[mediaboy]

I’ve revived 2 older, but with Sport track, box sets and added a few pieces to make a decent temporary spare room floor circuit. Added a few new cars. 

Now I’m considering going digital with an Arc Pro either via the upgrade kit or a set like the Le Mans 24h. 

It looks like the Arc Pro tech is pretty old and has not been updated. 

What do you know about further development, an Arc Pro 2 perhaps?

Your thoughts about my upgrade plan?

I’ll post photos of the circuit when it’s sorted. 

[Bazzer]

Nothing wrong with old Scalextric technology.

I use an old Scalextric system (circa 2005) pretty well every day and have great fun and a serious amount of racing. I run cars from the 1960's as pacer cars for other similar era cars, who would have ever thought that was going to be possible 50 years ago

I don't even use digital, I am not sure I would like it as I have a fairly pure idea of slot racing being like a routed slot car track.

B.

[dvd3500]

ARC PRO is still valid.. especially if you want to go digital at some point...

[woodcote]

I reckon ARC Pro is an excellent system. The Le Mans 24h set has everything you need to get started, although you will want to get a pitlane pretty soon to get the most out of the ARC app's pit stop features. The upgrade set just has the powerbase, power supply and two controllers - you'd also need to buy digital chip modules to put in your cars and a lane changer to change lanes. Plus that pit lane.

ARC Pro was released just before Christmas 2017 - so it's not that old! There were some necessary hardware revisions (although that is stable from 2018/9) and there was a brand new ARC app released in 2018, which has also had revisions and bug fixes since. There's the option of the more complex Magic ARC app, which gives a richer racing experience - this third-party app has also been developed and bugs fixed.

ARC Pro is an evolution of the original Scalextric digital system - they share essentially the same communication protocols, so the lane changers and digital decoders are compatible with powerbases from 2004/5 onwards. What ARC Pro added were the wireless controllers and a Bluetooth link to use a race management app on a phone or tablet. There's also a physical switch for a traditional 'analogue' mode. Apart from the Magic app, the third-party add-ons for ARC Pro have been thin on the ground - although it's possible to upgrade the controllers with a Slot.it SCP oXigen controller.

You might want to take a look at this thread, which is about how you could develop the older C7042 Advanced Powerbase to give an arguably better system via a PC or laptop. If you are looking at running on your own against multiple pace cars, this is much more exciting option. If you're looking at an easy-to-use, great value system with wireless controllers, then ARC Pro is the one for you.

What's the future? Fans of the oXigen and Scorpius systems would say wireless control of the cars - essentially radio control with the cars getting only power (and steering) from the slot. I would probably agree - although I think most Scalextric (and Carrera) digital racers are more than satisfied with what they have. There was a similar shift in the model railway world from the traditional digital signal-via-the-track to radio control... However, from what I can see, the vast majority of enthusiasts have stuck with the traditional digital systems - and Hornby haven't gone down the radio-controlled track with their trains, yet... Despite the availability of oXigen and Scorpious for over a decade - and their advantages -  it's the Carrera and Scalextric signal-in-track systems that are used by almost all digital slot car enthusiasts around the world.

[mediaboy]

Great, helpful info and insight. 

My main worry was buying what I thought to be old tech, ie the current Arc Pro, when something new might be round the corner. So it’s good to know you think it’s still current. 

In a world where manufacturers release new versions of their tech products each year, Hornby look more pedestrian with a system released in 2017, based on a system older than that. 

I’m now working on track designs including a pit lane and changeovers.

[mediaboy]

I decided to jump. I got an Arc Pro upgrade kit as Amazon had them at a lower price. RH Pit and 2 lane changers. 

Thank you.

[MrFlippant]

Slot car "tech" does not move as fast as cell phones. Even if Hornby were to announce a new base, it would probably be a year or two before it was actually on the market. I think the ARC Pro took at least two, if not three or four, from announcement to release, and even went through a name change in the process.

[jraggio]

I decided to jump. I got an Arc Pro upgrade kit as Amazon had them at a lower price. RH Pit and 2 lane changers. 

Thank you.

Let's see a picture of the layout.  I just got the C1404T and a already looking to expand.