Carrera Pit Lane Modification - Pro-X Dual Pit Auto-Sorter for Digital 132/124 Slot Car Track

The current layout for our Carrera digital 132 slot car track introduced two issues with regards to the dual pit lane. The Carrera Pro-X electronics modification should fix both of the problems.
The video includes information regarding modifying a pit lane entry track piece from the older Carrera Pro-X digital system in order to create an “auto-sorter.” The change will automatically direct cars entering the dual pit into the lane opposite of the last car that entered. It also solves the problem with the 1:24 scale cars not being able to use the outermost pit because the original configuration, due to the IR emitter on the car and sensor in the pit entry track not aligning, thus never triggering the lane change gate for the 2nd pit entry.
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Pro-Gaff Fabric Tape shown in this video available here:
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Subhuman Racing merchandise is also available and can be found here: milkhousepress...
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Music used in this video:
Demilitarized Zone by Ethan Meixsell

[@JDL_2020]

Interesting mod/hack. Fun fact: Gaffers tape: Gaffer tape is a heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape known for its strong adhesive and easy removal without leaving residue. It is commonly used in the entertainment industry for securing cables, marking stage layouts, and making temporary fixes.

[@SlotCarLeagueOfChampions]

Good stuff. It’d be nice to know more about the Pro X system. It seems decent, wonder why it failed. Have a good one, slot cars for life!

[@johnniehobby]

Carrera had to discontinue the Pro-X because of a patent dispute. Not sure with who, though. Thus, they needed to develop a different system and the D132/124 system was the result. It is leaps and bounds better than what Pro-X was.

[@Show-MeSlotCars]

Using the Pro-X pit kit could work as-is for a safety car pit lane. That would prevent racers from plowing into the back of the safety car. Cool possibilities for either version of pit lanes. Thanks for the tips!

[@brucebabin4137]

Thank you for the great modification explanation. Very useful. I didn’t notice the black tape at all until you showed us and even then, very cool. 😊

[@fixit5355]

Very timely video, I have the same issue with my track design. Thanks for sharing!!

[@All-ScaleSlotCarDen]

Great video, as usual from you! I'll have to remember this if the situation comes up in the future. It's also fascinating to know that the Pro-X system would shut down pit lane when a car was in the pits.

[@CH-RC]

You can do the same thing now with a narrow right section :) someone else on here modified one to work as a pit entrance with less of a crazy turn in by swapping the chips but you can accomplish this “auto” lane change in the same way by simply moving the sensor to sit right after the actuator

[@twolinesslotcars]

Well done! Thanks for this type of content!

[@bomamo9620]

Hi over there. I appreciate your channel a lot for tunning and improoving Carrera Stuff. Awesome again. Keep up with this content and many greetings from Northern-Germany 🙂

[@johnniehobby]

Greetings to you as well. Thanks for the comment.

[@The-Grand-Raceway]

great mod guys, looking forward to more content.

[@Patriot_Hobbies]

Thanks for sharing such insight for us newbies.

[@johnniehobby]

Always happy to help.

[@MPSlotCar]

Great video! Very good info here, awesome idea 🤙🏼 cheers

[@Sashko_Dee]

@7:29 I just started looking into the hobby after having a cheapo track as a kid and what i find most fascinating is just how much new old stock is available for all these brands. There are still people selling Aurora Thunderjet parts from like the 1960s. What makes my stomach churn is that factories are still overproducing certain goods. Just think about the millions of iPhone cases that get spat out, never sold and then become obsolete when the new model comes out. At least with stuff like slot car racing the new old stock is in demand and should eventually get used up by the fans instead of languishing in some dump like those iPhone cases.

[@slotr]

This is a great video, I always love a track mod and it goes well with my recent pit lane mod video too :)

[@johnniehobby]

I saw that video and, having taken apart Carrera track and control units many times, I remember thinking "I wonder if he knows the screw under the warranty sticker is a Torx head?" Oddly enough, I was expecting the same on the Pro-X pit entry, but that one was the same Phillips as the rest. I guess Carrera wasn't trying to prevent us tinkerers from gaining entry into their stuff back in 2008.

[@slotr]

@@johnniehobby I didn't know that, but every day is a school day and I do after making that video :) I was expecting thread lock, they don't want to keep us out as much as I would haha

[@HughesGarageSCA]

Brilliant! 😎👍

[@yankeydoodoodoo]

nice track, good idea raising table ,,smart cookie

[@Cad1900]

Great video I learned a lot!!!

[@johnniehobby]

Glad to hear it!

[@SpareRoomSlotCars]

Great tips, thanks for sharing

[@ronfast703]

Nice hack and informative video. Thanks

[@vpugliese33]

Nice video. Thanks!!

[@IrrerasCarrera]

Johnnie Hobby, the Godfather of slot cars. Great vid as always. Could you do a video on how the Carrera controllers work? Both wired and wireless and how the CU reads the info? Just an idea. Either way Merry Christmas to you and the gang. All the best🎉🎉🎉

[@johnniehobby]

I'll see what I can do.

[@abelw71]

Very informative and detailed. Your vids have helped me out several times. Does your pit lane entrance ever not close completely after a car enters. Mine probably 50 % of the time will stay slightly open allowing ghost cars to enter or worse flip a car off the table. I tried new slot keels but still a issue. Thank you .

[@johnniehobby]

I have a single lane changer and a pit entry that wouldn't reset all the way. Per the design it closes partially via the guide keel and the remainder of the way with a spring. If there's too much resistance in the mechanism the spring doesn't have enough tension to complete the closing of the gate. I put graphite on any areas of the gate that slide against any part of the track and it seems to help.

[@kenayre8554]

may be i missed it but did you just add another red and black line to the other lane or was there something else involved newbe here and wanting to get into this sport racing ,was into it way back when in my mid teens. old guy here is wanting to get back into it . thx for viewing my inquirey

[@johnniehobby]

There is already a set of wires going to the "through" lane which caries the regular coded power (same that runs through the rest of the track). When I removed the "pit" lane wires from the decoder I ran those instead to the through lane. Essentially just jumpering the through lane power to the pit lane. I hope that makes sense.

[@joferusa]

Very Nice track, what size is it? I would like to do something like that, can you show me what the track is like to do something similar, Thank you, your videos are very good and instructive

[@johnniehobby]

The track is 125ft total length. We have a video that shows the details. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqjUmoiembqnZ8k

[@joferusa]

@@johnniehobby Thanks, but I was asking you the size of the table

[@johnniehobby]

@@joferusa There are five 4-foot by 8-foot tables plus two 8-foot by 1-foot extensions and a 4-foot by one-foot extension for a total of 60 sq. ft. The footprint has three different dimensions; 8'x8', 8'x9', and 9'x5'.

[@johnniehobby]

Just reading through comments and realized the previous post was incorrect. I think it is a total of 180 sq ft. of table.

[@garagemakerguy1808]

Nice😎

[@johnniehobby]

Holy sh**, Jeff where have you been? It's been like two years since any vids or responses to comments from you. Good to see you are still with us. I was fearing you had met an untimely demise.

[@TravisMcClain-w5r]

Can’t figure out how to message you however I have a pit lane the track does not recognize I tried the hold speed button get two lights and run the car over the sensor but still nothing which has my driver stations showing rpm any ideas would appreciated. Love your channel super helpful

[@johnniehobby]

Sounds like you are trying to enable/disable the lap counting on the adapter track. That setting doesn't have an effect on whether the pit lane track is recognized by the CU. Two things to check though: - be sure the pit lane adapter is installed in the correct orientation. The sensor should be on the left. - be sure the "FUEL" switch on the CU isn't turned of. It should be set to ON or REAL. If neither of those are the problem it may be a defective pit lane track.

[@RickyFrench72]

I’m so irritated!! For whatever reason the entry to my double pit lane messes up. Sometimes my cars d slot trying to enter pitlane . Like the lever is not moving all the way over. I have no idea . I was thinking it’s just one care but it’s multiple . Thought maybe lack of power. So I wired jump from close to CU to other side. Still have issues . My right lane change messes up to sometimes . Just won’t click over . But won’t d slot my cars. Could it be just bad track pieces . So annoying when I have no clue. Any advice very much appreciated. Thank you.

[@johnniehobby]

We've had a few lane changers that wouldn't fully reset when a car passes through and adding graphite to the gate mechanism helped. We hadn't had gates not open fully, though until recently. One of our pit entries just started doing that. Not sure what the problem is and I haven't opened up the track piece to take a look yet. When I do, and if I'm able to determine the cause, and the fix, I'll let you know.

[@RickyFrench72]

@@johnniehobby thank you for the info. Really appreciate it. Yea it’s driving me crazy only cause I was trying everything to fix it. I’m gonna switch the pit entry’s around later today if I have time and see what goes. Guess when in stock gonna buy couple more. Yes you ever open it up figure it out please let me know . I’ll let you know what happens after I switch them around . Thank you.

[@MrBurnsakaRWall]

Been looking for months. Would you have a line on the pro x pitlane?

[@johnniehobby]

I checked Ebay a month ago and there was nothing listed. Checked again today and still no Pro-X pit lane for sale. There's always the option to get the Pro-X lane changer (there are several on Ebay right now) and swap the decoder into your existing pit entry.

[@JM-tu5pu]

Where can we buy the red wall barrier?

[@johnniehobby]

Those guardrails were manufactured by Carrera many years ago but no longer in production. Most of what we have we found in a bargain bin at our local hobby shop, so we bought everything they had. You might be able to find some of them second hand from Ebay or some other reseller sight. If you do, be sure it comes with the stanchions to mount it to the track.

[@Underdog72B]

This must be popular since I'm having no luck finding a Pro X pit lane. Can the chip from a single Pro X lane change be used the same way ? Anyone done it ? I can find those pretty cheap.

[@johnniehobby]

Yes. You can use the decoder from the Pro-X lane changer and install it in the D132 pit entry. In terms of function, it will work however it may not be a perfect fit into the pit entry track piece. You may need to secure it with something other than the factory mounting locations, maybe hot glue or packing tape.

[@nmore69]

That monza is sweet

[@johnniehobby]

Agreed!

[@ungurdani8346]

Salut my friend super car super video subscribe subscribe subscribe

[@user-jx3jp3gb4x]

Fantastic!!!

[@user-jx3jp3gb4x]

Hi Johnnie, I am new to the Carrera Digital track, and I certainly do admire you for taking time to help people on your channel and answering questions. I do the same exact thing on my channel. I have a new Carrera Spirit of Speed track and already have the dual pit lane, but I love the idea of a car coming into fuel and automatically closing the gate behind it. I have already soldered wiring to the Control Units' PCB Start/Enter and Pace Car/Esc. like I saw on Rick Rideout's channel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6fCgKqgisuXrpY So, I am very comfortable with doing mods. I am curious... since I can't find a Pro X pit lane anywhere... can I simply relocate the IR sensor like you did to my second pit entry piece for my dual pit lane? Do you know if that will suffice? Thank you gobs!!!

[@johnniehobby]

It won't work, at least not automatically. The key is that the Pro-X electronics activate the gate every time regardless of when the lane change button is pushed. Since you've already got the second pit entry, instead get a Pro-X lane changer (I saw at least 4 on Ebay just now) and swap the decoder from the Pro-X lane changer to your current pit entry piece .Of course, you'll still need to move the IR sensor.

[@user-jx3jp3gb4x]

@@johnniehobby does it matter if I get a left or right hand Pro X lane changer? Thank you!

[@johnniehobby]

@@user-jx3jp3gb4x You could use either. Both have the same decoder.

[@user-jx3jp3gb4x]

Thank YOU!!!