[woodcote]

Hi Rick. Clearly we will need to agree to disagree on the firmware... Your facts and mine appear to be entirely different!

You yourself said it was Riko’s idea to put the chip & LED in the guide. You said you have taken that concept a step further. My concerns with ARC Pro (and the factory settings of C7042) relate to the concept of chip / LED in the guide - and include Riko’s solution, yours, Dr_C’s and the surechange guide too (the latter two only having the LED in the guide).

What I read from your original post was your concept does away with soldering or the hassle of installing the C8515 digital plug (a 60 second job that requires no soldering and only a set of jewellers screwdrivers). I presumed - perhaps wrongly - that your were aiming this at the new wave of novice digital (ARC Pro) users. You have clarified that this wasn’t your aim - it’s just a bit of fun for established SSD enthusiasts. Thanks for clearing that up.

Of course, there are also operational issues of having the chip in a quick change guide. It is one of the weaker design features of a Scalextric car. Three of the most common failures I see with Scalextric home racers (driving hard with magnets) are the braid plate coming loose and shifting forward; the green and/or yellow wires disconnecting from the braid contacts; and the guide snapping off. Adding in the inevitable arc-ing between rails and braids, it is a hostile and vulnerable environment for a digital chip. But I am sure you have these issues covered.

Have fun