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Getting the most out of your new Micro Scalextric set Micro Scalextric track is different from full size Scalextric track, with a hard plastic surface and metal rails which sit vertically like a model railway, rather than flush with the track. The Micro track is based on established 1/64 scale systems that date back to 1960, which makes it nearly as old as Scalextric. Tens of millions of people around the world have owned and enjoyed various makes of 1/64 slot car track and they've learned a few things about how to get it set up properly and keep it well maintained. 1. Track set-up The first thing to say is that new track should work well straight out of the box - especially if the enclosed instructions are followed. The first step is to check you have all the track pieces you need and lay them out on the floor or on a table to make up your chosen circuit. /media/tinymce_upload/a397f10831932fc3e4db4ee3a95a8a37.jpg Once you're happy with the layout, start connecting the track pieces by pushing them together on a flat surface and in a straight line - don't join the pieces at an angle or the ends could get damaged. /media/tinymce_upload/37c19d7234fc391ecee19d0f798bdda8.jpg Work patiently round the track until it is complete. Take particular care with the last few pieces. Now add any bridge supports if your layout has a flyover. It is a good idea to go round again and check that all the connections are good, looking out for any gaps or misalignments. Gaps can be closed up easily, but, if the track was not connected correctly in the first place, you may need to take that section apart and then carefully re-connect it. The next step is to run over the track with a cloth to clean the surface of any dust. With the track fitted together and cleaned, it is time to turn on the power and test the cars. It's worth saying that most 1/64 cars can stutter a bit for the first five to ten laps. That's perfectly normal, the cars are cleaning the top surface of the rails. Just give the car a push each time it stops. After a short while, the rails will be clean and the cars will work fine. If the car is still stuttering, check the braids are making a good connection with the track. They should be angled down to about 45-degrees. /media/tinymce_upload/b6a503dca4ceb59a8e142366406cd2a5.jpg We'll look at more trouble-shooting topics later. But first, let's look at making your Micro Scalextric set even better...

Micro Scalextric celebrated its twentieth anniversary back in 2014. With not much having been written about the smaller cars, I was asked to produce a few articles as part of the celebrations. Those appeared in the National Scalextric Collectors Club Journal, Slot Car Magazine and Slot Magazine. I've reworked the more practical aspects of those articles to post them here. Hopefully new (and not so new) Micro Scalextric racers will find some of the tips and suggestions useful. Each of the posts comes with pictures which may take time to be approved here on the forum - so please be patient.

The ARC Pro powerbase uses the chip's LED and the guide passing through a infra-red beam to count the laps. Both have to be working to get a lap counted. Looks like the LED is working if you are lane changing. It's more likely to be the guide not triggering the beam. That can be because the guide isn't black (Scalextric blue guides won't work and neither will red or white guides from some other manufacturers). Or it could be because the guide is lifting up when the car is accelerating - always best to have the powerbase towards the end of a straight rather than at the beginning. Anything that could be lifting the front of the car at that crucial point could be the culprit. Don't know about the lights... could be an iffy connection. I think it's just a co-incidence... The third car - does it work okay before you launch the app? The calibration things can be a bit mind-boggling with more than two cars - you need to check the colour of the car on the app screen, then match that with the controller on the same colour and ID the car onto that colour too. That 3-way process has tripped me up more than once. Hopefully it's that and not the chip - if it shows some life, then that's a good sign! But maybe a check of the soldering points is in order? And a bit of TLC on the braids, just in case the connection is not good. Good luck!

Although it is not on the Scalextric list, I tried out the Amazon Fire7 (8GB) tablet with ARC Air and ARC Pro over the holidays. The tablet was used in its original format (without Google Play installed) and the ARC app installed from the Amazon Fire Apps & Games store. It has worked well and the 7-inch screen is a good size for displaying four cars in ARC Pro. Possibly the bigger 8-inch or 10-inch screens would be better for racing six cars? The Fire7 (8GB) was purchased for £29.99 in the Amazon Black Friday / Cyber-Monday promotion. It currenty retails in the UK for £49.00 and EUR 69,99 in France. The device I have been using very reliably for ARC Air and ARC One is an iPhone 4s. The screen is small, but okay for the two-car analogue racing. You can pick up used phones in good, working condition for as little as £20. It is possible to use HDMI or VGA adapters or Apple TV to project the display on a big screen for ARC Pro use.

None of the front-engined classics from Scalextric are Digital Plug Ready because the motor is positioned where the digital plug would normally go. The plug (standard or F1) won't fit behind the motor either because it would foul the drive shaft to the rear axle. However, as Dr_C pointed out, the C7005 retro-fit chip will convert non-DPR cars like the E-Type and D-Type Jags to digital. If you're not confident enough to do the simple soldering job, then it's not difficult to find someone to do it for you. Some Scalextric stockists (see link at top of the page) will chip a car for you for a modest additional cost. That's particularly common for retailers who also deal with model railways. There are also other businesses that offer the service (an internet search throws up a few) or if you take the car, chip and instructions to a local trader who does electronic soldering (eg. computer/laptop repair shop) - they'll most likely do a fantastic job for you. There's no need to deprive yourselves of some classic Jaguar digital action 😀

Please do not be tempted to click on the link above from 'google customer service' - at best it is a spam link. At worse it could ruin your Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Good luck with the conversion! Let us know how you get on. There are some iOS and Android apps that can count laps if you're running on your own. Look for LapTracker, Slot Car Trainer, Mini4WD Lap Timer - and I'm sure there are more 😀

Although Scalextric don't produce ballast and other hop-up part for running magless, there is a good list of stockists who might be able to help: https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/stockists/ From that list, I've used Pendle Slot Racing and they stock weights from a few manufacturers, as well as their own lead sheet. They are really knowledgeable and will be able to advise on weight, tyres and other parts. I've enjoyed making my Scalextric cars magless the past few years. I find that the amount of weight depends on the car and especially its centre of gravity. A tall, heavy car needs more weight low down to stabilise it than a low, light car. I start will just a couple of grams by the guide and a gram in front of each of the rear wheels. I use either blu-tak or double-sided tape as a temporary fixture and when I'm happy I have it right, I use Shoe Goo to fix the weight permanently, ready for some hard racing 😎 Good luck and have fun!

The only device produced specifically for Micro Scalextric is the L7702 automatic lap counter. As mechanical lap counters go, it is a very good and reliable unit. It counts from 0 to 50 laps. It is included in most sets or available separately at places like eBay and amazon. When I use a Micro set for racing at home or at community events, I use a format where the race lasts for a minute or two minutes and we record the number of laps completed. A digital kitchen timer or coundown timer app is perfect for counting the time. There are 1/64 scale (or HO) lap timers that were made for other HO brands and some will attach to Micro track. The best is probably the Tomy AFX Electronic Control Station, although its sensors don't always work consistently with Micro Scalextric cars. And it'll set you back at least £60+ if you can find one. So I can't really recommended that for use with Micro Scalextric. There are custom lap timers from TrackMate and DS that are aimed at enthusiasts and clubs. They are very good, but will need sensors fitting to the track and will cost over £100 for a full system. Another option that I'm looking at is modifying the Scalextric ARC One powerbase and sensors to use with Micro Scalextric. It has been on my 'to-do' list for the whole of 2017. The aim is to get lap counting and all the basic game-play features of the ARC app for use with Micro Scalextric. I would love to see Scalextric produce this, but a DIY version might get the ball rolling. I will post up the results here when I do have time to get this done. As for extending the track. Yes, you will lose a bit of power for every track piece you add after the powerbase. Whether that's a big issue for you is something you'll have to decide. It is possible to add 'jumpers' - leads that go from as near to the powerbase to another track section round the circuit. I usually aim to add jumpers about every 20 feet of HO track. Anything less than 25 feet almost certainly doesn't need them. Have fun!

Worthing HO Racing has been organising Scalextric digital events since 2014, including the final round of the Scalextric World Championship in both 2014 and 2015. The club uses Scalextric Sport track and the Scalextric Sport Digital system with race control software running various simulations including fuel consumption, tire wear and weather conditions - very much like the features in ARC Pro. WHO/digital events are aimed at all ages and all abilities and are guaranteed to be a lot of fun! Most WHO/digital races run 100% Scalextric DPR cars. The Wednesday evening events feature a club-car team race, so you don't need to bring anything with you to take part. In 2018, there will be five Wednesday evening digital races and four all-day Digital Saturdays. The digital racing calendar and more details about our digital racing can be found on our website: www.who-digital.org.uk Here's a video of one of our 2017 Wednesday evenings to give you a taste of what we do: