What DOES the switch on the bottom of a Carrera slot car ACTUALLY do?!?
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- čas přidán 2. 09. 2021
- It's a polarity switch.
Whether the car has a digital (D132 or D124) chip in it, or it's an analog car, that switch is polarity. Always has been, always will be.
Because Carrera digital tracks use opposite of normal slot car track polarity, that switch needs to be flipped if you want to put the D132 or D124 car on your analog track and run it. But, it's not a digital/analog switch. You can prove this to yourself by leaving the switch in the "digital" position, and simply turning the car around on your analog track. Pull the trigger to full, and fully release it, 3 or 4 times, and then it will go. It's THAT action, pulsing pure DC power, that tells the chip to make the car go on an analog track. It only switches back to digital mode after you place it on a digital track (wait for it......) with the correct polarity! So, if you put the car back on a Carrera digital track, it won't go until you either turn the car around, or flip that switch. It will do a short burst of power because it WAS in analog mode, but as soon as it gets a digital signal in the correct polarity, it switches back to digital mode.
Prove me wrong. - Zábava
Now how cool is that?? I didn't know this. This means I can now run my D132's on either my Strombecker vintage analogue track or the Scalextric Sport analogue track. Thanks!
The only trick is that the Carrera guide tends to be thick enough to wedge in the slot on some track, especially Scalextric. For their recent cars with the blades that pop out, BRM make a replacement blade that works really well on Sport track, and I use them any time I run Carrera cars on my Sport track.
Thanking you my man I was wondering what it was for as I'm new to the hobby.
Thanks for clearing that up!
Feel free to link to this video any time someone asks, or says that it's a digital/analog switch. Not that it will help. ;-)
Great demo!
There is no doubt in my mind you are correct about switching over to analog with 3 pulls off the trigger.
Then I would ask you to switch one way and try it on a digital power supply. Then try it on a analog power and it won't run. Put the switch to the other side and bingo with out 3 trigger pulls it runs in analog mode.
I just tested the polarity and you are correct but it does both.
Please re-watch the video, because you're missing something. I show ALL FOUR different iterations of digital and analog and switch positions. Analog works in either switch position, and so does digital in either switch position. At the very end, I show that the car, supposedly in "analog mode" will run on the digital track when turned around the wrong direction.
The switch is purely polarity. It's the three pulses of analog power OF THE CORRECT POLARITY that puts the car into analog mode. As soon as it gets a digital signal IN THE CORRECT POLARITY it will go.
Carrera Digital uses opposite of normal track polarity. Turning the car around changes the polarity it receives from the track, which is why flipping the switch is necessary.
Yes , some misconceptions a few hours ago.
My race groups decision is just to stick with analogue after a few issues at digital tracks.
I admit digital has issues. But, as I've said in zoom chats, analog is not without issues. This particular thing is not an issue, just a misunderstanding.
Perfect 👍🏻
Oooohhhhhhh … Now I get it!
on my carrera car i pulled the body off and connected the brushes straight to the motor. now it works on analog.
Other than the functional loss of any lights the car might have, that's the better way to do it, anyway. You can proper control of speed and braking that way.
THANKS! Great information on this as I was wondering if I could run carrera digital cars on my analog track, now do only carrera digital cars have the ability to also run on analog or do other brands have this feature also? Thanks
AFAIK only Scalextric Digital chips will respond to analog power other than Carrera Digital. SCX, Ninco, oXigen, and others don't.
@@ggaub O Cool so if I get a digital Scalextric car I could run it on my normal analog policar track? Just making sure 😁👍
Interesting; yet I bought one on Sunday and didn't change anything but it runs fine on my scalextric Arc Air track; only issue being I had to paint the supplied guide blade black to make it register laps. To be fair though; not sure if my one is digital or simply Analogue; doubt it's digital as it wasn't expensive enough.
Digital or Analog, the switch is polarity. It's a safe bet your car is analog, and the switch had already been set to the correct polarity because the analog cars come with the polarity set to the most common track polarity. The digital cars will come with the switch on the opposite polarity so that it will work on a Carrera Digital track.
Any references to Dave K. last installment of slotcar news is purely casual ;-)
You're right. Had he not mentioned it (and also commented about it when others asked for clarification), I would probably not have felt the need to make this video. Not that I think this video will end the proliferation of the incorrect understanding of what the switch does. This is not the first video about it, nor do I expect it to be the last. It is, and will be, the only video I do about it.
Hello I just spoke to Dennis at Electric Dreams. Please ask him about the digital switch. He completely agreed it is digital to analog. Or on a Carrera analog car if it has a switch it is directional. The engineers at Carrera said it originally was a digital to analog switch but it happens it also is polarity switch by coincidence.
I'm sorry that Dennis also is incorrect about the switch.
Please explain to the world why a carrera digital car, with the switch flipped in the other position, placed on a Carrera digital track the wrong way around, can still be controlled.
I'll wait.
In fact, I won't even say Dennis is wrong, because I didn't hear his explanation. It's entirely likely that his explanation was correct, but that you misunderstood him.
If you read my reply I said I reversed my car on the roller bench and it ran in the opposite direction. But that doesn't change the fact it won't run on my 130 ft digital track.
I missed that performed that test, so thank you for confirming that it will work when turned around on your analog test bench. The next test, which I also show in this video, is to put it the other way around on your digital track, just like I show in my video after I switch to what you think is analog mode. The lap counting and lane changing doesn't work because the IR LED is on the wrong side, but you will be able to drive the car.
Since you can make the car go on analog in either direction depending on the switch position, AND you can make it go on digital in either direction depending on the switch position, this proves that the switch is polarity only. Otherwise, the car would not do one of those things.
The entire point of this video is to show that the car will work on either track and that the only thing changing with the switch is which direction the car needs to point (because that is the polarity we are switching with the switch). I start with "digital mode" switch position, and show the car on my digital track, and then on my analog track without ever flipping the switch. Then I flip the switch, and show the car working on analog and then digital again, without ever changing the switch back.
Please explain to me how the car can work on both analog and digital without flipping the switch. I show this TWICE in my video. The ONLY thing flipping the switch does is to set which way the car needs to point on either track.
I watched it again i do not disagree but on my analog roller test bench the power is analog. My digital cars will not run on the bench. When I turn the switch it does. So to me that means it switched over to analog without 3 pulls of the trigger. And it also reverses polarity. I have just emailed carrera of Germany to confirm .This statement is from carrera. This Carrera Digital 132 Car in 1:32 scale will work on all Carrera Digital slot car tracks. The switch located on the bottom of the car also allows you to switch to analog mode for racing on an Evolution track.
You also did not read my first reply and perform that test, then.
Put the switch back so that the car won't work on your test bench, OK?
Now, put the car back on your test bench the wrong way around. You are effectively only reversing the polarity. I guarantee it will work.
And that response from Carrera is meaningless. It does not say that the switch is between analog and digital, only that it "allows" for racing on Evolution. Why? Because Carrera Digital is the opposite polarity! The same car, placed on the Evolution track BACKWARD, will work without flipping the switch.
Yes the car runs on analog when reversed on the roller bench. But only when the switch is to analog mode. Evolution is analog only. So when I put switch to one side it runs on the Evolution track I have. When I turn it back it does not??
Well I have to say you're videos are awesome. Keep up the great work.
Time to go race ha ha
I wish the best of health and happiness for you and all subscribers. The main thing is to have fun. By for now
Any one tried putting the switch on carrera digital to the other side and seen in analog it won't run on a carrera digital track
My club doesn't run Carrera cars. I've never had luck getting digital cars to run on our track. Hopefully I remember next time.
It depends on what kind of digital it is, but if it was Carrera, flipping that switch should do the trick... assuming you don't want to run it the wrong direction, demolition derby style. ;-)
One thing about Carrera digital cars in analog mode is that the brakes will always be 100%, even if you turn your brake knob down on your analog controller. That might be why some guys don't like it. You can bypass the chip easily by using the plugs inside, if you want proper analog control.
Then again, Carrera cars are on the heavy side, so don't usually get much love from club racers outside of a one make/model class.
I have been running carrera digital for a few years now. And I can prove that the switch underneath is a double acting switch. I have a analog roller test bench. It only supplies analog power. That's a fact !! When the switch is in one position it will not run on the roller bench as it only has analog power supply. When I turn the switch it runs on analog power. Tecks from Germany said it originally was a analog to digital switch. But you are correct it also changes polarity by coincidence. Prove me wrong!!!
Mike
Easy. Leave the switch in "digital" mode, but put the car on your test bench backward (hold the rear wheels in the air if you need to).
If the car was recently on a digital track, you'll need to put it down 3 or 4 times before the motor will go.
If you watched this video from start to finish, I proved it pretty clearly by doing both digital and analog with the switch in both positions.
I agree the switch also is a polarity switch. That is coincidence not by design. I am not able to make a video today. But I will and I will post it. I am amazed that the tecks from the largest slot car stores on the planet are all wrong according to you. Have you talked to other slot car technicians regarding the digital analog switch. Again I say my digital cars do run in the opposite direction when the switch is in the opposite direction.
But I tested it on my digital track. Switch one way no movement switch to the other side it runs on digital.
FACTS:
- The Carrera Digital chip is designed to work on digital when it receives a Carrera Digital signal with the correct polarity.
- The Carrera Digital chip is designed to work on analog when it receives 3 pulses of analog power with the correct polarity.
- Most analog systems/tracks are designed with the negative rail on the left.
- The Carrera Digital system is designed with the negative rail on the right.
In order for the Carrera Digital chipped car to work on EITHER kind of track, the car/chip must get the power with the correct polarity.
Since most people don't want to run on their analog track in the opposite direction from normal, especially if they don't have direction switches on their track, and pretty much no one wants to run their Carrera Digital car in the opposite direction since the lane changing and lap counting would not work, the only solution for the car to work on both types of track, as it was designed to do, is to install a simple polarity switch on the chip.
The reason this is so confusing for so many people, even those in the Carrera company itself, is because of the polarity difference between Carrera Digital track and analog track. If Carrera Digital was constructed with the same polarity (negative on the left) as analog track, then everyone would know that the chip works in both modes, all you have to do is pull the trigger three times on the analog track. But no, they did it backward, and installed the switch, and tell people to "flip the switch to work on analog track," It seems simple and harmless to explain it that way, which is not technically incorrect. But, it leads people to believe the switch is what does the "mode change" between digital and analog, even though it's not. The mode change takes place entirely in the microprocessor of the chip itself, except that it only works (again, for EITHER mode) when the polarity coming into the chip is correct. This is why you can turn the car around on the same track after flipping the switch, and it will still go.
You can sit there flipping the switch and turning the car around all day long, on the same track, and it will never stop working as long as you BOTH flip the switch and turn the car around. Digital track, or analog track, it will only not work if you have the switch flipped the wrong way for the direction you place the car down.
I look forward to your unedited video where you run an unmodified car on your digital track, pick it up, flip the switch, then put it back on your digital track BACKWARDS, and it does not run. I'll be waiting a very long time, because I know it will work.
Regardless of the specific electronic function of the switch, for all practical purposes, it enables the car to run the correct direction on both Carrera Digital and standard analog tracks. It also enables the car to run in the opposite direction on both tracks. :)
Well I think you are deleting my posts with the carrera slots reply regarding the switch. May I ask how you brake in a carbon brush slot car motor.
I have not deleted anything. I'll reply to your Carrera message again, to make it easier to find it.
When I break in a motor, I do so at low voltage with no load for about an hour, then clean it out with a contact cleaner or a dip in IPA. Closed can motors don't need much else. If they don't work well after that, they might as well be replaced. Your mileage may vary, and there are as many break in techniques out there as there are slot car youtubers. If you have a technique you like, I encourage you to make a video about it and share it with the world.
Most of the time, I don't even bother breaking them in. My Thunderslot is the class leader in EMSA right now, and it's pretty much straight out of the box with nothing more than a couple tweaks of the pod and body screws and trued up rear tires.
I don't claim to be an expert in all things slot cars, but I know digital better than most.
I hope my last post from carrera is enough proof
Have you done the test I've suggested twice already, or not?
Carrera's message does not mean the switch is both.
You can prove me right by doing the test I recommended twice.
You can prove me wrong by showing that the car will not work when turned around.
I await your video.
Please don't delete the reply from carrera in Austria
I didn't and won't. Please stop asking me not to.
Please don't delete the reply from carrera in Austria
I didn't and won't. Please stop asking me not to.
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