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Digital - what's it all about? |
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| Many
people have been talking about the release of the new digital systems
due this year, with Carrera, SCX and Scalextric all announcing new
products and making claims about what they will do. Although some
information is available we thought we would try and clear up some
of the questions we have been asked by producing this feature on the
subject. The latest Tuckers Tips also has some valuable insight from
Matt Tucker. What digital promises is much more exciting racing, especially for the home circuit, with 4 cars and more able to race on a 2 lane layout with the exciting capability to overtake, stop for pitstops and take your racing as far as your imagination can take it. SCX Digital It looks like SCX will be first with their system, with the product already out in Spain they will steal a march on the competition no doubt, and those who really want to start digital racing with up to 6 cars on 2 lanes may well go for their offering. All reports and early feedback indicate the system is excellent, a lot of fun and very reliable. Its not that cheap, but you get what you pay for and it is a sophisticated package which contains a lot of equipment (see below), 2 sets and 6 cars to choose from initially, all good news - yes in the main, downsides are you need to buy specific digital SCX cars and the system is not backwardly compatible with existing SCX track, cars or controllers and will not work with other manafactures products. So it may not be for everybody, but for those willing to invest in state of the art racing at home, it will be a winner we are sure. |
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are 2 sets, as follows: SCX Digital System (DTM) SCX10000 1 x Control Unit 3 x Electronic Digital Hand Throttles 1 x Digital Lap Counter 1 x Audi TT- R DTM 1 x Opel Astra DTM 1 x Mercedes CLK DTM 1 x Electronic Transformer 6 x 360mm Standard Straights 2 x 180mm Straights 4 x Changeover tracks 1 x Control Unit Terminal Track 8 x Standard Curves 7 x Tapering Borders with barriers 8 x Standard Curve Borders with barriers 295.99 GBP (Lots of loyalty points to be earned! 
SCX Digital System (Rally) SCX10010 1 x Control Unit 2 x Electronic Digital Hand Throttles 1 x Citroen Xsara WRC 1 x Subaru Impreza WRC 1 x Electronic Transformer 5 x 360mm Standard Straights 4 x Changeover Tacks 1 x Control Unit Terminal Track 8 x Standard Curves 195.99 GBP
All the products will be available to enable 6 car racing, listed below:
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| Carrera
Digital Carrera are a quality manufacturer who sell an awful lot of sets in Europe, with the UK becoming a steadily growing market for the German company they also plan to introduce their digital PRO-X system later in the year. The Carrera system means you can race up to 4 cars at once, the cars are new and not backwardly compatible, but you can add to your existing Carrera system the 'digital' components to make overtaking possible. One product they will be releasing, that is an excellent by-product of the digital development, is a working pitlane. This system is really limited to users of Carrera track as althought the technology can be used with other track systems there are currrently no readily available track convertor sections. Their first digital set is Evolution PRO-X (30100) and contains the following: 1 x Ferrari F2002 V10 1 x McLaren Mercedes MP 4/17 6 x Standard Straights 1 x Connecting track with Black Box 2 x PRO-X lane change sections 10 x 1/60 Curves 2 x Mech Speed Controllers 1 x Transformer Guardrails Track section interlocks Spare sliding contact 175.99 GBP
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| Scalextric
Digital As you would expect, Hornby have responded with the announcement of their own Scalextric digital system expected in the final quarter of the year, they are quoting September currently. 6 cars can race at the same time with special track sections allowing drivers to switch lanes and overtake by pressing a button on the new Sport digital hand throttles. The system is fully compatible with the Scalextric Sport track and it should work with any track system that can be connected to Scalextric Sport track (i.e. Scalextric Classic, SCX Standard (not digital) and Ninco). Although their will be special cars available, the micro chips will be available separately to retro-fit to the more recent Scalextric car releases. Sport Digital will offer 9 different race modes and the hand throttles will have adjustable settings. There will be a ready to race set (C1044) available, not many details published yet, but it which will contain the following: Track configuration equivalent to the X3 Set configuration 2 x Racing Curve Crossover Point Change tracks 1 x Transformer 2 x Hand Throttles, 1 x Porsche Boxster 1 x Audi TT £165.99
Again all the components will be available separately, their will be a new transformer required to allow 6 cars at once, the set will allow 3 out of the box. Sport World has also been announced from Scalextric, a new product which is a combination of software, hardware and a dedicated website that allow users access to a huge array of race management functions, including performance tuning and analysis of detailed racing stats, and eventually the ability to race against other users online. |
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| So
what's the bottom line… the technology is pricey and may not be for
everyone, but we think it will be great fun. Because of the dominance
of the brand many will expect Scalextric to emerge as the leaders
in this new technology especially with the system being backwardly
compatible. Ultimately it will be the best system that gets adopted
by most. There is a bit of watch this space for a while and as soon
as we have more we will report back. One thing is for sure, that slot car racing and collecting is surely going through one of its most purple patches to date. All the investment going into product development can only be good for the hobby in the long term… exciting times… To make finding the digital products easier we have added three new manufacturers SCX Digital, Carrera Digital and Scalextric Digital |
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Back to the What's New Archive >> Back to the GetSlotted Home Page - Scalextric and Slot Cars Galore >> |
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