[PROJECT] Komm's Scalextric set up! Scenery update - Post #85 Page 6

Hello Ladles and Serving spoons,


So this story starts about a month and a half ago. I got commission at work and decided that it was time to treat myself to a new toy.

I had been looking at slot cars for a bit, and I knew I wanted to go digital - mainly so we could have more than 2 cars on the track, and have lane changing so we can pick our lines for corners, and I was tossing up between Carerra and Scalextric - in the end I decided to go with Scalextric, purely for the fact that spare parts are cheaper/more available in my area.

So I picked up the Scalextric Digital Enforcer. which came with 3 controllers and 3 cars out of the box - perfect for our little family of 3.

... more to come when I get home from the park....

 

... Back from the park.

So having the digital law enforcer set up, the daughter having nearly as much fun as me - the true test would be when the wife got home from work.

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So she walks through the door, said "what the fuck is that - where's my controller?"

Wife approval.

We were having a great time with the law enforcer set - it took over half our living room for about 2 weeks before we packed it away.
The main issue was that we couldn't exactly race each other - we couldn't check lap times etc. So upon some more research, I found that what I needed was the advanced 6 car power base, PC to C7042 Cable and some software.

So looking into it - most retailers were selling the power base in the mid $300s, and then 3 more controllers would be ~$30each, and while I was in a hobby shop I saw the Scalextric Digtial Platinum set, that comes with an advanced power base (~$350), 6 cars all with digital chips (~$600), 6 controllers (~$180) and a lot of track for $900... so impulse math made it work for me.

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With the cable plugged into the PC, and running SSDC, setting up racer profiles, car profile, fuel burn rates, pace cars - it added a WHOLE new level of excitement to the toy! BUT it left us with a bit of an issue - the track was becoming bigger than the room we had to use it in!

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So I spent that weekend cleaning out the garage, and planning a permanent set up.

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With the garage clean, the planning of the table begins.

The size of the table that I can fit comfortably is 150cm x 360cm, which is far too big for 1 table, so I have broken it down into 2 tables of 150x180. You will also note one of the tables has an extra long leg coming up, which is where the monitor will be mounted.

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I have just handed the plans over to the neighbour who is a cabinetmaker, and he will hopefully have it done in the next few weeks!

So all I can do now is start thinking about track layouts.

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Thanks for looking, and hopefully I will be able to come back with some more news soon!

 

looks good, can I drive the R/T

 

It's got your name on it, Mic!

We have just been having a bit of a session in the lounge room, and I can't get over how exciting the SSDC software is.

We held a qualifier for 3 cars, whoever gets the fastest lap in 2 minutes of driving gets pole position for the grand prix, which is up next - 70 laps, monitoring fuel burn and pit stops is very important. The cars are set to run at 90% speed when the tank is 100% full, which means you end up burning more fuel to try and get your speed back up after hard corners... the first GP ended up with ~2 seconds between 1st and second place.

So much fun!

 

That does look like fun. The software would really make the experience much more intense. Means you can have records to beat etc etc. Keen to see how it pans out.

 

it has come so far since i was a kid and you could only have 2 cars on track!
i still remember having like 3 sets all hooked up ( need 3 power packs or something )

i think you should be able to make a 3 tier corkscrew?

ps how much track can you run nowdays?

 

Yeah - I was just going through historic races and checking how far we have come..

It's certainly come a long way!

The 6 car power base has more power than the single standard digital power base. You do notice power drop in bigger tracks - but I haven't seen that in any of the tracks I have built up in the lounge room. And even then, you can run jumpers from one side of the track to the other to even out the power.

And yes, 3 tier corkscrew could work!

 

I'll have to get over there and take em for a spin wiff ya mate memories fuck yeah

 

Hell yeah - I guarantee you will buy your own car to tweak and tailor to the track

 

Hows the cars going
how much has your time improved since your 1st couple of sessons

 

not racing yet - still waiting for the table to be made up, but should hopefully have an update this weekend! I have made a few purchases...

 

OKAY!

So a minor update - I have had an expensive couple of weeks with my daughters birthday/birthday party and my wedding anniversary, but I managed to pick up an Aldi 4k 40" tv for $444, which is going to be PERFECT for the set up, with the race manager/movies/music etc.

The original plan was to have an extra long arm coming up off the table to mount the TV, but I have recently discovered that you can get roof hanging ceiling mounts!

I bought this bad boy off ebay for something like $22 delivered:

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And it turns out you get what you pay for... the thing is flimsy AF - it is still useful! I will hang up my spare 19" monitor as a secondary, while I wait for this to arrive - it looks MUCH sturdier, and I will feel a lot more comfortable hanging up our new TV on it:

Selby ceiling mounted TV bracket.

Just installing NVIDIA drivers in preparation for...

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4k

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That's it for a bit! hopefully next weekend we will get the table started and then we can start talking about the track!

So: Checklist

Build table
Order pit lane sensors from EU
Order Selby ceiling TV mount
Find speakers
start on scenery.

 

Cool thread, watching with interest.

 

Just about to put in an order for a Slot.It McLaren F1 - Slot.It Digtal can be used on Scalextric Digital tracks - picked up on the standard power base sensors AND the aftermarket pit lane sensors.

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Whenver I've got the track setup (for the kids, I swear) We've always had trouble keeping it from oxidizing and causing poor pickup on the cars, it needs to be cleaned almost daily to keep the cars running reliably.

Do you do anything with/to your track to stop this happening?

 

Looks good

Table tennis tables also make really good tables for this, in case you haven't committed to your other one yet.

 

Looks awesome! I might go shopping. There's a Mt Panorama track set up sitting in the cupboard, and I read that the digital stuff is compatible with the old tracks!

Ed

 

Absolutely - Scalextric has always been fun, but you would get bored after a short while, but when you are plugged into the PC and monitoring fuel use, laps and lap times - you end up losing hours before you remember you have to eat and drink!

I haven't had this happen - do you have the classic or sport track? I've read about people rubbing a rag with oil over the pickups. Also, if you are losing power in places on the track, invest in some jumper cables

I did consider a tennis table - they have the right width for what I need, but fall about a meter short in length.

Make sure it's Scalextric Sport track, not classic

By the time you get:
Digital power base (probably second hand) $50
Some digital controllers $20each
2x lane changers $100
2x digital chips for your cars $30 each and if the cars aren't digital plug ready, you may need to get 2 cars and 2 chips - or 3 or 4

It may work out being comparable to get a whole set for around $500

 

I will hopefully have a fuller update when I get home tonight - but short version:
Table not yet built - hopefully Dave will have some free time this weekend, if not it will be next weekend.

Track layout wasn't great - it really favored one lane - which isn't a massive problem with digital, as you can change lanes, but I would prefer to have it even.

I placed an order with armchairracer today: I ordered the extra track needed for the new layout (will post picture when I get home), and I ordered one of these:

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Slot.it Audi R18 E-Tron Quatro - it uses a belt-driven AWD.

Thanks for looking!