# Braided pickup conversion for HP-2 & Curvehugger



## grungerockjeepe

Ok, this is the one Ive been talking about. The weak spot of the HP2 & CH pickup system is the lack of continuity between the pickups and the motor. That, and unless you mod the setup like in my last post, the pickups dont retract fully. The reason this mod --or any braided setup-- works so well is that the braid will function as a pickup and a shunt right to the motor brush barrels all rolled in one. You'll eliminate all the little joints in the stock setup for and have much less friction to the track rails for much smoother running. 

Its actually a real simple conversion, one thats so simple you'll wonder why you didnt think of it sooner. The beauty of this conversion is, outside of the pickup assembly mod I showed in the other thread, its completely reversible. If you dont like the braid conversion then after you get your head examined, simply re-install the pickups and springs. Here's how its done:










In addition to either an HP-2 or Curvehugger chassis that you want to make absolutely fly, all you need is a spool of braided copper (available at Radio shack for about $4-$5) and some thin wall styrene tubing. I found some made by Raboesch super styrene in .080" x .118" size. Outside of a razor blade or dremel, a set of jewlers pliers and a set of needle files no special tools are needed. While you can use the 'rivet top' pickup assemblies to do this, the 'flat top' style is really the best place to start. The rivets up top get in the way of the braids and axle and will need some grinding and filing to for everything to clear.

First off, you want to prep the pickup assembly like I showed in the last CH/HP2 post. Just dont install the pickups or springs. Instead spool out a length of copper braid but dont cut it off just yet. Thread it from the bottom front opening on one side of the assembly, over the top of the brass plates, straight thru the opening just under the brass tabs, and go just a little (maybe 2 millimeters) past the ends of the tabs that go to the brush barrels. Use a pair of flat nose mini pliers to crimp up the braids to follow the step up coming under the brass tab:



















Now, flip the assembly over, and bring the braid on the other side back towards the tab. You want to grab the braid about the same distance back under the assembly as where you have the leading edge up top. Snip it there, pull it out, and use this to measure off a duplicate piece. Then just re-thread both back thru the same way. You could measure it, but a simple eyeball job will do:










Once you have both pieces threaded thru again, take that little extra bit of braid you allowed coming past the brass tabs and wrap it up around the ends of the tabs. This will help locate the braids on there, and give a good solid contact with the brush barrels. Oh, and if you have a pickup assembly with one or both tips of the brass tabs broken off (flat top assemblies are WAY prone to this, since the ends are thinner, creating a noticeable weak spot) it wont matter. You can leave a little extra braid here to stuff back into the motor brush barrels and it'll contact just fine. 










On top of the assembly, carefully pull the section of braid going over the brass plates out nice and flat like the one on the right:


----------



## grungerockjeepe

Now, just squeeze the folded over part of the braids in on the brass tabs so theyre the same width, and slide the assembly back into the chassis, and get the tabs/braids into the motor barrels real good. Snap in your guide pin to hold it all in place:










Now flip over the chassis, and you'll need to tweak the braids. The braid on the left is the stock width you should be seeing, take a pair of pliers and work the braid wider and shorter, like on the right:










Repeat for the other side. Now the braids are flat, wide, and flexible and will make good contact with the rails even thru the curves. Take the trailing edges of the braids and bend them up a bit (they'll angle down to the rear when the chassis is right side up) to meet the track rails:










By now, you've probably figured out that due to the arrangement of the braids to the front axle, you've just set up a serious shorting out problem. Thats where the plastic tubing comes into play. Sure, you could put some black electrical tape over top of the braids to insulate them from the axle, but thats a quick and dirty way of doing it. Sleeving it like I do will be more effective, no gooey mess, and will look professional and clean. 

Take your front axle and remove one wheel, then slide into place, either long or short wheelbase. Take a length of thin wall tubing, and slide it over the empty axle side, then use your razor (or dremel) and cut it flush with the outside edge of the pickup assembly. 










Remove that axle sleeve and make a duplicate. Just to be sure everything spins freely with no binding, get out your round needle file and work over the insides of the sleeves real good. Now install one on each outer edge of the axle just inside of the wheels and snap the axle in place:



















Thats it! Just a few laps and you'll be seeing just what these chassis can do, and its absolutely amazing what theyre capable of. Ive got HP-2s and CH's with greenwire arms and no other real mods besides decent tires and what Ive shown here that will beat a stock narrow 440 X2 in a drag race on the 4 foot straight section of my track. You will need to invest in some decent tires once you do this conversion though, a good start will be the really sticky ones from Auto World. Or you can experiment with silicones from SuperTires or Bud's.


----------



## TomH

You make it look easy grunge. I just gotz to try this. Thanks for the info. This will make a great slider car.


----------



## Bill Hall

Nifty Schtuff Jeeper!

Neat clean and functional.


----------



## smalltime

Wow,
Great tutorial. 
I need to figure out how to post pics like these.


----------



## noddaz

Can't see pictures at work...
ARRRGH!!!


----------



## grungerockjeepe

Tom, it is a pretty easy and straightforward conversion. Ive done it so many times, that I can start with a bone stocker, shave down the pickup assembly and install the braids in under 10 mins. If you look real hard at what Ive done, its such a small amount of re-working that theres no reason Tyco shouldnt have come up with it themselves.


----------



## noddaz

*Wow.*

Thank you.
I like it!
So, how does it run with G-Jets and the like...
I like building low buck competition....

Scott


----------



## grungerockjeepe

I dont own any G-jets, never even raced one. I do know those are weighted with no magnatraction. so the only comparable thing here would be to weight and de-traction one of these.


----------



## resinmonger

This conversion is also the answer to hard to find pick up shoes. Have you done anything similar with the Tyco Pro or Riggen guide flag? The pick ups were the real Achilles Heal on both of these chassis. Plus, replacement parts are hard to find. I would think a braided pick up system would solve both issues like it did for the Curve Hugger.

Thanks for sharing the great tech! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## grungerockjeepe

Good point, Hutt forgot to even bring that up. Although slotfather on the 'bay does have NOS replacement shoes, slotcarcentral has the complete assemblies. They're still available yet. 

Never tried to braid a riggen or tycopro, although its definitely do-able. Riggen will sell you a braid-converted pickup assembly for those. Personally, even though they do wear quickly I dont think the wipers are the real issue with those, its the lead wires and solder joints which are exremely fragile. And trying to solder something attached to plastic, just doesnt work out for someone like me with no soldering skills.


----------



## Bill Hall

It seems that I remember that Kevin AKA Good Wrench Intimidator has intell on braid set ups for Riggen and Tycopro.


----------



## twolff

Greg Braun has replacement TycoPro wipers. Soldering the lead wires should be done before they are installed in the guide flag. The wipers are easily the weak link as far as wear is concerned. When I get one tweaked and running good, I can perforate a wiper in a single evening of hard running.

I like the idea of using braid pick-ups. I'm waiting to hear from a CNC capable shop on having a braided HO track routed and braided pick-ups would be ideal.


----------



## grungerockjeepe

that method works great for the tycopros since theyre a slide in and snap moutn. But on the riggen replacements-- especally the NOS aj's pin style guide flag, the wipers are mounted to the plastic with a heat swage. Its a nitemare to try and re-solder those.

I wonder if you have too much tension from the wipers to the track? The wipers on my first riggen took a good while to wear out, although I dont run it THAT hard or often. I agree they dont have the durability factor of braids or skis, but at least if you can find thin enough copper sheet, you can make your own cheap and easy.


----------



## videojimmy

great tip!


----------



## slotnewbie69

wow,i know its an old post but that's the first i have checked out this superb conversion.neat and tidy.should run well on a routed track with copper tape,too i would think.thanks for a great tutorial!


----------



## grungerockjeepe

just a bump. These how-to's I wrote seem to be regaining some interest...


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Bumpin this one too. These would be great cars on 43rd scale track.


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Has anyone done some of these? I'm buying some copper braid today.


----------



## slotnewbie69

i did up a tyco pro like this with braids to replace the buttons.i went with a slideguide to replace the whole tycopro front and it works great.


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Coo beans! I have some 43rd track I wanna make a drag strip out of, and use braided cars.
I'm wondering if this trick will work on AFX chassis as well?


----------



## gonegonzo

NTxSlotcars ,

My buddy and I was running T-Jets and Magnatractions on 1/43rd scale track . We didn't modify the cars as in this post however . 

What we did was : 

1. slipped a styrene plastic sleeve over the guide pin to keep the car centered in the larger 1/43rd scale slot . You can use silicone as an adhesive on the sleeve .

2. Soldered braid onto the T-jet and Magnatraction pickup shoes . Solder in the front just above the bend in the shoe not to interfere with the shoe stop on the chessis . Then comb the braid back with a small wire brush .

3, Your good to go .

Now in retrospect , this modification in this post would probably be a cleaner way of doing this . 

Gonzo


----------



## joegri

i just got a tyco hp7 i think and i took out the mags and put a piece of lead in the front. next i turned the volts down 15v or 12v the car is a gas to drive in this mode and this braided pickup mod looks simple and effective. got a curve hugger in the mail soon and all the mods that the grunger has shown i,ll be tryin! grunger has started a revolution at my bench and looks like my riggen will be going through a transformation too this fall/winter. thanx G now ya did it!


----------



## Ralphthe3rd

WOW- Like I said about the OP's sister thread, this is Good stuff- Kudos ! (now where is that Kudos Button?)


----------



## 440

I'm going to be picking up some braided and tubing tomorrow. Gonna pull all my Tycos apart and do this.


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Plastic Qtips work good for tubing.


----------



## 440

I actually couldn't find the braided at Rat Shack so I just ordered some off of flEbay. 

I have straws for cans of compressed air that I've used as custom side-pipes on some of my cars that may also work as axle covers.


----------



## NTxSlotCars

I'm still liking this thread. :thumbsup:


----------



## fitz3820

*Great Mod*

My first post  Great Mod!


Got the de-soldering braid at Radio Shack yesterday, cool mod, works well. 

One question, how do you keep the braid together when expanding it to make it wider? Mine came apart and looks messy, still works like a champ though.

-Mark in Mass.


----------



## alpink

fitz, actually on larger scale cars they brush the braids with wire brushes to make them fray and smooth out for better contact to the braid on the track. 
it seems to be a matter of personal preference. in my drag racing experience, the brushed out braid on a car made it faster. 
your mileage may vary. 
welcome to Hobby Talk Mark!


----------



## fitz3820

Thanks Alpink,

I will give it a try - dusting off my old HP2/GH, HP7 and US-1 Trucks plus a few AFX to keep me busy.

-Mark in Mass.


----------



## Piz

Ok I just tried this and I have to say .. WOW what a difference and it was so easy to do . thanks for the great tip , so far the best I have seen .


----------



## gonegonzo

Has anyone used his type of set up on the old TYCO PRO's ?

I have several but their week point is the pickup system.

Thx Gonzo


----------



## Bill Hall

*A little slice of heaven*

Braids are great!

Problem is that sectional track with thin rail can really snag them up prematurely. If you dont dress/level ALL the rail joints the braids will be torched in no time. Over the years, I've used them on Tyco Pro, Riggen, Scratchbuilts, and of course bigger scale cars.

IMHO, one of the first conversions to be done, absolutely an upgrade for the Tyco Pro. No more wadded up foils boinging around, or those idiotic buttons sputtering and dundering along. 

Hear that? Nope? That's smooth blissful silence! Ahhhhhhhhhhh 

Like any electrical wiper/pickup they have requirements. They'll need to fluffed, teased, and adjusted periodically depending on how clean your rails are and how much crashing you do.


----------



## gonegonzo

Bill ,

I've heard all of those noises .

The TYCO PRO car intriques me and from time to time I play around wih them . The pickups are my most serious stumbling block with these cars .

Gonzo


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Another bump for one of the greatest pickup conversions in modern history...


----------



## SplitPoster

Thanks for the bump Rich! This subject came up tonight in chat, with a much older chassis in mind. Your post must have stuck well enough to stick in my memory.


----------



## TomH

uh bump


----------



## pshoe64

I've done 3 of these and the process is super rock solid! Excellent tutorial Grunge. I have revived chassis that I thought were just wheel-well fillers, now they are turning hot laps around the track,:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

-Paul


----------



## noddaz

*I like this...*

Now I just have to do it... 

Scott


----------



## dlaloum

Any chance of getting the pictures re-posted? (ie from elsewhere other than photobucket?) - thanks


----------



## Rich Dumas

You could create a new album in Photobucket and move the pictures there. If you post a link to the album people would at least be able to see the pictures. My Photobucket pictures are still working, but I now put new pictures on Imgur.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing

dlaloum said:


> Any chance of getting the pictures re-posted? (ie from elsewhere other than photobucket?) - thanks



Welcome to the boards dialoum. :cheers2:

As above the OP needs to add an album url address for you to click on.

Depending on the browser you are using though - you can download an add on to see blocked photo bucket images. (You can also switch to a listed browser when you run across blocked images - and then switch back to your favorite browser - as needed.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/361-h...-browser-add-photobucket-embedded-images.html


----------

