Early planning For my next 1/43 track & some ?'s

[masmojo]

O.K first let me Qualify that this is not something that will be happening in the next few months! It's all predicated on us getting a new house, which we are working on, but still have not got done yet. The last two house deals fell through due to forces beyond my control. So we are looking again, but in the meantime I have given this subject some thought and it's been occupying more & more of my daydreaming! The reason I am opening this thread is because I have some questions and I would like to get some feedback.

O.K. let me give you a brief rundown of what I am thinking! BIG, at least double the size of my current 4' X 8' track!! Routed! Of Course!! Magna Braid!! I like copper tape, but I think the braid if done right will blend better with the roadway and be more reliable!! NOW, here's the part where it get tricky! I am commited to Analog, because I got a ton of cars to run, but I am considering doing something switchable to Digital!

This brings, my first question! Which Digital system has the smallest chips!?

I am trying to decide between Carrera and Scalextric! I believe most people in 1/43 go Carrera, simply because Carrera already makes Digital GO! cars, BUT I think if the Scalextric chips were smaller I might opt for that course! The Scaley 6 car powerbase is switchable between analog and Digital, so I could concievably run both if I run that way ( I think?) For lane changers I might Cannibalize some Go's OR simply build my own!? Dunno??? :roll:

There's a lot to consider and there is even an outside chace I might Revert to 1/32 for the ability to run Mag Steer cars!??
If you are not Familiar with Mag steer follow the link: http://www.magracing.co.uk/index.html
If they had Mag steer in 1/43 I would have switched already!! LOL!! :lol:

[racer6583]

I don't know to much ,if anything about digital but with the carrera go digital if you convert the 132 digital to run 143 you can run up to eight cars Cjent would be the person to ask cause he runs both digital and analog and could tell you a lot more about his system and how he switches between the too.

May I suggest that you send a pm to Cjent with your questions and what you would like to do with your future track.

[Tsooko]

Hi Mas
My new track will have most of the features you want in yours. I am using the Scorpius system from Rick in Australia for the digital bits. There is no limit to the amount of cars you can run with it, except your pocket book of course. It is wireless also. I got ten lane brains already but they are not yet mounted. I am making my own flippers out of Plexiglas that will be cooper coated so they will be "live" . I found you can buy copper tape in sheets which makes it easy to coat flippers.
Trackmate will keep the timing and scoring for me with slide through sensors on the analog side.Like Peter's track. A bridge with IR sensors and lights won't fit in to my scenery theme. It will be the first slide through sensor 1/43 track they have done and it is already sitting at my place. They do a hill climb timing system with slide through sensors so it was not a big leap for them to get it for a regular track. It will be three lanes.
Switching between analog and digital will depend on which program is opened.
Magna-braid is next to impossible to get. I have heard it is not being made any more because of storms destroying the factory or something like that. The last I heard some guy in New Zealand had some but it was a fortune.
I am using 3/16" braid from Slot-car Corner. It will be no-mag but that is how I want it. I will use some magnetic paint in the corners so magnet cars will have some extra downforce and latex chalkboard paint over the whole track. No-mag cars won't be affected of course.
It is nice to dream and make plans for your new track. Plan it well as you will want your lane changers in good positions.

Cheers Ted

[masmojo]

Good info. Ted; Thanx!

Question for you though, if you are going to have Scorpius, why three lanes? Or would you only have 3 lanes in certain places?

I should say that the Digital thing is down at the bottom of my list, the main reasons for even considering it are these: I would like to get away from having 3 lanes! Go W/2 and I would like to have the option of going down to one! I am not really that jazzed about having 6 or 8 guys running, I have 3 lanes now and rarely need that many! But having 2 lanes with the possiblity of a jam car or a third person at the same time. Well, honestly Carrera's Go digital would probably work, but my concern with most current Digital systems is the ability to turn the power down and that would be required if I was running no mag on a tight track! I think Scorpius has some adjustability in this respect, but as I understand it; it's expensive?

I seriously think that an AC2CAR system would suit my needs almost as well, but it would pose problems if I were to host a proxy or something like that! (I think?)

I had not heard that about the Magna braid! :o That could be a problem, but maybe that issue will be sorted, by the time I am ready to build. I could use tape for the short term and add braid later if neccessary, anything I build will most likely be modular and break into 2 or 3 pieces.

My long standing plan for my next layout was for it to be a Carrera Panamericana layout, but I may revert to a Targa Florio layout similar to what I have now?? Another idea I had was for the possibilty of a combination circuit. A large faster loop for strict head to head racing and a turnout into a tighter twisty rally sort of section.

There's really going to be allot going on and I think I could only really realistically consider doing something like this in 1/43! I have seen some layouts that might approch what I am considering in 1/32, but they are usually owned by Very rich dudes who had somebody else build them! This one I want to build myself!

So anywayz, keep the ideas coming, I really needs some different viewpoints to consider! :ugeek:

[buspor63]

[masmojo]

[Tsooko]

I started my track as an analog track and wanted three lanes so I could run 1/43 spacing and yet be able to run my 1/32 cars in the center lane. As soon as I got the lanes routed a buddy gifted me the Scorpious digital bits. That changed the whole plan of course.
I could have chucked the three lane track and built a two lane but then I would have had to use 1/32 lane spacing. Something I didn't want to do as I think 1/43 cars look ridiculous on a 1/32 track so I stayed with the three lanes.
Positioning the lane changers is a problem though, but not that bad. I think with lane changers people have a tendency to put in too many at first, making it very costly no matter what system is used. Luckily some of them for me were free and if need be I can add a few more. Scorpious is not a cheap system but has a lot of good features. My limiting factor will be on how many controllers I can afford but I can add one or two a year till I can field a good race. My buddies can supply there own.
I think that the car chips are not the smallest but for what I run will fit ok. I got a few to try out too. They may not fit in F1 cars like the Carrera chips do but I am hopeful Rick will make some smaller ones in the future. Carrera F1 chips are "U" shaped and fit around the front of the motor with the ears going down the sides. Great for narrow bodies. If not, I can run my F1 cars analog. I got a car from Chuck to see how they were.
One part I like is the wireless control system will work for digital or analog. That will make it easy to marshal cars as I have a mobility problem. I can run cars from anywhere around the track and won't need driver stations, just a programing lane, which I think I'll put off the pit lane. Fueling and tire stops can be used of course along with penalty stops and drive throughs. A pace car can even be programed to come out on yellows

Like you, I probably won't run any more than 6 cars in digital mode and will only get 3 controllers, one for each lane ( analog ) but it will allow for ghost cars. More than one if I want and the ghost cars are programmable so they can change speed and lanes as they go around the track. Scorpious also has an anti-collision feature so ghost cars won't crash you out switching lanes or running into the back of you. It has way more than lane switching abilities.
This will probably be the last track I build so I want it done right and am willing to pay a little more up front. Foot print is 3.5' x 14'.

Cheers Ted

[Cjent]

TERRIFIC! I think you will have an excellent track, Ted.
Have fun, that is the most important thing.

[masmojo]

O.K. Looks like one small hurdle in the way of getting the house, but it's starting look like we will get this one.
Game room looks to be in the 16' X 16' + range not counting the stairs area. In thinking this over, I am thinking that a track combining a road course and a mountain circuit would ensure that niether gets done expeditiously.

My new thought is possibly 2 different circuits!! :o

I am thinking of one circuit which would be sligtly open, higher speed and slightly generic in nature that I can run both 1/32 & 1/43 cars on , maybe 3, 1/43 lanes with a wide shoulder/margin that will allow 1/32's in the 2 outsdie lanes!?? The Middle lane would wander in between the outside lanes some, alternating between squeezing the inside and outside lanes where those lanes have some advantage and hopefully evening everything out. A circuit like this I could build and get operational very quickly! Dunno still thinking! :think:

If I build a quick racing circuit, then I can build another more elaborate scenic circuit, all 1/43 and maybe incorporating a train?? I have a load of O-scale buildings that I would like to incorporate into this more elaborate track! If I go this way the second track WILL be two lanes. Digital is not out of the question, but still a long shot. I got a name picked out, but until I start construction I will keep it to myself! :shhh:

All Idea's or observations welcome!
:banana-rock:

[pfuetze]

Build only one track, you can have a fast part and a challeging part in one track. Do you really need 3 lanes?
i´m currently thinking of adding flippers to my track to make the 3 lane track a single lane track ...
maybe a single lane hillclimb with return loop combined with a kind of fast rally stage?

[masmojo]

[masmojo]

[masmojo]

[Cjent]

I think you are going the right way, Mas!

[masmojo]