Add-ons for C7042 Advanced 6 Car Powerbase

woodcote · 3rd-Feb-20, 11:19 AM

Although I'm a big fan of ARC Pro and how it works out of the box, we still use the older C7042 Advanced 6 Car Powerbase (APB) at our WHO/digital club...

On its own, the APB is not that easy to use and is expensive. What you get for £165.99 is the powerbase and an LCD tower...

To that has to be added:

P9300 Power Supplies - one for up to three cars, two power supplies for four to six cars. They are £44.99 each.
C7002 Digital Hand Controllers. £16.99 each.

That compares to £137.99 for the C8435 ARC Pro Powerbase Upgrade kit which includes one P9300 power supply and two ARC Wireless Hand Controllers. When you have the APB up and running, it offers only some basic race mode functionality, adjustable power settings, a Ghost Car feature and analogue mode - all requiring navigation through the hieroglyphics of the LCD tower menu. The first time I raced with Scalextric digital was with the APB and LCD tower - I wasn't impressed. Adding the Pit Lane Game was a fun improvement.

What won me over to digital racing - and what transforms the APB - is the expansion potential of the small RJ-connector socket on the left hand side. This allows the APB to be connected to the USB port of a Windows computer and to interact with digital race management software in imaginative and highly-detailed ways - more detailed than the two ARC Pro apps currently offer.

The special APB to USB cable that links APB to computer can be found on Riko Rocket's website (www.rikorocket.co.uk/products/usb-to-c7042-apb) or search "USB cable for Scalextric C7042 6 car digital powerbase" on eBay. The cable costs £30.

The first thing to do with your new cable is to take good care of it. Only ever plug it into the APB when the powerbase is switched off. Plugging the cable in when the powerbase is on risks damaging the cable. I have a big note to remind me - even after six years of using the APB with the cable. At WHO/digital we have the two APB power supplies plugged into a separate extension lead which can be switched on and off via a big switch on the race control table.

The second thing to do is to update the firmware on the APB from the factory-set v0.85 to the latest v1.09. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the SSDC website: ssdc.jackaments.com/firmware

Before I go on to look at software options, there is another piece of hardware that is recommended - pit lane sensors. Although not essential - ARC Pro does not have them and that's not the end of the world for me - they do add an extra feature to the APB digital racing experience. With the sensors, the digital race management programs can sense when a specific car is in the pit lane, slow that car to the pit lane speed limit and open the pit menu automatically (if this feature is chosen).

There are two options for Scalextric Sport Digital pit sensors, Riko Rocket's Pit Pro Deluxe (and the original Pit Pro) that is based on a highly-modified Pit Lane Game; and the Smartracing Smartsensor. Pit Pro Deluxe is available from Riko's website (www.rikorocket.co.uk/products/pit-pro-deluxe) and costs £100. Smartsensor costs 75 Euros and is available from smartracing.dk in Denmark. We use Pit Pro at WHO/digital...

You can see the pit-entry sensor located at the yellow line by the Pit Lane Game tower on the right of the picture. If you follow the pit lane round, you will see the yellow line to indicate the pit-exit sensor. Not only do the sensors add to the detail of the digital simulations, most software programs offer some excellent pit lane sound effects!

Next, I'll look at some of the software options.

woodcote · 3rd-Feb-20, 12:30 PM

There are quite a few software options for the APB. These include Scalextric Sport Digital Console (SSDC), Race Control System 64 (RCS64), PC Lap Counter, Race Co-ordinator Digital and Easy Slot Race Management (ESRM). The development of these programs has been a truly international effort, which does demonstrate the global impact of the Scalextric digital system. All of them offer either a trial product or trial period and are all worth a go to discover what works best for you. To buy a full license costs £30 for SSDC, 30 Euros for RCS64, PC Lap Counter is 50 Euros, Race Co-ordinator is donationware and ESRM is free. Here are some links...

Scalextric Sport Digital Console (SSDC): ssdc.jackaments.com
Race Control System 64 (RCS64): rcs64.com
PC Lap Counter: www.pclapcounter.be
Race Co-ordinator Digital: www.racecoordinator.net/rcd
Easy Slot Race Management (ESRM): esrm.fr

The program that won me over to digital slot car racing was Andy Wallace's Scalextric Sport Digital Console (SSDC), which is what we originally used to run WHO/digital races for the first couple of years. SSDC offers a fuel-use simulation plus a KERS power boost which are rich, but relatively simple features to get your teeth into digital racing. SSDC also has a very clear race screen layout for the drivers and regular interruptions by the dulcet tones of Murray Walker...

Although - as race controller - I found the SSDC race set-up process a little tricky at times, that is offset by the wonderfully clear and uncluttered display for the drivers. The fuel simulation links throttle use with fuel-burn rates, meaning that clever strategy can win you a race. The use of KERS every lap also helps with fuel conservation

After thoroughly enjoying SSDC, we started to look for more simulations and the obvious place to go was Race Control System 64 (RCS64) - a program developed specifically for the APB by Martin Schmidt and Marcel Minnaard. In addition to a fuel simulation, RCS64 offers tyre choices, variable weather conditions, simulated grip, brake fade, plus a damage simulation. It is an immense piece of software with huge scope for the sort of user-customisation that still gets me very excited. Three years of using RCS64 has taken our digital racing to a level where we can deliver scale versions of actual motorsport formats - most famously, perhaps, our BTCC race day, but also some fabulous GT3 and Trans-Am racing.

Perhaps because of the complexity of the software, RCS64 accentuates some of the problems with digital simulation racing - there is just so much information to process. As well as driving fast, you have to negotiate up to five other cars, planning and executing clean overtaking manoeuvres. You need to be aware of tyre wear, weather conditions and fuel consumption - and plan pit stops accordingly. That's why we adjust our formats to introduce simulations gradually on our Wednesday evenings and use plenty of team and pairs racing where co-drivers can relay data from the RCS64 screen and call the driver into the pits - just like the team radio in real motorsport events.

As you can see, the screen is full of data. It really is a full-time job for the those not driving to study and make judgement calls. A recent Trans-Am pairs race was won because the non-driving teammate could see the track drying more quickly than usual and made a brave call to change to hard compound tires before everyone else. Not that we use all the simulations in every race - less is often more. Our BTCC races have no pit stops - although the tyre wear on the soft (option) tyre means the car becomes difficult to drive by the end of the race. If you get the simulation settings just right, RCS64 is so excitingly and wonderfully realistic. I have produced some guides to using RCS64 on the WHO/digital website: www.whoracing.org.uk/rcs64

Although I haven't used the other three programs mentioned, they are nearer the SSDC level of simulations - concentrating on fuel use. Interestingly, the race management software with the largest variety of simulations is the Scalextric ARC app - however, the detail within each of the simulations is very limited. The ARC app is good fun, but nowhere near as realistic as RCS64, for example. That, of course, may change.

Next, I shall look at controllers and controller upgrades for the APB.

woodcote · 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...

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.

After considering the options, we decided our controller upgrade at WHO/digital would be the Truspeed SSD IVs and the SCS receiver box...

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.

woodcote · 3rd-Feb-20, 05:21 PM

I think those basic building blocks add up to just about the best Scalextric Digital system money can buy. Of course, there are other manufacturers' digital systems available - to suit all requirements and bank balances. There is track to add - including digital lane-changers and pit lanes - plus cars, digital chips, scenics, big-screen monitors etc. I've quoted the recommended retail price for everything in this article. Although you might be able to find things cheaper, I would always be a little cautious buying digital components second hand.

The total for the APB + add-ons for the WHO/digital kit described here is £842.97 - not including track, computer, monitors, cars etc. An equivalent six-car ARC Pro set-up with the ARC wireless controllers would cost £274.94.

In developing our WHO/digital racing there's one important ingredient that money can't buy - imagination. Every time I watch motorsport, I end up asking myself "how could I do that with RCS64 or ARC Pro?". When new slot car models are released, I find myself on YouTube watching footage of them racing and research the formats of all the series the cars have raced in. Whatever the car and the series, can I replicate it in 1/32 scale using Scalextric digital? I have begun to write up some of these formats here on SlotRacer Online to introduce the Scalextric ARC app (slotracer.online/arc-pro-guide). However, it is much more fun to use your own imagination and develop your own formats for your favourite motorsport series.

If digital racing with simulations is something you want to try, then ARC Pro is an excellent introduction and good value, despite being rather limited in terms of the depth of the simulations. At some point, Hornby may release the protocol for a computer link-up which might excite developers like the RCS64 team. Until then, the APB and all the add-ons are still available to give that added depth and complexity - and they come highly recommended. Scalextric have said that no more APBs will be manufactured, so what is in stock at the Hornby warehouse and at your favourite retailer is all there is. I have it on good authority that - at the time of writing - the supply will last for "some years", so there is no need to panic buy just yet.

If you're interested, there's loads more about our RCS64 racing with the APB, Pit Pro and Truspeed controllers here: www.whoracing.org.uk/who_digital

And here's a video of the system in action...

Johnec · 9th-Apr-22, 10:31 PM

Hi,
I have just joined the Club and have a question , or two to ask please.
I have purchased the C7042 6 car Powerbase so I can run Analogue and Digital on the same track.
1/ I will first update the Firmware from default to latest.
2/ Can I use x2 C7024 power leads into the powerbase or do I have to have 1xC7024 PLUS 1x P9300 to get the full benefit of Digi' and Analogue please.
3/ I have 4 digital handsets already but to run the other 2 Analogue cars, will I need 2x C7002 digi handsets or will the C8229 and C8230 handsets work just the same please?
I have a Granson and Grand daughter so although I have my old track in the loft, have been purchasing new track/cars etc., so we can have fun while they are on holiday.
I have other questions to ask so will send this my first message off in the hope I can get some answers. All the best.
Regards Johnec

woodcote · 11th-Apr-22, 10:27 PM

To try and answer your questions...

Yes, definitely a good idea to update the firmware - although it's not 100% essential. You'll need the USB to powerbase cable - either borrow or buy one. If you buy it, you'll have access to the excellent PC-based software programmes such as SSDC and RCS64 etc. If you use the standard LCD display, then Chris' guide is invaluable: http://lescazals.free.fr/scaley/c7042_menus_109.pdf
The C7024 and P9300 are identical. The only time you should avoid mixing power supplies is when going outside the Scalextric/Hornby product range. And for running the analogue mode (one car per lane), you only need one power supply. Indeed, one power supply will be adequate for four standard digital cars.
The C8229 etc analogue hand controllers will not work with a digital powerbase - and the jack plug is too large in any case. Only use the C7002 (or Truspeed SSD) controller with the C7042 6-car powerbase - whether you are using digital or analogue mode.

I hope that helps! The C7042 is perfectly good out of the box. What I like is that you can then upgrade at your own pace. What's described in this thread is the ultimate set-up - but you don't have to start there to really enjoy the system.

niklasw · 13th-Dec-23, 07:26 PM

What an excellent thread. Thank you!