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SR3 Construction Update: March 1, 2022

Progress continues on Stewart Raceway III but it has been slowed by all those pesky things that seem more important at the time.

So, where are things? Well, the table and track roadway placement has been completed. The track power distribution system is complete and tested. While there are still technical hurdles to overcome, the goal of supporting different voltage levels for each lane–by the driver–has been achieved. It’s not completely ready, but drivers can select any voltage they’d like to run when testing or practicing. This means you can practice/test any car, at any voltage, at any time racing is not underway. Think about that…you no longer have to restrict yourself to 15v, 12v, 20v, or whatever. You can go to any open lane, set the “lane” voltage (at the driver station), and run your car.

This is significant and very important for maximizing track/testing time. You no longer have to find out what the track voltage is set at to decide what car you're going to run. You simply set the lane voltage to whatever you want.

Other than six lanes, and a much larger layout, SR3 is expected to support the same racing features that SR2 supports. One small difference will be a slight increase in pit spacing. SR3’s dual gantries will be spread slightly further apart to compensate for the higher pit entry speeds.

Lots of work remains but mostly tedious wiring, track section power connections, crash barriers, etc. After that, it’s all about software configuration and testing.

Power distribution under the main straight timing/pit gantries.

One huge difference between SR3 and SR2 is power taps. Brad Bowman insists that I can run just one power tap, at most two (SR2 has eight power taps). I’m not convinced just yet but I’ll start testing with just two to validate that. The track design of being able to convert sections and convert to an oval makes the usual power tap calculations more difficult. No biggy though, adding more power taps just costs more time and money.

So, SR3 is coming along nicely. My garage is a complete disaster but the new track is going to be quite cool. Yea, lots more work to do, but it’s getting close. Really only need to wire the gantries up and I can start testing things. The 6-lane, dual gantry setup adds some complexity and delay. I had planned to just use the usual RJ-45 twisted-pair cable to handle that but RJ-45 only provides 4-pair, which doesn’t quite handle a 6-lane dual gantry setup (need 6-pair x2). Yea, yea, I could make it work but decided to find some 6-pair cable to handle this.  Sadly, it’ll take a week or so to arrive.

Then the challenge will be shielding the cable. Shielded 12-conductor cable is extremely expensive. In fact, way too expensive. Yes, some of the noisier cars can trigger false laps if the gantry wires are overly exposed to RF/EMI frequencies.

Can’t wait to get all the infrastructure completed and start running some laps on this beast.

SR3 Construction Update

Mostly doing research on power solutions and waiting on materials needed for the track elevations and banking. Not sure if you’ve noticed lately but FedEx and UPS really suck when you compare them to Amazon and USPS.

I try not to buy CCP products as much as possible but sadly there are simply too many things that are simply not made anywhere else these

days. That’s another subject entirely of course. But even products that are already in the States seem to take forever when shipped by the major players. And, no, it’s not related to the “supply-chain” hoax. In fact, these days you can expect at least three days where the item(s) just sit in some shipping hub location for a long, long time.

Anyway, waiting on spacers  (standoffs), wire, wire sheathing, power components, and other items right now. The track is pretty much secure to the table just need to set the banking and overpass elevations but need the proper spacers and screws to do that. These pictures show the proposed overpass height and shape. I think it’ll be challenging for both L4 magnet cars and our other less stuck platforms.

The banking elevations and shapes will be different on each of the four corners. I’ll decide on that once I get the needed materials and start to shape the oval corners. The banking will likely be less than SR2’s banks but fairly close at the highest points. Of course, I’ll do my best to make each corner as different and challenging as possible.

Once I get this stage completed, it’ll be time to secure each track piece completely to the table and then start the basic track and power tap wiring. I’m planning a “Phase 1” power solution for the track opening, which will be at least the same power control setup we have on the SR2 VSR track.  Phase 2 will be driver-selectable voltage levels for each lane, from 3v to ~28v, which will also be programmable from the track computer by the race director.

Two purposes for these features: one is so that we can test/practice different types of cars in the same practice/test session and not have to switch voltage levels; the second purpose is so the race director can reset each lane’s voltage to the proper levels prior to each race.

Don’t forget to register for Round 2 of the Formula “E” Series this coming Saturday, January 15, 2022!

Also, if you know somebody who you think would enjoy racing little cars with us, please invite them along. We always need new drivers to join the group and it’ll benefit all of us when we have a large enough “club” to always have more than enough racers to support our events.

Remember: SR3 is six-lanes! That means we’ll need at least eight (8) participants to have any hope of full utility of the track and enough turn marshals.  Yea, we can run just four lanes, but that’s not cool!

Okay, shut up and drive!

With All The Recent Rainfall, SR3 Is Moving Right Along

With plenty of other tasks to do the rains have been keeping me indoors. When that happens, I usually play with slot car stuff or hack on computer stuff.  This week has been all SR3 construction.

With the table completed, I started laying down the track and completed the oval course placement. Once you get that set, you can go ahead and lay down the road course pieces. While I didn’t achieve perfection with the oval pieces fitting together perfectly, it was good enough. So I decided to keep going and get the road course pieces fastened to the table.

It’s quite an interesting operation if you’ve not done it

before. Brad Bowman’s tracks are tongue and groove, which is really cool. However, you still have to fit the pieces together very precisely. Like a plastic sectional track, you don’t fasten any pieces until you’ve put it all together and made sure everything lines up–end-to-end.

In the case of a convertible oval-to-road course track, you have to get the oval layout dialed first. Then you have a fixed starting point for the rest of the puzzle. I didn’t get the oval to align together perfectly but it was extremely close and I didn’t have time to start over and get it perfect. These shots show the track in various stages of placement completion and the complete placement of the entire course.

The next steps are to set the banking angles of the oval and elevate the overpass section. I may also elevate or bank other sections of the road course as I evaluate the course complexity and funness.

SR3 Construction Continues Amid Wet Weather

Excavation and geology work has been difficult with all the much needed rain. But construction is progressing and we’re on schedule!

Decided not to use particle board since it doesn’t deal with moisture well and isn’t quite as durable or as strong as MDF. That said, MDF is heavy. Hope the darn lift system can handle the weight of SR3, much bigger and heavier table, for sure. It’s also going to have MDF sides so not sure just how heavy this tank will end up.

The base table is almost complete now as you can see. I just need to finish fastening the table top sheets to the frame, cut and route the side and end  panels, then paint and assemble. After that, it’s all about laying out the track, oval first, and securing anchor points to keep it in position as the wiring and electronics are installed.

Lots of decisions to be made so I’m anxious to get some veteran racers over to comment on things. A couple key decision needed are what side of the garage the main start/finish straight will be on, what pit spacing to try first, and what layout to employ for the grand opening race day.

Anyway, lots more work to do so stay tuned for more updates as construction progresses.

Okay, shut-up and drive!

 

Construction Of Stewart Raceway III Begins

All construction materials arrived today, December 20, 2021. But not without drama, of course. I won’t bore you with the details but I did have some issues with the lumber supplier.

In any case, all the lumber products arrived safe and sound today and I assembled the perimeter frame. Decided to go with the highest grade 2×6 material I could get that was not kiln dried. Heavier but very straight and overall pretty good wood.  Man, MDF is some heavy stuff! The lumber yard dropped it off in the driveway but Kathy and I had to drag it into the garage to keep it out of the expected rain.

The back story was the three days it took me to clean out enough space to fit the new track in the garage. Still have lots of bike stuff to get rid of so let me know if your your New Years resolution includes cycling. I have few whole bikes and plenty of parts to get rid of before SR3 is race-ready.

The new track is going to be positioned almost in the same exact spot as SR2, except it’s two feet longer and one foot wider. Actually, the table footprint is 16’4″ long and 6″4″ wide. Should actually be a bit easier to get around the track since I’ve removed the workbench that used to be next to the left side of SR2. The garage door (right) side will be the same tight squeeze.

I’m also considering flush-mount driver’s stations instead of the horizontal platforms that SR2 has. I really like the platform-style stations but SR3 is over a foot wider as it is. Adding the platforms would make it almost 8-feet wide!  So, bring your Fray pit-box hanger and deal with it! Sides will be 3/4 MDF. More construction reports to come as construction proceeds. Oh, and I’ll have Bowman or Viper controller holsters, haven’t decided on that yet.

Okay, shut-up and drive!