Hello gettleman,

This is my first post. I'am re-living my youth and going to built the track that
all of us guy wished we had in them early years. (I'am talking 1960-1965)

I have been collecting for the past couple of year ,to add to my own track from my youth. Anyhow what I 'am going to build is the 8 lane track that is in the aurora blue track layout book from (1960/1965). I have all the track plus
(alot extra) what my question is what can I use for a power supply? I have serveral aurora tramsformers but I don't want to use 4- or more of them I want to use 1 unit that can handle the whole track.

Also I 'am changing 1 thing on the track layout and that is I'am going to add
the service road turn offs for each lane to act as the pit turn outs.

Your advise is needed. By the way this is the HO scale track!

Thanks

8 laner sounds like a cool deal. got any pics of the layout?
I use batteries for my power supply.
2 12v in series. I use a rheostat to dial the voltage down, works great.
You may want some other variable voltage power though.
There are several available which Im sure plenty of guys here can tell you about.
You may require several power taps around the layout with that style track.

More power to ya.
and welcome to HobbyTalk
Rich

here is a picture of the track I'am going to build

Hey Catman,
Try looking on Alan Galinko's site. He has a power supply that a lot of us use on our tracks and it's adjustable. Here is a link to his site.

http://agg.fsmra.com/aggstore/

Hey Catman,
Try looking on Alan Galinko's site. He has a power supply that a lot of us use on our tracks and it's adjustable. Here is a link to his site.

http://agg.fsmra.com/aggstore/

That's the right one to get. :thumbsup:

Model # PS-10 M - Adjustable 0-20 VDC 10Amp Continuous (http://agg.fsmra.com/aggstore/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=28)

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Great idea for a layout. May want to try posting that pic again, I don't see that attachment or pic. :) rr

Thanks for the replies , I took a look at that power supply , will that handle
this 8 lane layout ?

It's got 10 amps and that's plenty of power for all 8 lanes.
The commercial tracks I race at use that power supply to power 2 tracks at the same time.

But the best thing about it is adjustable voltage.
20 volts for T-Jets, 18 volts for Super Stock and magnet cars, 12 volts for G-Jets,
or anywhere in between for inexperienced racers.

The price is right too at $140.

Here's another power supply like it.
MG Electronics PS-10AD Regulated and filtered power supply (http://www.kcnproducts.com/KCN-Products-MG-Electronics-PS-10AD-p/kcn-ps-10ad.htm)

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Hi,

on my 1/32 track I use 14v 8amp (regulated "pro" power supply) for 3lanes. But I think I'll try it on my 4lanes h0 track too (where I use 4 standard wall packs for the moment). It's really cheap, since it's not adjustable.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l8/slotdem/pic_0228.jpg



But perhaps 14volt should be enough "all around" to handle a lot of chassis ? I have to test it.

Only 8 lanes?

Just kidding, that's a monster track. AB Charles in Pittsburgh has (had?) a 10 lane monster TJet track:

http://www.ab-charles.com/slotcars/images/sc05.jpg

From a purely racing perspective anything beyond 4 lanes tends to result in a somewhat chaotic racing experience, with 6 lanes being on the borderline between fun to run on and somewhat crazy. Marshaled races usually have one turn marshal per driver. Crash & burn, no marshals required unless you remove the dead wood during the race.

I imagine you have a buttload of track and are looking for a way to consume a lot of it. I think you may have found a way! While the layout has nostalgic significance, being in the book and all, there are a couple of aspects that I would be concerned about if this were my track.

First, on a roughly 12 by 6 table, this is going to result in nearly edge to edge track with very little room for any scenery. If scenery is not your thing, problem solved.

The other thing is if this is old style lock & pin MM track, that's a huge number of joints to contend with. That old track was finicky and getting good solid electrical connections and mechanical alignment is going to be a challenge. I had a 4 lane MM track on a single 4x8 slab of plywood and I needed to add an extra set of taps at the midway point. I used the old screw type terminal track sections to add the taps. On a 4-lane track this was not a problem because the terminal tracks could be placed anywhere. With 8 lanes you have 4 interior lanes that make adding taps using terminal tracks a bigger challenge. That Aurora layout is split to accommodate the taps for the middle lanes. To add another set for the interior lanes will require another split in the design if you want to use the same strategy that Aurora used. The other strategy would be to solder taps to the rails, either underneath, at the joints, or using drop taps. You could also try to go without extra taps. If you do a really, really good job of preparing the joints at the onset and have a very controlled environment, no humidity issues or wide temperature swings, the power should be okay for a while and you can address taps if you develop dead or flat power in some areas. I would do one set of taps from the git go and not have to worry about power delivery.

Good luck and welcome back!

This is going to be a massive undertaking for sure!! Absolutely check and double check every joint for clean, properly adjusted tabs. Another must is checking joint to joint for smooth transitions and proper locking. As far as the service road turn offs, I would try one set before the huge outlay for 8 pairs. They run about 45.00 a set. I had a couple and they were know to cause occasional deslots. Making 8 pit rows accessible is another issue that will need to be well thought out. HO Models sells an add on piece that will allow you to make them automated via model RR switch machines, but these will add another 10.00 per pit for the bracket, and another ??? for 16 switch machines. :freak:

Best of luck with this project, and as we always say... "We're a visual bunch"... We like to look at the pictures!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Again thank you for the replies, I know it is going to be an interesting venture but I have to go for it. As for the service road turn outs I already have all of them, the layout will end up being longer in length by the time
I get them all installed.

One other question is all the track is in almost perfect condition and alot is NOS however I want clean all of it so what do you guy recommend for cleaning ???

Just wondering if a LAMBDA VARIABLE 0–20 VOLT POWER SUPPLY 9 AMP

do the same job as other power supplies?

http://www.trackmateracing.com/a_support_slot_cars_dp3000_software.asp here one for 135.00 and it is 10 amp . I got one and i love it . lendell

CA-,

The Lambda will do an excellent job...

Just wondering if a LAMBDA VARIABLE 0–20 VOLT POWER SUPPLY 9 AMP do the same job as other power supplies?

Sure. As long as you are not intending to go above 20V. Whether it's 9A or 10A is a moot point because 99.99% of the time you'll never even see 3A being drawn. Plus, Lamda is a top shelf quality product. A brand new Lamda 0-20V, 10A benchtop variable power supply would set you back around $1000.