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Post by spereira on Jan 15, 2024 11:08:48 GMT -7
Hello - I'm brand new here.
I'm in the process of setting up my first HO scale drag strip in my cellar to accomplish a childhood dream - finally at age 71. I've started with an Auto World Snake vs Mongoose set with the start & finish displays.
Here are a bunch of newbie questions that I've built up:
Is there a glossary somewhere to get familiar with the different types of HO cars? - 4 Gear - Thunder Jet, T-Jet 500, T'Jet - Mega-G, Mega-G+
Also what's the difference between Brands? - AW - Tyco - AFX - Aurora - Tomy - Viper
My wall wart is labeled as 16 VDC and 850 mA. On an unloaded track, I measure 16.25 VDC.
The controllers measure from 'infinity' down to 0.01 ohms. Since this is drag racing, can the variable controllers be replaced by simple push buttons?
The two old style funny cars that came with the kit are both fast, but one is always faster from an even start to the finish. It consistently wins by 12 to 18 inches. I purchased a set of 3 AW dragsters, and found two are pretty evenly matched and the third is a little slower. A funny thing is that my two original cars beat out the dragsters by 18 inches. I have a couple of AW modern funny cars on the way to me now. We'll see how they measure up. I purchased AW cars because of the great detailing of the modern liveries.
I am currently awaiting the arrival of more track to stretch out the distance to (close to) 20 feet. I see all the discussion about what the scale distance "should be", but the fact is that in the real world Top Fuel and Funny Car race for 1000 feet and all other classes race for the classic 1320 feet. So, all I can do is get something close to a scale quarter mile, and go for it. Eventually, I may be able to tweak out the scale quarter mile at 20.65 feet.
At present, I am assuming that different brands have differences in their track? Is this true? Should I continue to purchase only AW track, or do some brands interchange?
I guess my most basic question would be, can any brand of HO scale car operate properly on any brand of track?
I am having a blast with this, but I'm having difficulty with digging up information. I suppose it may be because I'm old and I'm not prone to watching videos. I retain general knowledge from video, but I much prefer a booklet that I can quickly turn to, to find specific facts. Printed material like this seems to be in short supply.
Thanks very much for listening. Please feel free to throw out all your comments, advice, moral support, tips and tricks!
smp
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dynomike
Pro Stock
Posts: 440
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Post by dynomike on Jan 15, 2024 11:45:43 GMT -7
Welcome aboard.You have come to the right place for info. I am currently at work and not supposed to be on the phone. I am sure others will chime in and I will later when I get off work. I am 78, so its nice to see a younger guy come aboard.
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Post by crazynski on Jan 15, 2024 12:17:18 GMT -7
Hello Spereira, Welcome. I've only been into HO since 2021. I'm still new to drag-racing. More experienced racers will know best how to compare the brands. Here's a quick ID chart for the older brands of chassis. www.modelmotorist.com/identificationChassis.jsp
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2024 12:37:03 GMT -7
A series of great questions! Wish I was ahead on inputting all that inforamtion on hodraheadquarters.proboards.com/ If you visit the site you will see many of those areas already setup however many guys here should be able to help you out with those questions. Regards Alan @ HH
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Post by spereira on Jan 15, 2024 13:24:07 GMT -7
crazynski Thanks very much for that pointer! Much appreciated! smp
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Post by skillet on Jan 15, 2024 14:47:27 GMT -7
Autoworld and tomy track fit each other.
I use toggle switches on my track and love it.
Between manufacturers we need to break down to inline and pancakes.
There will be alot of going back and forth on the answer to your question.
Tyco has so many chassis it ain't funny.
I'd say it like this autoworld is your cheaper version of pancake.... Autoworld has a inline super lll it's not worth all the work you need to do to make it run...
Jag hobbies is your cheaper inline car. Jag has brush barrels electric system like the tyco 440x2.
Slottech, wizzar, rpm, viper will be your more expensive cars.
There is alot to talk about here
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Post by Steve-E-D on Jan 15, 2024 15:50:31 GMT -7
Welcome, Stephen! I'm still new here to NitroSlots and Drag Racing but I've been around slot cars in general for a while. There is a lot to take in. Starting with the tip of the iceberg....
All H0 cars will run on all H0 track as a general rule.
You are starting with the same set I did to get started with drag racing. Mine is up to scale 1000' now. Compatible track is TOMY AFX which is now Racemasters AFX. Older Aurora AFX is not compatible. I use arcade cabinet push buttons to launch the cars with. I built a panel with a switch so that both can operate independently (2 player mode), or toggle a switch and either button launches both cars simultaneously (one player mode). An upgraded adjustable power supply will be the first thing you want to add to your track. A variable 0-30v 10a power supply can be found on Amazon for ~$60. Those cars will wake up quite a bit when you hit them with 18 - 20 volts or more and enough amps to fuel their thirst . The 16 VDC and 850 mA power supply is not enough to run one high performance car. It is marginally adequate to launch two entry level Auto World cars. The power supply brick from an old laptop is often a cheap and easy first upgrade if you have one laying around.
The build quality of Auto World's cars is all over the map. This is why the performance difference between your cars is so great. The sum or lack of of all the little possible flaws it what makes or breaks the car's performance. Sometimes you get a really good one out of the box, other times it needs replacement parts in addition to standard tuning techniques.
There is a huge amount of knowledge contained in these forums. I would recommend spending some time reading through old threads. Some of it will go over your head at first, but as you learn more, you will have ah ha! moments "so that's what they meant by that" and go digging back in to find that thread again.
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Post by skillet on Jan 15, 2024 19:37:06 GMT -7
Perfectly said
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Post by Steve-E-D on Jan 15, 2024 22:01:55 GMT -7
I have a couple of AW modern funny cars on the way to me now. We'll see how they measure up. I purchased AW cars because of the great detailing of the modern liveries. AW has some great bodies. It is what they do best. There are some options for higher performance chassis that you can put under them.
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Post by Steve-E-D on Jan 15, 2024 22:07:59 GMT -7
I am having a blast with this, but I'm having difficulty with digging up information. I suppose it may be because I'm old and I'm not prone to watching videos. I retain general knowledge from video, but I much prefer a booklet that I can quickly turn to, to find specific facts. Printed material like this seems to be in short supply. You have found the right place for written information on a forum like this. Plus the added benefit of being able to ask questions.
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Post by spereira on Jan 16, 2024 18:42:04 GMT -7
An upgraded adjustable power supply will be the first thing you want to add to your track. A variable 0-30v 10a power supply can be found on Amazon for ~$60. OK! That power supply you suggested is ordered and on the way! Thanks very much for your advice! smp
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Post by spereira on Jan 18, 2024 14:25:05 GMT -7
Here's an update on my progress:
My additional track finally arrived. I now have 17' 4" of track between my Start & Finish lines. I know that 17' 4" does not correspond to anything standard, but it appears to be my space limit at present. Maybe I'll be able to finagle 20.5 feet one day.
I've received and tested out my 30V 10A variable power supply. I now am waiting on the connectors to arrive to make a good, safe connection.
My two AW Funny Cars have arrived. fairly closely matched - that's good. My reigning speed champion remains the Mongoose Funny Car that came with the original set (by far).
Maybe after I get the good power supply attached and running, I'll spring the $90 for one of those high performance Vipers. Then I'll really get to see how well any of my stock cars actually measure up.
Thanks for listening!
smp
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Post by spereira on Jan 29, 2024 12:55:09 GMT -7
Another update:
After some fits and starts attempting to attach my new power supply while keeping the nice connector that plugs into the track, I finally got it done. Watching the Current output display while running one or two cars has been very informative to me. The lease amount of launch current draw I've seen is on the order of 350 mA, and the most has been on the order of 700 mA. This is with stock-out-of-the-box cars that either came with the original set (2) or that I've purchased since (5). As predicted by you folks, the wall wart that came with the set is not really up to launching two box stock cars, never mind any higher performance cars that may be in the future.
I'm still in the process of building up the track. As reported before, I now have 17' 4" of measured drag strip between the start and finish lines. I have some more track on the way that should get me up to 20", but I also need some more table, and the table will need space cleared out for it. I'm in slow-but-sure mode going forward.
Thanks for listening!
smp
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Post by ecbill on Jan 29, 2024 14:06:52 GMT -7
You are moving faster than the highway department. Keep pressing on!
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Post by spereira on Jan 29, 2024 14:31:16 GMT -7
Here’s another newbie question:
With my variable voltage power supply, how much variation can I actually do? I see that AW now has a variable supply available. They say it goes from 9 to 24 volts, so I am assuming that is a range that I could use.
I don’t know very much about DC motors, but is there any reason that I could not use higher voltages?
What are the “normal” voltage(s) used for drag racing tracks?
Thanks again to all for your patience and comments.
smp
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