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Post by ecbill on Nov 24, 2017 8:28:17 GMT -7
Many of you may recall that there was a major fire in or garage earlier in the year. Construction is pretty well done. Once all or the tools and gear get cleaned up and organized, it'll be time to begin construction of a permanent drag strip.
The track will be AFX/Autoworld plastic track with Slot Dragon timing. Power will be up to 30v at 20a. Most likely it will go along a nearly 30 foot wall. Most likely wth a 1000 foot time length and ample shutdown space.
The biggest challenge will be the fact that it will be in a wood working work shop. Dust will be a big issue to overcome. I'm trying to come up with good ideas to protect the track from dust. A hinged cover or a removable plastic/cloth cover are a few of the thoughts so far.
You guys have lots of experience building and maintaining track. Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill
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Post by dave632 on Nov 24, 2017 8:43:51 GMT -7
I would think a cloth cover would be adequate to protect the track from wood dust. Be sure to put multiple power inputs on the track for the best results.
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Post by jjwallace on Nov 24, 2017 8:47:49 GMT -7
Good to hear that you have recovered that fire and that it wasn't any worse. You have plenty of examples here on the forum as far as layout. Since it is permanent, the hinged cover sounds better to me. I have tried the poly plastic cover and my grandstands, lighting, etc. are always getting messed up. The other thing I would suggest is look ahead and try to leave yourself room for future upgrades. Even if you don't think you will need to. I have upgraded Bear Creek twice since built and really never intended to do it once. I look forward to seeing the project progression and of course the reward of making some passes down it. Have you come up with a name yet?
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Post by nosubfor3 on Nov 25, 2017 15:23:22 GMT -7
This is simple. Do the wood working outside.
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Post by ecbill on Nov 25, 2017 21:59:37 GMT -7
This is simple. Do the wood working outside. That works for out door projects and good weather. Unfortunealy, a lot of it needs to be done indoors. |
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Post by ecbill on Nov 26, 2017 13:23:59 GMT -7
This is simple. Do the wood working outside. That works for out door projects and good weather. Unfortunealy, a lot of it needs to be done indoors. |
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Post by ecbill on Nov 26, 2017 17:06:59 GMT -7
Those are some good ideas guys. Power taps are a must and planning for expansion is a smart idea.
As far as a name, I was thinking Nostalgic Raceway with a motto: Where Old Guys Rule and Grown Men Still Play With Cars.
Any thoughts on what type of materials to use in construction? Or what a good width would be?
Thanks guys,
Bill
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Post by nosubfor3 on Dec 8, 2017 17:16:15 GMT -7
What Gage wire are you guts using???
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Post by jjwallace on Dec 8, 2017 19:46:56 GMT -7
12g seems to work pretty well......that's what I'm using. I hear 10g talked about often. Several guys are doing multiple taps (more than two). I have two...one at start and another at the traps. FYI.......
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Post by ecbill on Dec 8, 2017 20:19:30 GMT -7
10 gage wire is pretty hefty. How do you solder that to the track rails without melting or burning the track?
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Post by jjwallace on Dec 9, 2017 7:35:41 GMT -7
10 gage wire is pretty hefty. How do you solder that to the track rails without melting or burning the track? Bill that was incorrect. I am using 12g not 10g. I corrected my post. I do hear a lot of talk about people using 10g. I matched the leads that were already on my Max Trax start track and it looked like 12g although it is not labelled. I dremeled out and soldered the leads on the rails at the finish. Using a fine stranded wire makes soldering much easier. Here is a link to some good information on track construction. They are talking road courses but rules still apply. Look under track power and wiring. hoslotcarracing.com/ |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2017 9:49:19 GMT -7
I will try to post again. PC been acting up this morning. Nah - - most likely me!
ecbill - Good luck on keeping the track clean when sharing the space with a wood working shop. I had that setup in Dallas. The solution was real simple. Vacuum the track down then wipe it with a damp soft cloth before you use the track. It is darn near impossible to keep the dust off of it no matter what you do!
Regarding the gauge of wire to use. Keep in mind what Jeff mentioned. Most of what you see in print is based on road tracks with multiple lanes ( more then 2 ) and in many cases it is 1/32 and 1/24 size cars. ( Big difference ). In our world of HO drag racing we are running 2 CARS for a very short amount of time. Maximum current occurs when the armature of the motor first receives power and then drops off after that. Our tracks are short in length and consist of two power buses. Each section no matter how big or small should have feeders attached from the rail down to the main bus so you have equal power distribution and no voltage drops. It might be a little overboard to do this but since you are building the track now is the time to do this. Reason is simple - somewhere along the line weather it be one week from now or 1 year from now the rails that are not receiving power directly from the bus will become intermittent. Been down that road too over the years and it always happens during an event! I recall a few years back when racing at NEILS WHEELS in Plano Tx that Neil had to remove a lot of the rail joiners and clean them up and reinstall them because he did not power each section of track. Just a suggestion! I have been using 14g stranded wire on my last two track and am installing it on my new track. Using 14g and having each section of rail powered directly off the main bus I have yet to have had any car bog down due to lack of power. My power supplies will deliver up to 30 amps at 36vdc. Again since you are now building your track now is the time to do the wiring right. Nothing worse then having to trouble shoot electrical problems during an event because you took short cuts during construction.
Not sure what to tell you regarding attaching the large gauge wire to the AW type track. Perhaps others can contribute here. My track was built by Paul at MaxTRAXX and the rail used is a special L shaped design. The flat portion of the L makes it easier to solder to. I have 14g feeders coming off of every section attached to the main bus.
Looking forward to seeing your track.
Alan
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Post by dave632 on Dec 9, 2017 18:27:50 GMT -7
As far as construction materials I simply used the existing wall for one side, 1/2" plywood for the 2' wide track table, 2x4 for the other side of the track with 2x2 for the legs and bracing. I went overboard with the track wiring using 3# 10 taps. These were mounted to the bottom of the track with fine stranded wire. Max trax did the 3 power tracks. Using 2 30 amp supplies and this type track setup allows for the fast times always run on my track. Even with the 6 ohm cars these modifications made a difference in ET.
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Post by dave632 on Dec 10, 2017 8:45:40 GMT -7
Just wanted to mention that Max trax used 10 gauge fine stranded wire for the hookups to the track. These wires were about a foot long. I then ran #10 wire the rest of the way to power strips which then go to 2 30A relays. This allows you to activate the track with small power buttons that will not burn up due to big power drains when the high draw cars are run. I also installed a box that allows me to switch from both tracks starting simultaneously to individual buttons when both drivers are present.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2017 11:03:26 GMT -7
Dave - Won't using relays sort of skew the reaction time a bit due to the inherent delay of the coil? Realizing it would be minor but when on the edge of a digit tripping from .0009 to .0010 - - - -- Just wondering!
Alan
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