Is digital racing dying?

[R/TRandy]

I only have experience with Carrera digital and think overall Carrera is doing a good job of improving its product.
They had a miss step with Pro-x and ended up switching to D132. But since coming out with D132 they have been doing a pretty good job of keeping the system up to date. I started with D132 back in 2009 and have been happy with the system.
I do see Czar's point about the APP it is kind of a miss. Most people now do everything with their mobile phones and tablets and the Carrera App should do way more than it does. It should be more user friendly and you should be able to just turn it on and run laps in a practice mode without running through a race set-up.
Randy

[Czar]

Thanks for the replies and rebuttal. I can easily accept that I am wrong. I want to be wrong. I agree that Carrera is leading all the other manufacturers in digital offerings and development. It is also true that because of their success the Carrera digital system is becoming the standard. (Let's be real. If there was a universal standard it would be much harder to crush the competition.) I also want a wireless trigger controller. I have tried Smartrace, Yingling's software and Carrera app, none are very satisfactory. Maybe I want too much. Maybe I am just too impatient. Maybe I am just cranky.

[BARC 1]

[HomeRacingWorld]

A very good post BARC.

But I disagree on the future. The simple fun that analog racing provides will simply never go away anytime soon.
It is still the most common form of our hobby and will continue to be for many reasons.

We heard all of this same talk when digital began. Traditional slot racing is still here and going strong.

The magless system is a nice niche. And that's all it is. It's not true SLOT racing and therefore simply won't replace it. I know of ZERO enthusiasts who have it.

Not everyone wants complexity in a hobby. The point for many is to have an escape from the real world for awhile. To just sit back and enjoy something without having to invest a lot of time, money/effort. In forums like ours populated with pure enthusiasts, it's sometimes difficult to comprehend that we are a small slice of this hobby. But of course we are the most important (ahem) :)

It is true that some companies versions of digital will die. It has happened already. SCX and NINCO are basically non-existent in this hobby. Check the websites and look at the product catalogs and that enlightens you a great deal. Why SCX does what it has done in the past few years is a head-scratcher to say the least. It's as if they looked to NINCO for leadership advice...and took it. Basically becoming a fallen flag in the hobby compared to what it was just a few short years ago.

The digital systems we have still offer a lot of fun. And FUN is what most of us are seeking. I personally see quite a few people choosing digital and almost all the feedback I have is positive. This goes for both Carrera and Scalextrix/Slot.it. And I am also seeing more and more Carrera digital due to the 1/24th scale model options growing. Those big boys are just too pretty to resist.

The longer these 2 leading brands stay focused on supporting their systems, the more after-market options will become available. I still do not subscribe to one version "taking over" another. There is room for both and as long as companies do not lose sight of THAT, we will be ok for awhile to come. :auto-checkeredflag:

And CZAR, you are not really wrong. Just very enthusiastic about your hobby. Welcome to the club :)

[BARC 1]

I think we agree Harry.

I said in the future all we might have is Analog and Mag racing. I don't see analog going away. It is too simple, basic and fun not to have a future Mag racing is simple and more like analog without all the computer interference of digital and lane changing devices.

My opinion is based on what I saw in model railroading with respect to DCC. There are only two systems, Digitrax and Everyone else, and even then the Digitrax locomotives will run on other systems

To me mag racing is more like Analog. You build a car and run it on the track. It is still in its infancy stage, and only a niche for now, but I wonder how hard it would be to build a mag racing set track. Switch out slot rail for mag rail and build cars with batteries and steering. I can't see why you could not have mag racing set track. If somebody did this that would be the real challenge to digital. The current form of mag racing reminds me of slot racing pre 1960. A bunch of enthusiasts building something fun, far out of the mainstream. What Mag racing needs is a Carrera or other large toy manufacturer to adopt the technology to sets you could purchase. A small oval with 4 steerable cars would generate a lot of simple smiles. Add some digital technology with respect to lap timing and I think you would have a winner product ( think IR sensors in a guard rail with IR emitters in the sides of the cars. As the car passes the sensor it transmits its ID.

Cheers

Dan

[ourwayband]

On the mag racing,one thought.Carrera has just came out with 1/43 RC cars..never say never.. ;)

Rusty

[mattb]

There is a hard core, "old school" bunch of guys that just like to run old fashioned "slot cars" and have no desire to learn new technolgies or invest in new inventory. The same thrill we had in the 60's is what we enjoy today. I guess a lot of us "older" guys are not technology driven. The old simple stuff was fun 50 years ago and the same simple stuff is still fun, just like back then.

[BARC 1]

[Cincyslots]

In our area, Carrera digital is alive and doing very well. We just have our annual Cincyslots Turkey Day Race. 12 guys, 6 teams, to race for 4hrs. We even had a people stop by just to watch. A couple years we were struggling to get 4 teams. I can't speak for the other brands but Carrera has it going on.

Bruce

[Dangermouse]

I have often heard references made to other digital technologies when people talk about digital slot car racing. Comparisons between Sony PS and Xbox for instance - or phones or computers - and of course trains. I think the problem with these comparisons is the sheer difference in market size. Sony releases the PS4 - it won't run any of the PS3 software and no-one minds they buy it in droves. In the phone world well if you believe the marketing everyone has a smart phone. They may sell thousands of slot car sets each year but I doubt it is millions...

It would be great if you could run any car on any track but the average consumer who buys a slot car set probably doesn't care about this - they buy the set and they run the cars - maybe mum or dad or granddad had memories of their childhood and so buy a set for the kids - ever wonder what the take up from buying a set to buying more bits and pieces and extra cars to becoming an enthusiastic? What do you think it is 1 in 100 / 1 in 500 buy an extra car or two and then 1:1000 become more involved to the extent they are happy to learn to chip any car... - more / less

At the end of the day Digital slot cars have to be reliable they also have to stay relevant and that is the tension - hence the mobile apps that are now available and the extra features - but then it comes back to reliability and working as advertised.

Not sure Digital is in trouble maybe just going through an adjustment period :)

[scatman]

Ok, I want to try it out. I have a lot Carrera track, so what should I buy to go digital? I want all the bells and whistles. My primary track is wood and I'm not planning on leaving. Nice to have both.

[dw5555]

Tony about $400 will get you in the door either way. Since you don't need the track you could get some wireless controllers, control unit, a couple of dbl crossovers and a pair of cars for that money. (cheaper if you don't mind used) Since you have cars you can always chip a couple and save some money. You can still run them on your wood track with the chip in them.

Dave

[BARC 1]

Probably buying the least expensive set will give you a couple of cars, the CU, controllers and a lane change, and be less expensive then getting just the components . You will want a pIt entry and fuel sensor if you want to make use of the fueling feature.

You will also need to download Bruce Yinglings shareware so you have visual feedback over the fueling. I prefer this over going to the digital read out drivers stations. Less expensive, and you get a good timing system with better step control over the power setting.

Cheers


Dan

[Cincyslots]

You can get the Carrera Power Speeders set for $300 plus shipping. The pit lane runs about $80. As for controllers, TruSpeed makes an awesome pistol grip controller with throttle sensitivity. That what we use. All this along with the Yingling software makes for a great racing experience.

Bruce

[Czar]

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