New track project

[padirtfan]

So far I'm buying track pieces as I see them on eBay. I had a small Tyco layout so that's what I'm going to use. My plan is to build a small 4 lane oval with approximately 6 foot long straights. I have nine 12 inch radius curves on the way and once they arrive I'll make sure they're all good and that should take care of the curved portion of the track. I'll then need to buys some straights and another Tyco wall wart and controllers. My question is; are the 22 volt Tyco transformers and controllers my best bet for running Tjets? I realize that the Tyco cars and Tjets are very different and at this point I can go in a different direction if I need to. I have no problem so far with the Tyco controllers that I have. I have 4 Parma controllers for my 1/32 scale track and if I decide to move entirely to HO I could redo the resistors if replacement parts are still available but I'm hesitant to do that now since I'm not sure if I'll totally switch to one scale. I run the 1/32 cars on a 13 volt RC car charger power supply (Hobbico) that I've had for years but I'm assuming 13 volts would be too low for Tjets.

Thanks,
Rick

[monte ss]

if you accept my 2 cents tyco wall warts will be fine i would get two terminal tracks and run 1 power pack per lane you will have tons of power for a small track and it will stop the surging when someone deslots i am powering a 20 ft oval with two wall paks and have no probs afx track tyco track connections are not quite as good but if you take a dremil tool with a brass wire wheel and clean up connictions good you will be fine we race at my friends house he has tyco and works good i have cars set up for tyco track and afx track as the rail heights are slightly differant i also have 4 wall paks running 72 feet of afx 4 lane track and have no probs others may say you should get a power supply and i agree it would be nice but you dont need it also if you are going to have beginners running your oval you might want to get the 3 way adjustable power paks from afx so you can set the juice lower on a small oval they would be good just clip the ends and use your tyco plugs

[monte ss]

also i love tyco controllers they have a good feel might have to go through a few of them to get one you like but its good to have spares anyways tyco controllers will run anything from t jets up to super g s there not much good for the new mega g plus they really need the 120 ohm s

[RichD]

T-Jets are normally run at 18-20 volts, they would be slow for adults to drive at 12 volts. We race HO gravity and G-Jet type cars at 12 volts, once in a while after we are done racing those we forget to turn the voltage back up and the cars are VERY slow.

[padirtfan]

Thanks for the input. I think the 12 inch radius curves should arrive tomorrow. Once I clean them up and check the electrical connections to make sure they're ok I'll dive back into eBay for a Tyco transformer, 2 more controllers and enough straights to get a 4 lane layout together. After that I can just expand as needed and start building more cars.

Rich D, Thanks for pointing me towards Big Donkey Resins. Larry hooked me up with three bodies already and I'm sure I'll buy more. I'm building a Buzzie Reutimann coupe at the moment and I'm trying to summon enough courage to get back into hand lettering the little cars like I used to when I was 20.

Rick

[RichD]

It would be nice if the HO bodies were listed on the Big Donkey site, but I'm glad that they are still available. There was a time when I could hand letter HO cars, but that is long past. Polecat is the place to go to find decals for vintage '60s and '70's modifieds.

[Nitromancer]

I just did something similar. On a small track 22 volts might make Aurora t-Jet cars a bit too fast.

I just made a portable self contained track to test revived Aurora cars and also for novices and kids to race on.
I ended up using Aurora AFX wall warts that are 16 volts. Buying four at $10 each plus shipping is going to be close to the cheap adjustable voltage power supplies.
If you want to try one of the AFX Wall Warts & Aurora Russkit controller send me a message.

Here’s my track

https://www.hrwforum.com/forum/hrw-s...-lane-ho-track

[monte ss]

this is why i sugessted the new afx tri power paks i think they are 12 16 and 22 volts short of a real power supply at least you would have some adjustment and they are really no more expensive then buying tyco paks also autoworld paks are 16 volts and prop could find them for free or almost

[padirtfan]

Update, as of today I've accumulated enough Tyco track to make a 4 lane oval with the inside using 9 inch radius turns and 7 foot straights. Some of the track is pretty dirty and the rails are slightly oxidized so I'm lightly scraping the rails with a razor blade and hitting the metal end tabs with a dremel and then wiping the track down with WD40. I need to decide whether to totally remove my Artin 4 lane 1/32 scale track or just take out the two inner lanes and put the HO four lane inside the 1/32 two lane track. Are there any other tricks to cleaning up the track or am I using the right approach?

Rick

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Back when I was an HO guy, all my track was Aurora. I cleaned the rails with a gray ink eraser, and that lasted months and months. Using the standard office equipment size, I could clean two rails as a time easily without much pressure in a single stroke. Maybe that will work for you.

I forgot to mention, there is a product called "Rail Zip" to put on the rails after cleaning. It makes the cleanup last lots longer and helps with conductivity.

[Norman]

Don't use anything abrasive if you can help it.

An ink eraser works very well cleaning the rails.

[padirtfan]

Thanks for the advice. I ditched the exact knife and found an ink eraser laying around and it's doing the trick nicely. I'm also going to order some rail zip. I got a bunch of track cleaned up today using the eraser and WD40. My next big project is going to be dismantling the 1/32 scale Artin track and storing it away.
Thanks for all the input so far,
Rick

[padirtfan]

Today I put together the track pieces that I have to test out the power supply and controllers and realized that if I use the Tyco power tracks my inside lanes will run in reverse of my outside lanes. I'm assuming I can simply swap the + and - leads at the plug from the transformer to correct this without frying anything, correct?
Rick

[monte ss]

you dont have to cut any wires just trim the tab off the tyco plug then it will go in the terminal track socket both ways

[monte ss]

sorry forgot about the v notch willl have to file a notch to flip it ive done it but easier to just cut wires and switch em also tyco makes a power pak that runs the other direction from regulars it has a orange sticker on it comes in some tyco 4 lane track sets