3rd-Feb-20, 04:20 PM
The original Scalextric Digital Controller (C7002) which plugs into the APB looks like this...
They are nice and chunky, with a big brake button above the smaller lane-change button on the back of the handle. Interchangeable 'caps' match with the colour on the powerbase the car is connected too. The spring in the controller is way too stiff, but these can be easy swapped for a softer one - if you have access to a friendly hardware store, or you can try Parma springs. The controllers also succumb to wear and tear. Cleaning with contact cleaner from time to time does help, but we did get through quite a few controllers at the club. The other issue is that the cables are quite short and 2.5mm mono jacks extenders aren't always of the best quality - better than six people standing on top of each other though.
At some point, an upgrade will be desirable. These are some of the options...
The controllers themselves are a huge step up from the standard C7002 throttles. The wireless aspect is brilliant - our events take place in a large hall, so being able to walk around and choose an ideal driving position is perfect. Most of the controllers have required only an occasional clean and change of alkaline batteries. A couple have had problems that we've sorted successfully with help and advice from Steve Hills at Truspeed - excellent customer service.
This is a graphic we produced for our racers and Steve has used on his website...
The SCS box has performed well for us - so long as it is positioned near the middle of the room. Our hall is about forty foot long, and we found reception could become marginal beyond twenty feet, probably not helped when batteries get a little low. Here's the SCS box in front of some WHO/digital racers and just next to the APB...
The SCS receiver box plugs directly into the APB and should be plugged in only when the APB is switched off. The APB should also be switched on before the SCS box is powered up. So our start-up routine has been lengthened to:
And close-down routine:
The original on/off switch on the race control table that controlled the APB power now has two switches - one for the APB and one for the SCS receiver box.
They are nice and chunky, with a big brake button above the smaller lane-change button on the back of the handle. Interchangeable 'caps' match with the colour on the powerbase the car is connected too. The spring in the controller is way too stiff, but these can be easy swapped for a softer one - if you have access to a friendly hardware store, or you can try Parma springs. The controllers also succumb to wear and tear. Cleaning with contact cleaner from time to time does help, but we did get through quite a few controllers at the club. The other issue is that the cables are quite short and 2.5mm mono jacks extenders aren't always of the best quality - better than six people standing on top of each other though.
At some point, an upgrade will be desirable. These are some of the options...
- Truspeed SSD III wired controller (www.truspeed.co.uk) - cost £45 each and are a direct plug-in replacement for the Scalextric controller. These look and feel very much like the Truspeed analogue controllers - well made, adjustable spring tension, sensitivity control knob, plus lane change and brake buttons for digital racing. They come with a 1.6m cable.
- Truspeed SSD IV wireless controller (www.truspeed.co.uk) - cost £57 each, although currently not available. These work with the Slot Car Solutions wireless receiver box (£85), which plugs into the APB. The layout of the controller is the same as the SSD III and they can also be used as plug-in wired controllers with an optional cable.
- Slot.it SCP2 Controller with Scalextric C7042 cartridge (Pendles here on sale at £79.99). This is another direct plug-in replacement for the Scalextric controller. The SCP2 is a high-quality wiperless controller that is used by analogue and digital racers - having interchangeable cartridges to work with different systems. It has huge potential to customise various performance settings. The SCP2 will only work with the APB using the E-3V3 cartridge. The reference for the controller + APB cartridge is SCP201dz1.
- Scorpius Wireless Controller (www.scorpiuswireless.com) - cost $119 each. A Scorpius Wireless Dongle ($79.95) fits into the USB port of the computer - the controllers communicate with the dongle and control the cars via the race management software (SSDC, RCS64, PC Lap Counter etc). Nothing is plugged into the APB, so cars can only be run with the race management software active.
The controllers themselves are a huge step up from the standard C7002 throttles. The wireless aspect is brilliant - our events take place in a large hall, so being able to walk around and choose an ideal driving position is perfect. Most of the controllers have required only an occasional clean and change of alkaline batteries. A couple have had problems that we've sorted successfully with help and advice from Steve Hills at Truspeed - excellent customer service.
This is a graphic we produced for our racers and Steve has used on his website...
The SCS box has performed well for us - so long as it is positioned near the middle of the room. Our hall is about forty foot long, and we found reception could become marginal beyond twenty feet, probably not helped when batteries get a little low. Here's the SCS box in front of some WHO/digital racers and just next to the APB...
The SCS receiver box plugs directly into the APB and should be plugged in only when the APB is switched off. The APB should also be switched on before the SCS box is powered up. So our start-up routine has been lengthened to:
- Plug in APB/USB cable + 6 x SCS cables to APB > turn on APB > turn on SCS box > turn on Truspeed controllers
And close-down routine:
- Turn off Truspeed controllers > turn off SCS box > turn off APB > unplug cables
The original on/off switch on the race control table that controlled the APB power now has two switches - one for the APB and one for the SCS receiver box.
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