BryceEvolution Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 I wanted to upgrade my Arc One but was not sure if to get Arc Air or Digital?!What are the advantages or should I wait for Arc Pro... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorp Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 You did not say how you want to upgrade arc one.I have one and use it without using a smart phone or tablet.One and air will run 2 cars on 2 lanes.Pro is digital and will run 6 cars on 2 or more lanes by using lane changers.Air and pro use wireless so definitely need smart phone or tablet.Chips for the cars and lane changers add to the cost of all brands of digital.I know this because I race scalextric digital.If I was considering scalextric digital today, would get a 4 car powerbase cheaply and a lane changer just to check it out and run no more than 3 dpr chipped cars on it.But for a more robust experience today, would buy an advanced digital 6 car powerbase, which can be upgraded via cables and software through internet sites such as slotforum.The advanced can also run 2 analog cars like you have currently with arc one.Now if you have the required smart phone or tablet and want to wait, the arc pro when it is finally released may then be the only option available as new with a warranty.So it all comes down to how many cars you want to race at the same time and how much you want to spend to upgrade arc one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy P. Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Just a couple of comments:Air and pro use wireless so definitely need smart phone or tablet. You don't need a mobilde device to use ARC AIR as a traditional analog set up. It works just fine without out but the mobilde device allows for lots of tweaking and and incident features.Most of what "gorp" says is correct.As he said, apart from a few fetaures such as yellow flag and KERS the main difference is lane changing and more than 2 cars at any one time.We have been using ARC AIR for months and absolutely love the fact that it is real racing experience with the cars slowing down when they run out of fuel or a tire blows. The wireless controllers are a Godsend with kids. The fact that any car from any manufacturer will work with it as long as the guide blades are black is also very very cool.I use the pacer funtion not only to race against myself but also to run in cars and their motors.Digital requires the cars to be chipped and a chip costs between 5 and 15 GBP per car (whereby the DPR cars allow you to swap chips i.e. one chip can be put in any car at any time).So basically if you really want more than 2 cars and lane changing and you don't mind chipping go digital. Otherwise I would get ARC AIR first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorp Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Thanks Andy for pointing out that the arc air will work as traditional analog without a smart phone or tablet.Does it need a computer to connect the wifi ?Back in the 90s, remember an unnamed chinese company released controllers that were wireless and the delay they had resulted in me posting ,at the company's request, a swap by them for all users to wired controllers.That was the end of that particular product for them but their german friend at that time now has wireless.They also swapped motors but thats another story.gorp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorp Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Perhaps the arc pro too could operate without a smartphone or tablet and just be a pb6 with wifi.Would not be a bad purchase having more power available.Simple but effective digital.Always wondered why not made already.Then redo the 4 car lap counter to a 6 car version and change screen to read left to right.Lower cost entry to digital would convert more analog users and newbies.Win Win for scaly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy P. Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 ARC only works with the compatile list of mobile devices:https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/forum/arc-app-device-compatibility/?p=1Wifi is not needed unless you use the social media aspects of the app and to update the app/firmware.There are no plans to have it work with a computer of any kind at this point.Your mobile device provides all the wifi you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorp Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Checked arc air quick set up guide pg 6 and 7 pdf , downloadable from net.If scaly guide is correct, it states an acceptable smart device is required to set up the powerbase to hand controller connection.Now guessing that will be the same for arc pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blagard Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Checked arc air quick set up guide pg 6 and 7 pdf , downloadable from net.If scaly guide is correct, it states an acceptable smart device is required to set up the powerbase to hand controller connection.Now guessing that will be the same for arc pro. I am not sure you have read it correctly. If you ignore the setting up of the App with the powerbase (which is the intended way to set it up) you will then notice it says the powerbase and controllers should be already set up. It does indicate that the only way to change that is using the App. But I don't see many buying ARC Air to run scalextric without the benefit of the App. It is an awful lot to shell out just to get wireless controllers that cannot be changed from initial settings without the App. One other point is I have aquired a small Tablet PC running a full version of Windows 10. In fact I got it to replace a netbook PC I used to have. The Tablet is to me better than the limited functionality of things like ipad etc. However despite it having WiFi and Bluetooth it is not going to be suitable to run scalextric. So will Scalextric be writing an App for the the PC? Previously I would have thought the PC is going to slide away for all but commercial use and dedicated PC users. Now I am not at all sure. My wife has an iPad which I thought was quite good. Now I have the Tablet PC I think I have the better bit of kit and it was cheaper! Has anyone tried an emulator on a PC yet to run the App made for "Smart" devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy P. Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 "set up" means being able to adjust acceleration and top speed as well as setting the "minimum" speed for when an "incident" happens like having a tire blow.Again, you do NOT need a device to simply use the track as an analog set and as Blagard said I don't see the point of using it without a device.The main advantages of mobile devices are almost omnipresent and take up very little space. I have read other places about users using emulators to get the app working on PC and Macs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorp Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Thats great news that your arc air does work without a smart device Blagard.To have a basic analog power base using unwired controllers means you can place it anywhere on the track instead of in front of a line up of wired racers.This adds hope that arc pro will also function without a smart device.A pb6 that can run 8 amps would be ideal for many that just want to race instead of setting weather and tires and road conditions and anything else that control freaks desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryceEvolution Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 Thanks for the advice! 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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