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Ok, after three iterations I think I have finally built a dead strip that will work with all cars (even my HO cars with Slide Guides). After running many laps with my first two attempts I found many flaws that I could not live with. I did not want to use the conventional dead strip with contacts on both sides of the slot for fear of voltage getting back to my parallel port through the motor and smoking my computer. So I wanted to stay with a method using only one side of the braid. My first try at a dead strip was an inline dead strip using all 1/4" braid. This version worked pretty well for larger, heavier 1/24 scale cars. Even then, it missed counting a few laps per heat. 1/32 cars were a lost cause because the braid on the cars was not long enough to bridge the gap in the track braid to trigger the lap counter. Nice idea but it would not work for all cars.


Then I tried another version of the inline dead strip using 1/4" wide brass strips. I was able to get the gaps down to 1/16" so the 1/32 car braid would bridge the gap and trigger the lap counter. This worked great with heavy 1/24 cars; didn't miss a lap count. However, a lighter car going over the dead strip would miss an ocasional lap. Even a heavier car that was accelerating and pulling the weight off the front end would miss a lap. I figured that the trigger area was so small that a car at speed could skip over it and not make contact. Worked OK but back to the drawing board.



For my last effort at a dead strip I used another method that was explained on this board; a split rail dead strip. I used 1/4" wide brass strips, cut them down, bent them in a "U" shape, and pushed the ends through holes in the braid recess. The brass was super glued to the track and hot glued underneath the track. The gap between the two strips is about 1/32". I am happy to say that now this dead strip counts all laps for all cars! The longer contact area (about 3") gives the car braid more opportunity to trip the lap counter and works well with any length or width braid. I even ran some of my HO cars using Slide Guides on it and they counted every lap. I am now a happy camper....ah slotter! Hope this helps anyone try to put a dead strip on the track. I will be glad to answer any questions anyone has about getting this to work. I was really puzzled at first about getting a dead strip to work but it really is pretty simple.

It looks very neat, Rocky.

I suspect it's also quite robust. I've noticed on mine,which is copper tape,there is a slight tendency for the dead strip to peel up with use.

It's easy to repair, but you'll never have the problem.

David.

Looks good Rocky. I agree that the split rail seems to be the better of the two. The main reason I think is that you can lengthen the contact by adding length in the split rail strip. With the other set up you only have that micro second where both contacts are touched by the braid. There is no veriability there. It either works or it doesn't. :violin: I used the split rail too on my new track and I have it working pretty good. There is a small glitch in that sometimes if a lap takes an unusually long time like if you stop for a minute to reslot your car after an off, the counter will come back with some ridiculous time for that lap like .o62 when you have been steadily 6.301's. I think it is in the software rather than the hardware. I have been playing around with the sensitivity and debounce settings and I hope I have that one licked. Other wise, she is counting pretty good.

Refresh my memory please. What software are you using? I am using Lap Timer 2000.

Mike

Thanks guys for the comments! Mike - I am using Race Coordinator software. It is free (donations accepted) and I really like it. I have used LT2000 for years but Race Coordinator has more bells and whistles. Check it out; it has some nice features.

Do you use the serial or parallel port with that software?

Mike

Great work, thanks for sharing this. This is a great reference for others to follow.

Mike - I use a parallel port but the software will let you use either.

Here is the latest version of my dead strip article. It probably won't be the last!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzLR42N ... 4xUVU/edit

Nice article Rich; like the pics! A note I forgot to mention previously is that unlike other split rail dead strips my split rail dead strip is "dead". There is no power going to that 4" section of my track. I did it this way to preclude any possible voltage reaching the computer parallel port. Better safe than sorry.

Mine is currently dead too. When I had some trouble getting my set up to work with the full interface and long DB25, 20ft extension chord, I unhooked the power taps while I trouble shot through the system As it turns out, the problem was in the DB25 extension cord. I now have the timing set up and working fine, albeit on a short leash. I haven't bothered to hook the power back up. I am not worried about hooking up the power again but after using my dead strip/Trackmate set up on my Oval for six years, having 5" of dead track doesn't bother me either.