# Track Length and power problems?



## Jerzferno (Aug 19, 2007)

I am getting back in to this hobby after a looooooong time off. I can remember way back when adding and adding and adding track then starting to get power problems. My plans so far are to build a 4 lane track. A few guys suggested getting the Tony 4 lane International and 4 way Split tracks. I see these tracks have the capability for each lane to have its own power pavk. Something new from when I used to race slot cars. With that said, I should have a 4 lane track in the range of 40 to 50 feet each lane. Do you see me having any power problems?


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

My track is 105' and it has 5 sets of power taps....and it really needs two more...

IIRC...16 joints is about the max you want..


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## H.O. racer (Jan 21, 2008)

How big/long of a 4-lane track are you wanting to build?


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## GoodwrenchIntim (Feb 22, 2005)

I have power taps every 3 foot, may be overkill but you don't loose ANY power on my track


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## Jerzferno (Aug 19, 2007)

Please explain to this Slot Car novice the theory of power taps. Give me the nuts and bolts answer.


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## GoodwrenchIntim (Feb 22, 2005)

you solder wires to the bottom side of the rails every few pieces of track an connect them all the way around the track so power is distributed evenly


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

There is also a way to convert a standard terminal track to a power tap track that will accept female crimptype spade connectors.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> Please explain to this Slot Car novice the theory of power taps. Give me the nuts and bolts answer.


Sure. 

You can think of your track rails as wiring circuits with a bunch of resistors wired in series. As the current travels from your controller to your car it must pass through these resistors. The further away from the controller your car is, the more resistors the current must pass through. Each time the current passes through a resistor it drops a little voltage, which means less voltage gets to your car. That explains why your car slows down the further away from the controller it gets and speeds up again as the car gets closer.

Now let's talk about those "resistors." When you look at your track you won't see any actual resistors like you would see inside your computer or clock radio laid out end to end along the track rails. Truth is, the rails themselves act as resistors. The resistance of the rails is proportional to their length. Longer length of rail, more resistance, and hence more voltage drop. The other resistance in the circuit is the joints between track pieces. Each joint acts like a resistor. The more joints between your controller and your car, the more voltage drop you will have due to voltage drops across joints, and the slower your car will go. So these two things are the primary cause of the voltage drop that you experience: 1) the length of rail and 2) the number of joints in the track rail circuit. Both of these things matter, so even a continuous rail track will still need to compensate for resistances that result in less voltage being applied to your car than you would like.

Jumpers provide some, potentially major, compensation for the two resistances I mentioned earlier. Jumpers provide an alternative path for current to get from your controller to your car. From the length of rail perspective, jumpers deliver the full voltage from the controller to a point in the track circuit without having to traverse the rail between your controller and the place where the jumper is connected. In effect it's as if the controller is now connected at the point in the track layout where the jumper is connected. The jumper also bypasses a lot of the track joints that cause the largest voltage drops. In reality, the jumper itself still experiences a voltage drop, but jumpers are (or should be) made from very low resistance conductors, like copper wire. Copper is a much better conductor than track rail. Track rail has to have a lot of physical strength and wear resistance which makes it a relatively poor conductor compared to say copper wire. Copper would be a poor rail material since it is soft and would wear out rather quickly. I always use 12-14 awg or larger copper wire for jumpers, but even thin wire like 18-22 awg is far, far better than using no jumpers at all. 

The number of jumpers you use depends on how much length of track and how many track joints you want to compensate for with jumper placement. Unless you place jumpers on every section you will still incur some losses due to the joints that are still in the circuit in addition to the losses from the length of rail between jumpers. I don't know of any hard and fast rule, but I'd say that track that has better electrical contact at the joints, like Tomy track, would require fewer jumpers while track that has poor electrical contact at the joints like Aurora Model Motoring would require more. If you solder the rail joints you would need fewer jumpers. But even tracks with few or no rail joints should have jumpers to compensate for the voltage drop due to rail length. 

I hope that's nuts and bolts, or nuts and volts, enough to explain jumpers. 

Happy slotting!


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## Jerzferno (Aug 19, 2007)

Ok, so let me get this straight now? 
Jumpers - Would be from track section to track section?
Power Taps - Would be from the power track to certain track sections around the layout depending on the length would dictate the number of power taps? Would these power taps be in series or parallel?
Would couductive paste between rail sections help?
Anyone have a wiring diagram handy? Im mechanically inclined, but struggle with electric. I can fumble my way through and once shown, it gets put in to the vault. LOL 
thanks for your help.


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## tjettim (Nov 29, 2005)

The best way is to put terminal strips from radio shack under your
table every 4-6 feet.Have ones for power in and ones for return
power.Wire them first and then from them to the track.Any mistakes
can easily be move from one terminal to another.Do one lane at a time.
Once a track design is finalized and secured,I drill right through from
the top through the track and table,right next to the rails on the guide
slot side.After soldering the wires to the rails fill the holes with black
silicone and smooth over.In the event of a needed repair the silicone
will come out easier than epoxy.This way you can always add more 
jumpers as needed.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

Jumpers and power taps refer to the same thing.

Electrically, there are only 2 wires that connect to the track rail since there are only 2 rails. One wire comes from the controller and is connected to one track rail. We'll call this the positive (+) connection since it originally comes from the positive polarity output of the power supply. The other wire going to the other track rail is connected to the negative polarity output on the power supply, which is sometimes referred to as the "ground" terminal. Which rail is connected the positive (+) or negative (-) connections go to determines the direction the cars run it. By default, when the positive connection is on the rail that touches the drivers side pickup on the car, the cars wheels will spin in a way that propels the car in forward direction. 

The purpose of jumpers is simply to replicate the two connections that are going from the controller and power supply to the track rails at multiple places along the track. Jumpers act as if you were actually connecting your controller at each of the places that have jumpers. The out of the box setup with home race sets is to hard wire the track layout at a single place where the 2 wires going to the track rails (+) and (-) are connected. This is usually called a terminal track piece or something similar. In the old days terminal tracks had simple screw connections and adding jumpers was simply a matter of adding more terminal tracks and wiring the terminal tracks together. Today's race sets all use special connectors and provide no provisions for wiring multiple terminal tracks together.

To add jumpers you need to come up with a way to have the 2 wires that would go to the 2 rails on the single terminal track go instead to multiple places along the same rails. The positive (+) rail connection will always go to the same rail at various places along the track, and the negative (+) rail connection will always go to the same rail at various places along the track. Basically, instead of having only a single place where the 2 connections tap into the rail, you now have many places where those same 2 connections tap into the same rail along the track layout. 

A good way to wire jumpers is to think of each individual connection to the rail as a bicycle wheel. With a stock setup there is only one connection, at the hub of the wheel. That's it. With jumpers there is a hub and spokes. The hub becomes the new common point for each (+) or (-) connection that needs to connect to the rail. But instead of a single connection at a terminal track to one place of the track rail there are spokes formed by wires from the common point (hub) to other places along the same track rail. You can implement a hub using a terminal strip with a shorting bar, or you can simply use a screw and solder or use terminal lugs to tie all of the spokes for the connection together electrically. There are alternatives to the hub and spoke arrangement, for example a "buss" style hookup as shown at various web sites, but anything that introduces additional terminal strips and connectors is going to be less efficient electrically and more expensive.


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

Very good descriptions. My 2 cents, and I am in no way an expert.

I think people do differentiate between jumpers and power taps. Jumpers are often wires from one track to an adjoining track, to insure electrical continuity by bypassing a track joint, whereas power taps are a more direct path back to the source of power.

I'm no good at diagrams, but attached are some photos of a recent track I built. I believe the track was about 75', and I used about 6 power taps at each lane.

Basically, I brought power to one end of the table. I wired the power to the (4) places I wanted to have my drivers stations. The power went up to the controller at each station, then back to a terminal block - now with 'controlled' power. From these controlled terminal blocks, I ran wires to the 6 points on the track where I wanted to deposit power.

It took quite a few terminal blocks, and a lot of wire, but it worked very well.

I have attached some pics which may (or may not) help.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> I think people do differentiate between jumpers and power taps.


Sounds reasonable to me, although I don't seen anyone using track to track jumpers except on commercial tracks that have breaks in the track braid. If this is a commonly held distinction for home tracks then I'd recommend deprecating the use of jumpers entirely and using "taps" exclusively since they are much more efficient and effective.

That's a LOT of terminal strips. A quick question... where did/does the idea for the "terminal strips aplenty" wiring design come from? While having removable connections makes sense if, for example, you are planning to break down and move a track in modular sections, it makes little sense for permanent layouts. Yet, I see this as a recurring theme and I wonder why the vast majority of people who are never going to move a track go to the expense and trouble to design for modularity when moving the track in pieces is not even an option.

Most people would be much better served to simply mount 2 screw posts per lane in the middle of the underside of their track table and run separate wires for each tap back to the appropriate post. The screw posts would be fed from the drivers station for the lane. Connections to the post could be done using wiring lugs unless you want to solder directly to the post. This is more efficient electrically, easier and less time consuming to install, less expensive, and more foolproof to wire up since there are only 2 places where anything going to a lane need to be connected, and of those 2 places, each one is dedicated to a specific track rail, so it is even simpler. If you want to use terminal strips in lieu of screw posts, have at it, but there's no benefit in adding additional terminal strips beyond the central hub connections, unless of course you need modularity.


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## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

I'll give it a try using colors of cat5 cable for example.

With four lanes you will have eight rails so eight wires will then be needed per tap. 

brown---------------------------positive(+)
____________________________slot lane 1

brown/white--------------------negative(-)

green-----------------------------------------positive(+)
__________________________________________________slot lane 2

green/white-----------------------------------negative(-)

orange-------------------------positive(+)
____________________________slot lane 3

orange/white-------------------negative(-)

blue-------------------------------------------positive(+)
__________________________________________________slot lane 4

blue/white-------------------------------------negative(-)


Power supply
positve (+)---------------
negative(-)---------------



Controller
white----------------------to positive(+) on power supply
black----------------------to positive(+) on rail
red (brake wire if used)-----to negative(-)on power supply/rail

As long as all taps have all wires connected to the rails in the same order and the direction of travel on the taps are all the same, you will just connect all colors together.
You will need terminal blocks to help ease the connection of all this mess.

Now just run wires from one of the terminal blocks to the power supply and controller ports.

I hope I got this right as it can get confusing even when it's sitting right in front of me.

Hope this helps ya Jerzferno.

Tycoarm


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I'd be interested to see some data on this to see just how much power is lost. I assume I should be able to use a wall wart and my piles of spare Tomy 9" radius 1/4 turns and 6" radius 1/8 turns and just keep adding pieces, measuring the voltage with the controller held wide open. Has anyone already done this?


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

>> Sounds reasonable to me, although I don't seen anyone using track to track jumpers except on commercial tracks that have breaks in the track braid. If this is a commonly held distinction for home tracks then I'd recommend deprecating the use of jumpers entirely and using "taps" exclusively since they are much more efficient and effective.

I agree - jumpers and power taps are different things, for different purposes (kind of what I was stating prior). I don't know if I would recommend depracating jumpers entirely, as they can serve a purpose, much like tapping from a local 120V outlet in your house to add another outlet, as opposed to wiring a home run back to your service entrance load center. If you have a track connection that is causing you continuity grief, maybe a jumper to the next track will resolve your issue.

>> That's a LOT of terminal strips. A quick question... where did/does the idea for the "terminal strips aplenty" wiring design come from? 

I don't think that is a LOT of terminal strips. Actually, it was too few, and I needed to purchase a couple more. For this table, I chose terminal blocks as my method for wire connections, and they work very well for that purpose. They made sense for me, and they might make sense for others. 

>> Most people would be much better served to simply mount 2 screw posts per lane in the middle of the underside of their track table and run separate wires for each tap back to the appropriate post. The screw posts would be fed from the drivers station for the lane. Connections to the post could be done using wiring lugs unless you want to solder directly to the post. This is more efficient electrically, easier and less time consuming to install, less expensive, and more foolproof to wire up since there are only 2 places where anything going to a lane need to be connected, and of those 2 places, each one is dedicated to a specific track rail, so it is even simpler. If you want to use terminal strips in lieu of screw posts, have at it, but there's no benefit in adding additional terminal strips beyond the central hub connections, unless of course you need modularity.

I, for one, would not have been better served by your example. The middle of the underside of my track table was not where I wanted my wiring. One reason is that I had folding table legs in that area. I also wanted my track pieces with power taps to only have short (12") leads coming from them, as opposed to various length wires heading to a central point. When I decided to take down this 'permanent' setup, the power-tapped-track pieces were easily incorporated into the next table. 

My track taps were wired to terminal blocks. My driver's stations were wired to terminal blocks. My incoming power was wired to terminal blocks. Some wires between the blocks brought the track to life. It may have been inefficient, hard, time consuming, expensive, and far from foolproof. But, it was one of the many enjoyable experiences I had building that track.

Suffice to say I found a benefit in using terminal strips, instead of screw posts with wire nuts. Some other people might also.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

The common point does not have to be in the middle of the table, it can be anywhere really. I'm glad you like the terminal strips, because as you say it made things more rewarding for you. That's cool. I just bristle when I see excess complexity scaring people away from wiring their tracks themselves because, frankly, wiring a slot car track is very, very simple. There are only 2 wires per lane, one per track rail, and getting it right by doing one wire/one rail at a time makes it a trivial task. When I see track wiring diagrams that look like the NYC transit system I wonder why. I'm not singling you out Scafremon, not at all, I'm simply wondering why I keep seeing this recurring pattern of making what is a simple task look like a major technical undertaking.


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

TK Solver said:


> I'd be interested to see some data on this to see just how much power is lost. I assume I should be able to use a wall wart and my piles of spare Tomy 9" radius 1/4 turns and 6" radius 1/8 turns and just keep adding pieces, measuring the voltage with the controller held wide open. Has anyone already done this?


You could measure the resistance and calcluate the voltage drop over lengths or track sections/joints with the power off. I had to do so to find a bad connection that resulted in a "slow lane" on my layout. At first I thought I had finally stumbled on how to make my cars handle until I switched lanes.

As to terminal strips. Power to the rails is fairly straightforward, but start adding switched and adjustable brakes, reversing switches, etc and the driver stations start getting complex. Terminal strips allow easy removal of a problem driver station w/o disturbing the rest of the track wiring. Adding and removing other features like brakes, reversing switches, track call buttons, master power switch, computer timing, etc that you never thought you would need is much easier with a modular wiring layout.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I understand the different perspectives on this topic. I think it comes down to a personal decision about how much time, money, and effort you want to place into your track wiring and how many contingencies, real or imagined, you want to plan for ahead of time. The point that I am making is specifically referring to having terminal strips in the tap circuitry. If you have a table/track that needs to be broken down for transport, having breaks in the circuit makes perfect sense. Based on my experience using drop taps, the biggest challenge and expense when changing a track layout on the same table is redoing the taps at the rails. Even that is not a huge undertaking. Running the tap wire back to the central hub rather than to a potentially closer terminal strip that comprises a "tap bus" is a trivial difference.

I've done tracks using both the bus topology and the hub and spoke topology. The latter design really made me question why I'd bothered with all the terminal strips in the first place, because in the end they simply cost me more in time and money and didn't buy me anything when changes were necessary. Granted, I've never found a reason to remove a feature once installed and I design a track with everything I need up front. I do make accommodations for additional wires to be added by providing wire channel clips under the table. Anything track management system related, like timing sensors, track call, speaker wiring, etc., is external to the track wiring as is the the track power relay that is part of the power supply system.

I'm not trying to be contrary, just pointing out that there are others ways to go, ways that I have personally found to be simpler, less expensive, and more approachable. I know there's a stylistic element to how some people approach the hobby, and there are extremes on both the minimalist and gratuitous ends of the spectrum. I tend more towards the minimalist approaches, from alligator clip controller connections and hard wired for one direction track layouts, to performance upgrades limited to tire sanding. Adjustable brakes? Buy a controller with this feature. No brakes? Unclip the red wire from the controller at the drivers station. But whatever works for you, go for it and enjoy the hobby at your own level.


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

We are both trying to accomplish the same thing - provide info to people regarding track wiring. You are concerned that many people are making it more complicated then it needs to be, and I was concerned that your comments might make someone stray away from using terminal blocks, when TB's can be beneficial.

You mention screw posts, with multiple wires attached via solder or with wire lugs. To me, that is a perfect opportunity to use a terminal strip. Granted, it will cost you a buck-fifty. 

You mention the only time to use them is if you need modularity. I'm concerned that some people wiring their first track may not know when and where they might want modularity in the future (at least that was my experience). So I built in 'flexibility' with my wiring. 

As I mentioned prior, my tracks with power taps were built on a bench, with 12" leads. This would allow me to replace/repair one of them more easily. A terminal strip was used here for each. I also wired my driver stations with 24" leads, because I thought I might want to replace them with something different in the future. A terminal strip was used here for each.

I also used terminal strips to receive incoming power - initially from (4) wall warts, and then from a single power source. I used a terminal strip for my timing track, and a few more where my (2) tables split for storage.
(I think I had a couple 'oops' blocks also, where I cut wires, and then wondered why I had done so in that location).

Your track building experience far exceeds mine, and I believe your opinions should and do carry more weight then my own. But I still like the use of terminal strips in lieu of screw posts, or direct wiring between components.


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I just took a bunch of voltage measurements around my track in each lane with the controllers rubber banded at full throttle. Each lane is independently powered and controlled. The voltage was uniform at every location I checked (18.5). If the voltage is the same at every location around my track, and I KNOW there is resistance through the series of connections, then by Ohm's Law (I = V/R) the current gets reduced by the resistance. If that's the case, then aren't the guys running high current power supplies wasting their efforts in using power taps and/or jumpers since they have more than enough current available?

This isn't intuitive to me. I was under the assumption that the current would be constant and the voltage would be influenced by the resistance.


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

What you looking for is voltage drop...which wont be much if any under a static condition if you have decent connections...when a load is placed in the circuit you may see a big difference in the ability of those connections to provide current and the voltage should also drop...

Take the rear axle out of a chassis...set it on the track...and check it again...

I think we all intuitively know about the drops...as we all had two laners so big that cars would noticibly slow in the back sections of the track....

Add to that that we were sharing a wall wart with two lanes..and you get the secret ,not so secret, tactic of stopping just when your buddy was approaching a curve so he would fly off...

Being an Electrician by trade....I went with the terminal strip method...










The main wires from the power supply to the first buss are #10

The rest of the wiring to the controller stations and to distribute power around the track is all #14 solid...










The final track tap/ jumpers are #16....










I have 5 power taps around 105' of track using coverted Tomy terminal tracks as power taps......




























Most of the track has an average of 10 to 16 track joints between taps....

But I have two sections that are as high as 24 track sections....

These are the areas where "when I have a power issue"...it's in these sections with excessive track joints...usualy just one connection is the culprit...

But it's a hassle to deal with when your track is all screwed down allready...

I'm sticking with the 16 track joint method and will be adding two more sets of power taps to cut these sections in half....

Adding them is no hassle at all becuase the power is allready under there and I just have to fab up and insert the terminal tracks...

Some guys go the whole 9 yards and solder their tracks into assemblies and then mount them (track jumpers) and eliminate any bad connections....

But I think that's over kill...

Some guys have even replaced all the rail with a single piece turning sectional track into continous rail track...

But if you going to do that much work..might as well go with the routed sectionals or fully routed and eliminate all those track joints as well...

And I am by heart...a lazy bastard...I wanted an easy solder free way to wire up my track....so it would be easy to add, move, whatever, later....

If you look at Tomy track...you see the flat side of the track connection...as opposed to the "Z" bent rail on the other track piece...

You can greatly improve the intregity of these factory connections by tweaking the flat rail out just a hair with a razor knife blade...this puts just a hair more pressure on the connection....you dont need much...and a small dab of electrical grease wont hurt....

Someone found this stuff...but I havent heard if anyone used it or not...But I'm intrigued by it ...wire glue...

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16133

I also toyed with the idea of using a metal based filler to fill the track joint areas...


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## 4.3 ZOOK (Dec 22, 2008)

Crimnick said:


> Add to that that we were sharing a wall wart with two lanes..and you get the secret ,not so secret, tactic of stopping just when your buddy was approaching a curve so he would fly off...


man...that brought back memories..
thanx everyone..very informative !


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

> when a load is placed in the circuit you may see a big difference in the ability of those connections to provide current and the voltage should also drop...


That's the key, getting a load on the circuit. If you measure a nearly dead battery's voltage it may read full voltage without a load on it. The best way to measure the voltage drop is across a purely resistive load connected between the track rails at the desired point in the layout. If the load resistor is the only device in the circuit then it would drop the full power supply voltage. If it is dropping less than the full voltage then there is a voltage drop elsewhere in the circuit. The load resistor must be able to handle the power that will be dissipated across it. I would suggest using a low voltage battery (like a 9V radio battery) for this test instead of the track power, unless you can turn the track voltage way down. The current supplied to the resistor will be battery applied voltage divided by the resistance. If you use 9V battery and a 220 ohm resistor you will see 40 milliamps, which means the resistor will have to handle a little over a third of a watt. A 99 cent 1/2 watt 220 ohm resistor should work fine for a 9V battery based test. 

The problem with using a motor as a load is the fact that the motor also generates voltage. The problem with using a wall wart is that the wart's voltage will drop with a load applied to it, so you can't tell what's being lost in the track and what's being lost by the wart.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I am in no way anti terminal strip. I use them all of the time when I need a removable tie-in to a circuit. I'm using terminal strips where my drivers stations are tied into the track wiring and where the power supply connects to the track. The drivers stations were fabricated separately as modular units and the power supply setup was designed so I could use either a single supply for the whole track or a separate power supply for each lane. 

There is not a terminal strip versus non-terminal strip division in the hobby. I apologize if I came across as too opinionated on what is really a personal decision and one that is dependent on your overall goals and building techniques. 

I do strongly disagree on the point about any one opinion carrying any more weight than another. I believe all of our opinions carry the same weight, which is the underlying purpose of this board, sharing information and perspectives. My main goal is to encourage more hobbyists to try doing more things themselves, whether it's track design, construction, tuning, painting, landscaping, etc. None of it is hard and if it seems too complex then you really need to break it down into the simple steps and work within your comfort zone. I was wiring slot car tracks when I had a 4th grade education, so it doesn't matter what walk of life you come from, what you do for a living, or whatever. Everyone should feel that every aspect of the hobby is within their grasp and having different perspectives helps out a lot, especially when the reasons for the path chosen are clear.


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

Hey no sweat...I hope I didnt come accross that way either...

It wasnt suppossed to be pro-or con...just what I did....

I havent seen anyone else use the spade connectors...but I'm sure someoe has before....

As soon as I tore one apart...the light bulb sputtered a bit...the track blade is about the same size as a blue female spade crimp connector...

I also used regular old house wire 14/3 for the controller runs...and fire alarm cable 14/2 for the track power runs...with colored tape there was no worry of a cross wire or missed connection...because it was free...and solid wire locks under a screw better than stranded....

I stole lots of ideas from others as well...:wave:

I try to throw it all out there and see what helps....

By no means is there one way to do any of it...:thumbsup:

I went the way I did mostly because I cant solder for crap...


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## Jerzferno (Aug 19, 2007)

What are you using for the actual power taps that you connect to the track?


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

Jerzferno said:


> What are you using for the actual power taps that you connect to the track?


Ah...if you're asking me...notice the one picture with the blades sticking up?

I converted Tomy terminal tracks into power taps by tearing off the bottom CAREFULLY...

Removing the common rail sections and CAREFULLY bending the remaining blades upwards...I Then CAREFULLY split the common rail link and bend that upwards...

presto.....one contact per lane that will accept a female spade connector...

But you need to be careful (did I mention that?) or when bending and cutting you might break the factory weld to the track rail......

Otherwise...another method is to lay the track on a wet towel and solder wires onto the back , one for each rail....

SlottV did the drill method...drill a small hole next to the rail on each side...

Dremle a notch in the rail..

Pass the wire through up one side and down the other....twist up some tension....instant drop wire...

And Greg Braun sells a ready made track section with drop wire allready on it...

:thumbsup:


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Crimnick said:


> SlottV did the drill method...drill a small hole next to the rail on each side...
> 
> Dremle a notch in the rail..
> 
> Pass the wire through up one side and down the other....twist up some tension....instant drop wire...


That guy is one crafty sum . . . . .


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

I was going to use scott's method until I figured out the spade connector thingy and danced around the basement like an ape...


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I just added a load -- an X-Traction with the rear axle removed. Weird... The volt meter jumps around between 31 and 45 volts on any given piece of track. It won't stay steady. I move the car and the volt meter all around the track and it behaves that way everywhere, always in that same range. I pull the car off the track and the volt meter settles back down to 18.5.

I feel like I'm part of today's Twilight Zone marathon on SciFi...


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## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Crim, your wiring certainly has the neat look of a pro. :thumbsup:
Depending on how you trimmed the terminal track tabs, using this method
can wire the track to Negative polarity. Does your positive line from controller feed the drivers' side or passenger side rail in direction of travel? 
Greg's wired tracks for power taps are well made & do make install easier.
I have some extra new pieces of his power taps available if anyone is interested.


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

Dyno Dom said:


> Crim, your wiring certainly has the neat look of a pro. :thumbsup:
> Depending on how you trimmed the terminal track tabs, using this method
> can wire the track to Negative polarity. Does your positive line from controller feed the drivers' side or passenger side rail in direction of travel?
> Greg's wired tracks for power taps are well made & do make install easier.
> I have some extra new pieces of his power taps available if anyone is interested.


Track is wired positive.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

TK Solver, you'll need to use a purely resistive load to get an accurate measurement. The commutation process produces voltage spikes. While quite useful for calculating motor rpm they are wreaking havoc with the voltage measurements of your meter.


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