How to convert your Scalextric car to digital

The first thing you have to work out is whatWe find the next stage is best to fit the digital
type of Scalextric car you have is the car achip to the mounts on the chassis. The mounts
Digital Plug Ready (DPR) car,F1 car or does thewill look like two plastic spikes and on the chip
car need one of the chips that require solderingthere will be two groves where the chip fits to
either the F1 chip or the saloon car chip.the mount. Some cars it can be a very tight fit
The digital plug ready cars are very simple andso be careful not to damage the chip in the
can easily be fitted in less than 60 seconds. DPRprocess. Once the chip is securely in place, look
cars have a small trap door behind the guide bladefor the hole behind the guide. There is a possibility
with a single screw to hold the door securely.that there will be mounts for screwing the LED
Simply unscrew the door and you will find a smalldetector in place but do not worry if there is not,
white in colour plug fitted to the door. Removejust make sure the hole is big enough for let the
this plug and discard the trap door then fit theled through the hole and glue in place with strong
white plug to the digital chip C8515. Then replaceglue such as super glue. Only glue around the
the chip in the hole in the chassis and tighten theedges so not to get any glue on the part of the
screw. Then your car is ready to race on yourled that will be visible to the bottom of the car as
digital track. The process is exactly the same forthis can affect the detection of the car on the
the F1 cars that are DPR but with this conversiontrack.
you will require digital chip C8516. You will find theThe final stage will be fitting the wires to the
process a little harder as on the F1 cars there isguide and motor. The guide wires have metal
very little room to place the chip but with a littlecontact for fitting to most modern guides. These
pressure the chip will go in to place correctly andcontact just slip on to the guide from the side
then with the tightening of the screw will ensurethen replace the guide braid disc and this part is
that the chip is flush with the level of the chassis.complete. Pay attention to make sure that the
The second car conversion it is more technicalwires are running as they were when you
and will require soldering and possibly someremoved the old wires. If done correctly the
modelling techniques. As with the DPR cars theguide should be facing straight. If the guide is
Scalextric F1 chip C7005 are smaller due to thepointing either way try to route the wires so to
area contained under the body of the car is veryrectify any deviation from the correct position.
small, thus the chip has to be far smaller Now for the final use of the soldering iron,
compared to the Saloon chip. F1 chips can beattach the motor wires to the motor, only lightly
used on some car where space is at a premiumsolder the wires to ensure that you have then to
like Rally cars and some other single seater cars.the correct points, as it is very simple to wire
For years Scalextric have been adding the chipthen the wrong way round and send you car
mounts to the inside of the chassis of their carsbackwards round the track. So at this point test
and also a small hole for fitting the LED behind thethe car to see if everything is running correctly. If
guide blade with small screw mounts to make thisall ok solder the wires completely and then attach
process easier.the body back to the car an you are ready to go
To start with you will need to remove the bodyrace on your digital track. If the car runs
of your car and then you will be able to seebackwardsun-attach the wires as covered earlier
which chip you will need with the space available.and swap their positions and then solder.
Once you have decided on the chip first look atNow you have completed you first digital
the routing of wires for when fitting the chip youconversion to your Scalextric car using either
will need the wires to follow the current path forC7005 or C7006 digital conversion chip.
the best fit for the chip. This should prevent anyOverall the process is very easy and will just
distorting of the guide due to poor wire mappingrequire a little patience and a steady hand. So if
inside the car. Then you will need to remove theyou find you dream Scalextric car and it is not
wires from the motor this is best done with aDPR then do not worry you can get it racing
soldering iron by melting the existing solder whilearound your Scalextric digital track with a little
gently pulling the wires and then the wires willwork. Also it is possible to convert other makes
come free. The next stage is to remove theof cars to digital but we advise to seek help from
wires completely from the car from the guide.various forums for the correct advice for each
Simply slip the metal plates off the guide and atmake of car as they all vary.
this point the wires can be removed.