# What can you tell me about scalelectrix digital slots



## SKBednasek (Mar 22, 2010)

Hey -

I need help. I have come into a bunch of scalelectrix digital slot cars and I know nothing about them. They don't appear to have ever been used and are still screwed down in the original case. How can I tell if are use or not. I may want to sell a few. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


-=shawn


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## SKBednasek (Mar 22, 2010)

wow - great crowd here....now I know why I dont visit much..........


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

*Try the 1/32 Forum....*

...most of the guys in General discussion just play with HO scale cars and wouldn't know a Scalextric Digital Car if it bit them on the A$$! :tongue:

Now, the 1/32 fourm guys are VERY slow to respond. Too busy I imagine trying to figure out how to get those digital lane changers to work. 

As for your specific question. Check the wire braid under the front center of the car. If those are clean, straight, un frayed, in other words new looking then the car has most likely never been run.

good Luck! oh, just be patient, one day for an answer on a forum is't a long wait!

Later The still cross scale racer Rockinator


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

*Great way to get help*



SKBednasek said:


> wow - great crowd here....now I know why I dont visit much..........


Yup that is a great comment to encourage people to help you. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.


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## SKBednasek (Mar 22, 2010)

TheRockinator said:


> ...most of the guys in General discussion just play with HO scale cars and wouldn't know a Scalextric Digital Car if it bit them on the A$$! :tongue:
> 
> Now, the 1/32 fourm guys are VERY slow to respond. Too busy I imagine trying to figure out how to get those digital lane changers to work.
> 
> ...


Thanks Rockinator - great info and you made me laugh too!


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## hefer (Sep 18, 1999)

TheRockinator said:


> ...most of the guys in General discussion just play with HO scale cars and wouldn't know a Scalextric Digital Car if it bit them on the A$$!


Okay...I'll ask then. What's a Digital Car? Is it slotless? Is it wireless? What does the digital part replace in a slot car?


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

*Digital Car*

hefer

Don't know if you're serious or not. However when you quoted me you left the emoticon off which I intended to indicate the statement was made in jest. I figure most of the guys on this form know what a digital Scalextic car is. 

But, since you asked. In simple terms it's a slotcar 1/32 scale, that has a digital chip installed that allows it and several other cars to run on the same lane of a slot car track, using special power and controllers and lane changers, at the same time and be controlled independently of each other by their own driver. Sort of like real racing. Sort of. In practice the cars run slower than their analog brothers, even the ones that are converted to digital. I think this has to do with power distribution and there seems to be dead spots at all of the lane changers. In Australia I believe they are using wireless controllers now. But here in the states it's strictly wired controllers.

I had a 4 car version, Scalextric now has a 6 car power base, set up last fall but took it down at Christmas. Have not put it back up yet.

Later The Digital is too big right now for HO, size wise not concept wise, Rockinator


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## hefer (Sep 18, 1999)

TheRockinator said:


> hefer
> 
> Don't know if you're serious or not. However when you quoted me you left the emoticon off which I intended to indicate the statement was made in jest. I figure most of the guys on this form know what a digital Scalextic car is.
> 
> ...


Yes, it was a real question. I'm old school and had no idea. Thanks for the info. Sounds like fun!


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

*Lot more info available*



hefer said:


> Yes, it was a real question. I'm old school and had no idea. Thanks for the info. Sounds like fun!


Sorry I questioned your sincerity. Hard to tell sometimes if people are serious or kidding around!

Right now there are 4 makers of Digital Slots. Scalextric, SCX, Carrera, and Ninco. As of now NONE of the systems are compatible with each other although I hear there is some Australian electrical wiz guy who has figured out a way around that. I believe his system is called Scorpius. Last I saw it was pretty expensive.

Anyway, I believe Slot Car Illustrated has a forum with extensive discussions about it all.

Later The it IS fun but really NOT old school Rockinator


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

The Scaletrix digital 6 car power base was released a few weeks ago.

I tired the 4 car setup with a small oval with a single straightaway lane changer. I got the set at a Radio Contol Airplane show in the swap shop. It was setup over my HO layout for about 3 months. Short description of my take on the whole thing: Demolition Derby. But, the kids seemed to have fun with it.

I sold it all off before the new powerbase was released. I haven't been tempted to give it another go. Given my experience, you will need something around 8'x16' layout to make them worthwhile.


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

*Probably the longest thread on Digital 1/32 for awhile*



twolff said:


> Given my experience, you will need something around 8'x16' layout to make them worthwhile.


I agree. I had a strictly 2 lane set up over my HO track. A bit larger layout 4 x 12 with a couple of inside loops and 3 lane changers. Never had an actual race on it just played with it a bit. It was interesting. However not enough interest in it to invest more or carve out a bigger space. Most of the digital tracks I have seen on the internet are from Europe or Australia. And most of those are HUGE! Some go as wide as 8 lanes tapering down to 2, 3, 4 for many of the curves and even have working pit lanes with mandatory pit stops. I think if you can get enough people do race it could be fun.

Just like any other form of slotting I guess.

Later The cool weekend got me to start working on my HO track again Rockinator


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

The layout size discussion in this thread reminds me of the old aurora advertising slogan:

_HO. Twice the racing in half the space._

HO Slotcar Racing has a cool size comparison. He builds similar layouts in HO and 1:32. The table sizes are 4x8 versus 8x16 - right in line wth Twolff's comment and Aurora's slogan. Other than layout size, 1:32 has a lot going for it. The level of detail is enough to make me drool, the track has readily available turn aprons and there are a lot of great scenery items (figures, buildings, etc.). But, I've been addicted to HO for over 40 years so I just deal with my 1:32 envy the best I can...


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

hey shawn!take out the digital chip and solder the engine wires directly to the braids and race 'em analog.whenyou remove the digital chip,you get 25%more speed and at least 30% more braking in the turns.just my two cents.there are far more people into analog tracks than digital i have found in my area,anyways,and you don't have to pit.


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## TheRockinator (May 16, 2007)

*Scalextic cars can go both ways...*



slotnewbie69 said:


> hey shawn!take out the digital chip and solder the engine wires directly to the braids and race 'em analog.whenyou remove the digital chip,you get 25%more speed and at least 30% more braking in the turns.just my two cents.there are far more people into analog tracks than digital i have found in my area,anyways,and you don't have to pit.


.... at least most of the new ones anyway. Scaly sells a digital chip that quickly plugs right into many of their analog cars. No soldering needed. It's just as easy to convert back to analog.

But I agree. The way digital works, at least for now, the cars are slower.

later The how did I get talkin' about 1/32 digital when MY digital track is in a pile on a rockin' chair Rockinator


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

Digital for H0 has been already done.
A few guys on h0slot.de made conversions using train decoders and apparantly it works. Although not every body is large enough and they use it not for racing but for the slot car equivalent of a train lay-out i.e. simulating normal city traffic.

Have a look at this thread although being in german it has a few pics embedded.

Mario


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## Tsooko (Oct 15, 2009)

Which thread? Got a link?
Cheers Ted


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## Rawafx (Jul 20, 1999)

A couple of us HO guys from the Winston-Salem area have started running 1/32nd cars on a routed track our friend Steve Acesta has built. So far I have over 2900 HO slot cars and now I have 3 1/32nd scale cars.(Two Slot-It's and a Fly, which will stay in it's case)
The Slot-It brand seem to be the best "out-of-the-box". The ones we have been running come with a pair of silicones for the rear. As a group I don't think we'll ever switch to the 'digital' cars.

Bob Weichbrodt
Rawafx
Winston-Salem, NC


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

*Sorry forgot the link*

Sorry Tsooko,

Here is the link:

http://forum.h0slot.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=2460&st=20

You have got to scroll down a bit.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Pretty darn cool!!! I wish I could read what they're saying. The one year of German I took 32 years ago isn't near sufficient enough for me translate! :lol: Judging by the pictures posted by only one person, I would be led to assume this is a solo project (kind of like my little lighting projects) and he has the encouragement of a few fans. I wonder if he has tried Z scale decoders yet??? Hmmm..


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

Hey slotcarman,

the thread is from 08 but the group has progressed from that on. As fa r as I know its a group of 4or 5 working on the digital thingy. 
But they are part of a larger group which created a large modular layout
Everybody involved creates a module of a specific size and fixed transfer pioints from one module to the other. Once or twice a year they rent the backrooms of larger pubs and put all the modules together. If my memory serves me right the last time they had around twenty modules each under diffrent heading.

Have a look at the following, especially the second link

http://forum.h0slot.de/forum/index.php?showtopic=2401&st=0
http://www.ig-h0slot.de/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=31


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