Boognish Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I have built a digital track but have certain areas that have run out of power,can i have some advice on maybe adding extra power packs?,i have started running the power cables from track to track,am thinking maybe i have built to long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodcote Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi Boognish and welcome to the forum! Power is a big issue on digital tracks, especially as the digital signals are carried in the track rails. The track has to be in immaculate condition. These tips are a great starting point: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/support/track-maintenance If your track is long, power taps are a good idea. The tracks we build at WHO/digital are 100 to 150 foot long and we have two power taps running from a track piece next to the power base. One tap runs to 1/3 of the way round the track, the other 2/3 of a lap. We also run a short tap into the pit lane. It is important that the same rails are connected by the taps, otherwise you will get a short circuit / power overload. The other thing that digital racers find very useful is using INOX MX-3 to keep the rails in top condition. This is easily available in Australia and NZ, but worth the cost of importing elsewhere. A small bottle lasts a long time. All we do is add one drop to each braid of our cars at the start of the day and run them round, making sure we run through the pits, over lane changers etc. That small amount gives an extra clean and a protective coating on the track rails. That lasts us a day’s racing and protects until we’re racing again. One final thought on power is to ask what digital power base you are using, how many power supplies, how many lane changers and how many and what cars? Both ARC Pro and the C7042 Advanced Power Base (APB) will run 3 Scalextric cars with one power pack. To run 4, 5 or 6 cars, two power packs are recommended (The four-car powerbase can only only be fitted with one power pack and runs okay-ish with 3 cars on a smallish track). Using a field of higher-powered cars (eg Slot.it, NSR etc) will usually mean two power packs are required. Power is used by the cars, but also by lane changers (including pit entry pieces), so with a long track and multiple lane changers, using ARC Pro or the APB with two power packs is the best option. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boognish Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi WoodcoteThanks for taking the time to answer a few questions,im running the 6 car platinum but have increased the track size to around 160 feet,with a short spiral,have a pit area,have a one lane section,the two straight lane changes,but i have the strat and power pack at one end of garage,am maybe thinking extra power pack is needed at the other end as well as wire taps,i will try to post some pictures later and see if its easier to see my problem.cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_C Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi Boognish, Remember, any mains power supply unit should feed into a single power base which then powers the tracks i.e. two power supplies is best but still only one power base. All the power booster straps/taps are typically fitted between track pieces OR between track pieces and the output of the power base - all taking care to match track polarity and lane (latter esp if using analog mode and/or using ARC PRO as power base). For a long narrow circuit (which sounds like your configuration) a power bus running the length of the race circuit with taps at various points along the way would probably be optimal... Hope this helps... C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boognish Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 /media/tinymce_upload/cbbd9630e38f583db3ca664f76186b10.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/c670a49b6fdcc5401cabb6ffb1ac34d8.jpgThanks guys,i will start with maybe using wire taps and give all connections a good clean,maybe use the inox m3 also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodcote Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Oh my! What a super-cool track! Your imaginative use of that garage space is truly brilliant :-) You might find some of the more extreme elevation changes can be challenging for the track connections. Do check the tabs are tight. If you are getting dead spots in those areas, that could be the reason. A good clean and use of INOX (as described above) will definitely help. I like Dr_C's suggestion of a model railroad DCC-style power bus running down each side of the garage with taps running off it. That will be a neater solution than multiple taps radiating from next to the powerbase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boognish Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 Thanks i will look into everything you guys have mentioned and hope to get this track up and running!,will post more pics when i start the landscaping side of it!Appreciate all the feed back guys cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.