I spent this evening adding a slide guide to one of my JL X-Traction chassis and then running it on my Artin 1/43rd layout. I tried it with a few different bodies. It really works excellent. The cars can swing its back end out about 80 degrees and stil pull itself back straight. And it is super smooth and quiet.

http://members.cox.net/micyou3/JL Slide Glide 01.JPG

http://members.cox.net/micyou3/JL Slide Glide 02.JPG

See I'm still playing with HO, and I probably will more now that I can do HO and 1/43rd on the same track.

Whoa, those lead wires are huge.

Wow,that's pretty neat.Didn't know you could do that on the Aurora/AFX type cars.

One more thing to tinker with in the future.

Mike

AfxToo,

The leads are super soft and flexible, and come in the kit. The wire strands also serve as the pick-up.

On my next one I am going to try and make adaptors out of old pick-up shoes to bring the wire connections more up under the body. This one is fine for some body styles, but if the body sides don't come down far enough you see the yellow wire too much.

Anyone know where I can get some supersoft flexible wire in a thinner gage? I think I would like to try it.

Found the wire I want at McMaster-Carr.com. I will also try Radio Shack during my lunch break.

Yeah, I see exactly why Ed chose such a heavy guage wire. My thoughts exactly on the use of old pickups to make tabs. My concern is with body mounting, not so much appearance. I was trying to think up a way to get the connections for the SlideGuide up through from underneath in front of the front magnet. Drill some holes kind of like the old FlameThrowers and run a much thinner wire up through the bottom and solder the SlideGuide on top. You could even mount some test point taps for a PCB in the hollow in front of the magnet.

I'll have to get a SlideGlide and start playing.

Radio shack sells test meter leads that are super flexible.

I am planning on soldering an old pick-up shoe to where I have the yellow wire soldered now and run it flat against the bottom and ben it up in front of the chassis where that 45 degree angle is in front of the magnet. Then bend it forward to give me a tab to solder to. I guess I will get some stiff thin single strand wire also, in case I can't bend the pick-up the way I want to.

That's cool.. I didnt know that you can do that on HO chassis.. I am curious can you put body on it - those wires is in the way or?

Wes

I was thinking of an L-shaped copper strip where the long side runs along the side of the chassis (superglued) parallel to the gearplate with a much smaller side of the L going down with a little 90 degree fold under chassis with just enough metal to solder it to the metal pickup shoe holders in a way that still allows standard pickups to be mounted.

Here's a prehistoric diagram showing the L strip from the passenger's side view of chassis (front of chassis to the right):

__________
|_________| <-- long side of L glued to side of chassis
| | <-- short side of L
- <-- folded tab to solder to chassis conductor

Wish I could draw a 3D diagram here. You could also use this same metal tab setup to mount shunts for racing.

You may also be able to use desoldering braid as a conductor bus and superglue it to the side of the chassis. Either of these options would probably require cutting those little light wire nubs off the side of the chassis.