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Post by dave632 on Jun 21, 2014 19:58:14 GMT -7
Decided to do a little checking due to my times being a little sad compared to others. Despite having a supposed 20V transformer for each lane the power dropped significantly when a load was put on the track. Unloaded the transformers read 19.25 and 19.75 which kind of shows why one lane is slightly faster than the other. With 2 cars on the same lane the voltage dropped to 12.5 - 13.5 volts, obviously totally unregulated. With a single car running the voltage dropped to 14.5 - 15.5 volts. Current was .35-.45 for one car vs .65-.75 for 2 cars. These cars were stock AFX cars with 15 ohm armatures. Resistance for one side of about 9' of track measured 1.9 ohms which seemed pretty good for a steel conductor. This seems like it would make a significant difference once it is corrected with a better power supply. We will soon see. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2014 6:43:08 GMT -7
Dave,
Based on your comments regarding your track I would say you are heading in the right direction in replacing those power supplies. Your cars are being starved for power. Many do not realize this but those little motors can and will draw as much as 15 amps on initial start up for a very short amount of time and if the power supply cannot deliver it the car will suffer!
Something else you may want to consider is adding power feeders from each section of track down to your main power bus. When I had my TKO track built I had them add that feature in. I have 0 voltage drop from one end of the track to the other and I have less then .001 vdc difference between lanes. When I first installed the track I was in a hurry and did not install those feeders. You certainly can tell the difference.
Best of luck with your new track. See you at the events.
Alan @ R&D Racing
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Post by dave632 on Jun 22, 2014 8:51:29 GMT -7
I like the idea of extra feeders and I will install them in the future. The 1.9 ohm drop for 9' is not much but as you add current to the equation the drop becomes more significant.
I like the picture of the 55 Chevy you are showing, one of my all time favorite cars. My first drag car was a 55 Chevy and I must have had at least 5 of them over the years. Wish I still had one.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2014 9:26:57 GMT -7
Dave,
When you get ready to add those feeders let me know as I will take some photos as to how it was done on my TKO track. Its very simple and very reliable. I had it done when the track was built however it should be easy to do on your track if the surface.
Thanks for the feedback on the 55 Chevy body. That one is for 1/43 scale. I also have one in HO scale.
On the 1:1 to size I still have my 55 Chevy sitting in storage down at my Moms place in Florida. It was built up from a 2 door 6 cylinder body and frame. This was back in the mid sixties. Had a 1963 Chevy Impala SS running a 409 with dual quads, rated at 425 HP (Right! ) 4 speed and a posi rear. Got in too much trouble with it on the street so pulled the 409 out of it and put it in the 55. Ran B/MP with it. Hard as heck to control it. Never really did well with it but it did keep me out of jail when driving the 63 on the street. I ended up putting a 327 fuel injected out of a wrecked Stingray into the Impala.
As they say - those were the days!
Alan
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Post by pceng on Jun 22, 2014 11:18:06 GMT -7
Hey Dave, Does not sound good for a new track, less voltage loss with plastic track....... consider this, instead of running leads to every section of track.... tie sections together with wire (solder from one to another)......creates continues rail in sense...... instead of sectioned.
Hope you get this problem fixed without to much work...... track was not cheap.....don't think a custom track should have such problems right off the bat !
GOOD LUCK WITH THIS - HOPE IT CAN BE A QUICK FIX ........ Peter
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Post by dave632 on Jun 22, 2014 15:13:10 GMT -7
The track is not at fault for the voltage loss, it is the ancient Aurora DC transformers that are losing that voltage under load. I measured the voltage drop right at the transformer itself when load was applied. I am pretty sure the new power supply will cure the problem.
R&D----Boy do I remember the big Chevy dual quad 409/425. I used to race them with my 55 Chevy 327. Had some great races with em winning most of the time. I remember yanking the gears in the old 4 speed and that little 327 screaming to 8000+, had an early Isky roller with a valley kit in it and I think I ran B Gas with it back in the mid 60s. I also remember scattering the trans and rear one night when I just caught a shift wrong. I lost my license for 6 months street racing back then too. It was a dumb race, a 57 T Bird vs that 55 was about a big a mismatch as you could get even with a 10 car spot.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2014 16:21:49 GMT -7
Dave,
I had Maxtraxx a few years back and it was great but did have an issue with the stainless steel joiners. After a period of time they would oxidize and had to be removed, cleaned and reinstalled. Neil at Neils wheels had the same issue. Easy to do but I highly suggest running a heavy duty bus under the entire length of the track and dropping down feeders. That way you have a common bus feeding all the sections. Just a suggestion. This comes from working in the Model Railroad industry for over 40 years and developing what is know as Command Control Systems. If you are like me you do not want to get under the table but once when it comes to wiring!! I ran #12 stranded under my tracks.
You mentioned the old T Bird. Does that every bring back yet more memories! I helped a friend drop a 389 Pontiac with tri-power in a 55 Bird. I think the drive shaft was a 18" long! Fired that sucker up, dropped the hammer on her and blew out both Atlas Bucrons on the rear! This was in 1962 - PRE GTO.
That bird flew for sure. Lost track of it. What a machine.
Alan
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Post by dave632 on Jun 22, 2014 17:01:06 GMT -7
Ahhh memories, I remember those old Bucron tires boy did they wear out quick.
My most radical car was the Beretta pictured. 632" all aluminum block, Sheet metal intake with 2 1150s. 15-1 compression, full roller, ported big chief heads, 3 stages of nitrous, 2 fogger and a plate under each carb. Never could come near putting all the power it could make to the ground. Full pro built moly chassis could not handle it. I was told the rear was probably bending under high power levels.
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