Archive for the ‘slot track’ Category
Posted by John on
November 15, 2008
I’ve recently been looking at a couple of German-language Carrera sites using Google Translate. The translation isn’t great, but it’s usually good enough to figure out what the author is trying to say.
Links to these sites below are run through the Google translator - check them out.
Carrera Rennbahn - This site has a ton of info, especially about all the various products Carrera has made over the years. Be sure to check out the beautiful Carrera paintings!
Carrera4Fun.de - This site has TONS of info on the Carrera Universal 132 track system that was manufactured from the mid-1960s until 1984. Unfortunately, the frame-based navigation system makes it hard to get around when it’s pumped through the translator. Here’s the German link - Carrera4Fun.de in German. You may want to navigate in German to see the pictures and plans and then use the Google Translate link above to get the English version of the text.
Slotkeller - This site isn’t Carrera specific, but check out the great shots of their wooden track! By the way, I’m pretty sure Google is translating the German word for track to “train”.
Technorati Tags: carrera, carrera germany, carrera slot car, carrera slot racing, carrera universal, carrera universal 132, slot racing
Posted by John on
November 10, 2008
Reader Bobby G asks:
i have about 70′ of evolution track converted to digital and there is a voltage drop around the middle section. can a second transfomer be added?
Sorry Bobby, I tried to reply to your email but I think I have the wrong address.
The short answer is no, you definitely can’t just add a second transformer. Carrera makes power extension cables under part numbers 20584 (5m) and 20585 (10m).
Here’s the word direct from the US Carrera website FAQ:
Question:
Which circuit length does require any additional supply with Digital 132?
Answer:
Tracks of an entire length of 12 metres and more should be equipped with an additional power supply. Since 2006 the generation of modified U-profile connections between the individual track parts has drastically minimised the power loss. You will get the additional supply cables required from your retailer under item number 20584 (cable length 5m) and item number 20585 (cable length 10m). Under no circumstances you shall connect any further Black Boxes and/or transformers (danger of causing a short circuit!).
Technorati Tags: carrera digital, carrera digital 132, carrera slot car, digital, power, transformer
Posted by John on
October 14, 2008
I received my Carrera Go Police Chase set over the weekend.
Initially I’m very impressed with the quality of the track and parts. For a product that is considered “toy-class,” the assembly takes a little bit longer than I would have expected, and it seems like some of the parts could break fairly easily if they were handled roughly. The track has a rigid feel to it as opposed to more flexible tracks like Scalextric.
Putting the track together there are tabs on the end of each track piece that slide into one another along with the connectivity tabs. Once that goes together, there are clips that go on each side of the track to hold it in place. When I first received the set, I did set it up without putting the clips on very quickly in a temporary spot just to try it out. It will run reasonably well without putting in the clips, but it did seem like the track wanted to separate without the clips. I think you could really only run it clipless on a very small track for a short period of time.
Once you attach the clips, the track becomes very solid. You can have a 4 or 5 piece section of the track that is a very firm, you can pick it up as one unit. It has a nice rigid feel - it feels very weighty and very substantial, not at all like a kid’s toy. But, being that it’s rigid, I would wager that stepping on it for instance (if you have it set up on the floor) would be a bad thing. It would probably damage some of the tabs.
The only piece that I wasn’t totally enthused about was the guard rail attachments. Everything else, like I said, has a very solid and well connected feel when it goes together. The guardrail tabs tend to slide around and seem to come off very easily. They could be a little bit tighter fit. On the other hand, they look very cool when attached, especially along with the red and white striping on the edge of the turns.
The cars are pretty nice. They aren’t quite as detailed as 1/32nd scale cars, but they are a little nicer than I expected. They have some very nice detail elements. The police car has working police lights, which is very cool. The Corvette actually has a blue light underneath it that lights up as it goes around - the car has a clear bottom, and the light is inside.
The cars are very powerful on this track. For a track this small, you can’t really open them up without shooting them off the track. With the turbo button on the controller (I’ll talk more about this in a minute) you can pretty much remove the car from the track at any location just by hitting that button.
The police car has a higher center of gravity than the Corvette. I haven’t done much racing on the set yet (just a few laps with my girlfriend), but the cars definitely feel a bit unbalanced with an advantage going to the Corvette. I prefer stock set cars to be a bit more closely matched than these.
On the default layout, there doesn’t seem to be a distinct lane advantage.
The controllers are interesting. The feel of the plunger is a little stiff, but I was able to get decent control out of it. It obviously doesn’t have the feel of a good aftermarket controller from Parma or similar. But it does have the interesting (slightly gimmicky, but still fun) turbo feature. According to the manual, the plunger takes you from 0-70% power, and the turbo button is 100% power. On this particular set, I can use the turbo button coming out of one of the turns toward the straight away for a split second tap - any longer than that and the car doesn’t have time to slow down by the end of the straight and make the next turn. But it seems like it definitely gives a significant burst of power. On a track with a long straight away it would probably be a lot of fun.
Final Thoughts
For just under $50 (about the price of one good 1/32 scale car), I got a very nice full set including everything needed. The 1/43 format is nicer than I expected, feeling more like 1/32 than HO (although I haven’t tried ripping out the magnets to get the cars to slide yet!). I’d definitely recommend this set if you just want to check out the 1/43 format without a large investment. And, when Carrera Digital 143 comes out this track can be used with a digital set to build a bigger layout.
Technorati Tags: 1/43, carrera 1/43, carrera go, carrera sets, carrera slot car, carrera slots
Posted by John on
October 7, 2008
I’ve been wanting to check out the Carrera 1/43 scale slot car system, so I just ordered a little starter set - the Carrera Go Police Chase
set!
It should arrive by this weekend, so I’ll let you know what I think next week. I’m curious to see how the Carrera quality carries over into the smaller scale.
If you want to try it out yourself, it’s only $47 on Amazon.
Technorati Tags: 1/43, carrera set, carrera slot car, slot sets, slot track
Posted by John on
October 3, 2008
Over at HO Slot Car Racing it looks like they’re working on a cool project - a HUGE outdoor Carrera slots layout.
Check out all the details and more great photos after the jump - I especially like the gnomes!
Outdoor Racing On The Parkmoor Garden Raceway
Technorati Tags: carrera set, carrera slot track, carrera slots, outdoors, slot track, slot tracks
Posted by John on
October 1, 2008
Best Nascar commercial i think i have ever seen …Brings back memories…when everyone wanted a slot car track Race set .
What do you think ?
I agree 100% It is the best Commercial thats been out lately!!!!!
Posted by John on
September 30, 2008
i place to take my to race his afx slot cars.
where i can take my son ,to race his slot cars.
Try to contact some slot car organizations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slot_car_racing#Slot_racing_organizations
Posted by John on
September 29, 2008
add any web sites if you could please.links to sites that might help
Go here first. http://www.professormotor.com/
Lots of info. He also has his own racing series
Good luck!
Posted by John on
September 27, 2008
im looking for a place that has a track for racing 1/24 scale slot cars in the denver area
Not sure if this will help, as I don't live near there, but look up Hobby Land in google or the Yahoo!tm city guides. As large a city as Denver is, you're bound to find something.
Caboose Hobbies is a store that may specialize only in model trains but they may direct you to another store. You could also try a Toys R Us or Kay-Bee Toys for starters. Good luck in your search!
Posted by John on
September 26, 2008
I just got given a slot car track with the cars that has been used. It looks new. I wouldn't think it has been played with very much. But when I set it up, the cars didn't go. Are there any slot car hobbists that can tell me some reasons it could be? Thank you
1. check with volt meter that voltage is on the track. Could be a bad transformer suppling the track.
2. contacts between car and track dirty.
3. bad joints in the track pieces.
4. dirty/broken motors in the cars.
5. not plugged in.
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