# Power Control Question



## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm getting ready to change the power to my HO tracks and I am going to add some voltage control, being able to dial the voltage from 8 volts up to 22 volts and anywhere in between, amperage will remain unchanged. I'm using the Tomy AFX Tri-power packs to test the theory. It has a clear effect on the road course with all chassis types.

Here's my competition question: should I place the control of the voltage level at each driver's station and allow the driver to control the voltage level? Does anyone do this now within their club or racing organization rules and if so, how is that worded? I'm old school front the '60's on when it comes to racing rules and the voltage has always remained at the same volt/amp per lane and you built your car and controller around those fixed levels. If I allow drivers to alter the voltage for their own lane, am I going too far in driver control? With all the widgets on a controller or add-on box, is this just an extension of those controls? My idea is to place a dial control with a volt meter showing what the driver has dialed to. They can go up or down to find the ideal voltage and drivability.

Just as an example of how much this changes the game on my road course (it has several 6 inch turns) a stock AFX SG+ (silicone tires on SRT rims is the only alteration) turns a consistent 6.100 at 21 volts/1 amp. If I dial the voltage down to 12 volts/1 amp I can get the lap times down to 5.9 consistently. The car is slower in the straights, but much more controllable at a faster speed in the turns.

Does anyone allow for this in their club rules and regs?

-Paul


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Paul,
it seems that many folks with just home tracks that have various types of chassis and racers put the control at each drivers station along with a reversing switch.

I would think that sanctioned racing would be a set voltage per class and all changes would involve all lanes.

I don't know for sure, I only go straight, so those deviations at the end of a straight away always cause me difficulty.

:roll:


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Paul I too have noticed that some times less voltage is a good thing to get a hotter car around the track faster, that being said, other cars take all you can give them, I think it also becomes the function of the controller to be able to effectively apply the power to the car. 

I have some Professor Motor electric controllers that anything much over 20 volts and they will get a little sketchy on the control part, more like an on and off switch, only in certain throttle parts though. In that case separate lane control would be great to get the controller back into the sweet spot for the car, and still get all the volts you can handle.

My BRP III controller I installed a small digital volt meter on it, I can see exactly how much voltage I am getting & you can see the voltage loss to the terminals as well 

Not sure on a full blown racing sanction, but if everyone started out with the same volts & amps, then were able to decrease their own lane, I would have no problem with that. I have all the parts to put a similar system in place on my track, just have not put the time into doing it yet. 

Now if you could decrease your opponents lane, that would be good for racing with Al, just turn him way down, Ha ha. 

Boosted


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Paul,
I don't know anything about racing rules.

On my basement track I recently put a Router Speed Control inline so I could vary the voltage down from a high of 20v. What I have found is that each car responds a little differently, even within the same chassis type. So it is advantageous to have a seperate control at each driver station? I would say yes.

No doubt it is hard to get two cars exactly alike. Being able to tweak the voltage for each car gives you the best experiance. And isn't that the point - to have the most fun? If the rules prevent you from having fun, maybe there is something wrong with the rules.

Thanks...Joe


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Grandcheapskate said:


> If the rules prevent you from having fun, maybe there is something wrong with the rules.
> Thanks...Joe


Great comment Joe, there are a lot of things today that if people thought and applied your comment above the world would be a better place.

Boosted


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

when I 1st thought about, I was in favor of 1 control for the track

but sice many controller offer choke or have choke it may be ok for individulaul controls.

the only thing will be that the controller with the right kind of choke will have full power at full throttle where as with the track control, they will not.

other note is
if you get better times with lower voltage, my 1st thought is to adjust the car's setup unless there are no significant straights.


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Go for it Paul.
I give each driver control over their lane voltage,and it's the best thing i did:thumbsup:.
Rick


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Hey Paul how about listing a parts list for the components your going to use

Boosted


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

> Go for it Paul.
> I give each driver control over their lane voltage,and it's the best thing i did.
> Rick


See, it even helps OLD people:wave:


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

LOL:wave::wave::wave:
Hey i'm still a kid compared to you Mike:thumbsup:
Rick


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## rbrunne1 (Sep 22, 2007)

For my home track I can reduce the voltage from the power supply to the track at each driver's station. Helps getting youngsters and newbies acclimated before going full throttle. I'm not sure what the rules state, but the rules allow sophisticated controllers that can reduce the power supply voltage, so I'm not sure why a track based control would be against the rules. See the build thread for more information: http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showpost.php?p=3265155&postcount=44


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Old URL*

Bob,
Philippe Marchand's Driver Station pages are :thumbsup: very good. Unfortunately they have moved since that earlier article you linked to, so the URL given there is wrong.

The current URLs are.

*Simple Driver Station*
http://www.philippejmarchand.com/Slots/page21/page34/page69/page69.html

*Cheap and Easy Adjustable Voltage*
(The diode-based adjuster used in the Driver Stations)
http://www.philippejmarchand.com/Slots/page21/page34/page58/page58.html

*Complete Driver Station*
http://www.philippejmarchand.com/Slots/page21/page34/page67/page67.html

It's still worth going to your page to see how you built and installed the station. But you might want to edit it to reflect the changed URL.

Thanks for bringing up Philippe's Pages. I started some driver stations based on his articles a few years ago but never around to getting them done and tested - this reminder might get me to finish and install them. :wave:

-- D


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Boosted-Z71 said:


> Hey Paul how about listing a parts list for the components your going to use
> 
> Boosted


I'm still working up a parts list. I did finish the drawing of the driver station and will post the wiring schematic in the next couple of days. the panel illustrated below, will sit at an angle so the driver can see everything without any glare.

-Paul


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Here's the wiring diagram for the panel above. I know it's an eye-chart. It took me a bit to get it all lined out. I'll add the spec's for the pot and various switches and digital gauges on the next round of posting.

-Paul


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Looks good, any part numbers or specs on the rotary switch or the pot for brakes?

Boosted


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

That station design is pretty cool!! The only thing I would change is the plug for the controller. It's too easy for a little one to accidentally plug it into a wall outlet (unless you're putting the "outy" plug end into the table and the controllers will have the female part of the outlet, such as the end of an extension cord). 

Giving everyone the ability to fine tune without needing fancy controllers helps keep a level playing field.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

The 5-15 electrical outlet was something I started using on the portable dragstrip we use at Racing to the Future Events. We tried stock connectors and alligator clips, but with hundreds of kids using the controller at an event, they got pulled off several times. The three prong wall outlet took care of that issue. As for my track at home, the controllers rarely get unplugged except when I'm messing around with a rewind that requires a lower ohm controller. Hmmm, maybe I need to add a resistor limiter to that control panel???? I have adapters ready for alligator clips too. But I can see your point on a kid plugging their controller so equipped, into a wall outlet.

-Paul


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Boosted-Z71 said:


> Looks good, any part numbers or specs on the rotary switch or the pot for brakes?
> 
> Boosted


I ordered my volt and ohm gauges today. The digital readouts on the volt meters match my lane colors, Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. Unfortunately the Ohm gauges only come in red.
Last thing I'm tweaking are the potentiometers for the coast/brake controls. I'm not sure what I bought before and I didn't keep the packaging, so I'm going to take the old coast/brake box apart this weekend and spec out what I have installed in it. I think it was a 100K ohm/5 watt unit, but I need to check that before I go off and buy several. I'll post a complete parts list and which sellers I got stuff from (lots of eBay buys since I live in the middle of nowhere - my nearest neighbors "moo").

-Paul


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Thanks Paul, I keep an eye on this as I am going to do something along this lines on my routed track as well

Boosted


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

So here's what I have so far on the parts list:

4 - 25 Watt/100 Ohm Potentiometer (Ceramic-Wire Wound) $13.40 Each eBay Seller: 22newcentury









4 - 3-1/2 Inch LED Red 0-200 Ohm Display eBay Seller: Bosity









4 - (1 Each Color) .56 High Display, 0-30 Volt Digital Volt Display (In Red, Blue, Yellow, Green) $2.94 Each eBay Seller: sseariver









8 - DPDT On-Off-On Toggle Switches 20 Amp K203-5 5 for 10.84 eBay Seller: dmmwem









The last item on my list of electrical parts are rotary dimmer switches to adjust the DC voltage. Be aware that all dimmers are not resistor based, but can be Triac based and only work with AC current. I will list a part and source once I find one I'm happy with. It needs to carry 30 Volts at 20 Amps or be 600 Watt based capacity.

More to come.
-Paul


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Nice find on the wire wound pots!! I used the carbon type on my big table which was fine until I accidentally laid a screw driver on the track (while trying to fix bad connections (L&J) and cooked one of the pots...


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I didn't think to add it to the wiring diagram, but I have a 15A circuit breaker between the wires going to the track. I have done the exact same thing, shorting the rails with a screwdriver while I was working on something under the track table. You lay the tool on the table thinking it's a safe place, then POW! 2- 12volt car batteries blow up the pots and leave a nice scorch on the track surface.

-Paul


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I started some testing over the past weekend and made some minor changes in the wiring diagram for efficiency and easier maintenance in the future. I also included some of the wiring diagram for the track sensors and the connections required for Slot Race Manager to pick up laps/times and track power control. The only thing I have left to decide on, is whether I include a track call button to the driver's station. Jury's still out on that one. So below are the new diagrams you can reference.

-Paul









The Driver Station Panel - Nothing changed here, but I may add the "track call" button later.









Here's what's under the driver's panel. I added the 5 volt power block for the LED panels. Also I cleaned up the wiring paths.









Here's a sample of 2 driver's stations wired along my planned power supply and the solid state relay (SSR) used to control track power once the segment timer reached 0.









Last in the new images is the wiring diagram for the 25 pin connector used for Slot Race Manager's lap/timing sensors and the connection for the SSR track power control. I use Auto World sensors from the drag sets. They work well and are cheaper than buying units that are high enough quality to work consistently. These haven't missed a lap, even with my fastest "unlimited" cars.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

If you just use a rheostat to turn down the voltage you had better also have a fuse or breaker in the circuit. If there was a short from a misconnected controller or something got across the rails your rheostat would quickly get very hot and possibly burn up.
A voltage control that uses diodes wired to a rotary switch will work well in most cases. I wrote an article on how to build a control using a voltage regulator. It is available in the Files section of the HOCOC Yahoo! site.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/HOCOCSLOTCARRACING/info


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

It is dangerous to use common electrical plugs with your controllers, someone could plug one into the wall. Screw post connections at the driver's stations with alligator clips on the controller leads are most commonly used in the US. All of the 1/32nd tracks that I have raced on in the past five years or more have switched to XLR connectors. Those cannot be connected wrong, will not short out and lock in place. For use on tracks with screw posts I have an XLR to alligator slip adapter. I made my own adapter, but Slot Car Corner also sells them along with a lot of other track wiring goodies.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I have and keep access to the controllers. No one at my house is young enough or unfamiliar with the race track and the rules to use it to move or unhook anything. Since I live in the middle of nowhere, it's very unlikely I'll ever have guess racers over. The wall socket was/is for my own convenience. I would agree, that with small children or unsupervised use, someone would try and control the speed of a wall outlet and this method is not for everyone.:thumbsup:

-Paul


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

WOW
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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