Coppertape; HO slotcars with braid pickups

[ginkejw]

A selection of our slotcars; a Tomy SRT, a Tyco 440x2 and a Tomy Mega G driving on our home made routed MDF wooden track with coppertape raced non-magnetic!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17KPN8q5_gQ"]HO slotcars with braid pickups on routed coppertape MDF track! - YouTube[/ame]

I made some modifications on my slot cars to run on this track:
Mod1) Add some lead on the front of the chassis.
Mod2) Replace the pickup shoes with copper wire (I used NSR 4824 Ultraflex silicone motor wire).
See also this video [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwOQEgFxpgQ"]Mounting pickup braid wires at a HO slotcar - YouTube[/ame] .

Mod3) Replace the rear tires with silicon sponge tires for the best grip.
(the silicon sponge tires from the white SRT and the red 440x2 are home made!)
Lower the voltage to 6 Volts, and use a Parma 45 Ohm controller for perfect power handling on this small track.

[RJW]

Nice layout, I love no magnet racing. Nothing like watching the sliding action.

[dcronin81]

Track looks Great!!!

[Intheslot]

Good job!! Suggest you incorporate 3/32" wide tinned copper braid instead of just your bare wire leads. It will give much better contact on the copper tape and it wears like iron. I've done the same and have had really good results. Please PM and I'll tell you where to get a 100ft roll "cheap".

[Intheslot]

ginkejw,

Just want to add. By going with copper tape (although it is "old school" technology), you are taking HO racing a major step forward in performance, reliability, and eliminating p/u shoe wear. When searching for improvements, never be afraid to break "toy-spec" traditions. I salute you whole-heartedly!! I wish track manufacturers like TKO, Max-Trax, and Wiz would adopt these technologies.

[super8mm]

Nice looking track. I like the innovation of the bare wires as pickups. Thanks for sharing.

[Al's slotracing]

By going with copper tape (although it is "old school" technology)

Intheslot
Please tell us a bit more about what you mean by "old school" technology

Kinda begs the question what is "new school" technology

[Intheslot]

Al,

I just meant that copper tape has been used on larger scale routed tracks since the "sixties". I raced on commercial and home tracks back then that made use of copper tape. Since it goes back that far, I consider the technology to be "old school". Copper tape is good, reliable material without a doubt.

Let's express it another way and consider copper tape as a "new school of thought" for home HO routed tracks because I see most people, along with custom track manufacturers have and still rely on narrow steel band material (like the plastic toy track) for power rails.

I'd like to see HO toy manufacturers like Tomy & LL produce track using extruded metal power rails like larger scale manufacturers (Carerra, Scalextric, etc). I'd buy it in a heartbeat!! It gives a much wider contact area and we could convert all our cars to slide guides and braid. A much more reliable system and no more p/u shoes to wear holes in. One can only wish.

[Al's slotracing]

OK see what you mean by old school.

Only thing is the other ways of providing power round the track like steel rails, narrow steel bands and braid have all been in use since the 60s, so petty much all the ways of providing power are equally "old school".

[Intheslot]

Al,

Agreed on all the "schools" of providing power. It's the narrow steel band for power rail that I would like to see eliminated from HO racing. I think it is the "Achilles Heel" of the scale. It's a poor quality system but the toy manufacturers are all about doing things cheaply. "Tis what it 'tis. I don't think you will see a change for the better anytime soon.

[Intheslot]

Al,

Agreed on all the "schools" of providing power. It's the narrow steel band for power rail that I would like to see eliminated from HO racing. I think it is the "Achilles Heel" of the scale. It's a poor quality system but the toy manufacturers are all about doing things cheaply. 'Tis what it 'tis. I don't think we'll see a change for the better anytime soon.

[Al's slotracing]

Intheslot
I agree - little to no chance the makers of plastic HO track are going to change away from their steel rails.
There is no magnet traction with copper on mdf tracks. Magnet traction is so much a part of the HO scene, and that of course needs something in the track for the magnet to attract. Guess that could be one reasons why steel rails are here to stay.

[NicoRosberg.]

Would not all existing cars 'stick' more (perhaps not move) if the rails were wider?

[Al's slotracing]

You can be pretty confident existing cars would 'stick' more if the steel rails were wider (assuming the thickness and height of the top surface stayed the same)

[NicoRosberg.]

That would be a big killer to the idea, if nothing else.