# Ghost Racer



## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

Does anybody use the Ghost Racer Computer? I have one on the way. It looks like it might be set up to go only one way. I don't know. I've seen a couple of sets online but this is supposed to be just the unit NIB. Any tips or observations?


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## Pomfish (Oct 25, 2003)

I have 2, the first one I burnt a resistor in it by running a car with a low ohm arm and it pulled too many amps for the computer.

Anyway, the thing is great to break in cars in real conditions and you will be amazed how much faster a Life Like M chassis will get after a few hours of run time (not continuous but cumulative) 

When you deslot and that car is still zipping along it takes a lot of control not to overdrive your car to catch up.
The ghost kicked my butt quite a few times I must say.
Fun stuff.

HTH
Keith


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Can you post a pic of this thing? Thanks, rr :thumbsup:


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)




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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

Am I correct that the ghost car is set at a single speed the maximum being the speed that it can make the slowest curve on the track? Has anyone wired one to a "professional" 3-wire panel?


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

Wow! This is even better than racing my invisible Luke! I gots to be getting one of them there Puter Control Centers.


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

twolff said:


> Am I correct that the ghost car is set at a single speed the maximum being the speed that it can make the slowest curve on the track? Has anyone wired one to a "professional" 3-wire panel?


Yeah, I think you have to set it to take the slowest curve but the cars naturally build speed on the straights. I was thinking you might have to set it so it doesn't wipe out at the end of the straight. No clue on what a professional 3-wire panel is. LOL


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

resinmonger said:


> Wow! This is even better than racing my invisible Luke! I gots to be getting one of them there Puter Control Centers.


There was another one on there when I bought mine. It may be gone or get re-listed. $43 shipped. Not a bad price for a best friend! I have to think of a name for him....or her!


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

Does it do more than an Aurora wheel controller?
At least with that, I could flip the reverse switch and run the other way.

Looks cool though. :thumbsup:


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

It counts 10 laps. The flag goes down when you start and comes up at the win. I don't know if you can flip the power wire over and switch directions. It's supposed to be a computer so I would think it works both directions. I hope to find out Thursday night after I get my mail.


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

DesertSlot said:


> No clue on what a professional 3-wire panel is. LOL


Just a track wired for Parma (or the like) controllers and brakes.


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

Calling it a computer is pretty laughable, actually. Just a regular controller with sliding switch you can adjust at one constant speed. Yup, the old aurora wheel controllers or the Tyco US-1 wheel controllers will do the same thing.


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## FullyLoaded (Apr 19, 2006)

> Calling it a computer is pretty laughable, actually. Just a regular controller with sliding switch you can adjust at one constant speed. Yup, the old aurora wheel controllers or the Tyco US-1 wheel controllers will do the same thing.


Yes, it is really stretching the truth. I remember buying one of those units new in the box at a KayBee Toy and Hobby store back late 80s, early 90s. I think they were only $9.99 on sale. Fun for a very small track on the living room floor with a good stock 440X2 or Turbo magnet car as the "Ghost" racer but there is just that one speed you can max it out at or the car will fly off the curves. The neat thing is a ten lap counter and the ability to show the winner plus the option to race just using the manual counter and the checkered flag. I would test my skill by using an HP7 or similar so the "Ghost Racer" would have the advantage. I presume it being discontiued has made the units higher in price.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Guess I'll stick with the old Aurora steering wheel. Thanks for the pic! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Im using this rheostat to vary voltage on my track.










If this works out well, I gonna get a few more for my ghost racers.

I still don't get the difference between a rheostat and a resistor.

Rich


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ghost-Racer-Computer-Control-Center-for-Tomy-AFX_W0QQitemZ380128783671QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSlot_Cars?hash=item588170ed37&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1199|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A2|294%3A50


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

A resistor is a set value, while a rheostat is variable..


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

slotcarman12078 said:


> A resistor is a set value, while a rheostat is variable..


Don't forget, they have variable resistors and potentiometers too! :devil: rr


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

DesertSlot said:


> It counts 10 laps. The flag goes down when you start and comes up at the win. I don't know if you can flip the power wire over and switch directions. It's supposed to be a computer so I would think it works both directions. I hope to find out Thursday night after I get my mail.



The cars can run in only one direction. The mechanism in the slot won't allow the cars to run in the reverse direction. And the TOMY wall wart will only plug in one way. I have one of these in an Autoworld track that I'm building for the Autofest. It's posted in the Track Building thread.

I've been running XTraction Ultra Gs and Thunderjet Ultra Gs on the track I've built for the Autofest. 

Also when you are running a car in the "AUTO" mode or "GHOST CAR", when the flag pops up it shuts off the power to that car and only that car shuts off.

I like this piece, it's alot of fun. Randy.


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

I got mine today. It has a few bugs. I took it out of the sealed package myself. The "ghost" lane seems to be dead. If you are running cars fast enough, they'll coast through. Some cars work better than others. It works best with SRT's I think. I have two other wall warts on the track. I had to flip the power tracks and move wide curves to the new end of the straights. All in all, once I got going, it took about a minute for an hour to pass!


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## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

Nothing a little fine grit paper could take care of! I've been beating myself all night!


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

DesertSlot said:


> Nothing a little fine grit paper could take care of! I've been beating myself all night!


Man that is just wrong on so many levels!


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Im using this rheostat to vary voltage on my track.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Rich, a resistor provides a fixed value of resistance to an electrical circuit. A rheostat is basically a device that allows you to vary the resistance in a circuit. The relationship between voltage (V), current (I) and resistance (R) in an electrical is defined by Ohm's law: V=IR. (This is why resistance is measured in units called the ohm.) Tragically, Mechanical Engineers have to learn this because a spring, mass and damper system (like a car and suspension) can be modeled using electrical circuits) but that is another story.

On a slot car track, we are varying the amount of current (I) flow to the slot car motor. This would be expressed as shown below. 

V/R = I or voltage devided by resistance equals current.

We have a fixed voltage (the power supply is fixed in the case of a wall wart). As we reduce resistance, we increase current. This is what a controller does. When the trigger is set to "off", the circuit is open and no current flows. As we pull the trigger, the wiper starts at the end of the resistor so we are getting maximum resistance. As the we pull to full throttle, the wiper moves closer to the other end of the resistor and we get less resistance and more current. The car goes faster. Our controller allows us to vary resistance.

A rheostat (or "dimmer switch" as they are generally called for lighting) acts like a controller and allows you to vary resistance to increase or reduce current.

So, think of a rheostat as a functioning controller and a resistor as a controller that is stuck in one position.

Yo!


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> On a slot car track, we are varying the amount of current (I) flow to the slot car motor. This would be expressed as shown below.
> 
> V/R = I or voltage devided by resistance equals current.


Not exactly. Once the motor starts turning the actual voltage on the rails is the power supply voltage minus the voltage generated by the motor. This makes a significant difference and keeps the actual current in the circuit quite low.

Rheostats and potentiometers are both variable resistors. Rheostats are 2-wire devices and are used as a variable resistor to vary circuit current. 
Rheostats tend to be designed for high current applications. Parma brand resistor based controllers are rheostats. 

Potentiometers (pots) are 3-wire devices and are primarily intended to be used as voltage divider, which is a voltage control circuit. Pots tend to be used in low current applications. However, a pot can also be wired as a rheostat, in which case only 2 wires on the pot are connected. If you have a low current application that requires current control, a potentiometer will often be used and wired as a rheostat. The "choke" pot in my Difalco controller is wired as a rheostat.


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## mr_aurora (Oct 18, 2005)

*Try the Computrac controller too......*

Aurora in the 60's made a set called Computrac exclusively for Sears. This was meant for an only child to race tjets against the computer. The layout was a big set and came with a special terminal track stamped Computrac. The computer had TWO speed control knobs on it. When wired to the track right, one speed knob controlled the straight track speed and one lnob controlled the speed in the curves. Pretty ingenius for it's day, and it worked........


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Hey, I just wanna to race, man.


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## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Hey, I just wanna to race, man.


Well, Rich you have just described Rich's law:

I=WTR

Where I = I, W=want, T=to, and R=race.


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