RC Slot Car Index PageThat's right, slot cars are now available with wireless remote controls that send digital signals directly to the track that controls the vehicle. I know this is a bit off the traditional beaten trail of what we've been presenting but considering how much fun they are and how popular these new digital versions are quickly becoming, I thought this information would be very useful if you're looking for an indoor hobby, especially when the weather is rainy or cold. So let's go back in time for a moment...I'm talking about the mid to late 1960's. When I was a kid I had an orange 1/24th scale slot car made by Cox called the "La Cucaracha" (La Kook for short), that I kept in a small fishing tackle box along with a speed controller that I could connect to the race track terminals with alligator clips...and yes, I still own it!
When I could get a ride to the local hobby shop, I was able to go to their lower level and race my La Cucaracha on any one of many tracks that they had designated by color. Like the "Black Track", or the big "Red Track" with two huge banked curves! The time allotted never lasted long enough and I always dreamed of one day having my own big track. For the longest time slot car fans really had only one option for home racing, and that was to get an HO 1/60th set. Even today the HO scale is very popular with brands like AFX, Lifelike, and Scale Auto.
Fast forward to today and the big 1/24th scale slot cars are back in style, but now with home sets! The most popular type of set up is actually using 1/24th scale track with 1/32 scale slot cars. This allows for more room between the lanes for drifting and sliding. But wait, we've only just begun to describe the amazing new features that the new digital technology has brought to this part of the RC Hobby Universe... Let's start with the most popular brands. They include: Carrera, Scalextric, SCX, and Ninco. The key feature exclusive to digital racing is that more than one car can be racing in the same lane. Since each car is receiving it commands on a unique digital frequency through the track, there is no longer any restriction regarding lanes. This has opened up a whole new way of racing. From your controller you can now send a command to your slot car to change lanes. Lane changes can be executed wherever there is a cross over track.
With the Scalextric digital sets, you can have up to six cars racing on the same track!
Beginner Level: Although there are a few brands of digital race sets available, the industry leader, and maker of the only wireless remote controller for a digital slot car racing set, is Carrera. Their wireless speed controllers use infrared technology on four different frequencies which means that you can have up to to four different cars racing at the same time. Racers can stand anywhere within a nine foot range of the track without any response delay.
The ability to change lanes really brings a whole new level of competitive racing to slot cars. You can pass your opponent by going wide and faster on a bank turn and then cut into the inside lane. you can take advantage of two other cars dualing it out and change lanes to avoid them. The beauty of lane changing is that you are really now in control of not only how fast you can drive your car but where you position yourself during the race. Here is a picture from the Carrera Evolution Pro-X Formula 1 Digital Race Set. Take a look at the lane change.
There are also many accessories available including:
*Carrera Pro-X Pit Stop Lane - the Pit Stop is actually two lane change tracks with a special straight in between. You can program a setting that requires all cars to consume fuel and when near "empty", they must go in the pit stop for a period of time to fill up. Fuel is consumed based on actual driving actions and there is an indicator that communicates when it's necessary to enter the pit. The amount of time spent in the pit stop will determine how much fuel is added.
To make this even more interesting, you can add a coded pace car to the race that moves at a constant speed and leaves the pit stop lane. After a defined period of time the pace car leaves the race track and returns to the pit stop lane. The racer can't leave the pit stop until the pace car leaves ahead of you. Additionally, you need to maneuver around the pace car during the race when it's on the race track! **Lap Counter - another great feature unique to digital slot car racing is the Carrera Pro-X Electronic Lap Counter. It can be used for up to four cars and the laps are actually counted by an infrared light barrier that crosses both lanes in the slot. Each car has a coded guide keel that the counter recognizes.
As you can see, this hobby has come a long way from the days of colored coded lanes and simple speed controllers!
Carrera Mario Kart Slot Car Set 1:43 ScaleThe hottest video game character now has a really cool slot car set available. Carrera has done a great job securing the licensing for a variety of characters such as Spiderman, James Bond, and now Mario!
The set includes: * 1 MarioKart - Mario "B-Dasher" * 1 MarioKart - Wario "Brute" * 5 Straights 342 mm * 2 Straights 114 mm * 3 Straights 100 mm * 4 Fly Over sections with supports * 1 Narrow section * 9 Curves 1/90° * 1 Curve 1/45° * 3 Curves 2/45° * 1 Connecting track section * 2 Speed controllers * 1 Transformer * Support set * Incl. accessories Dimensions when assembled: 200 x 112 cm/6.56 x 3.67 ft. Track length: 6,2 m/20.34 ft. Click here to check it out!
|
