controller unlinks

[Gemil]

I have inherited a scalextric digital with no instructions.  I have learnt how to link the cars to the controllers but they seem to unlink every couple of minutes.  What actually happens is that the powerbase unit develops a flashing green light.  The only way to solve the problem has been to turn this off and on and then link the cars once more.....but its becoming a pain. Admittedly my race skills are low curremntly and the cars do spin off frequently - however they dont move that far from the track in doing so and I wouldnt have expected that would lead to unlinking......am I doing soemthing wrong ?

[gorp]

Are the batteries new ?

[Andy P.]

I am assuming you have an ARC PRO powerbase with wrieless controllers.

Do they unlink in analog as well as digital mode?

Are the batteries (ideally alkaline) new?

Does it do this with all cars or just some cars?

Some cars with more powerful motors will cause the powerbase to trip and lose connection.

Other Bluetooth devices in the room can cause them to unlink as well.

There are switches under the power base to try different frequencies as well.

[gorp]

Rereading this, wonder if you are actually complaining about cars becoming unlinked and not the controllers ?

If that is the case, the main cause is usually the 2 piece round guide has become loose and needs reassembly properly - see help and advice at top of page.

 

However if the cars are fine after you relink the controllers only , try running  it with app turned off .

[Mr.Black]

I'm having a problem getting one of my wireless controllers to pair with the ARC PRO base.

When I first put batteries in both the blue and green controllers linked and turned on their respective leds on the base. Then after using in analog mode for a few hours the controllers (green) red power button began blinking. As the batteries i installed had been sitting in a drawer for a while I went and bought new batteries the next day and installed them, since then i have been unable to get it to link to the base at all. Analog mode/digital mode, app running/not running, trying to connect to another color seems to make no difference. But the other controller seems to be working fine. 

Here's what i'm doing:

Plug in base

Hold green button until all leds flash once then green begins flashin steadly

Hold down controller trigger

turn controller on (green led begins flashing more quickly)

Release trigger

At this point the green led on the base usually stops flashing and turns off and the red led on the controller goes from flashing to solid red.

If I turn off the controller and turn it back on the red led returns to flashing red and the green led on the base does not turn on.

I have even tried yet another completely unrelated set of fresh batteries with same results.

I have tried linking it to another unused color with no luck

I'm afraid to change anything with my "red" controller to a-b troubleshoot because if that one bricks all this digital stuff I just bought (and havent been able to USE YET) will all be useless.

Is there something simple I'm missing? The Quick Start guide while usefull seems awfully brief.

I did checkout slot.racers ARC PRO guide, but it's more focused on using the app features, and it's troubleshooting was informative, but not when it comes to connecting.

Heck, I have yet to try linking a car to the base and controller and had the joy of changing lanes or pitting ... What have i gotten myself into

 

~MIB

[Mr.Black]

 

There are switches under the power base to try different frequencies as well.

I wondered what those switches were For!

Is there a post here somewhere with more details on how they work?

 

~MIB

[gorp]

Basicly the switches change to another of the 4 channels and you will need to reset all controllers when the channel is changed.

This topic was recently on general forum on discussion about running arc pro at same time as arc air but on separate tracks.

 

DO NOT PANIC

Had same problem with controllers when tried first time and kept making mistakes.

Second time followed Quick Start Guide instructions slowly.

 

First if the track is to be used for digital and analog racing with arc pro, it MUST be built to analog track standards.

2ND, do not know how your track is currently constructed, so we will go over connecting the controller  with the arc pro powerbase out of track.

3rd , Woodcote , who used to be here to answer questions long and politely, seems busy with HO currently.

He wrote the missing arc pro manual at slotracer.online and had several easy rules which believe are covered in manual or at top of this page at help and advice.

The best one he had was arc pro has left to right red, green, blue , yellow..., so lane 1 and car 1 and controller 1 is red to match what happens on app because it is also color coded to red, green ... and thus ends confusion.

The green controller is set to lane 2 ,car 2, and controller 2 to fit app and so on

On analog, you use only red and green controllers and only those lights are on powerbase.

Do not know how your arc pro came, with other colored controllers instead , but eventually you will need to reset them so avoid the confusion of the app.

 

Ok you have quick start guide on pages 8 and 9 and arc pro is out of track.

Turn off everything including unplugging powerbase and KEEP APP OFF and any other blue tooth devices that are running in household (which is why you may need to change to different channel but not now.

Turn on working controller only , will go to red then go off, then turn it off.

Do the same for nonworking controller, changing to red and then going off.

If the non working controller did not do same as working, change the batteries again.

Retry, same failed result, then problem is controller.

 

OK , if both controllers passed, we will go on.

My rule is all changes of powerbase from digital to analog and back again are done with everything off, meaning powerbase is unplugged ( have switch on cord here to shut off power ) along with controllers and app shut off.

Set analog with side switch toward track and then power up.

You will see the top flash orange continuously and all 6 controller yellow lights will flash on then off. (they do the same when starting on digital )

The orange flashing light is powerbase searching for app which is turned off.  (When using scaly arc app it will be turned on at this point , I think, and not after controllers but right now cannot remember since seldom use it. The app itself will either show arc pro for digital or arc air for analog running .)

But again, we are not using app for this setup.

 

Turn on working controller which now has solid red light on top of it and it should show solid yellow light under red or green on powerbase, Then turn it off.

Turn on fauty controller if it passed first test and it should light up with solid red light on top and the other color, red or green has solid yellow under it.

If another color lights up other than red or green, this must be corrected for analog.

If same yelow lights up for 2nd controller, then one controller needs to be changed.

If no yellow light , time to connect it to powerbase.

 

Turn off fauty controller.

Press down and HOLD  red or green on powerbase and that  light will turn green.

Fully squeeze the trigger and turn on controller.

Release button on powerbase and trigger,  the powerbase light should be solid yellow and controller solid red.

(yes I know this requires 3 hands but here hold button down with littlle finger while squeeing tigger with other hand and using  first hand thumb to turn controller on.)

 

On page 5 you will find out what lights mean.

Good luck and if it fails again at last step, try doing again slowly and then resetting channel underneath if necessary but again you will have to reset both controllers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr.Black]

Thanks Very much for the indepth reply Gorp.

I reread the slot.racer manual, understanding Woodcotes rule of threes more fully, I took a deep breath (or 3) and tried carefully connecting 2nd controller to green 'channel' many times with no luck.

 

I will follow your troubleshooting tips next.

 

I have sport track with the arc pro powerbase that I bought seperately (came with 2 controllers) I just ordered P9300 power supply so i'll have a second power supply hooked up soon. Until I figure everything out I have a relatively simple oval layout with just a left exit and right exit pit lane installed so I can test digital function in each lane. Also for now, I'm using only Scalextric DPR cars with a chip installed in each as I don't have any Scalextric fully Digital cars. None of my cars has been modified other than perhaps a missing mirror or tailpipe here and there 😉

 

On a positive note I got everything sync'd and linked to my working red channel controller and made some laps in digital with the app running in pro mode. Both pit lanes work beautifully, and I got to try out fuel level and tire wear options. Plus while I was adding cars/photos to the app my red controller went into sleep mode, so now I know how that works and at what speed the controller led blinks when it does.

[gorp]

Correction on testing green controller.

 

Leave app OFF

 

Test under digital.

Set faulty green controller to red setting.

If green controller works on red  , then problem is powerbase.

If green controller does not work on red ,  then problem is controller.

 

Andy will probably ask couple more questions and have you  contact scaly customer service on right side of screen.

In states personally. have just called scaly usa,  so they will send replacement under warranty.

[Andy P.]

Another user states that his WIfI was causing synch problems and he changed the frequency of the wifi to get it to work.

The only way to test this theory is to move the powerbase somewhere where the Wifi can't interfere or to turn your wifi off while you test.

If that, changing the dip switches and everything else noted here doesn't help then you have defective controllers.... it is rare but it does happen so contact your retailer or as gorp says customer care at the right...

[Mr.Black]

Thank you everyone for your help, after much troubleshooting the issue seems to lie within the controller itself.

Contacted Scalextric US Service and was put in contact with a very helpful and knowledgeable gentleman named Tony.

Will update as solution progresses.

 

 

Also about previous post; Proper power supply part number to use with ARC PRO Powerbase in the US is P9303

So if you're in the US and want to add a second power supply to an ARC PRO based track get P9303, you wont be sorry.

[Andy P.]

Glad it worked out!

[Mr.Black]

Replacement controller received in a very timely manner considering all that's going on in Hornby US's home in Washington State!

Installed batteries and it worked first try, analog and digital modes.

Now that I have two functioning controllers and a few days passed, I got curious to see if I could find the problem with non-functioning cotroller by opening it up. After much back and forth about warranty issues I decided that I wouldn't be voiding a warranty on it, it's already broken and been replaced no more warranty exists on it .... right?

Anyway, I opened it up and at first didn't notice much out of place, then I brought out the lighted magnifying visor, Bingo!

There is a red wire running from what I'd guess is the main power board (top of controller with power LED & Switch built in) that should be connected to the trigger controlled potentiometer slider...that wire looks like it was barely soldered in place to begin with, and is no longer connected.

If I can find someone local who's got a more steady hand than I to solder that back in place, I bet it would work like new!

 

Either way, problem completely solved, again many thanks to everyone here on the forums for your help and advice,

And a Big shoutout to Tony @ Scalextric US for being extra helpful, knowledgeable, and patient while working from home during a difficult time. I hope his bosses read this and understand what a valuable asset he is to their company.  At a time when many companies are outsourcing customer service to far away lands, to people who can only answer based on a script, or worse yet only answer customer service via e-mail, Tony is a shining example of the way things should / could be done.

[Andy P.]

Good to hear. I also have a controller behaving badly so I will open it up.

[gorp]

Mr Black , are you saying the wire is broken off at the moving slider or at the board ?

 

The discovery of potential problems is major.

 

Would you please post pictures of this ?