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Post by yellerstang on Jun 9, 2017 10:01:36 GMT -7
Hello all,
I have been working on a new drag strip in my home. I have fresh Tomy AFX track, Im using double sections of track, a divider, and the inside lanes. Make sense? Ok. I have a Trackmate system for timing.
Im limited on space. I have 16' of total table space available, but, I have enough room to put up either a net, or, I can build a temporary shut down area with track that would be about 5'.
Ive done all the math and figured what tracks should measure, I dont want to run 1/8 mile, its just not as much fun as a longer track. I can comfortably run just about 15' of powered track in this configuration, a bit less from start to finish.
Does that meet the needs, or, are you guys specific to track length of say 1/8 or 1/4 scale mile?
Thanks for any input..
Jess
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Post by jjwallace on Jun 9, 2017 13:58:34 GMT -7
Hello Jess....I had the same setup for several years, but I used the outside lanes to create some space between the cars. I always hate when they make contact. But you said you have a divider so it sounds pretty awesome to me. No particular specs required on length as far as running any proxy races. We have raced on 1/8mi, 1/64 1000', HO 1/4mi. So whatever floats your boat and you have room for. 1/64 1000' is 15'7" so you are pretty close to that. I/we always like to hear about new tracks going up......especially potential proxy tracks. What type of power supply are you using. I just picked up an HY3010E 30vdc 10a on Ebay for $119 free shipping a few months ago. Keep us updated.....pics too. Thanks for sharing.
Jeff
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Post by dave632 on Jun 9, 2017 16:57:08 GMT -7
Jess several of us are running 15' 7.5" which is a scale 1/64 1000'.This would leave you with only a few inches of stopping room however. There is nothing wrong with a 1/64 1/8th mile, several of the earlier races on this site were 1/8th mile. Then you could have the 10.3' of race track, some starting area and 5' for stopping. Stock cars running at 13.8v would probably stop OK with a few inches of stopping room but any faster cars would be in trouble. I have stopped cars from over 60 mph on my track with dynamic braking, steel stop strips, and a catch box. The first time I tried it the catch box was inadequate and the car went right thru it and slammed the wall.
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Post by yellerstang on Jun 9, 2017 20:03:18 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies. My old track was 1/8 mile with 10'3" of timed track. At 18v, my fastest tjets hit the wall. My hotter magnatraction and inline cars slammed it. I had a foam box, but the bodies took massive hits anyway. I think that Im going to make it as close to the 15'7.5" as possible. My shut down area .... I have enough room for a plug in, set up when needed, track extension for about 5 feet or a little bit more. I could go the "run them into a custom net" set up, I dont know yet.
I have an industrial 0to24 volt, 5 amp power supply. Its old, large, quiet, and works nicely. It puts out way more amps than what its rated at. I can run my hotter cars on it without going into overload, something that I cannot do on my friends 10 amp rated track power supply.
I would like to up the amps and probably will after the track is done. Im building a new road course and a drag strip, I just bought 2 used Trackmate systems to time them. This has been a bit on the expensive side for me. I have been selling other toys to help pay for this stuff. (I build and fly electric RC planes too, sometimes I buy and sell).
I have some very high powered battery packs for my planes (A123 cells). Im going to try one of these sometime just to see how it works. Years ago we ran deep cycle marine batteries for power, we raced inline cars until it became too expensive and way, way too intense. The 5 amp power supply keeps the big motors off the track, we race mostly STOCK style Aurora tjets with wheel and tire mods only, and that applies to all of our classes. If I can get the drag cars to stop safely, Im going to up the power.
Im an industrial sewing machine technician by trade (Im the maintenance supervisor in a mens dress shirt factory)
I think that I can fabricate a decent net that will hold up to some of the 40 plus mph cars that may run here. Its definitely going to be trial and error. The tjets struggle to get over 12 mph, and thats what we run mostly, but then there are times when we just want to push it a bit...
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Post by yellerstang on Jun 9, 2017 20:04:43 GMT -7
Hey, a quick question... how much dead shorted shut down track do you need for cars running over 40 mph? The more I think about this, the more I am realizing that the net may be the very best solution...
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Post by dave632 on Jun 10, 2017 8:35:19 GMT -7
I use all 3 methods on my track, 3' of dynamic braking, (shorted track), 3' of steel stop strips, which would do nothing for cars without traction magnets, and a foam filled catch box. Some of the strong magnet cars that are running in the 30 mph range stop on the steel strips. The 50-60 mph cars still hit the box hard but the cushioning stops most damage. I would estimate just using dynamic braking would stop a 40 mph car in about 20' as it is not the greatest stopping system. A small reverse voltage say 3 volts would most likely work better.
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