I've been wanting to make one of these for a while, and I'm so glad I finally did.
I used a project box from Radio Shack and a piece of start track. I bought the roller style start track on ebay for $3. There was a guy on ebay that had a few dozen and was selling them for next to nothing. It's powered by 2-9volt batteries which makes it completely portable.
When attending races with lots of participants, there can be a long wait time between practice and your first heat. Some cars take a few minutes to get up to speed. When the heats are three minutes long, a cold car can be a disaster. This is especially true when the temperatures are low. At the Fray for example, temps can be in the 60's. This very simple device can improve your position by 7 or 8 positions. It is an inexpensive tool that makes a big difference. It's also handy for use on the bench as a test track.
Give it a shot, there are a lot of ways to get the same results.
Later Serge
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With Ray's help I built a desktop version which of course is a vintage effort. Certainly not as polished as yours, but it certainly is a valuable aid in setting up a chassis. The steering wheel controller was salvaged using parts from Big-T's slightly melted childhood one, and the DC-2 power pack provides the juice. Although Roebling Road is three feet away, I'll take this for a test bed any time. The wooden base was an old shelf made by my late father, so it has the nice patina of aged varnish. It is another six inches longer than pictured. God Bless! Tony mgbbrown
Always drink upstream from the herd. -Will Rogers
...is that...a...*gasp*...AFX car in your possession, Tony???
The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.
-- Kirk in 'Shore Leave'
I saw it to, but I thought it was just the lacquer thinner getting to me!
"That's all I can stands cause I can't stands no more" Popeye the Sailor
Always drink upstream from the herd. -Will Rogers
You've come across to the AFX side... somewhat. Great to see champ.
That is great Serge, but you can save 9V battery money by doing this. I just flip the car over, or if no body, I clip it on my helping hands, or sometimes called 3rd hand tool.
danvanman
What I've shown is my "Warm Up Box". I have a bunch of break in tools that cover a wide range of designs. One is powered by a 12v car battery which doubles as my Estes rocket launcher. I specifically designed it to help me in competition. It will eventually be part of a modular system that includes a driver's station which fits in a custom pit box.
Occasionally, I've had to be a corner marshall while in the "on deck" racing position. In certain venues this means that I am away from an electrical outlet. With 30 secs. between heats this can be a less than desireable situation. I therefore opted for a battery power supply. I use rechargeable batteries so the cost is not prohibitive. This is just part of my next generation of tools that will make me more competitive, I hope! I am now working on the new version of the Dyno I built a couple of years back. You might remember it from the old site.
Keep it in the slot.
Later, Serge
"That's all I can stands cause I can't stands no more" Popeye the Sailor
Serge,
You are right about your warm up box. My cousin has one of those too. I have not raced at any competition yet, so having a battery warm up box makes good sense. Thanks.
danvanman
hey serge have you raced the c9 yet? just wondering what the outcome of your trial was. cheers
oh well
It is hard sometimes to get Serge to reply. Busy man.
danvanman
No, I haven't tried it yet. Sorry I didn't answer.
I'm up to my elbows in alligators right now, trying to put a Fray team together from the Rocky Mountains. It's like herding cats.
I'm also building four Fray cars at once for the team competition, putting my shop back together, building a dyno, building an armature testing fixture for vintage and JL t-jets, designing an off the grid home, trying to solve America's energy problems, making a living, keeping my sanity and keeping my wife happy. Not in order of importance! I'm not trying to be a jerk. It's just the way I roll.
If any of you guy's are interested in racing at the Fray, let me know. My email is fatwhiteguy@comcast.net. I can send you all the info. Don't worry about a fast car if you do not have one. I'll can lend you one of the best cars you have ever raced. No strings attatched! I've seen guys good on the trigger be competitive right away. Besides that, you have a couple of days to practice, if you show up early. It's the chance of a lifetime.
Lodging costs about $185 for the week if you share a room. The trick is getting there. that's a long way for you east coast guys. I'm putting a flyer together, I can send it to you.
So backing up a bit; why build a bunch of cars? The Fray has 8 tracks. You race on all of them for the Team Competition. All tracks were originally lock & joiner, before they were made into routed tracks; therefore, some have radical driving obstacles on them. Tight curves and steep grades are what I'm talking about.
Some cars scrape the front bumper on the hump of the purple track and fly off the other end. No low riders here!
Anyway, I said my peace. There are two spots open on our team. "Be there or be square"!
S
"That's all I can stands cause I can't stands no more" Popeye the Sailor
Love your email address!
By the way with all the other stuff you're doing when are you going to solve the energy situation and of course throw World Peace in there. :-)
Big-T
Thanks for the heads up T. Of course I missed World Peace.
I'm 100% serious about the Fray!
PS I'm really working on an off the grid home too.
S
"That's all I can stands cause I can't stands no more" Popeye the Sailor
May actually be able to make the Fray believe it or don't...gonna seriously need some help though!!
The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.
-- Kirk in 'Shore Leave'
I'll post the details tomorrow.
Serge
"That's all I can stands cause I can't stands no more" Popeye the Sailor
Wow! That looks like the same incline as the Aurora hill track. I carved a lot of plastic and copper off of the bottom of my A/FX cars trying to make them work with that track. Notice that they never duplicated that section in the A/FX track. I finally gave up, and stopped using it. If only I had been able to make taller tires back then...
Sorry, I have a basketball league to run that weekend.
Good Luck!