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Digital control slot cars add a whole new level of realistic racing elements. Still, there is nothing like using a great controller, the punch of a powerful motor in a commercial or pro-level slot car, the fun of HO cars on a big track, or of cruising vintage cars around with friends.

There are ways to run analog cars on a digital system, but digital chips can not keep up with the amperage demands of many vintage and commercial cars. So with decoder systems these cars run poorly or overheat the chips.

Perhaps you already have commercial track cars, maybe your local raceways have closed or you are downsizing from a large 8 lane track. Or you’d like to try digital racing and run those beautifully detailed plastic cars on a track they run best on. Or you are facing the nightmare of braiding or rebranding a wood track again. Carrera modular track never looses connection like other plastic tracks and it’s rails do not pull up or wear out line braid. It runs smooth with no clicking. It will accommodate magnet cars and with just a tiny bit of traction spray, all tire types work great on it. If you do not already have a great Carrera layout we can help with design and supply.

You do not need a huge track to enjoy your slot cars. With digital racing or great analog race control, you do not need 8 or even 4 lanes wide. What you need to enjoy everything slot racing has to offer is an OmniSlotBox.

After operating a retail slot car shop for 13 years using selling and servicing all available slot car tracks and cars, we chose Carrera digital 1/32/124 track as the basis for our system. Carrera is wide enough to run cars up to 1/24 scale. Its stainless rails and hard plastic surface proved reliable and tough even with use as our portable tracks. Its selection of flat and banked curves, the best lane switches, pit lanes, shoulders, and other track options enable great layout design. When used with applications like Smartrace, race control features, formats, sound effects, race announcements, scoreboard, pit stop refueling, race series tabulation, and online reports are fantastic! You can cast your scoreboard to any TV or WiFi connected device and even adjust your car settings from your phone. 

When we had our large shop we had space for both Carrera digital and Analog tracks, with OmniSlotBox we can can run all our favorite car types on one great track!   

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 sealed 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 cars, vintage treasures or a scratch built car you have spent many hours perfecting!

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.

Our "Emulator" uses digital controllers for driving both Analog and digital cars.  With an Emulator, no changes are required to existing digital tracks or accessories. All other OmniSlotBox systems use digital controllers for digital andanalogcontrollers when running analog.

Yes whenin 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.

Good question, because the curved 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 and switches will work normally in Digital mode. They are disabled in Analog mode.  "Emulator" includes sensors than can be used for analog timing and scoring with digital race control software.  For our true analog systems, we recommend an analog timing system likeTrackMate,

When using a variable power supply with Carrera digital is important toalways 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.  

Yes!  We now build the "OmniSlotBox4" that allows for full 4 lane Digital and Analog.

All our other systems are  2 lanes plus pit lane or other merging lanes.  Additional analog only parallel lanes can  be added as with any analog track. Many clients feel that two lane Digital/Analog with additional lanes Analog only is a great solution.

If you already have a Carrera digital track, your Control Unit (CU) will be replaced by any OmniSlotBox.   Your old CU and a basic power supply can be a track side asset for testing, coding, adjusting car settings and sanding tires. No more interrupting track action and removing all other cars when doing these things.   We only convert new CUs for use with OmniSlotBox and deliver them in factory packaging for secure shipping. If you choose to sell your CU you should be able to get $30 to $40 on markets like eBay. 

OmniSlotBox is a partnership of two men who started slot racing in the 1960's and still love the hobby.  Jim Cunningham,  and Rodney Weber.

Jim operated a commercial raceway in San Diego for 15 years carrying a full range of slot car products and ultimately featuring 5 different tracks.  He also built and managed a large slot car web store and a traveling track unit.  Jim still brings portable slot car tracks to events everywhere.  When he does he tries to visit local clubs and comercial raceways 

Rodney Weber also raced slot cars starting in the 1960's.  Since then he has been a master of all thing electromechanical.   An appliance repairman for many years, his workshop is filled with equipment projects and gadgets.  

All Omnislotbox sysytems are hadn built asn exptensively test by Jim & Rodney in Arkansas, USA.  Both men race slot cars regularly with Central Arkansas Racers of Slot Cars  (CARS)  at the Slot Car Clubhouse.  You are invited to  visit there and meet the OmniSlotBox boys!