Scalextric Digital Chip in your what?

[Zippideedooda]

Hey just wondering what you may have put the Scalextric Digital Chip into besides one of their DPR cars. I was working on putting a Slot.It axle assembly into a Ninco Mosler M900 this morning and looking at all that space between the motor and the front axle. Plenty big enough for a 8515 chip module.
What have you stuck a chip into that wasn't there before? Would love to hear and see some photos of how you did it.

[cbiesecker]

Here is a photo of a ScaleAuto Corvette CR.7 with a C8515 Rev H installed. I used some styrene tubing to make two mounting supports. I had to mount it at an angle so the chip would fit without conflicting with the chassis or body. The two supports are glued to the chassis with super glue, but the chip is glued down with a bit of Shoe Goo.

I also had to remove the IR LED from the chip. I attached it with some leads so that the LED could be mounted in the chassis just behind the guide flag. The plug was removed from the chip and I attached the guide and motor wires directly to it as there were clearance issues with the body and plug. Lastly I had to construct my own ferrite men for noise suppression on the guide and motor leads.

[Zippideedooda]

Nice job on the installation cbiesecker! I bought an NSR Corvette C7R back in November of last year, then went digital on my layout this month. I was hoping to convert it to digital someday, but wasn't sure how to do this with the motor pod being there. Your example is just a perfect solution to my delema.
Was removing the chip and the IR from the cover difficult? Anything to watch out for?
And what are these ferrite men you refer to? Are they the metal probes you inserted into the wire plugs?
Sure glad you posted pictures with your post. Thanks.

[cbiesecker]

Figuring out how to install decoders is one of the aspects of this hobby that I enjoy most.

To remove the chip from the plastic cover, I use a hobby knife to slice of the little bits of melted plastic from the mounting posts on the top side of the chip. I then use a plastic handle from a paint brush to carefully "pop" the chip free. Don't use anything metal as it can damage the chip.

To remove the IR LED, I use a solder sucker to remove most of the solder, and then with the soldering iron to keep any solder that's left molten, I'm able to work the IR free. Be sure to note which pin from the IR LED goes into which hole on the chip as the LED will only work if its connected back up the same way. I use the same technique for removing the white plastic socket from the chip. I pull the socket off and leave the pins in the chip, then I remove most of the solder with the solder sucker, and then the pins are worked out one at a time.

With regards to the ferrite men, Scalextric DPR cars come with them already installed on the guide and motor leads. But cars from other manufacturers typically don't have them. I use a small binocular ferrite core and 0.01 uF, 100VDC capacitor to make my own. I ordered my parts from Mouser. The ferrite men help protect the decoder from unwanted signal noise generated by the motor and from the guide.

For cars that have room in the base of the chassis to mount the decoder in the same orientation as if it were a DPR car, I use a slightly different method. Instead of removing the chip completely from the plastic cover, I instead use a razor saw and cut along the inside face of the cover so that the little posts remain attached to the chip. Be careful to not nick the IR LED when cutting. Then I find a good location in the chassis, drill the 3mm hole for the LED, and since the proper sized stand-offs are still attached to the chip it just drops right in and is secured with a few drops of super glue. I'll try take some photos of one of those cars and post it up to the thread.

Chris

[cbiesecker]

Here are some photos of an Avant Slot Peugeot 908. There wasn't a whole lot of room to fit the chip and ferrite men. I left the mounts on the chip, but removed the cover. I put the ferrite men on long leads so they could be tucked in the back where there was more room. I also added a few pieces of styrene to lift the chip up from the base of the chassis. There is a chassis rib that runs under the chip that I wanted to leave in place.

Chris