Arc Digital help

[nuzik]

I thought id come here and ask as you all probably  know far more than i.

 

I have three kids but two that mainly will be playing ones 4 and the other is 6. But there is also me as well.

 

now i want to get them something that will last and what is best.

 

Thoughts and ideas

[woodcote]

Hi nuzik - welcome to the forum!

 

All the Scalextric ranges are explained here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/our-ranges-explained

 

In your thread title you mention 'ARC digital'. All three ARC systems - ARC One, Air and Pro - work with the App Race Control software that runs on a smart device. I think it's a great innovation. ARC One and ARC Air are so-called 'analogue' systems where the hand throttles directly control the power going to each lane and so only one car can run on each lane. I guess that's traditional Scalextric, with the ARC app bringing it right up to date with fuel and tyre simulations, pit stops (on the start/finish track) etc.

 

ARC Pro is properly digital - up to six cars can be run on two lanes, with lane changing and a separate pit lane. Digital signals are sent through the track and decoded by the digital chip in each car (like DCC digital model railway systems).

 

You say you have a 4 and a 6 year old who will race with you and you want a system that will last as a hobby you can share. I think ARC Pro is the pinnacle of the ARC systems - the three of you can race at the same time and another three friends can join in too. ARC Pro is just one year old, so there are lots of potentially exciting developments that should appear in the not too distant future. In my opinion, it's a system that will last and is the best on offer from Scalextric.

 

However... Scalextric recommends ARC Pro for ages eight and above. I know youngsters of 5 and 6 who race digital really well. I also know other youngsters - as well as some grown-ups -  who can't get to grips with it. My advice - for what it's worth - is to aim for an ARC Pro system, but maybe think about starting with something more basic. If your youngsters don't like Scalextric (unlikely, but possible) or they end up crashing a lot, there's not so much to lose. It also depends quite a bit on your initial budget and the space you have available.

 

For £120 you can find an ARC One set, including two robust cars. With this you can have fun, learn the basic functions of the ARC app and learn how to drive a Scalextric car. You can add more cars (the Lightning GT cars for £20 each are great for youngsters) and some more track, plus accessories like scenery.

 

For around £200 you could start out with the ARC Air system. This offers more features in the ARC app - pretty much everything that ARC Pro offers, except only two cars and no overtaking. Again, you can add more cars, track and accessories. The wireless controllers that come with ARC Air are really nice.

 

ARC Pro starts at around £350 for the three-car Sunset Speedway layout. If you wanted to add more cars, you will need to buy a digital chip (£15) for each. To run more than three cars, you'll need a second power supply, plus an extra wireless controller (£20) for each extra car up to six. Extra lane changers can be bought for around £30. The top of the range ARC Pro set is the ARC Pro Platinum GT set which you can find for around £500. It has four cars, four controllers, two power supplies, two lane changers and a pit lane - pretty much the complete kit. All you might need to add in the future are two extra controllers, more cars and chips, plus extra track and accessories.

 

So digital is more expensive, but all the standard Scalextric cars, track and accessories can be used - don't forget the cars need a chip to convert them to digital. As well as being more expensive, it is also a little more complicated. Getting acquainted with Scalextric via ARC One or Air might be a smoother learning curve for you all. 

 

To upgrade an ARC One or ARC Air track to ARC Pro, you would need the ARC Pro upgrade kit (includes the powerbase, one power supply and two wireless controllers), plus extra controllers, digital chips for the cars, a second power supply, a couple of lane changers and a pit lane. That's going to stretch to at least £250 for the complete six car system.

 

For all three ARC systems, you will also need a compatible smart device to run the ARC app. All post-2011 Apple devices will work, as will the 2016 and 2017 Amazon Fire devices. I use the cheap Fire 7 tablet, as well as my very old iPhone 4s and a 2017 entry-level iPad 9.7. The range of Android devices is more limited, although it's always worth trying whatever android device you might have - you might be lucky. The official compatibility list is here: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/arc-compatibility

 

Hope that helps! If you have any more questions, just ask.

[nuzik]

Absolutely amazing. just what i needed.

[Slumdog]

 The only other thing that may be worth considering is that if you do start with a more basic set with a view to upgrading to Arc Pro at some stage in the future is that the cars in the set are DPR ready so you can upgrade them with teh chips rather than having to invest in new cars.

I got back into Scalextric a couple of years back when my grown up kids bought their old dad a Le Mans set for Christmas, I have since upgraded to the Arc Pro powerbase which can be switched between analogue and digital but as the cars from my Le Mans set were not DPR I had to invest in 2 new cars to upgrade to digital.

Just a thought.

[Andy P.]

Actually you can use the C7005 retro chip and make nearly any car of any brand digital.

You may have to drill a 3 mm hole about 8mm to 1 cm behind the guide but apart from that a little soldering the cars are fully digital compatible.

If you use small plugs/jacks you can also make it so you can remove the chip easily or use it in another car.

Many of the Scalextric non-DPR cars have the hole as well as convient places to perfectly hold the chip already in the chassis.

The LMP cars for example work very well as this.