scaley 6 car powerbase and controller guestions

[seal666]

Currently im an analog scaley sport racer and was about to upgrade(finally) my power supply. Nor cal Mike and Mr. Taylor got me thinking to just get the 6 car pb and use its analog functionality for now. As funds permit i might add the straight double xover tracks. The cost of the pb and controllers is 2 to 3 times a variable power supply, so its significant. Have over 30 non digital cars, but would probably just get 3 digital minis / cortinas. My question is how are the controllers? I currently use 45 ohm parmas. As a lone wolf mostly, is the pacer function in analog decent. Also is voltage adjustability and reverse running part of the eguation? I should say that digital cost was one of the reasons I left model railroading.
Appreciate any and all advice.
Bob E

[btaylor]

Bob, I have yet to explore all the setting on my 6 car system, and I have not run the cars in analog yet.
But so far, the controllers are good enough for me. they are smooth, and seem to have a good trigger to car movement.
reverse direction with the change overs is not easy, in that you have to have the sensor track facing the right direction to function.The adjustable speed for any given car is really a nice feature, and can be set for the various motors in the cars you run.
Hopefully Mike can jump in here and give you more info, as he has a good head start on me.

Bob

[docdoom]

You can change the direction of the cars in the power base menu. It in the instruction book. Havnt done it in few years since i stated using rsc 64.but it can be done

[seal666]

Bob, i thought the xovers were bi,directional, thought that was an advantage over the r2 curved units. You know what they say about assume. Is the voltage reduction variable or set at incremental steps and is it adjustable per lane? Appreciate the controller info, takes some of the worry out.

Docdoom you refer to rsc64. Can you give me a high level idea of what it is?

Is the ghost/pacer function in either analog or digital better than the challanger?
I havent had much luck with scaley terminal track reliability, thats why i was looking at variable dc and hard wire driver stations. Hows the PB for reliability ?

[btaylor]

The actual xover is, but there is a short piece that has the sensor in it that has to go in front of the xover to makes the flappers work. You would have to pull the track apart each time to change direction. The voltage can be adjusted individually to each car, and can be set while the car is running, by bumping it a bit at a time. I found this to be a great feature, as no two cars run exactly the same. I did find having the ghost cars set to swap lanes randomly caused a LOT of wrecks! I re-set them to just travel the course, and that seemed more fun. You can pass them as needed. The power supplies for the 6 car system need to be matched, or there is a problem with the electronics. They are cheap though. and don't have to be Scaley units. Mike has a link for the Laptop power supplies that work great.
Hope this helps!

Bob

[seal666]

Bob, great info. I dont know why,but i thought the sensors were built in the xover track with one on each end of each lane. I can live with running digital clockwise and use analog when i want to reverse direction.
With the ability to run both ways, adjust power, have a ghost car to run againest and eventually expand into digital , looks like a no brainer decision.
BTW, have you digitized any of the sidecar units?
Look forward to learning from your and Mikes experieces.

Thanks and regards, bob e

[btaylor]

Bob, the short piece I refer to in the xover is actually attached to one end, the whole track section must be reversed to change direction. I didn't make myself clear on that, but the outcome is the same. I have not converted any cars to the digital system yet, I am still learning the system with the set cars, and a couple more I had got cheap. I am still working on an area to house a more permanent table to set the whole thing up. I have been gathering track and changers as they become available, and adding standard track to extend the layout also. I must say, when you come up on two cars that are running ghost mode, and you are waiting for that moment to pass, it adds another dimension to slot racing! couple that with trying to get into the pits on the green light, and you have one heck of a challenge. It is one way to have a pretty fun race all by yourself, that's for sure.
I will get more info up as I get deeper into this system. Nor Cal Mike should be about done with his cool layout, I am looking forward to some of his experience's as well.

Bob

[docdoom]

http://rcs64.com rcs64 is a race management system for the 6 car power base. you need a computer and a interface cable that goes from the power base to the computer. click on the the link and it will give you all the info you need. it does make running the 6 car power base much more user freindly. there are other programs out there that just has good but this one has weather wich the the others dont have. you can down load a free version but you dont get all the options.

[btaylor]

Yes Sir Doc, That is an outstanding program. I have read a great deal on that system, and it is where I am planning on going with my digital layout. The racing with that program looks to be about as real as it gets with slot cars.

Bob

[Nor Cal Mike]

Hi Guys, I am a little late to the discussion but better late than never. I have the only way into my house torn out so I have been occupied. What Bob T says is right on. The XLC's look like they are two way but they are not. I think the innards could be reversed but that would be more trouble than just switching the track piece around. For a permanently set up track, reverse direction is really only good for analogue. In analogue mode, it is recommended that you temporarily tape the lane changer in place. The controllers are adequate and they are cheap on ebay if you need a replacement. I haven't explored what aftermarket controller options are.

For power supplies, don't buy Scalextric PS's for your advanced 6 car powerbase. Instead go to some computer supplier and buy PS's for Toshiba laptops because they can be had pretty cheaply. The Toshiba's are the right output and they use an identical plug as the Scaley unit. You need two identical PS's because different outputs will make the PB dizzy. Don't mix and match.

To date, I have "chipped" only one car that wasn't the Scaley plug and play set up. I did mount several digital chassis from some digital ready, impact resistant cars that Scaley used to sell to classic Strombecker roadster bodies. But I don't count that as "chipping". The car that I chipped was a Ninco 1 late model Mustang, I used a universal saloon chip. It was pretty easy. The catch is, you have to have two of the little "Ferrite Men", one between the motor and the chip and one between the guide and the chip. These filter out the noise that comes from the arcing of the braids and the arcing of the brushes in the motor. Scaley has installed them on all of their cars for a long time so they are set up. But the universal chip only comes with one attached to the leads to the guide. To chip a non Scaley car, you have to come up with the second ferrite man on your own. Scaley doesn't sell them independently. There is an outfit in the UK that sells them. They are not expensive. They also sell a cool guide that has a pocked in the front where you can install your LED but that is another story. For now, I have raided all of the Scaley cars around here which I don't plan to chip (front motor cars) to get enough ferrite men to chip the other cars that I have universal chips for.

[seal666]

Bob t your explanation eas clear, I made a wrong assumption that the xover did not have the requirement for the half straight with the sensor.

Docdom, thanks for the link and info on the computer hookup. It will come in useful as i venture into the digital side, but i will be starting as an analog user .

Mike, Bob t has provided a lot of info, the fact that even in analog the system is more or less one directional is not a game stopper. I tend to run clockwise anyway, but the option without switching track around or taping the points closed would have been nice. I have several of the toshiba laptop power supplies somewhere in the basement, that will help reduce cost a little.

Does hitting the lane change button alter car control or are the points powered seperately?

Look forward to following your progress, to help me become more educated and swayed to the dark side.

[Nor Cal Mike]

The ability to run two lane analoge is what put my over the top as far as getting a digital track. I was hesitant before when I thought that I would have to chip every car that I own and all that would come through the door in the future. That was too daunting.

There is no problem running in reverse, you just have to put a little piece of tape on the lane changers to hold them in line. The reason is is that the Scaley changer is floppy when it is at rest. This is ok when the car is going through the changer in the right direction. It just pushes the changer out of the way as the guide passes through. Only when the changer is engaged does it stiffen up to shunt the car to crossover slot. The changers are powered by track power. There might be a problem if you have too many lane changers firing off simultaneously. There is a mod that will allow you to power the changers by separate power. I don't think that is necessary unless you really load up the amp draw with hot motors and lots of accesseries drawing power. Make sure those Toshiba PS's are the same output. I hear it really does put the powerbase into a tizzy if the two power inputs are out of balance.

I've been busy working on my house. Hopefully in a week or two I will be able to get back to my SSD track. I need to finish painting it and do a little detail work but otherwise it is about where I want it to be.

[docdoom]

all the fuction that work in digtal mode also work in anlog mode. ak lap times fuel burn tire wear ect.