Air vs Pro

[HowlinDawg]

Hi all,

I recently picked up a standard analogue Le Mans set for my five year old daughter to try out. She absolutely loved it, much as I enjoyed my own first Scalextric set back in 1974! For me it was a favoured toy for many years until I became distracted by motorcycles and girls. I still have happy memories of racing a yellow Miura against a red Ferrari P3/P4 on the banked figure eight.

A few things quickly became evident.

1] I need to buy crash barriers! :)

2] The restricted throttle mode is too conservative but full power is probably too much temptation for a 5 year old on a small twisty track. Although she's learning quickly.

3] Wired controls are still a PITA and the supplied cables seem shorter than I remember.

4] Adult visitors can't resist a go either.

It seems to me that one of the more sophisticated ARC systems could be of benefit but I'm hoping the more experienced users of the forum can help me out with some specifics; particularly around the Air vs Pro question.

wirless throttles: Are the throttles for either system more suitable for kiddies hands? I'm thinking in terms of size of the throttle and weight of the trigger.

use without app: Does either system work in standalone mode without the app or a mobile device? I'm thinking of my daughter just firing it up and driving the cars around without any adult assistance.

power limiting: How granular is the power restriction? Can I for example restrict one car/lane to 65% but the other to 75%? I'm thinking of accounting for the varying performance of different cars or making allowances for differences in inner vs outer lane.

Ideally the system could function as both a kids toy and adults hobby. Does the app allow for different profiles whereby my daughter can have her own profile for playing with her friends and I can have another profile for some full power adult fun without having to change multiple settings each time.

Finally, ignoring the cost difference, is there any reason to choose air over pro given that a child will be using the system? Am I right in thinking that the advantages of pro over air is limited to multiple cars, lane changing and KERS?

Thanks,
Martin

[woodcote]

Hi Martin - I'm really glad your daughter has caught the Scalextric bug. You must be delighted! Here's my take on your questions...

 

Wireless throttles - are surprisingly small & designed for use by young and old. The trigger is smooth and light - much nicer than the basic controller. The function buttons (important in ARC Pro) are easy to use.

 

Use without app - yes, cars have power as soon as you plug the powerbase in. However, the app is required to count laps and - probably most importantly for you - to dial in the power settings for each driver.

 

Power limiting - yes this is individual to each driver. The setting stays with the driver rather than the car, but is easily changed in the race set-up menus. You can also choose a controller 'power curve' to suit your driving style - this is done in the app, but replicates what very expensive slot car racing controllers do.

 

Profiles - yes. In the Quick Race option, you can create and save different custom races. From launching the app, you'd be two taps away from starting the race with all the settings you'd chosen before. It's a feature I really like - saves a lot of time!

 

Air vs Pro - ARC Air will always be Lane 1 vs Lane 2. In other words, 'traditional' Scalextric with loads of added features. ARC Pro gives you up to six cars over the two lanes with lane changing and a separate pit lane. The in-app extra is KERS. As a digital system, all cars running in ARC Pro will need a digital chip to work. If you plan to run six cars, you will also need six ARC Pro controllers and two power supplies.

 

It is worth adding that ARC Pro also has an analogue mode, which acts just like ARC Air - two lanes, one non-digital car on each. Possibly the best of both worlds?

[Andy P.]

Woodcote has got the most important stuff down.

Your want of barriers/guardrails is important!

To start I put them directly on the track and then i add run-off borders later.

Lap counting is really essential, otherwise it gets boring watching the car go in circles,,,,

[HowlinDawg]

 Wow, thank you both for the prompt and comprehensive replies. Much appreciated!

It sounds like both options would meet my needs bit with pro adding the ability for 'all the family' to play together. The analog mode on Pro sounds ideal for unsupervised play but with all the bells and whistles available when required.

Barriers are definitely on the shopping list once I can find them in stock somewhere.

Lap counting (how I longed for that as an 8 year old!!!) currently taken care of by the old style cam operated analog counter. Clickety click, clickety click. :)

Looks like I have some research and possibly shopping to do.

[Andy P.]

You can also use SCX (Spanish Scalextric) barriers as the track is the same thickness. You can also use Ninco but it might slide a little as the track is thicker than Scalextric. Both of those can be attached directly to the track or to the broders/run off.

[Bit50s]

My 3 year old grandson uses the Arc Pro controllers with no problem. He also has no problem with cars using scalextric standard motors without the app, which defaults to 100% power. He learned to not pull the trigger too hard pretty quickly.

Also, I have certain cars I designate for him to use, typically good running cars with magnets and not too many small bits to break off. I would not let him use F1 cars for example. Scalextric even sells a line of cars that are more crash resistant for kids. Both borders and barriers are helpful. Just my experience.

 

[HowlinDawg]

Woodcote has got the most important stuff down.

Your want of barriers/guardrails is important!

To start I put them directly on the track and then i add run-off borders later.

Lap counting is really essential, otherwise it gets boring watching the car go in circles,,,,

I managed to pick up the last couple of packs of R2 borders and barriers in the local model shop.

It looks like I can't mount the borders directly to the track without some extra clips so will have to use the borders from the off. Guess I'll find out how much of a difference they make this weekend. :)

[HowlinDawg]

My 3 year old grandson uses the Arc Pro controllers with no problem. He also has no problem with cars using scalextric standard motors without the app, which defaults to 100% power. He learned to not pull the trigger too hard pretty quickly.

Also, I have certain cars I designate for him to use, typically good running cars with magnets and not too many small bits to break off. I would not let him use F1 cars for example. Scalextric even sells a line of cars that are more crash resistant for kids. Both borders and barriers are helpful. Just my experience.

 

Thanks for the response, that's really great to know.

I've pulled the trigger on an ARC Pro set which I should have next week all going to plan.

 

I have a pair of the super resiliant LMP cars which seem indestructable so Aisling can use one of those until she masters the throttle.

 

I'll let her pick a car for herself once she get's the hang of it.

However, she won't be getting her hands on this one.  😎

 

 

[Andy P.]

I have a pair of the super resiliant LMP cars which seem indestructable so Aisling can use one of those until she masters the throttle.

If those are the kind that come in the 24 LeMans set then they are "retro chip ready" (RCR) which my personal way of denotíng that they have a 3 mm hole in the right place and even little pegs to hold the LED in place. No official place to put the digital chip though...

Regarding the broders: There are barrier clips that allow you to mount the barriers directly to the track.

[HowlinDawg]

I have a pair of the super resiliant LMP cars which seem indestructable so Aisling can use one of those until she masters the throttle.

If those are the kind that come in the 24 LeMans set then they are "retro chip ready" (RCR) which my personal way of denotíng that they have a 3 mm hole in the right place and even little pegs to hold the LED in place. No official place to put the digital chip though...

Regarding the broders: There are barrier clips that allow you to mount the barriers directly to the track.

That sounds right for the LeMans Prototypes. There's a 3mm hole dead centre about 1mm behind the guide.

I thought I might run them in analogue mode initially but good to know they can be converted if desired / required.

I couldn't source the barrier packs with just the clips. I'll keep an eye open and grab some when they're back in stock or watch for them at a reasonable price on eBay.

[HowlinDawg]

That should read 1cm behind the guide, not 1mm.  😬

 

Rookie question time: Can I use a car that has been digitally chipped on an analogue system without having to remove the chip?

 

I'm guessing that it'll work but don't want to make the assumption.

[Andy P.]

You can use a digital car aon analog but the car will have lost any "brake" effect.

DPR cars you can easily remove the chip. With what I call "RCR" Retro Chip Ready cars a good compromise is to use cips like those used in electronics and computing to connect the chip to the power (cables that have male and female ends) and you can then plug and unplug the chip as you like.

I have not done this myself yet but plan to try it out soon...

[HowlinDawg]

A mini molex on the "RCR" (tm Andy) is a good shout.I think I have some in the parts box from an old HiFi project that I can try.

 

With the ARC Pro scheduled to arrive this weekend I tried to order some C8515 Digital Plugs for my DPR cars only to find that they're out of stock here in Ireland and seemingly in Scalextric too. Anywhere I've found them online they're going at 50% to 300% above RRP. Is obtaining digital parts an ongoing problem or just a short term issue?

 

I'm a little concerned that even Scalextric seem to be out of stock of chips and controllers. If it's a short term issue then no biggie but that wasn't the impression I got from the LMS (local model shop).

 

For the moment I can just swap the chips supplied with the Platinum GT set into my preferred cars but I'd rather not make swapping chips a daily activity - that way lies worn and broken connectors.

[Rogan]

 Wow, thank you both for the prompt and comprehensive replies. Much appreciated!

It sounds like both options would meet my needs bit with pro adding the ability for 'all the family' to play together. The analog mode on Pro sounds ideal for unsupervised play but with all the bells and whistles available when required.

Barriers are definitely on the shopping list once I can find them in stock somewhere.

Lap counting (how I longed for that as an 8 year old!!!) currently taken care of by the old style cam operated analog counter. Clickety click, clickety click. :)

Looks like I have some research and possibly shopping to do.

If your after barriers have a look on my post about track barriers theres some good stuff on there from the lads and you will be my home made effort which works amazingly and if your in need of the clips im sure we can make contact somehow and I can mail you some

[HowlinDawg]

 

If your after barriers have a look on my post about track barriers theres some good stuff on there from the lads and you will be my home made effort which works amazingly and if your in need of the clips im sure we can make contact somehow and I can mail you some

Thanks, I'll take a look at the thread. 

[HowlinDawg]

Well the Arc Pro set has arrived.Damn that's a big box.How am I supposed to conceal that from SWMBO? ;)

[woodcote]

You might need this: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20797-optical-cloaks-hide-objects-in-broad-daylight/

 

Good luck!