Mobile Road Course in the works
Recieved a couple items that will go a long way towards finishing up this project (which will never really be finished) Most importantly the timer from Derby Magic arrived so now it's time to sync it up to the Spool Heads start gate, which is buried within the launch ramp. Basically with the Derby Magic system all of the timing "smarts" are part of the finish gate and since the start gate is from a different company, a micro switch is included to mount somewhere within the start gate to trigger the system. One nice benefit is that I already have a 3 lane Derby Magic timing system on my Buckeye Mountain Raceway straight track and I can use the same software with either track.
Also recieved the race winners dash plaques with the official name and logo for this track. The track name will be "DragonFire International Raceway" with a burning dragon graphic. The plaques are sized to fit onto a 3D printed stand that in turn fits into an acrylic case. We'll note the event and date on the back of the stand.
In case you guys are wondering about the 4'x8' track setup from Spool Heads, here is the link to it. Base price starts at $425.00.
spoolheads.com/products/8x4-track-kit?variant=50279565066521
That is a very sweet layout and looks like it could catch on with others following your path... Plaque is pretty sweet too... Cant wait to see it in action..
Update - being a road course with relatively fast turns it's inevitable that not all cars will be able to hang in the corners so just about every surface that an errant car could hit has been covered or wrapped in carpet or padding. There's still a back board and clear acrylic side boards to install but this track is inching closer to it's completion.
Went to a local toy show today and grabbed a big handful of cheap cars still in the blister and did some more rip n race testing. This track will be fantastic for rip n race events, and will challenge the build theories for the mod crowd. Gonna be fun!
Almost ready for it maiden voyage to a local diecast show on June 1st. It took a few tries to get it right but we were able to add a micro switch to allow the Spool Heads start gate to trigger the Derby Magic timer. After a ton of testing using about 50 cars making multiple runs in each lane, then averaging the results the lanes are running within thousands of each other. Pretty happy with that considering the length and number of turns. We've added a few dragons, a few cars, clear plexiglass on the sides and a giant flame graphic to the back panel.
Still have a few things to do including tie down rings for trailer hauling and a skirt around the lower portion to cover the wood frame.
As always it's hard to get decent pics with our garage lighting, but here are a few.
This is turning out REALLY nicely! Just roll it onto the trailer and go!