Years ago in the 60's when people lived close together like apartments, etc. when kids played w/ their slot car tracks it caused interference with neighbor's TV.
In this day & age I have learned when I run my sets in the shed it messes up my digital converter box! More things change, the more they stay the same.
--fordcowboy

Lendell,
NS? Check your grounds. :freak: Dave

In 2009.. i play with my track..and.. it messes up my neighbor's t.v. and radio! I try to keep it late night but.....:thumbsup:

Ahhh, yes!!!! The dreaded static interference of the transformers.... Many a TV show ruined by the two train/slot demons (me and my younger brother) in the basement!!:lol: Our running would be interrupted by my mothers pounding on the floor over our heads!!! I'm not sure what I did to stop the interference here... We had a problem with it initially when I put up my small table, but when I built the larger table it disappeared. I'm not complaining it's gone.. I got tired of the TM yelling at me to shut it down!! :thumbsup:

Guys, Actually, the interference comes from using a cheap power source AKA wall wart, and the arcing of the pick-up shoes and the arcing of the brushes across the gaps in the com plate, AND he said there was also some back feed from the little motor too. Don't ask me how or why, I had an electrical guru explain it all to me and it left me disconbobulated for a week!

partspig

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It really didnt matter out in the boondocks of Wa. Our crappy arse B&W TV didnt get decent reception anyway. Any interference might have been a welcome improvement over re-runs of I Love Lucy, Bonanza, Perry Mason and gulp.....Jerry Lewis Telethons. Come to think of it...:rolleyes:... crappy TV technology may have actually saved my eternal soul in the long run. :hat:

I am fondly reminded of mom or dad banging on the floor to knock it off...

Everytime Jimmy, Gus and I are running oldschool vibe cars, Robi hollers up and sez it screws up the cable...I just floor it and kill my "television"! :tongue:

LOLOLOLOLOL!

Ahhh, yes!!!! The dreaded static interference of the transformers....
The interference is not coming from transformers. It's coming mostly from the electric motors. The type of motors used in slot cars generate electrical arcs when running. These arcs generate lots of interference, as do the sparks between the pickup shoes & the rails. This interference gets onto the track rails which act like antennas radiating the interference for all to enjoy. 1/32 motors have EMI filters mounted near the motor contacts. HO cars typically don't have them. Although, Tyco did make a car called the 440X3 that was basically a 440X2 with a capacitor across the brush barrels to meet some Euro EMI standard. I think that the X3 was available only in Europe. Your best option, IMO, is to put capacitors across the rails of each lane (underside, of course) every 10 ft or so (say, at every power tap). I'd go with capacitors in the range of 0.01 uF to 0.1 uF.

The funny thing is now there is no interference on the TV!! The capacitor solution wouldn't work in my case because they are (for the most part I believe) polarity sensitive. I am occasionally changing the direction of travel on my table for racing and 2 way operation for when the trains are running..The mystery remains on what I did differently this time around, and I'm not complaining. I seem to remember reading something about coiling the power cords as it acts like a choke and eliminates the interference. All my transformers (9 as it stands now) are coiled up for neatness reasons.... Maybe it helps??? I dunno. But I don't want to upset a balanced applecart..

Use a standard mica cap little round orange flat disk shape, no polarity. The can types are electrolitic type and are polarized

Yup!! I forgot the mica cap's are not polarized.. I have no static issues now, so I'm not sweatin' it! :thumbsup:

The funny thing is now there is no interference on the TV!!
I was suggesting the capacitors for fordcowboy, the OP, who DOES seem to still have interference.

The capacitor solution wouldn't work in my case because they are (for the most part I believe) polarity sensitive.
Only electrolytic caps are polarized. You wouldn't want to use them anyway. They have very poor performance at EMI frequencies. They're primarily used in applications like power supplies.

If still on antenna TV, isn't the interference stronger on either the higher or lower channels? I have an old B&W TV next to the track which uses rabbit ears. I think I can recall channel 2 getting more interference than channel 13.

Joe

If still on antenna TV, isn't the interference stronger on either the higher or lower channels? I have an old B&W TV next to the track which uses rabbit ears. I think I can recall channel 2 getting more interference than channel 13.

Joe

Hey Joe, Your handle fits you. Go get a cable or satellite dish will ya? They have more than 13 channels now.

When sabre toothed t-jet-a-saurs roamed the earth :tongue:
LOLOLOLOLOL!

That was only a hint of things to come. Parents worst nightmares were realized with the introduction of Ideal's TCR "Jam" car. It quickly earned its name by "jamming" TV reception all over the US and Canada. Why, I've heard of entire blocks disturbed with the interference. That little circuit board on top is a mystery to this day. Originally touted as a control to limit the speed of the car, the device has been discovered to be a Nielsen's rating transmitter.

Big brother has been watching all along.

Rich :cool: