ARC Pro and Analogue Cars

[woodcote]

At some point, I will add a few details about the ARC Pro analogue mode here: https://slotracer.online/community/showthread.php?tid=181

 

In the meantime, the important thing to remember is that when you flick the switch to change mode, the app changes from the ARC Pro version to the ARC Air one. I have found that if you switch while the app is open, it can cause all sorts of confusion (for the app and for the user). Before switching I recommend closing the app, then dismissing / hard-stopping the app and then launching the app afresh.

 

You could go even further and - if you have a spare device - use one device for ARC Pro digital running and the other for analogue mode (ARC Air) running. That way, you have everything set up as you need it as soon as the app is open. I use ARC Air for public events - it's quicker for complete newbies to get the hang of - and I use my Fire 7 tablet exclusively for analogue running. At home, I really only use the app for digital racing with the app on my iPhone or iPad.

[Brian Z.]

You could go even further and - if you have a spare device - use one device for ARC Pro digital running and the other for analogue mode (ARC Air) running. That way, you have everything set up as you need it as soon as the app is open. I use ARC Air for public events - it's quicker for complete newbies to get the hang of - and I use my Fire 7 tablet exclusively for analogue running. At home, I really only use the app for digital racing with the app on my iPhone or iPad.

 

So I could add an Arc Air power pack that could be right next to the Arc Pro power pack and when I want to switch between digital and analogue just power one or the other and switch apps?  I think that would be ideal because I am running into issues like the pit lane switching in analogue on it's own with the Arc Pro, and since the pit lane is in the middle of a long straight it causes horrible crashes (cars going into the pits at full speed).

 

[woodcote]

Hi Brian - I would strongly recommend that you don't do that as it risks damaging both powerbases.

 

What you can do is to swap out the ARC Air for the ARC Pro - only have one powerbase track section in the layout at the time. Your lane changers will still be an issue with ARC Air. You can tape the flipper open (remembering to remove the tape when you go back to digital) or replace the digital pieces with standard track sections. That's the same however you use analogue with Scalextric digital lane changers in the layout.

 

Since I wrote that comment, I do run more with the ARC Pro analogue mode at home and I'm getting used to it. It is ideal for a permanent layout, running mostly digital and with regular testing of analogue cars and occasional analogue racing sessions. I do tape up lane changers and pit entry with just a small amount of Scotch Magic.

[Brian Z.]

Okay thanks for clarifying.  I thought about taping them in place for analogue but was worried it might damage the mechanism that causes them to switch back and forth.  If you've done it without incident then it's probably okay.

[Thenewb69]

Hello. I'm in UK.

Bought the ArcPro powerbase to be able to run my Anologe cars and the few digital cars I got. After teething problem. I can run the digital cats with no issue.

Now Anologe is another story.

After turning all off (unpluging). Switching to anologe the cars lights flash once. Then when I squeeze the trigger the car jumpsva couple inches forward, lights flash and that's it, dead.

Any ideas guys?

Thanks

[Andy P.]

Did you remove all the digital lane changing sections of track?

The older, no longer produced curved lane changers have to modified for use in analog mode.

Other lane changers need to have the flippers taped so that they do not cause both rails to connect.

Also the cross over track must be used in pairs on an analog track.

To be sure there is not a short circuit on the track remove the power base an only use it to test the cars. If they work fine on the powerbase alone you have a short elsewhere.

Are you sure the cars are analog?

If they still have a digital chip in them they might be uncontrollable in analog mode. Remove the chip and that should help.

Finally make sure the cars work fine. Use a 9 volt battery to be sure the motor works fine.