| Copyright (c) 2005, 2006 by Steve Sawtelle - All Rights Reserved. |
| Copyright (c) 2006 by Slot Car Corner L.L.C. - All Rights Reserved. |
| Recently I attended a "Routing Clinic" hosted by Dick McManus (aka "McMannix") - a member of the Shoreline Model Raceways club. Rather than just discuss routed track building techniques, Dick constructed a small Figure 8 track surface from scrap 1/2" MDF beforehand. During the class, participants took turns actually laying out both lanes and then routing the slots. Hands on is a great way to learn - no doubt there will be more routed tracks as a result of Dick's excellent instruction. |
| Note: Click on the pictures to see a larger version. Use the browser's "Back" button to return to this article. |
 When
the class was over, Dick
graciously offered the track to anyone who might want to finish taping
and wiring it. Andy White (my brother-in-law) took Dick up on his
offer so into the back of the pickup track the partially completed track
went. This would be our first attempt at actually taping a routed
track (for the record, Dick is planning to offer a follow-on class in
the near future which covers
taping and wiring...). The taping was actually very
straightforward; however, some additional thought and care was in order
for the crisscross section. It was important to leave sufficient
gaps between sections of tape to ensure there were no short circuits
when a car's guide passed through the "crosses". The taped track,
ready for wiring, is shown in the accompanying picture. |
 Here
is a picture which shows a close-up of the crisscross section. If
you look closely, you can see the gaps in the taping at each of the
"crosses". Again, this was intentional to prevent short circuits. |
 The
next step was to wire the track. Normally this would be pretty
straightforward; however, once again the crisscross section would demand
additional attention. The gaps in the copper tape in effect
created several "dead strips". Each of these dead strip areas
would require a power tap (2 wires - one for the positive "rail" (copper
tape) and one for the negative "rail"). Each lane would also
require 2 additional sets of power taps - one set on either "side" of
the crisscross. The picture shows the completed wiring -
unfortunately it is difficult to glean much useful information from the
picture. |
| To provide interested readers with a more thorough understanding of how the crisscross section (along with the rest of the track) was wired, I have prepared a detailed wiring diagram. To view the diagram, click on the link below. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the diagram - if you don't already have Acrobat Reader (it's free), I have provided a link to Adobe's website below. |
| Crisscross Wiring |
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