Upgrade

[shlee]

Good afternoon, I have been thinking recently of upgrading my old track, which began as a set in the sixties and has been added to over the years.  I haven't used it for a number of years but thinking of getting it out of storage.

I seem to recall we had to have wires stretching from one side of the track to the other to prevent power drop off.

Anyway, I have a lot of the classic track and believe I can add the new stuff by using adaptors, if i am doing this, is it wise to upgrade to one of the ARC systems, thinking of ARC Air but the ONE would be ok at this point in time, and is there a limit on track size?

I have been looking at one of the new sets and being able to extend the track with my old bits seems like a reasonable way to go.

So, in essence, is it best to upgrade to one of the ARC powerbases (I don't think the old transformer or controllers will last long)?

Can I use my old cars on the new track?

 

Silly questions I suppose but I am not sure which way to jump, cheaper to begin with or go straight for the ARC PRO?

Thanks in advance

Simon

 

[Andy P.]

Hi Simon,

ARC PRO is for digital racing which is up to 6 cars on the track at one time and with special digital lane changers (like train switches) they can change lanes. To be honest, if you go that route you will likely need all the new Sport track because the digital signal is sent through the rails and the rails  have to be in absolutely perfect condition to handle that and supply track power.

You also need to have digital chips for all the cars to take advantage of the extra features.

You can still use the Classic track but it might be a chore....

For analog racing I recommend ARC AIR. It allows you to use the app to adjst performance of the cars making them match better. It works with any brand car as long as the guide blade is black (you can paint it black to get it to work) and you have lots of nifty features such as pit stops, lane counting, timing and more.

More info:

https://www.scalextric.com/uk-en/shop/sets/app-race-control-arc.html

Having said that, yes you can use the C8222 adapter pieces to combine with your Classic track but it will likely be touch and go. There are  a myriad of threads on here about how to clean up track as well as on the web. Check out the Top Tips section on this site as well.

I personally have replaced all my Classic with Sport except for pieces that don't exist in Sport like the Goodwood chicane.

There is no track length limit but booster cables may help if you do experience power loss (again, see top tip under Help and Advice)

Good luck!

 

[shlee]

Thanks Andy, 

That is what I was thinking, maybe go down the ARC AIR route first then upgrade.  In any event, I think i need to upgrade the power source as I am still using the original connections and I have a set of booster cables from when, as kids, we used to set up a track from one end of our lounge to the other with nice long straights.

I think I still have some lane changing sections from back in the day as well.

Once again, thank you for your response.  My first task is to clean and test my old track sections and move on from there.

 

Simon

[gorp]

Yes , you will need a new powerpack for arc air.

 

But you seem not to fully understand what Andy said ,so might help you greatly to read a little more here before making a costly mistake on what you really want.

Would suggest you buy a used sport analog powerbase and controllers and powerpack or two , ( if you get the correct one, it  becomes 1 pack  per lane)  from the  21st century.