all the cars and retest... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Well, tested the kit track with the 2 lane changers powered off a seperate power source, and hey presto, problem solved... No more cutouts. yay... The cars still slow down under load, but that's to be expected... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Well, looks like the powerbase will be heading back for warranty after all... Controller port 3 just stopped working today... Setup the track today, ran all 4 cars for about an hour, switched off the power, came back half an hour later and car 3 wouldn't drive... Switched controllers arround, re-id'd cars, and all other ports work correctly, just not port 3... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted January 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Got my PB4 replaced under warrenty... Back to a fully functional PB4... Well, as functional as it should be. Interestingly, apparently Scalextric no longer offer the PB4 as a spare part. The only way to get one is via old stock, warrenty replacement, or in a full track set... Won't be long till the PB4 will cease to exist... US Scalextric don't include it in their full track sets, the lucky buggers get the PB6 (APB)... Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) Well, I've had a chance to put the new PB4 through it's paces, and it's true that no 2 pb4's are built the same... I've tested 3x 'Vented' PB4's... My Old one (which failed), worked fine with 2x Scaley Cars, 2x Auto Art Cars, 1x Lane changer. My Borthers one can only cope with 2x Scaley Cars, 1x AutoArt Car, and 1x Lane Changer. My new replacement one can cope with 4x Scaley cars, 1x AutoArt Cat and 3x Lane Changers... I believe that my replacement one is a repaired by Scaley one as the staff member got it from under the counter, not from a set... It also had a few surface scratches... Very, very happy with this one... If they all were built like this, they would have not recieved such a bad name... Edit: Thanks MIH and Riko for your knowledge, advice and assistance... PS. Still can't wait to upgrade to a APB6... lol. Edited February 6, 2013 by shadow_rusty Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QRphil Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) My PB4 only lasted 5 minutes before killing it's self and this was only with one car on the track. (Must have shorted the rails, and my 13.8 volt 20 ampere power supply blue the 3 of the PB4's 17 Ampere rated output MOSFETs) As it was a new grey import, I fixed it myself and spent almost as much on parts as getting a new one. One good point is I learnt how they work on the inside. I recommend to anyone running these on a 5+ Ampere power supply please add a 5 ampere fast blow fuse on the DC power line in, as the internal one did not blow quick enough. My fixed PB4 has now been running for a few weeks, but yet to load test it with 4 cars. Regards, Phillip. Edited February 6, 2013 by QRphil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 13.8v is pretty much on the lower limit of the input voltage for a pb4... They are designed for 15v (Which gives 12v to the car motor). You can remove / bypass 2 of the voltage dropping diodes (D2, D3, D4) which should make the 13.8v power supply the correct voltage... The PB4 schematic is at http://electricimages.co.nz/SSD_Control.ashx#tab21207 Did you use the same power mosfets, or an equivalent ones? Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QRphil Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Yep, 13.8 volts is too low, even with one of the internal voltage drop diode shorted. (Only two voltage drop diodes in the V6 PCB of the PB4 ) But 20 Ampere is enough to kill a PB4! I am now using a 15 volt 5 ampere Toshiba power supply. I could not have fixed the the PB4 without the useful schematic http://electricimages.co.nz/SSD_Control.ashx#tab21207. I owe him a big thank you. Suitable SMD MOSFETs are available from Element 14, but I did not want to wait for the post man, so I did a dodgy modification and used TO-220 case MOSFETs (IRF9540N and BUZ71) from the local Jaycar with heat sinks. Only the IRF9540N has a better sightly better power output of 23 Ampere. Regards, Phillip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeGas Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 I, purely by chance, have used a Toshiba 15v 5a supply since I got my PB4. The Scaley ones were $80 so I hunted round the house and stole the kids laptop power supply. Have never had one iota of a problem with it sop can definitely recommend it, And replacement for the kids comp was only 10 bucks. Win win all round Quote Cheers Grant . Home Track..........Corvette C1 Build..........McLaren M1A Build..........Maserati 300S Build..........Allard J2 Build..........50's Diner..........Iso Griffo A3C 3D Printed Adjustable Chassis..........3D Print Projects If life gives you lemons, take them, free s#!t is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 There's a big thread on the Toshiba power supplies on another forum. Basically, they are better... I have one here, and my brother has one too. Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QRphil Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 As most of my cars have 14.8 volt motor, a 16 volt power supply would be better. But the Toshiba style power supply is doing a good job at the moment and very good value for the price. I may upgrade to a 0-16 volt variable power supply in the future, so it is easier to dial back the power for visiting kids (Big and small). Another popular mod is to replace the diode on the decoder chip with 3 Ampere Schottky diodes, Jaycar ZR1025, that have less of a voltage drop. I have done this on one car but it is a bit fiddly, but does help get a little bit more power to the motor. Regards, Phillip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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