# Is there a AFX car database?



## Matack (Aug 30, 2004)

Wondering if there is a site that list's all the AFX cars ever made?

Or perhaps a site that had a large list with pictures of AFX cars.


Thanks,

Matt


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## Iphitsgotwheels (Feb 25, 2004)

Try this site.
www.hoslotcars.com


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## Matack (Aug 30, 2004)

/bow

Thanks, nice site.


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## Matack (Aug 30, 2004)

One more question-

To power large track layouts do you use multiple power supplies?

I take it there must be optional power adapters that can control voltage as with trains?


Again thank you for the great information :thumbsup:


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Power supplies...

It's not that you want multiple power supplies; on a large layout you want to tap the power to the track in multiple places so it's even all around the track. Otherwise, power would be fine right near the terminal track but would drop little by little as it flowed through track joints, and would wind up significantly lower at the point on the track farthest from the terminal. I have 6 terminal tracks on my 4x16 layout with wires connecting them, but I only have one transformer per lane. The reason to power lanes separately is that otherwise, two cars "compete" for maximum juice from the one power supply. You can feel your car slow a little as the other car accelerates, and if he comes off the track and suddenly stops using power, you might experience a little power surge that causes you to hit a turn too fast and crash too. A separate power supply for each lane eliminates that surging as cars accelerate and decelerate at different times.

Now, I use stock old Aurora power packs. I'll let someone else tell you about serious power supplies... 

--rick


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## Matack (Aug 30, 2004)

OK...so let see if I understan this-

I'am looking to buy the AFX International set which come with 2 powersupplies. I would most likely set it up mostly in the 2 lane mode. 

So I would plug in 1 controller in 1 terminal track and next controller in other while supplying power to each?


Matt


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## Piz (Apr 22, 2002)

Matack said:


> OK...so let see if I understan this-
> 
> I'am looking to buy the AFX International set which come with 2 powersupplies. I would most likely set it up mostly in the 2 lane mode.
> 
> ...


Almost , what you would need to do is cut the common , on each terminal track so that each supply is only powering one lane. Terminal track one would power the inside lane and TT 2 would power the outside. then you need to solder jumper wires from the underneath of the power terminal track to even space intervals around the track . ie; 100 running feet of track , make a power connection every 25ft . it is really simple to do and it's the only way to get the stock power supply to work sufficantly .


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Definitely want to keep the lanes seperately powered. :thumbsup: 

Then again, it was fun to watch that other car go flying off the curve when you let off your controller back when you shared one power pack between two lanes. :freak:  rr


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

yeah, I guess I should have explained that... Under the terminal tracks, you have to cut the connections so that each terminal track only powers one lane. I didn't have to do that with my layout because I use old Atlas/Lionel track, which doesn't use plugs--the terminal track has 4 contacts with screws to attach wires, one for each rail. I did modify a couple of Lifelike terminal tracks to power one lane each... I'll try to attach a pic, but the board says I have to make it smaller, so the text labels may be hard to read......

Also, I noticed at this site:

http://hoslotcarracing.com/

under the Power tab on the left, he explains power supplies and powering track lanes separately. I noticed that he has a diagram of setting up Tomy track with each lane powered separately, with 2 power packs and 2 terminal tracks, without cutting the contacts under the track. Maybe it's okay to do that... I thought it would be better to completely isolate the power to each lane... anyone know more about this?

--rick

--rick


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Matack said:


> Wondering if there is a site that list's all the AFX cars ever made?
> 
> Or perhaps a site that had a large list with pictures of AFX cars.
> 
> ...


This is a good one I visit . . .
http://members.aol.com/steveselby/index.html

'Doba


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> anyone know more about this?


Yep, that's a perfectly acceptable arrangement for isolating the power between the two lanes using two terminal tracks. The reason it works is because you are only connecting one controller to each terminal track. The terminal track supply connection (positive lead) is only common at the controller hookups on the terminal track. The ground connection is common to both power supplies and the negative track rail, but that's not an issue. Ground is ground.

The reason that you need jumpers is that the circuit resistance increases in direct proportion to the distance and number of track joints between the controller hookup and the car. Theoretically the maximum resistance would occur at the halfway point assuming all track sections are the same length and all track joints have the same resistance, or you have a continuous rail track. The resistance of the track joints varies widely and can have a big negative effect even when the track is not very long. Jumpers provide a parallel path for current to get from the controller to the car. A beneficial property of parallel resistance is that the effective resistance of parallel resistance paths will always be less that the lowest single resistance path. Jumpers are typically very low resistance copper wire. So if the track circuit results in say 10 ohms, adding a 1 ohm copper wire in parallel to it will result in an effective resistance of less than 1 ohm (0.91 ohms to be exact). That's a huge benefit. The best way to do jumpers is to use a star arrangement, where all of the jumpers have a common connection point. The other less optimal arrangement is a bus arrangement as shown on that web site. But any jumper system is always worth it because adding jumpers (shunts) always makes the resistance go down (even if the jumper wire is higher resistance than the track circuit resistance!). 

As a track gets used more and more the electrical connections at the track joints can get dirty (mainly from oil) and oxidized (mainly from moisture) and even a track with plenty of jumpers may develop bad power spots. That's the main reason people solder the rail connections at the track joints. Whenever you resassemble your track, make sure you remove any oxidation (rust) and thoroughly clean the rail connections at the track joints. With Tomy and Tyco track at least you can see the connections from the top to know if there might be a problem. On the older track you can't see the electrical connections. Soldering the connections on the older track is very difficult. On an old track that is setup permanently I would consider applying a conductive contact grease to the electrical contacts on as many of the mated sections as I could (apply it after the track sections are snapped together and locked.) You can get conductive contact grease at computer and electronics stores.


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