[KensRedZed]

It's right there in the name.

SSD = Strictly Six Drivers. 

[woodcote]

Six cars is enough, even for club racing. IMHO, the only limit to SSD is one's imagination.

SSD works for our family-friendly club, using simulations and 100+ foot two-lane tracks built in a public hall...

• 100-120 foot track length = perfect for six cars without getting congested
  
• RCS64 software = the ultimate for simulation racing
  
• Club-provided hardware is good-value, easy to find and can be replicated at home (see here)
  
• Scalextric cars and chips are good-value, easy to find and simple to work with
  
• Good-value means we can charge racers £3 for an evening's racing, £6 for a full day - under-16s pay £2 (£4 for the full day)
  
• Team racing gets the very best out of SSD simulation racing and keeps a lid on the number of cars racers need to buy
  
• Our attendances vary from 18 to 30+ and average 22 so far in 2025. 31 racers took part in our four 'beginner-friendly' events this year.
  

Would we want all 18-30 racers on track at the same time? No - It would be far too congested on two lanes... and what real-life tracks have 4 or 6 racing lines?

Does 'only' having six cars ruin the realism offered by digital? Not at all... Our tracks are little more than a scale half-mile. Limiting the grids and having heats, semis and a feature race is the 'real-life' thing to do - common practice on short club tracks in the the years either side of WW2. Most of our racing is either team or pairs racing, so all racers are engaged 'on track' 100% of the time. The driver concentrates on driving and a teammate feeds the information from the RCS64 screen and makes strategy calls. The conversations between driver and team are just like real racing!

Again, I see the only true limits to SSD to be the user's imagination. Everything is there for exciting and realistic solo, home and club racing - with either the C7042 APB or ARC Pro.

[ScorpiusWireless]

This topic is purely about the speculation and misinformation that the ssd protocol can be extended past 6 IDs. 
Please stay on topic.

[MrFlippant]

Are you claiming that an IR based mark/space scheme cannot be reliably used in a slot car lane changing and lap counting system for more than six cars?

Is it valid for purposes of this discussion to include such systems that have custom firmware and hardware?

If custom firmware and hardware are allowed for this challenge, then why do you claim that proof of such a system exceeding six cars is misinformation?

What limitations are you imposing on this discussion in order to disqualify the existing evidence that it's possible to exceed six cars in an IR based mark/space identification scheme?

[ScorpiusWireless]

I specifically mentioned SSD protocols and just to confirm it is not possible to increase the number of cars beyond 6 car IDs for a number of reasons as explained in detail.

As such the rest of your post is irrelevant and I wont venture there..

Are you suggesting more than 6 SSD car IDs can work for lapcounting and lane changing functions at 6m/s for the Hornby system? And how is it compatible?

I think I’m going to side with an experienced engineer together with the results of actual high speed tests. And then the checksum issue as mentioned.

[Henk]

What is exactly what you are trying to achieve with this tread, Rick?

Most responders are happy with the 6 cars limit that Scalextric and Carrera offer.

No one wants your $1000 and feels the need to prove you're wrong.

Is this just another one of your sales pitches?

[ScorpiusWireless]

Henk
….it’s technical post about ssd firmware. If you have any insights or firmware expertise regarding ssd please speak up. 
I’d like remind readers to keep on topic or don’t post please. 



Cheers

[ScorpiusWireless]

It's right there in the name.

SSD = Strictly Six Drivers. 

I’m nominating this for Post of the Year. 

[ScorpiusWireless]

Are you claiming that an IR based mark/space scheme cannot be reliably used in a slot car lane changing and lap counting system for more than six cars?

Is it valid for purposes of this discussion to include such systems that have custom firmware and hardware?

If custom firmware and hardware are allowed for this challenge, then why do you claim that proof of such a system exceeding six cars is misinformation?

What limitations are you imposing on this discussion in order to disqualify the existing evidence that it's possible to exceed six cars in an IR based mark/space identification scheme?

To be fair it’s an antiquated way of simply sending a number 1-6 along with a lane change command. You wouldn’t use it in a new design due to its limitations. Code is easier to write and tweak, and much more flexible. Some of you may noticed even car ID 6 is a bit flaky at 6m/s as ID is right on the borderline
.
That’s why I suggested to John to switch to code along with lane and sector location and up the data rate. Result? Up to 80 car IDs are possible but I’ll take just 24.

[woodcote]

Sadly, it looks like you're Betamax in a VHS world...