# Tyco Computer Racing--directions?



## ParkRNDL

Funny how I picked this one up. Saturday evening, long past yard sale time of day, dusk was setting in. I was driving my daughter to a friend's house on a 45-50 mph back road. I noticed a house that still had yard sale stuff out... and saw a silhouette of a black race track on a big flat white box leaning on a table. Only hesitated long enough to check my mirrors, then spiked the brake pedal and turned around to have a look as soon as it was safe. (Is it sad that I'm conditioned to notice stuff like that going by at 50 miles an hour? :freak: )

Here's what I ended up with:





































All the track sections to make the layout on the cover appear to be there, as are some of those cheesy little riser sticks that Tyco stuck in there to create overpasses, but there's no guard rails or paperwork or anything else in the box. I plugged it in to try it and it took me a few minutes to figure out that it needs 4 C batteries in addition to having the wallwart plugged in. Makes sense, I guess... knowing that wallwarts don't provide really consistent power to two cars while they accelerate and decelerate and deslot, I could see a problem if the computerized board in this thing needed a consistent supply.

Anyway, I got it to count off a start, and register laps. It will show a rudimentary "tach" that can tell how far you're squeezing the throttle. I saw where you can change the number of laps to run in a race and if I played with it long enough, I would have seen the "fuel level" drop after running a while.

But I don't really know how to stop a race in the middle and reset it, or how the "caution" deal works, or how to refuel. At one point I couldn't even get it to start a race when I wanted it to, probably because I don't know the magic sequence of buttons to push.

Here's the question: Anybody have directions from a set like this that they can scan and email me? :wave: Or maybe at least give me a rundown of how to work the thing if you know? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help...

(By the way, my daughter, 14, laughed and was pretty good-natured about the whole thing. She even lent me a few bucks to buy it because I didn't have enough on me. My 13-yo son would have moaned and groaned that I was making him late.  )

--rick


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## eastside johnny

I have 8 of those & should have paperwork stuffed away some where......give me some time to did around& look. If I can't find anything I can email you some info on how to use it


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## ParkRNDL

thanks man, much appreciated. :thumbsup:

8 of them? wow...

--rick


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## Grandcheapskate

Rick,
I've got the instructions in PDF (Adobe) format. PM me with your e-maill address and I'll send it.
I also have them on paper in Italian (believe it or not).
I have a whole bunch of these, along with the computer that came in the Mattel Tech Race set. I want to take these old Tyco units and figure out how to wire them into the track without using the track itself. As you can see, if you have a four (or more) lane layout, setting these up requires you to have seperation between the lanes.
I bought some rechargable batteries to use with this unit and when I installed them, it didn't work. Turns out the batteries did not have a long enough positive pole on them and they were not making a connection inside the unit. A piece of tin foil to take up the slack and it worked fine. Just a weird thing that may happen. 

Joe


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## ParkRNDL

thanks Joe! PM sent.

This one came with batteries in it, but they were the old silver Evereadys and long dead. I thought I was pretty lucky that they didn't leak in the case. And yeah, it's a shame that it would be a problem to use this for anything more than 2 lanes. I think it was a halfway decent effort to make the hobby more interesting on a toy line budget...

--rick


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## NTxSlotCars

Wow, I totally missed this one from Tyco. I bet these would be great for my portable track!

Do you have a shot of the underside of the track?


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## WesJY

Awesome find!!! Rick is the king of flea market/yard sale finding slots!! 

Wes


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## Rolls

Should get tested for his peripheral vision... gotta be off the charts!! Way to bring home the cool finds!


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## Hornet

It might be adaptable to using reed switches and or a dead section.
I'm not familiar with the Tyco unit,but the old stand alone AFX Electronic counters,were easy to adapt to either style of timing,if that's what you mean by adapting them to seperate track sections.
It probably uses a dead section style timing set-up right now,but it should also work off reed switches too:thumbsup:


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## ParkRNDL

NTxSlotCars said:


> Wow, I totally missed this one from Tyco. I bet these would be great for my portable track!
> 
> Do you have a shot of the underside of the track?


As you wish.










Not sure how easy it will come apart... as noted in the pic, there are 4 plastic "rivets" or "welds" in addition to the 8 obvious Phillips-head screws. The 6 screws at the bottom of the pic are holding the part with the buttons and driver stations, which seems as if it will lift off and separate from the track if the screws are removed. The larger part, with the lights and readouts, appears to be molded as one piece with the track and does not separate from it... the two small screws are just holding the bottom cover on. (All based on my informal non-professional prodding...)

Detail pics of the top:



















Yes, there are definitely isolated sections of rail, but I'm not so sure they're "dead"... Isn't a dead strip usually only a couple inches long, tops? On this setup, the isolated rail is the one on the passenger side of the car (for the US, that is) and runs most of the length of the 18" terminal track.

Guess that gives us some stuff to try and figure out... 

--rick


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## NTxSlotCars

I can see how that would work. 
I'm guessing they use the same spot welding method to connect to the rails
as they do on the power tracks. Looks like it would be some chore to convert it to 4 lane.


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## Hornet

Depending on how brave you are,you could drill out the plastic rivets and open it up.
Odds are it uses the same style spot welded flat connectors as a piece of Tyco terminal track uses,and they should be easy to figure out what does what,and go from there.
The old Afx timers used a long dead strip too.


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## Grandcheapskate

The back of the unit comes off very easily once you remove the screws. I had one unit that would not work so I had nothing to lose by opening it up. I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't power up.

In order to get this to work without using the attached piece of track, you'd have to, at a minimum, create an isolated piece of track; easy enough to do by just snipping off a little of the rail at both ends of a 6" or 9" straight.

When I get the time, I will open up another unit and see where I would have to solder/connect wires from the isolated piece of track to this unit. The isolated piece of track would need to have it's own power much like the old Aurora electric lap counter. It will be a matter of whether or not I can figure out the wiring - I am no electrical guru.

I'd also like to adapt it so the computer part works off a power source rather than batteries. Shouldn't be too hard to do. There must be a power pack connected to the unit in order for the on/off switch to work - it will not work if only batteries are present.

Joe


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## ParkRNDL

Grandcheapskate said:


> (snip)
> 
> I'd also like to adapt it so the computer part works off a power source rather than batteries. Shouldn't be too hard to do. There must be a power pack connected to the unit in order for the on/off switch to work - it will not work if only batteries are present.
> 
> Joe


Hmmmm. 4 C batteries x 1.5 v each = 6 volts. Rechargeables are usually slightly less in voltage, no? Check a rechargeable AA or C battery, I bet it says something like 1.2 v on it. In your earlier story, if you used four 1.2v rechargeables to run yours, you were getting 4.8 v total and once you got the problem with the short positive post solved, it worked fine. If I'm not mistaken, cell phones charge at 5vdc, which is also what a powered USB port puts out, I believe. So it follows that any spare cell phone charger (and they seem to grow in corners of the house when you're not looking, don't they?) would power this thing if you spliced a couple of wires to the battery contacts, as long as it provided enough amperage...

--rick


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## Hornet

Joe,there won't be any power run to your piece of "Dead" track, 2 wires to trip the counters will be all that's needed.
Reed switches will work too.
A 6v wallwart will eliminate your batteries,might take a bit of adapting,but nothing serious.
All you need is someway of closing the ground circuit of the timers,whether it be by dead section or reed switches:wave:


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## Grandcheapskate

When I tried out one of the units, I used 4 rechargable C batteries and once I fixed the short post problem, the computer unit worked fine. So 6v should be what's needed to run the computer portion. But like I posted earlier, you must have a wall wart/power pack connected to the unit (in addition to batteries) in order for the computer portion to work. I do not believe you have to plug in the controllers.

I think when I tried this unit, the entire section of track is powered, including the isolated portion. There is no "dead" strip. Much like the old Aurora electric lap counter which had an isolated piece of track that was self-powered. But you are correct; all that is needed is a way to trip the lap counter and fuel consumption. That can be done by wiring a seperate piece of track to the isolated section.

Joe


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## Hornet

LOL,better check Joe,i bet there's no power on that section.
If somebody finds the directions for you,they'll probably specify that you need at least a 15" straight ahead of the timer,so that the cars have enough speed to coast across the dead section.
I could be wrong though,as i'm not familiar with the Tyco unit.
Got lots of experience modify'ing the AFX/Tomy versions,and they're easy to adapt to either reed switches,or a seperate dead track section.
I would i think the Tyco versions probably aren't a whole lot differant in that respect:thumbsup:
Gotta admit,i've never ran into a powered Aurora lap counter,and i've got 2 of the old DATA Race AFX/Aurora timers from the late 70's,and they used a dead section even back then,in fact they're still on my old track,lol
Rick


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## eastside johnny

Grandcheapskate;3898630[I said:


> ]When I tried out one of the units, I used
> There is no "dead" strip. Much like the old Aurora electric lap counter which had an isolated piece of track that was self-powered. But you are correct; all that is needed is a way to trip the lap counter and fuel consumption. *That can be done by wiring a separate piece of track to the isolated section.*[/I]
> 
> Joe


The way I use mine I have the isolated section on the counter wired to an isolated "dead strip" on the track BUT the strip is "Live",powered from the computer. I have old steering wheel controller plugged into each of the controller inputs and use them at a preset speed so the cars will roll through the section. Been using them that way for a LONG time. It's too bad that Tyco only made them one year. When used as it was designed as part of the track, the features are pretty cool. The "caution button" will reduce the power to the entire track (yellow flag) if you hit it when a car comes off and the pit stop/refueling is neat too. ...only works for a two lane setup though so I just use them as lap counters for all my 4 lane tracks.


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## Hornet

Learn something new everyday is my motto.:thumbsup:
I didn't think they'd use a powered dead section for lap timing.
But when you say "live" is that with full track voltage,or the 5 volt computor power
Johhnny maybe you could tell these guys how you did your's,i've never worked with the Tyco unit,so i'm not familiar with it all:thumbsup:


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## Hornet

What you guys are calling "Live" i think is a bit misleading.
There should be a low voltage/low amperage power of 5volts going to the "dead" section.
This is what the computor sends out so it has an open circuit to read,and when a car crosses over the dead section it completes the ground side of the circuit,which trips the timers.
I don't think there is enough power to the dead section to run a car,but i could be wrong.
That's what i think you guys are meaning when you say it's "live".
If anybodies got a multi-meter,maybe check and see what the voltage is on the dead section,and see if it'll run a car:thumbsup:


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## eastside johnny

Whan using the set as it is designed to be used, the section of track for the counters is powered with the same power that the rest of the track gets. You can go whatever speed that you are driving your car at. Your controller will control the speed on the "Live" dead section. Since my tracks use an isolated section, I set that section to a constant speed, other wise it will be "dead" & the car will not drive through unless you carry enough speed to roll through with no power.


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## Grandcheapskate

eastside johnny said:


> The way I use mine I have the isolated section on the counter wired to an isolated "dead strip" on the track BUT the strip is "Live",powered from the computer. I have old steering wheel controller plugged into each of the controller inputs and use them at a preset speed so the cars will roll through the section. Been using them that way for a LONG time. It's too bad that Tyco only made them one year. When used as it was designed as part of the track, the features are pretty cool. The "caution button" will reduce the power to the entire track (yellow flag) if you hit it when a car comes off and the pit stop/refueling is neat too. ...only works for a two lane setup though so I just use them as lap counters for all my 4 lane tracks.


 So if I understand this correctly, your Tyco unit is not part of the layout, but rather is wired to a piece of isolated track that is part of the layout. This is exactly what I want to do when I get the chance.

On your setup, the isolated piece of track gets its power from the wall wart connected to the Tyco unit and the speed (on that one piece of track) is determined by the controller(s) connected to the unit. Perfect.

I'm guessing that if you just want full power going to the isolated piece of track, which would be fine if it's located in the middle of a straight, you could simply short the controller connector and wouldn't need any controllers on the unit itself.

Thanks...Joe


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## eastside johnny

Grandcheapskate said:


> So if I understand this correctly, your Tyco unit is not part of the layout, but rather is wired to a piece of isolated track that is part of the layout. This is exactly what I want to do when I get the chance.
> 
> On your setup, the isolated piece of track gets its power from the wall wart connected to the Tyco unit and the speed (on that one piece of track) is determined by the controller(s) connected to the unit. Perfect.
> 
> I'm guessing that if you just want full power going to the isolated piece of track, which would be fine if it's located in the middle of a straight, you could simply short the controller connector and wouldn't need any controllers on the unit itself.
> 
> Thanks...Joe


:thumbsup: Joe,Yes, you understand correctly!...We run with an MG adjustable power supply & vary the voltage depending on the cars & the track (which really makes for better racing) so that's the reason that we use the steering wheel controllers with the Tyco unit so we can adjust the power to better match what the rest of the track is. It's a BIG help for the off road track which is a rather slow speed deal compared to the rest of our stuff.


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## Grandcheapskate

Thanks Johnny.

I'm gonna take another guess and say that IF you wanted to use the other features of the computer in addition to the lap counter, you could jump a wire from the non-isolated part of the computer track rail to the non-isolated part of your layout.

I haven't reviewed the instructions lately, but I believe the computer has a fuel usage simulator. If you had a four laner, you could use the fuel usage function (one computer for every two lanes) as long as both computers used/measured fuel exactly the same.

The CAUTION button would be a problem since pressing the CAUTION button on one unit would only effect two lanes.

Joe


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## eastside johnny

Grandcheapskate said:


> Thanks Johnny.
> 
> I'm gonna take another guess and say that IF you wanted to use the other features of the computer in addition to the lap counter, you could jump a wire from the non-isolated part of the computer track rail to the non-isolated part of your layout.
> 
> I haven't reviewed the instructions lately, but I believe the computer has a fuel usage simulator. If you had a four laner, you could use the fuel usage function (one computer for every two lanes) as long as both computers used/measured fuel exactly the same.
> 
> The CAUTION button would be a problem since pressing the CAUTION button on one unit would only effect two lanes.
> 
> Joe


Not sure about the fuel deal since we never did use it but if I remember right???? I think that the fuel usage was calculated in reference to lap times and if so then it should work since the unit is counting & timing laps. You need to stop (park) the car on the designated "Pit spot" to refuel if again I remember right.


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## halfmag

Hello out there, this is my first post. I would like to know more about this unit, and was wondering if Eastside Johnny or Grandcheapskate would like to free up some storage space by selling one of these.


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## carlosnseattle

Hi;

You posted on HT that you had a pdf file of the instructions for the older 6290 Tyco Race Computer. Can you please email me a copy of it? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Carlos



Grandcheapskate said:


> Rick,
> I've got the instructions in PDF (Adobe) format. PM me with your e-maill address and I'll send it.
> I also have them on paper in Italian (believe it or not).
> I have a whole bunch of these, along with the computer that came in the Mattel Tech Race set. I want to take these old Tyco units and figure out how to wire them into the track without using the track itself. As you can see, if you have a four (or more) lane layout, setting these up requires you to have seperation between the lanes.
> I bought some rechargable batteries to use with this unit and when I installed them, it didn't work. Turns out the batteries did not have a long enough positive pole on them and they were not making a connection inside the unit. A piece of tin foil to take up the slack and it worked fine. Just a weird thing that may happen.
> 
> Joe


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## ParkRNDL

Hey, I've got the file he sent me, if he doesn't check in soon. I could email it to you. PM me with an email address if you need it.

--rick


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## NTxSlotCars

Hey Rick, did that info help you out? Did you play around with it?
What was your experience with that computer? Any pics?


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## ParkRNDL

Honestly, I never played much with it after this post. I filed away the PDF Joe sent me for future reference and went back to my permanent layout. What I think I really need is a ping-pong table in the dungeon just for setting up sets like this temporarily...

(yeah sure. like we've all got the real estate for an extra ping-pong table...  )

--rick


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## Deppen

Any chance I could get a copy of that pdf? Just bought one of these from a local auction site.


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## ma_noda

*Instructions*

Hi,

Can i get a copy of this pdf? i am missing the instructions. Thanks.



Grandcheapskate said:


> Rick,
> I've got the instructions in PDF (Adobe) format. PM me with your e-maill address and I'll send it.
> I also have them on paper in Italian (believe it or not).
> I have a whole bunch of these, along with the computer that came in the Mattel Tech Race set. I want to take these old Tyco units and figure out how to wire them into the track without using the track itself. As you can see, if you have a four (or more) lane layout, setting these up requires you to have seperation between the lanes.
> I bought some rechargable batteries to use with this unit and when I installed them, it didn't work. Turns out the batteries did not have a long enough positive pole on them and they were not making a connection inside the unit. A piece of tin foil to take up the slack and it worked fine. Just a weird thing that may happen.
> 
> Joe


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## carlosnseattle

I hope this attaches


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## carlosnseattle

Last Page:


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