Does anyone know of a good H/O track building program?

This has one built in, and it's free: http://www.slotcarmanager.de/en/all_frames_e.html
I did mine in it:

http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/be93596244ef76fbf81cc35799fc3cfe5a7fe26.gif

Tracker2000 is fabulous but unfortunately the author quit supporting it and does not make it available. I asked the author if he'd consider open sourcing it but to no avail. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would gladly support it under GPL if he'd let the source out into the public domain. That would be the right thing to do, in my opinion.

I tried the SlotManager program that's linked in SwamperGene's post and had all kinds on problems getting it to run properly. My computer is setup for 120 dpi and that threw the program into a complete twist. With all due respect to whoever wrote it, it's a pretty horrible program from a Windows programming and user interface standards perspective. Disabling the File menu Exit option? Had to forcibly kill it. At least the uninstaller works.

Tracker2000 is fabulous but unfortunately the author quit supporting it and does not make it available. I asked the author if he'd consider open sourcing it but to no avail. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would gladly support it under GPL if he'd let the source out into the public domain. That would be the right thing to do, in my opinion.


When you communicated with Edwin, did he provide any additional information as to why he made the decision to pull the plug on Tracker 2000?

I purchased my copy just days before he closed up shop (was it something I did?) and am so very glad I decided to make the purchase. I had tried the freeware programs and while T2000 seemed expensive, it has been a great program.

Edwin has stated that he will not provide free 'keys' to new users because he doesn't believe that would be fair to those of us who purchased the software, but personally, I would be fine if he were to do that, and really wish he would.

No, he didn't elaborate. I guess you could understand him not wanting to give it away after other people paid for it. I paid for it but I wouldn't feel put out at all if it were now free, or better yet, released as open source so it could be enhanced and ported to other platforms like Linux and Mac. It was definitely the best program in its class. There's been a lot of commercial software that transitioned from being paid for to being open source.

Seems to me one of Edwin's other options is to outright sell the code and it's copyright to another interest. Maybe there's another software engineer out there who would be willing to continue with sales and support of T2000 (???)

Of course, while this sounds like a wonderful idea up front, it would have to make economical sense to the buyer. I don't know what Edwin's reasons for dropping support of T2000 were, but I have a hard time imagining that he would have done so if it were any kind of cash cow.

I have tried to purchase edwins software on several occasions - He has no interest in releasing the source code for any reasonable price.

Thanks

FSMRA

Didn't the USSR backward-engineer rockets and planes that crashed in Russia during the cold war? Can't somebody find a geek that can backward-engineer Tracker 2000?

I'm just saying . . .

Redesigning something that's already been done, especially when there is only a tiny handful of potential customers, is not very attractive, even for geeks who don't have a life. There's far too many other opportunities out there.

keionius,

If you have access to or know someone with Autocad, that would work as one possibility. I have all my files saved that I used in creating my layout and could give you the drawings of the track "pieces".

I run autocad daily.
I have done the track thing with all the peices and such. The problem is the autocad is really hard to master, and is MUCH more expensive.
I find that the easiest way to lay out a track is to GET OUT YOUR PIECES AND DO IT 1:1.
Rant ended

I run autocad daily....GET OUT YOUR PIECES AND DO IT 1:1....Rant ended

I think there is some irony here. :)

"Track design" software actually has a broader appeal. About 10 years ago, we produced a 3D tray routing configuration system called TrayCAD for a company called B-Line. These trays are used in buildings to hold wires and flexible tubes. TrayCAD allows designers to simply draw a center line in AutoCAD and then it picks from all the B-Line tray components and configures the optimal design, then produces a bill of materials. It was a custom project and it wasn't cheap but it gave B-Line a competitive advantage in marketing their trays. I suppose this could be adapted for use with slot car track but the cost would be prohibitive.

I took a few hours a couple years ago and wrote a simple text-based layout program that runs in Excel and produces a plot of the center lines of the track. It accounts for the track width but doesn't plot it. It works for up to 4 lanes and assumes that you are using Tomy track. For example, the letter "B" stands for a 15" straight. The letters "GR" indicate a 12" radius turn to the right. All that nomenclature is spelled out in the spreadsheet. You start by entering your initial inventory in a table. You can put in huge numbers if you don't want to worry about it and just buy the track you need. Then you enter the letters for your track pieces one by one and watch the plot update. A sample is included when it loads. The program provides outputs including overall track dimensions, length, and the final distance between end pieces. The program is actually written in TK Solver and linked with Excel for the interface. If you're interested in trying it, send an email to todd@uts.com asking for the track layout spreadsheet. You will also need to download a free program called "TK Solver Player for Excel" from the http://www.uts.com/Freetrial.asp site that runs the packaged program within Excel. I have no interest in doing any further developments. It was just a little coding puzzle challenge I gave myself one afternoon. I don't consider it "good" but it works.

You could try UltimateRacer 3.0, which is also free. Here is the link:

www.uracerweb.org

There is a support forum on www.Slotcarillustrated.com.

I tried the software and it works okay. It will once in a while do something you don't expect, but you can easily back out one step. It also is a bit quirky with snapping adjacent pieces.

I found one confirmed/unfixed problem. I designed a four lane layout and when I went to put in the last piece, the whole layout went wacko. When I undo the last piece, the layout goes back to normal.

But for free, you can't beat it. Try it. You can always uninstall. I don't think it likes Win98, so you'll have to be at least at Win2000.

Joe