Derby Talk

So it appears that the general consensus is, that will all other things being equal, a grooved axle is the way to go when using oil. Now, is the grooved axle better than the non-grooved axle because the contact patch is so much smaller, or because the groove allows "extra" oil to cling to ...

Just my opinion... our cars have progressively gotten faster and faster each year - the cars that took first and second place in the adult division at the Mid America Pinewood Derby - As well as the cars that took first and second place in the qualified scout division and the fifth place car in the...

K, Now in my own experience, I have not really seen any real gains over grooved axles with graphite. But I have seen gains with larger grooved axles with graphite. meaning stock grooved axles, I have not. But others may have. The larger grooved axles with graphite I have. And yes, grooved axles wit...

Generally speaking... Tim, we had come to believe that the conventional wisdom was that no grooves are preferred with graphite. The explanation seemed that there was a potential to over-lubricate by trapping excess graphite in the grooves, taking more runs to get up to maximum speed. We have very l...

Generally speaking, and with all things being equal, and with wheels that are essentially BSA stock, would grooved or non-grooved axles be faster for graphite? If we get lucky and get the graphite-only restriction lifted for next year, would grooved or non-grooved axles be faster for oil?

Thanks.

My fault for not being clear: my Pack uses GPRM, but I am not the person that runs it. I am hoping that, once I set the hardware settings on our actual Pack's GPRM race computer, there isn't something else I am unaware of that I need to do to make GPRM trigger the new solenoid gate. Nothing other t...

Everything works great! I fired up the trial version of GPRM and tested the hardware settings and the serial port is firing the solenoid perfectly. I don't run GPRM for our actual Pinewood Derby, but I'm thinking that once the hardware settings are adjusted on our actual race computer, it should be...

Everything works great! I fired up the trial version of GPRM and tested the hardware settings and the serial port is firing the solenoid perfectly. I don't run GPRM for our actual Pinewood Derby, but I'm thinking that once the hardware settings are adjusted on our actual race computer, it should be ...

Ugh. I discovered that this circuit (at least as far as the manual switch is concerned - I haven't tested anything else yet) works MUCH better if you actually connect the ground from R1 to the GROUND. Thanks, 5 J's, for the help.

On to testing the rest of it...

I should also mention that I used the datasheet here and the diagram here to determine which part of the circuit went to which pin on Q1.

5 J's, I'm working on testing just the manual start switch of my gate release. When I connect power, the solenoid trips and stays latched. IF I remove the wire that connects D2 and R1 to the gate of Q1, the start switch works great - although I haven't checked the connection to the serial port. Any...

5 J's, I'm working on testing just the manual start switch of my gate release. When I connect power, the solenoid trips and stays latched. IF I remove the wire that connects D2 and R1 to the gate of Q1, the start switch works great - although I haven't checked the connection to the serial port. Any ...

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm61/burnhamjs/PWD/PWDstartgate.jpg Let's suppose I want to modify this and include a 2nd switch in series with the 1st switch, so that an over-anxious Scout can't start the race from the 2nd switch, unless the 1st switch is depressed by a leader. And, let's suppo...

Maybe since your employer (?) has a relationship with a Tungsten powder supplier, that supplier might also have Tungsten available in shapes?

Here is pic. I thought I had a rear view of it, but I couldn't find it. You can still see the rear cant. https://sites.google.com/site/hortmanfamily/library/IMG_3282.JPG Ick Thanks for the pic, Ick. That car is on the "track" in the pic? Wow, that seems like a lot of visible camber. For a...