1275 replies to this topic

[The Bugman]

I don't understand why they don't dial back the voltage? I've actually never really understood this, even with modern cars and throwaway motors. If you want the cars to go faster, use a faster motor. Obviously I'm in this thing regardless and I'm not really all worked up about winning ...who cares? Still, the race seems like it would be more fun and managable at 12V.

-john

john,and the rest,"i asked" Randy Tragni,and he said 14.4v,seems pretty damn ridiculous,
such high voltage,gonna destroy a bunch of nice race cars,if not the motors,then the HITS at that speed
is gonna crush the cars,WE ALL HERE need to make Mr Tragni,aware.,,
that we'd like to have it lowered,,,,
cause guys,when i was testing at BP with 12.6,theyre almost uncontrollable,,,,,
I'd vote for LOWER VOLTAGE,

[slotbaker]

I made sure I built my car ugly so no worries about the concours.

Yeah, me too.

Tony P started a pool on FB to see how many cars smoke the first race or how many make it to the second race.

Bob, is it too late to enter Marvin??

I spotted the 14.3v when it was posted, and my heart sank a bit.
I vote for lower voltage, 12.something is all we need.

It's meant to be a race, not a demo derby.

[Pablo]

NO NO NO this is BS !!! Do NOT change the voltage !!!

1. If you had preferences one way or the other you should have voiced it LONG AGO !!

2. Those of us who did our homework should NOT be penalized for planning for the track conditions. If you had been reading the mail on this thread, you would have known a long time ago what the voltage was going to be.

3. Just because you failed to plan accordingly, does not constitute a valid reason to make last minute changes to the venue.
This is another form of cheating, just like those who missed the deadline by waiting and watching to see what everybody else was building before committing to a design.

4. You knew what the voltage at Eddie's was, weeks ago. Now at last minute, you want to second guess everything because you are afraid you built too hot of a motor ?

BS !!!! You made your bed, now lay in it. The car I built is just as likely to fail as anyone else's. Anything could happen. But to adjust the parameters after the fact to skew the results in your favor because you realized too late in the game you didn't plan your horsepower properly, that is cheating. Sorry for run on sentence.

This is a "Balls Out" race, not for wimps who change their minds mid-stream due to something they read on facebook !!!!
If your ears are burning, so sorry. That is my opinion.

[Pablo]

As long as I am ranting, I would like to ask you guys a question;

If you showed up to a National slot car racing event, waited until after tech inspection was over, and then asked the race director to work on your car, and, by the way, "I think the voltage is too high, can you lower the voltage".......

What do you think would be the response ?

Jairus, these guys are trying so hard to skew the results, it's obvious to me.

[Pablo]

If there are still any Pablo fans out there after my rants, I would like to trade an XL shirt for an XXL.

[slotbaker]

When I decided to go in this thing, my biggest hurdle was the motor.
I picked an unknown arm out of my consertive box of bits, and built the motor from there, and I don't have a lot to choose from.

When the voltage was posted, I expressed my as I felt that my motor may struggle with it, but kept going with it as I didn't have another, and I didn't want to bail from the event. I accepted that 14.3v was going to be used.

Of course you're right Paul about turning up to an event, etc, etc. and not being prepaired.

In this case, it appears that quite a few others hadn't seen the note about the voltage to be used, as it was revealed in a post.
I'm sure if it had been part of the official rules/regs/conditions etc at the beginning, everyone would be ok on it.

As it turns out the event was structured, people entered thinking it was going to be similar to previous events where max voltages had been 13.8v.

Then, after quite a while it was revealed the one track was going to run 14.4v. I'm feeling that the builders aren't wanting to change anything, I feel that they/we just want the same conditions that previous races had been run by.

So, if there is a choice, I vote for 13.8v max.

Hope all that makes sense.

[slotbaker]

If there are still any Pablo fans out there after my rants,

Of course we're still here, you say what you feel, and with open honesty, how could anyone have a problem with that?

[Pablo]

"In this case, it appears that quite a few others hadn't seen the note about the voltage to be used"

Slotblog has a feature which sends an instant email to all those who subscribe to a thread. There is no possible excuse for missing any info, other than failing to READ it. If you are a participant you should be reading the mail. No excuse.

The racers on Slotblog should be experienced enough to have read and absorbed enough motor theory to understand how to tune a motor for track conditions. Four months notice is plenty of time to have sought wisdom in regards to airgap, magnet strength, arm types, gearing, etc. Not one single person has asked for my opinion on motors. There is no excuse, myself not excluded. My motor could go "poof" just like yours. But, I sought the wisdom of the experts, I read all the Slotblog articles, and I did my homework. Why should I be penalized for timely preparation ? Changing the parameters of the track conditions would be dirty pool.

Also, traditional electric theory says Amps are more important than Volts. A clean 14 Volts is much better than a dirty 12 Volts. Why would Eddie Wong run a track that cooks motors ? That would be counterproductive to his business.

[Maximo]

Pablo and Gentlemen of the Balls Out Choti Proxy,

It's all bench racing now that the cars are planned, built, tested, photographed, entered, posted, sent to San Jose, and await Race 1... There's nothing left here or on FB to do but nervously speculate and chat about nothing.

I protest nothing!
I don't want anything changed!
I just want the days to happen so that we can see what results at Eddie's.

I am not sure about the Concours thing as I did not take that into consideration when I planned the French entry. Right now what happens will happen.
I have NO back up motor in case it gets fried. I really did not know about the voltage until recently and it doesn't matter anyway.

What we built and entered now have a destiny to fulfil and I hope that all concerned have a great feeling from what we all did to make this happen. Maybe we are leading into an organized Thingie GP series with Proxy races all over the World and a Title Sponsor that will cover the transportation costs and prizes!
Who knows...!

Let's all enjoy the World of Competition Thingies as a new chapter is about to be written!

-Max

[Pablo]

David, a "back up" motor would have done no good, as the rules prevent it.

You see the big picture, that is refreshing to me !

[Jaak]

I mistakenly assumed it was 12 V and i when i had my motor made it was made to that spec,
missed the 14+V post wherever it may have been..but i will go with the flow.

Would be nice if they timed at what time what motor burned, if it lasts a minute i am a happy chap

[slotbaker]

I'm not protesting either, and have already said that I accept that 14.3v was going to be used, and anyway what difference does 0.5v make.
Yep, current is the killer, so a nice clean 15v could even work.

The cars are in place, the tracks are ready, drivers ready, and the planets are aligning, so let the racing begin.

[Gator Bob]

Yeah, me too.


Bob, is it too late to enter Marvin??

I spotted the 14.4v when it was posted, and my heart sank a bit.
I vote for lower voltage, 12.something is all we need.

It's meant to be a race, not a demo derby.

Marvin said "put me in coach"

[Gator Bob]

Of course we're still here, you say what you feel, and with open honesty, how could anyone have a problem with that?

That would be cool !

There are lots of posts "where is the " drama.

[32Deuce]

A clean 14 Volts is much better than a dirty 12 Volts

That's the key. If those 14 volts are laced with AC ripple from a common battery charger, there could be smoke

[Jairus]

WOW!

And after all the posts and after a long hard day at work all I have to ask is......


... Pablo, did I send you the wrong size shirt?

[Pablo]

"The good news is at 14.3V, the cars might not stay in the slot long enough at one time for the motors to get hot enough
to melt the endbells. "

Mike, I hope I did my job right by building a driveable car, and I hope it (#19) proves you wrong. From the onset, I theorized a semi- heavy, floppy, smooth and strong car would do well. I used a modern arm and modern mags in what I consider a conservative setup.
I had a choice of three motors and I chose the most driveable of them.

[Pablo]

Yes, Jairus, XL is too small for my big gut. My Dynamic Proxy TShirt was XXL and I assumed I would get the same here.....
Don't sweat it, let's see if someone ends up with a shirt that is too big and wants an XL.

The design is very COOL !!

[Jairus]

Crap... I thought I got it right after the last race. I over-printed two each of XXL, XL and L so I can cover you. (Literally!)

[endbelldrive]

That's the key. If those 14 volts are laced with AC ripple from a common battery charger, there could be smoke

I heard that Eddie Wong of Eddie's Slot Car World is a motor guy and a real stickler for clean power...so bring it on!

[Gator Bob]

I heard that Eddie Wong of Eddie's Slot Car World is a motor guy and a real stickler for clean power...so bring it on!

Strike it up because I've got The Power .

It's gettin, it's gettin kinda hectic, something is gonna Snap (crackle and pop)

[redbackspyder]

I sure hope they turn up the power to the Wing Car Voltage at Buena Park when these things race next month. Along with seeing if they will Full Punch the Deadman, and Full Punch the Finger, should be great fun seeing these things run on the Bull Dog Power Supply W/Batteries....... Flame On !!!!

Just curious, who is eligible to drive these at Buena Park ? ? ?

[havlicek]

Gee whiz Pablo...you assume a whole lot. Why would people subscribe to the thread (to keep informed about changes?) after they'd already thought they understood what this was about. Apparently, a lot of people thought they knew what this was about and were as surprised as I was about the track voltage. This was supposed to be about keeping as true to the cars and period as possible with some sensible allowances made regarding motors and consumables. 14.3V is just dumb...period. It will needlessly shorten the life of the motors...all motors and AC ripple isn't necessary for "smoke" at that voltage. It will make all the cars more difficult to drive, and could very well lead to a lot more track calls and wrecks. Again, I don't care what they do and am not "voting" one way or the other...nobody even said we could vote. This is just a really dumb move for no good reason. Whatever, let the games begin.

-john

[Pablo]

Mill, you have the correct attitude to drive # 19 car. You are hired.

I like your new girlfriend, too

[Pablo]

"Why would people subscribe to the thread (to keep informed about changes?) after they'd already thought they understood what this was about. Apparently, a lot of people thought they knew what this was about and were as surprised as I was about the track voltage."

Answer: for the same reason we subscribe to your "Motor" thread, John, because we want to be informed