testing, testing...

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Tape is done...and usually even stuck to the wood...usually...





Overnight some sections of tape on the second panel's curves predictably came up. I got all of it back in place, and started using the copper-clad nails I bought yesterday to keep them down. When I taped the third panel with the tightest and most numerous curves I nailed some sections down as I applied the tape.

I've been adding nails wherever the tape comes up again. As things get sorted out I'll work on making sure the nail heads are as smooth as possible. The nails are 3/4", and the ends sticking out the bottom side of the MDF sheets make good places to tap in power.

Right now I've got the panels attached with C-clamps, and I'll have to spend some time considering ideas for bolting them together flush that allows adjustment.

Ran a few cars around, and showed the cats what happens when they cross the road without looking. They don't chase the cars anymore... First time I've really run the cars in over a year.

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I have one of my NSU TT cars running the track on autopilot at 4 Volts. I'm locating places where the edges of the tires lift the copper tape, and putting them back down. It's also wearing in the slot and keeping the tape down.

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[TuscoTodd]

Sweet!!!! Thanks for sharing the vid of the "run in" action... Looks like that is going to be a fun track to run on!
:D

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Much more fun for the small and short wheelbase cars and old cigar shaped race cars that I have a lot of. I like to work the trottle all over the place. ;) The longer cars have to be content to be "cruisers" on this kind of layout.

Still intending to do a snowy theme with lots of conifer trees for those curves to go around.

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I set up the DS timer, but that was sidelined by the fact that I have a very odd problem today that didn't occur previously. On JUST one section of the track ONLY two of my cars will go completely dead for a full second ONLY AFTER braking, but ONLY with the SCP-1 set to brakes between 1 and about 8. There aren't any obvious problems unless those 4 conditions are met. Brake, apply throttle, wait a full second, power finally comes back. Really weird.

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Even more of the tape has come up in the curves due to the rough paint surface, so I'm in the process of nailing down the tape in all the curves. Every copper nail will be a power tap, so it isn't that much of an annoyance.

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At least now where it's nailed down it only curls up along the edges in much smaller lengths instead of migrating away from the slot or peeling up entirely. I may try a different adhesive underneath someday, but with the old tape goo still under there that may not work.

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Soldering the first section of power taps. Banana plugs connect the 3 panels, and the distribution block feeds this to various wires that are soldered to the copper nails poking through the back side of the panel. If I'm going to have to nail down the copper tape I might as well use the nails to feed power. There nails are generally only needed in the curves. The central panel has the plugs and wiring for connecting the power supply and controller.

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OK, so everything is soldered. I'm still just using C-clamps and shims to hold the panels together right now, but want to move on to fiddling with cars for a while.

An early observation is that the "abrasive" Ninco plastic track surface was much more compatible with hairpin turns. On the paint the most grippy rubber tires chatter around the hairpins. (Old hardened Fly tires with poor grip - like driving on ice - slide nicely around the hairpins, but frustrate when they skate too much in general.) On Ninco plastic track the grippy rubber slid well on the hairpins. I'm wondering if I should add more "grit" in the track surface in the hairpins to reduce the chatter?

In a large fast turn any tiny defect in the curvature of the slot can really stand out. There's one spot where I need to clean up the shape of the slot because a barely visible wavering in the slot causes some fast cars to snag.

I want to start working on trees and snowbanks because right now as an expanse of bare blacktop it just looks like teenagers noodling in a parking lot, which is absolutely NOT what I'm aiming for.

Same old photos, for reference:

[TuscoTodd]

That course looks like a lot of fun to drive - even if it is a winter simulation... ;)

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[dreinecke]

Are you scuffing the tires? BTW - the glue trick in the bushings can help with chatter after truing tires/wheels up.

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I tried truing a couple of rubber tires a couple days ago...they melted. Hmmmm :? Baby steps. (urethanes sanded down like a dream, though)

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I haven't had this thing set up since May. The center of the living room just isn't an inviting area. Although I love the long straight down the back I may have to rethink the configuration in an L or U shape which can be assembled at the edge of the room rather than right in the middle.

I just looked at the track today for the first time in months, where it's stacked against the wall, and MOLD is growing everywhere on the paint! It isn't even monsoon season yet. ARGH!