# Help!!! power supply question



## blazingsaddles (Aug 23, 2009)

Hello all
Here is my problem that Ihope someone can share some insight 

I recently bought a used custon built ho scale 4 lane track made using tomy style track built on 5 foot 4 inch wide x 12 foot long table with driver stations etc built fron specifications from ho slot car racing(basically the bayside 55 but with a few more feet added) on e-bay and I notice that there is much more wear on the pick up shoes of my tomy cars actually after only
5-10 laps the pick up shoes have black what seems like carbon deposits on them and some develop deep grooves which slow down the cars but after changing the shoes the cars run great after that.

The track replaced my own 4 lane tomy raceway5 x 10 foot about 50 feet of track that used 4 standard tomy power tracks with 4 tomy power packs.I never had the excess pick up shoe wear on my previous track which was almost as long but without the power taps


My layout uses 1 standard tomy power pack per lane that have had the regular plugs removed and clips attached to a power station under the table,the track has 4 power tap spots alog the layout length of about 60 feet per lane.I'm using parma controllers two of which came with the track that I use but I don't know what the ohm rating is,I did buy two 45 ohm parma controllers that I havent used much yet(I've just been racing on lane 2 and 3)

My question is is the power pack voltage cuasing the excess wear on the pick up shoes??? could it be the parma controllers that I'm using are 70 ohms and are causing the wear and I should just make sure my controllers are all 45 ohms??? Do I need a variable power supply?????,Do the long fast straights affect wear???.Is the wear just normal and should I just stock up on pick up shoes.Does excess pick up shoe wear translate into quicker moter burn out and poor car performance???,what role do volts and amps play in this equation??? I worry about my nicer cars because sometimes they get super hot if I race them for more than 5-10 minutes I have even burned out some motors on a couple of tomy srt cars.I mostly run super g+ and srt cars which seem to be affected more although I do run some tyco 440 x 2 and life like cars

The track is in my garage but I keep it covered,I clean it and use rail zip to keep the power conductivity high,The speed of the cars is constant around the track without any dead spots and all the junctions are tight.
You can reply on this forum or e-mail me at [email protected]
thanks in advance
Elgin Smith


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

Low voltage spots are inherant on plastic snap track,solution:Install taps throughout the track,or get a Max or Wizz track and use a filtered regulated power supply.Your shoes are getting voltage "tattoo's" from low volt/amp spots and current drops are killing your arms.Plain and simple,start soldering,use a wet rag as a heat sink.Hope this helps.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I'm no expert on this, but what stuck me in your question is that you are getting deep grooves in your pickup shoes. Throwing out all other considerations, I believe the only thing which could cause you to wear pickup shoes like that would be stronger magnetic attraction. Not only would this cause you to get deep grooves in the shoes, but would also cause more heat buildup as the motor needs to overcome the additional downforce.

You say both this new track and your old track are Tomy. If that's true, then there shouldn't be a difference in downforce, unless the owner of the previous track replaced all the rail with something different (or higher).

I don't know how you go about testing the difference in downforce, but from your description, I wouldn't rule it out.

Joe


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I'm taking a stab in the dark here, but I would look at your rail height between the old track and the new track. If the new track rail is higher than the old, the magnetic attraction will be stronger, and there will be a higher level of pressure on the shoes. Also, this will throw off your shoe adjustment where they were set up right on your old track.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Outdoor tracks like that move quite a bit, especially in direct sunlight. The rail may have come up in places.
I would run my hand around the track and see if you notice any drastic change in rail height.
My track is indoors and I still had to replace some pieces due manufacturing defects.

Rich
www.myspace.com/northtexasslotcars :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## joegri (Feb 13, 2008)

this sounds to me like the same thing that happened to my riggen.after askin around in my case it was wallwarts delivering to much clean unfiltered power,hence the track ate the byrelium contacts in 50 laps . that is what send me on to building a continuios rail routed track with an adjustable power source. that is where you deciede how far do you want to go with this hobby/curse!!! goood luck with your situation there is a solution out there .


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

I concur...a decent adjustable regulated power supply should cure what ails you..


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## 22tall (Jul 28, 2002)

I think if it was a wall wart problem everyone using them would be having the same problem. For it to be a rail height problem the rails would have to be so high that it causes the pick up shoes to bottom out. Take the front wheels off a car and you will see what I mean.

I am curious as to the condition of the track rails. Even if they look good and the cars seem to be running fine they may be corroded. All those micro pits would act like sandpaper and giving you excessive wear. The shoes turning black could be from the same thing. Instead of having a good contact patch between shoe and track you have many tiny ones leading to arcing.

I would try giving a lane a light polish with some 2000 grit sandpaper. I think you will see an improvement. Also make sure your track joints are smooth.


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