Analog controller input cuts out

[Candlepins]

Hello,

I’m fairly new to

scalextric and slot car racing in general and I’ve noticed some differences in how power is sent to the cars when using the analog controller vs. the SparkPlug app.

So I have a mix of cars. A couple formula e (so far these are the smoothest running cars), British touring cars (sometimes they just stop on the track), and a few old/used scalextric sport f1 cars (not as quick as the newer cars, but less problematic than the touring cars). Sometimes while using the analog controller, a car will just stop or stutter on the track. Usually when I’m reducing power around a corner. When I gently squeeze on the trigger to accelerate, sometimes the car won’t move and I’ll keep squeezing until the car decides to take off like a rocket ship. I have two controllers and they both behave this way. Like there’s a dead zone while making small adjustments in finger pressure. Just wondering if that’s how those basic controllers behave or if I just have a set of bunk controllers. Since I’m new at this and wouldn’t know right off the bat.

My Formula E set came with SparkPlug dongles, and pretty much all the cars drive smoothly while using the app, but I really don’t enjoy using the touch screen to control my cars.

So, should I try another set of analog controllers? Should I buy an ARC PRO power source if I want to enjoy that smooth and constant power delivery? (I assume that while SparkPlug and arc pro are incompatible, they’re still delivering a digital signal to the track?)

Thank you for any insight and help that you may offer, and for your time in reading all of this.

[Andy P.]

You may have gotten your hands on some sub-par controllers. It's rare but it does happen.

Do they ever exhibit a burning or acrid smell? That's an indication that the resistance in the controller is too high.

It could also by some bad track connections:

The best way to test is to set up the smallest possible track (oval) and see if the cars behave more or less the same.

Keep adding track and making it larger until problems occur.

If all cars start to have problems it is likely the track:

https://uk.scalextric.com/community/advice/track-maintenance

If some cars still navigate everything fine and others don't it could be the controllers or the cars as well. https://uk.scalextric.com/community/advice/car-maintenance

If the cars and track appear OK then you may have bad controllers. A quick look inside can't hurt to see if maybe the slider is not touching correctly or if there are loose wires inside.

One last thing: Jumpy car behavior can also happen when a car with a digital plug is put on an analog track. Remove the plug if possible or disable it by pulling the plug inside and bridging the power connections.

Spark Plug and ARC PRO don't really work on the same principle as far as I know. Spark Plug uses Bluetooth to talk to the dongle and ARC PRO uses high frequency waves.

On a digital set up the track has power all the time and the car "talks" to the track through the digital asking for more power whereas Spark Plug and all other analog systems feed power to the track based on either mechanical (controller ohm resistors) or electronic (Spark Plug dongle adjusts the power much like you can control the volume on a Bluetooth headset).

Let us know how you get on.

[Candlepins]

Hey there,

Thanks for reading all of that and responding!

I ruled out track connectivity issues since I didn’t have any issues using the SparkPlug dongle.

I opened up one of my analog controllers and took a look at the inside while applying different pressures to the trigger. Low and behold, because I’m right handed, I would press the trigger back towards me and inwards to the left which would cause the copper plate to lose contact with what looks like something ribbed like a screw. There was so much space that the copper plate would sometimes slide on to the outside of what looks like shielding. Anyhoo, I bent the copper plate so that there is contact/rubbing for the entire trigger pull.

So if there are any newbies that can’t figure out why their car control/performance is so bad, check the copper plate in your analog controller!