[yuk17bandit]

Looking for some idea's to pass on to my local track; where our scoring loop is under the carpet can also be called a speed bump. We can't cut into the floor so is there another trick to getting that smoother?
I’m not sure about the amb tech stuff, but could thinner wire be used? Anything special about the wire? Our tracks main thing is trucks so the loop isn’t as noticeable as it is with the pan cars. So any advice would help.

We use, CRC rubber backed carpet, rolled out in a gym.
Thanks
Brian

 

[Tommygun43]

I believe one trick is cut a groove with a circular saw for the wire to sit in. I'm pretty sure you can use smaller wire also, not positive though.

 

[Brad Sousa]

use pvc pipe and make a long loop that you can stand up above the track about a foot to a foot and a half. kind like a long bench you would sit on with legs on each end. easy to make and cheap and goes together and comes apart real easy and the cars will score as they go under. just wrap the timing loop around the pvc and you'll be all set no more bump. juts my .02 cents but will work and eliminate bump. Brad

 

[Brad Sousa]

i'm not 100% sure but i do believe the timing loop has to stay with the same wire i don't think you can replace it.

 

[swtour]

I direct the South-West Tour Oval Series, we are a travelling series and most of the time we are setting up temporary tracks.

I've been using AMB scoring for over 10 years and have NEVER used a loop wire supplied by AMB.

In general I like to use the smallest speaker wire I can find. This is usually the 2 wire stuff...and lays really flat. I like it cause it's CHEAP. Most of the time we clean the surface and duct tape this right to the track surface.

AMB reccommends a resistor inbetween 2 wires at the center of the loop. I've never used this. I always just loop a single piece of wire.

Where you are putting yours under carpet, I'd lay the wire down and solder bannana connectors to the end and make yourself a quick plug hookup.

On mine, I just strip back about 1 1/2 inches of insulation and fold the bare wire up a little. I do use new style AMB coax cable (the Yellow cable that has the 2 small wires at the end) I use alligator clips on the ends of those wires and just clip them to the loop wire.

I've used this method w/ the old AMB8800 system with the AMB20 converter, the actual AMB20 system and currently with the AMBrc system using personal transponders.

 

[McLin]

At Cooper's, Norris cut two grooves in the track with a Cir. Saw and put a length of zip wire (like you find on a lamp) in it. If one ever went bad, there was a back up already there. It's worked for about 15 years now.

At Thunder Road, Ernie used a saw and cut the groove for the loop before he laid the carpet. Laid the wire, and filled the groove back in with buddy to prevent any bumps. Works fine.

 

[burbs]

yuk the triclone has the loop in a groove in the cement.. outside its burried in the asphalt, indoors they put it in a slot.. i dont know if it was cut after of if they put it between two slabs. we use to have the loop on the other side, and they used a pvc bridge..

Also you can use diff wire then is supplied.. on our outdorr track i know they used silicon wire like we use on our esc's// the burried a pvc pipe then ran the wire through it..

 

[Echeconnee]

if the track is not too wide you can use 18 ga wire and leave off the resistor. You can get this wire from radio shack, though you may have to order it.

 

[Brad Sousa]

did not know you could use different wire for the loop good to know now. i think the guy that asked the question is rolling the carpet out in a gym so i don't think he can do and cuts in the floor. your best bet would be the pvc bridge only way to go.and will get rid of that bump in the carpet...

 

[NASCR3]

Taking from what we've done at Racing City Hobbies for years there are a few different ways to go. Currently we have a permanent track on a sub floor, that being the case we were able to cut a groove in the sub floor and lay the loop in the groove then we put GE silicone over it to level the groove like bondo on a car, to not have a bump there. I believe we use 16ga. wire. It's very small but works perfectly. The other method we've tried before for non-permanent tracks is a scoring loop bridge over the front stretch or also use the same 16ga. wire and use duct tape to tape the loop to the back side of the carpet. Hope these help

 

[harringBONE]

i have seen flat wire used for home theater. try this stuff:
http://www.goestores.com/catalog.aspx?Merchant=southwirecompany&DeptID=230829

 

[mr_meat68]

our local track uses one piece of 18 awg solid thermostat wire. duct taped to the bottom of the carpet. this carpet also get rolled up every week.

 

[swtour]

I've also never had a problem with Length of the wire.

I stretch the thinnest wire possible across the surface of a Bicycle VELODROME. I would guess the track is 30 ft. wide, but it uses just about 2/3rds of a 100 ft. roll and I have about 2+ ft. of wire outside the fence, plus I run the loop about 12" wide.

Something else I played with a few years ago was stainless steel fishing line...this worked AWESOME, but was too expensive and I couldn't get the wire cleanly back out of the duct tape.

Just remember, the LOOP is just an Antenna. THE Bigger the Wire, the CLOSER you can get it to the Transponder...the better reception you get. (On the ground w/ a chassis mounted Transponder will be closer than a transponder mounted higher and going under a bridge. ( I Have Had some issues using a bridge)

 

[IndyRC_Racer]

This may be a little off topic, but tech the pan car's ride height. I race a track on a gym floor and there is a bump where the loop is. The only cars that have a problem with this bump is the cars that are too low. Pan car racers always want to run their car as low as they can (usually for good reasons) but some guys go overboard in slamming their cars to the ground.

Now if the bump is truly upsetting the handling of the cars, then follow the advice that has been posted. I can find out what our track director uses, because I'm sure it is the cheapest thing that he can afford that works.

 

[swtour]

INDYRACER,

I screwed up once last year...and used HUGE speaker wire on the VELO...(It was only about 1/8th of an inch thick...) It was a LAUNCH RAMP. Them 60 mph Velo cars flew...it was UgLy

 

[yuk17bandit]

thanks

Thanks every one.
I think I’m going to find some thinner wire 18g and give that a shot. The wire our track uses isn’t that bad, but it isn’t that good, if there's a cheap way to make it better, I’m in :thumbsup: ...
Thanks all

 

[swtour]

I'll have to look, but I think the speaker wire I use is .22 Ga.

 

[burbs]

yUK, im not sure how the carpet is cut or rolled out, but ive also seen tracks do this.. Cut a slice into the carpet.. run the wire in between the two pieces under the tape.. if the wire is the same thickness as the rug, you will never notice it..Just make sure the wire is straight, and the to pieces are tight to it..

 

[marvin06]

train wire works great. it is about a thin as you can get. lay the wire, use duct tape to secure.

 

[ohiorcracer]

Yeah just use small speaker wire and the loop down and the loop up cannot be more than 18 1/4" apart or it wont read it correctly. I have built 2 banked r/c tracks and that is what we used.