6 replies to this topic

[GaryG]

Is there an easy way to convert a digital car to run on a conventional slot car track?

[MSwiss]

People bring them in by me, fairly regularly, to run on my flat track.

I'm pretty sure they have always had a tiny switch on the bottom of the chassis.

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

Carrera cars have the switch. I don’t believe SCX ever did. It’s been so long since I stocked SCX so I could be wrong.

[Mebrown]

SCX doesn’t have a switch. The switch is the reason I chose Carrera digital.

I am building a 1:43 monster truck slot car and plan on using the Carrera digital chip from their 1:43 line which would put me in your predicament. Carrera has mini plugs on their wires. I’m going to solder those on so that I can easily bypass the chip and run analog.


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[MG Brown]

Define "easy"?

 

The SCX digital system V2 (2008 and later) changes lanes mechanically where as the Carrera and Scalextric (Hornby) systems are an optical system.

 

There are two ways that I know to convert SCX digital to Analog:

• Obtain an analog chassis and swap chassis. While you are at it get a "Pro" chassis if available. Like most plastic chassis cars each car has its own chassis design. Surprisingly the NASCAR and F1 chassis are not interchangeable among similar "like" cars. IE: the Toyota COT NASCAR chassis is a slightly different design from the Chevrolet COT NASCAR chassis in spite both of them being COT type race cars.

* OR *

• Swap the digital subframe, motor and guide flag for their analog equivalents. Caution: the digital subframe has easily broken tabs at the front that secure it in place. The motor supplied in SCX digital cars is lower RPM and as such would run slower than SCX cars with the so called standard analog home set motor. The digital guide flag is a different design that has a tab that activates the lane change feature on command. I do not know if it will work CORRECTLY on an analog track. 

Here is a video that partially explains the conversion- at the time of the video all of the parts were not available.

 

Due to SCX being in effect out of the Slot Car market for several years, spare parts have all but dried up in North America. 

 

Here is a good video on how to convert Carrera Digital 132 cars to Analog.

 

If you could let us know what cars you want to convert, we might be able to give you more specific advice.

[Ramcatlarry]

Carrera switch is for track polarity - to run the cars the other direction around the track.

 

Never had to take an SCX digital apart yet, BUT most of the digital systems have some system of using the half wave of the track current.  They should run about the same on full standard DC current.  I would just solder new lead wires from the two flag pickups to the motor and remove the chip box.

[Mebrown]

Easy: no soldering. The clips are so small a knife is pretty much required to separate them.

The polarity switch is on the Carrera analog cars. On the digital chips it is on/off (analog/digital). Because both analog and digital cars have a chip (polarity or analog/digital) converting an analog car to digital is as simple as removing a screw from the chassis and switching chips.

 

Sounds like SCX is much more complicated.