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Magnet Marshall

How DO they do that??
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wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

Magnet Marshall

Post by wixwacing »

Being a race organiser doesn’t start and finish with names in the race manager. There area whole bunch of things which need attention and even before race day arrives there are critical judgements which may affect the turnout!

Sometimes it isn’t enough to post classes and expect people to turn up. The difference between a good turnout and a poor one could well be in the race rules and venue. There will potentially be a host of different people with different expectations from a race meeting and failure to address the more important ones will see people not return.

One this note, one of the most sought after requirement from the average racer’s viewpoint is parity in models. A lot of racers feel that if they have purchased a model last week, last night or even last hour, then, barring manufacturers defects, that model should be as competitive as all the others in its class. The last thing they want is to find their model in a box standard race is off the pace!! And one of the most common sources of complaint is the traction magnet.

It is a scrutineer’s nightmare to check these as unlike tyres and ground clearance which can be checked easily, magnets offer a different, and with some people, a high tech challenge. I have given this a little thought and have come up with a novel yet foolproof and cheap way for clubs to monitor magnets.



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5.0 mm mild steel, laser cut to 200 x 80 mm with a 3.0 mm slot to the centre


The idea came to me after using the basic check of attaching a model to a piece of track and inverting it. The gauge being that if a model detaches itself then it’s ok and if it stays fixed to the track then it is deemed illegal. Unfortunately, carrying a piece of track around can be inconvenient and even the same make track pieces can vary from piece to piece by virtue of the camber it develops when not laying flat. No matter, Wixwacing to the wescue!!

The idea I came up with is a flat piece of 5.0 mm thick mild steel. This has a slot cut half way up it and four eight mm holes. One at each corner. Placing a model on this piece of steel and inverting it will see a model stuck fast or dropping off! Fine, I hear you say, but what about model with strong magnets which will adhere naturally! Simple. The plate has four 8.0 mm holes as mentioned before.

On the prototype these will have 8.0 mm dowels in them about 10.0 mm long. Plastic card (available from most good hobby stores) of fixed and marked thickness, similar in shape to the plate layout, either metric or imperial, can be place over the dowels and flush on the plate. Different thickness’ will allow a variable gap between the model and the plate, thereby decreasing the magnetic force for different makes, and once a range of models have been tested then it won’t be too hard to compile a list of models on the back of each relevant card. You can even adapt a card to have a ground clearance plate on it, killing two birds with one stone. This may upset the odd SCM but it will appease the rank and file racers who only want the playing field to be level.



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This V8 obviously is NOT standard out of the box!! It even has a bent chassis to boot!



In my view a simple and cheap solution to what could have been a high tech problem. So, don’t worry with the much more expensive electronic magnet marshalls, get yourself down to the laser cutters and get one of these beauties cut for the next race meeting. I have!!
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
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