# The Dead Strip



## Winter-7 (Nov 2, 2009)

Hi...All
Can some one tell me how much space is need in a Dead Strip
Section of track for HO scale...?
And is the Dead Strip the best way to go for HO...?

Thanks...Is


----------



## SwamperGene (Dec 1, 2003)

I think average is about 3".

Personally it is my least favorite method, we spend so much time dressing rails to ensure smooth and consistent power, why purposely create a bunch of divets and a need for more jumpers. Reeds or IR/Light sensors are the way to fly. :thumbsup:


----------



## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

This article has a little bit about dead strips. http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/ds.htm

I would put an additional short isolated dead section before and after the dead section that is hooked into the timer. The secondary short dead sections are isolated from both the powered track and dead sections used by the timer. The secondary dead sections ensure that the length of the pickup shoes never provides an electrical path between the powered part of the track and the dead section used by the timer. The length of the secondary short dead sections would be a little longer than the length of the longest contact patch on the pickup shoes you will be using on cars that will be used on your track.

All timing mechanisms have pros and cons and all can be made to work reliably if you know what you are doing and get them setup and fully tested. I'd say about 85% of the tracks I run on are dead strip based and they all have been extremely reliable over the years. The light sensor based systems and reed switch based systems have also worked out well. The very few problems that have occurred have been with reed switches, the occasional broken switch, the occasional missed reads with light magnet cars, and the occasional cross lane multiple reads with heavy magnet cars. I've even seen a case of the reeds working with one orientation of the traction magnets (say low downforce) and not with the other. With light based systems it's always better to get matched pairs of emitters and receptors.


----------



## shipsgunner (Sep 6, 2008)

AfxToo said:


> This article has a little bit about dead strips. http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/ds.htm
> 
> 
> All timing mechanisms have pros and cons and all can be made to work reliably if you know what you are doing and get them setup and fully tested. I'd say about 85% of the tracks I run on are dead strip based and they all have been extremely reliable over the years.


Very accurate AfxToo... Only issue with the light sensors I can come up with is placement. If you go through the timing system like a "turtle" and hit a few LED sensors you could grab a few laps for others. In that way it is a Pain but you can limit that quite a bit if you set "minimum lap time" to nearly what you run on a typical race. For instance, if you run typically 5 second laps and the record is 4.8seconds then if you set 4.5 seconds for MLT then you will usually have little errors on others making laps. I have never seen issues with deadstrips aside from another car passing while in the same lane then the MLT works here too... The good news is that you dont require a "light bar" tower with which to crash into or get out of alignment. 

I run the lightbars on both of my tracks as they are easier for me to install in my current configuration. Given a choice, later tracks will go deadstrip for just as you said, reliability.:wave:
Hope this helps.

Thanks
Dan


----------



## Winter-7 (Nov 2, 2009)

Hello...Again
And Thank You All
I think I'll go with the Dead Strip.
I have so many questions inreguards to HO Slot Car Racing, and this seems like the place to go too. 

Thanks Again...Is


----------

