Carrera makes the best digital slot car track system, but all digital slot car tracks limit car selection.
OmniSlotBox enables use of digital slotcars and analog slotcars including high power commercial and vintage slotcars on Carrera digital track.
Digital to high-performance analog at the flick of a switch, opens the whole world of slot racing to you.
With OmniSlotBox all digital functions and controllers work normally. In analog mode, use your favorite cars with any analog controllers.
Tested and refined for 5 years, with rock solid US construction and reliability, Omni Slot Box is now available as a plug-and-play module.
Nomad Raceway's Carrera Digital Gran Prix slot car track was the first to have OmniSlotBox technology. With 65 feet lap length in 8' by 17' table it is a great track for 6 driver digital, or ANY analog car with commercial grade power and control.
HO scale to 1/24 Wing slot cars with powerful motors and everything in between run great on a well designed OmniSlotBox equipped slot car track. We especially enjoy our vintage cars. See our video test drives below:
Run all slot car motors! (L to R) Phoenix, Pro-Slot PS4002. PIttman 85, Cox 36D , Scaleauto Boxer, Falcon 7, Super 16D, G7 Open, G12X, Pittcan, Kemtron Mustang, Pactra Hemi, Carrera Bison Digital, Mabuchi 16D, AFX SRT & Mega G, Scalextric slim can, NSR KIng. & More!
Easy to connect and use.
Front and rear view.
Available in Mahogany or Maple. OmniSlotBox system includes an upgraded Carrera CU.
OmniSlotBox can be used with a single power supply. Two power supplies give individual slot car track lane speed limitation in analog mode. Use any analog controller in analog mode and any Carrera compatible digital controllers in digital mode.
One switch to go from Digital to analog slot cars . Red/green LED confirms selection. Separate voltage and amperage meters for each slot car track lane, and resettable 7 amp breakers. Fast and reliable XLR analog controller connection, or use our adapters.
Robust 5 and 4 pin connectors and cables attach to an upgraded Carrera Digital slot car track Control Unit. Upgrades include improved current flow in both Digital and Analog modes. Use a single power supply or use two for individual lane voltage (speed) control. Separate power out for each lane for power taps for improved power distribution. Red/Green LEDs confirm correct connections.
Hand made of first quality materials in the USA by experienced slot car racers and electrical technicians. Here are Rodney and Jim in the wood shop.
Designed and built for safe reliable power control, OmniSlotBox is no toy. It serves those who want to make the most of their slot car track investment.
What it is and why.
With OmniSlotBox switched to digital mode, we enjoy all the best functionality of Carrera Digital 1/24 racing.
They may be the mutts of the slot car world, with 1/32 wheel base and 1/24 width, but "these dogs hunt" speed on Carrera track! A longtime favorite at our club. they have Inexpensive, interchangeable bodies, and they are tough and easy to repair. What is not to like? With more horsepower than handling, you WILL have to drive these puppies but you'll soon be howling with laughter.
This slot car is newly built from all 1960's era components. The chrome champion 26D motor was hot stuff in 1967. They put out out all the power one could want and are highly prized by vintage slot racers today. These motors draw more amperage than Decoder chips can supply, but it runs great with OmniSlotBox.
You do not need a huge wood track to run Wing cars! OmniSlotBox lets them fly. Who needs magnets with air control and horsepower? Just remember, speed kills!
Many HO cars will run on 1/24 scale. You may need to flip the rear axle to run the same direction as the digital cars. We recommend pushing a plastic tube on the pin guide to increase its diameter. This will keep the car centered in the slot. The car in the video in an AFX SRT with no traction magnets at 14 volts, but of course you can run with magnets and up to 18 volts. The wide, smooth stainless Carrera rails give good but not excessive downforce, and allow cars to drift more predictably without catching on tall sharp rails.
OmniSlotBox is built by Slot Racers and electrical technicians who race slot cars. Every unit is assembled and tested in our shop. Each unit is individually serial numbered and we retain a build sheet and photos for each one. We use the best components and assembly techniques. If you ever have any difficulty with your OmniSlotBox, we are here for you. You can access owner's manual and tech specification below:
You are welcome to visit to test drive and maybe race on our slot car track. Message us for an appointment or ask your OmniSlotBox. questions. We have a huge collection of slot cars. Let us demonstrate why it is so much better to be high amperage and vintage slot car compatible.
If you already own one of our systems feel free to contact us with any questions, or just to tell us how much you love it!
Please reach us at jim@nomadraceways.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Yes when in the Digital mode, all Carrera functions work as they should. Of course you cannot use the switches in Analog mode. Normal Analog function is one car per lane. Race formats are typically "round robin" so any number of drivers can be accommodated. All drivers run all lanes for equal time. Most laps wins.
No. OmniSlotBox provides true high power analog. So you can use any analog controller that suits your car. Also using a variable power supply you can tune the track power to the speed and sensitivity to a sweet spot. With two power supplies you can adjust each lane independently to match them or to slow down cars for young drivers.
Through careful design, robust construction, years of testing, easy installation and accessible support, OmniSlotBox makes switching between carrera Digital and true high amperage Analog practical.
Mixing standard Carrera analog and Carrera systems without OmniSlotBox will definitely cause failures. Complex rewiring or using decoders in boxes to power analog lanes cars is also problematic. Early Carrera Pro-X lane switches and Curved switches have jumpers that connect the two lane into one circuit. For analog to work correctly lanes must be on separate "isolated" circuits.
With the exception of curved switches., all Carrera post Pro-X product is wired for isolated lanes. Occasionally, we see problems with incorrectly installed power taps. For this reason, we include a tool to confirm isolation and instruction on how to easily isolate your lanes if any problems are found. We have never had any damage to track components in 5 years of frequent actual race testing of OmniSlotBox prototypes.
If lanes remain connected, analog will not work correctly as both lanes would be powered by one controller, but even then, there would not be any damage to Carrera components.
Here is why: Carrera lane switches and accessories connect to the positive rail of one lane and the negative of the other. This works because in digital mode, both lanes are in the same circuit. OmniSlotBox separates the two lanes so no current flow through the Carrera electronics at all in analog mode.
Good question, because the curve switches seem to be the only Carrera parts that still have a jumper between lanes. To run analog on any track the two lanes must not share a connection between positive rails. All OmniSlotBox kits include a conductivity test tool so you can easily check for and find any connections between positive rails. Usually this is only found on curve switches and early "Pro-X" switch sections. Our users manual shows how easy it is to make curved switches analog compatible with no special tools, parts or soldering required. Thanks for asking!
All Carrera accessories asn switches will work normally in Digital mode. They are disabled in Analog mode. For that reason we recommend an analog timing system like TrackMate, It more than replaced the functionality of the Carrera accessories
When using a variable power supply with Carrera digital is important to always set voltage between 12.5 and 18 volts. In the unlikely event that you do use voltages out of this range for analog, adjust voltage before switching to Digital mode. Carrera electronics and switches will not work properly at lower or high voltages and failures could occur. The most common failure is a switch flipper getting bent due to an incomplete or slow switch. This sometimes occurs with normal Carrera use, but the most likely cause is insufficient voltage to the switch. For best performance and reliability we recommend multiple power taps on large tracks and running 18 volts when in digital mode. Most customers with good power taps like running 14.5 volts at all times with both modes. Carrera 1/24 scale cars are slow on 14.5 volts, so either adjust to 18 vlots when running them or fit your 1/24 cars with RMS motors and they will be plenty fast on the same 14.5 that the 1/32 like. When running 18 Volts in digital mode 1/32 cars will be too fast but you can slow them with the CU speed control or in race control software.
OmniSlotBox has connections for two analog controllers and outputs for two analog lanes. Addtiopnal analog only lanes cane added as with any analog track. To run more than two lanes with ALL being Analog/Digital switchable, will require a special unit. We are designing a 4 lane unit, but delivery date is uncertain. We are not convinced yet that there is demand for this as most clients feel that two lane Digital/Analog with additional lanes Analog only is fine. There is in no problem with more digital lanes such as pit lanes or wide tracks, but sharing those lanes as independent analog lanes is more difficult. If that is what you need, let us know, as we could do a custom unit or front burner the 4 lane project.
Several things... Chipping a fleet of cars can really add up, and installing chips in some cars is difficult and time consuming. Most track owners i know have an average of 25 cars. Chipping 25 cars @ $40 per car is $1,000.
Chips limit motors that can be used. They can only carry so much current before overheating. With true "chipless" analog and a good power supply you can run a whole universe of cars that would kill chips including vintage cars that often have less efficient motors and more powerful motors including those used in metal chassis commercial cars.
If you really want to scratch build, you can even wind your own armatures and prepare motor set-up as the racers of the 1960's did and top racers still do today. Top quality motors are tunable and rebuildable. You are not limited to generic disposable motors.
We really like Digital racing, but true "chipless" Analog has other advantages too. There are a huge variety of analog controllers from very inexpensive to extremely exotic for analog racing. They make a real difference in driving experience and lap times.
Finally, not everyone always enjoys the traffic that sharing lanes in digital brings in. It is nice to chase the perfect lap without being blocked by slower cars, running into cars stopped in your lane, or being crashed in imprudent switches. This is especially true with driving rare vintage treasures or a scratch built car you have spent many hours perfecting!
Jim Cunningham, creator of OmniSlotBox answers: I am a fan of all forms of slot racing. I started with Aroura Model Motoring HO in 1962. When I started racing at large commercial tracks in the mid 1960's I experienced slot cars "Golden Era". When I began winning races I learned that if I won the Wednesday night race 3 weeks in a row on the fourth week few wanted to race, so I developed a habit or retiring winning cars and starting a new series to work my way up. In this way, I have raced about every scale and style of slot car over the past 50 years. I have kept most of my "retired" cars, maintained and ready to run. the high detail of recent 1/32 cars seduced me and they form the bulk of my 1500 car collection now. I developed OmniSlotBox, to enjoy all that the hobby offers. I think the variety of forms and the challenges they offer is what has kept my passion for slot cars alive for over 50 years.
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