Starting Out...Again... Digital & Analogue

[SNB1973]

Hi all, firstly I have just literally joined so apologies if I am posting in the wrong area.

I am just starting to look at putting a track together, following many happy childhood memories of racing. I have got the old track down from the loft along with the think, fuel tank, magazines etc which all works.

I have also been looking at digital arc pro as well and had a thought of creating a traditional two lane circuit bit also add in a 2 lane digital as well so get the best of both worlds. 

I have a space of about 3m x 2m so undecided on the circuit layout, I fancy mirroring one of the famous F1 circuits but notice Silverstone layouts tend to need 5m x 3m.

Hope all of this makes sense and any help/advice would be great fully received. I intend to mount on a board that folds up into the wall when not in use (Like showing in one of the old 80's scalextric mags).

[woodcote]

Hi SNB1973 - welcome to the forum!

 

Those 1980s Think Tank, Fuel Tank and Sound Track were amazing. Sadly, I never had them myself, but absolutely loved the look of them in the Scalextric catalogue. If everything still works, you have a fabulous 1980s classic retro Scalextric set-up. I'm not sure I would change it. In a pre-personal computer era, those modules provided many of the features of modern-day race management systems like App Race Control.

 

The track you have is the old-style 'Classic' track. It was replaced by the Scalextric Sport track system around the turn of the millennium. All the subsequent sets - including digital - use Sport track. This gives better electrical connectivity, has a less grippy road surface and a deeper slot. Cars from the past ten years have a deeper guide, so can bottom-use on the older Classic track (nothing a little sanding of the guide doesn't solve), but otherwise the newer cars (and most other manufacturers' cars) will work fine on the older Classic track.

 

As for designing the track, the original Scalextric 101 Circuits booklet contains some great plans and can be found here: https://slotracer.online/library/scalextric/scalextric-101-circuits.html

 

To fit Silverstone into your space, you may need to squash it a bit. I think the best way is always to use actual track pieces to see what fits - but using track design software like Ultimate Racer 3.0 can be very useful.

 

Finally, some info abut ARC Pro and digital. This is a system where you can run up to six cars on two lanes, with lane changing and a separate pit lane. Cars must be fitted with a digital chip. ARC Pro also has a traditional one-car-per-lane analogue mode for running non-digital cars. Although it is possible to use a mix of Classic track, Sport track and Scalextric Sport digital track pieces (lane changers etc), the older track can get a little glitchy. The digital command signal is carried in the track rails, so any connectivity issues could cause problems with the digital cars. It is usually best to swap to Scalextric Sport to build a digital track.

 

As I said before, I would be tempted to stick - at least to begin with - to your original Classic track and all the wonderful 1980s electronic modules. I think you will have a fabulous retro Scalextric fest! All the 80s cars are still available second-hand and - if you need to add more track - Classic track (make sure it's in very good condition) is available and cheap. Or you could get a C8222 Sport to Classic adapter and add new Sport track pieces. If you wanted to try ARC Pro digital at some point, maybe get the entry-level ARC Pro Le Mans 24 hour set, have a play and see if it adds more to the Scalextric experience than you have already.

 

Have fun!