Bad Tape Switch . . . And A Diagnosis With A Remedy

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Wesley Tucker
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Bad Tape Switch . . . And A Diagnosis With A Remedy

Post by Wesley Tucker » Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:43 am

I had a tape switch go bad at the Red Clay Cup. I've only used them three or four times. I think, though, I figured out what happened.

The lesson I've learned is when picking up the switch peel off the duct tape and don't pull the switch. I'm pretty certain that's what caused the kink that ruined my switch. Oh, well, another $37.00 down the drain to replace it. Calling Tapeswitch.com in the morning.
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Jani Soderhall
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Post by Jani Soderhall » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:02 am

It's important to let the tapeswitch remain on the ground as you pull off the tape. Don't pull all off the ground first, then try to get the tape off from the switch.

I would be surprised still if your switch is really damaged. What typically happens is that the soldering is damaged or that the two sides of the tape switch meets just at the end. Try to get some isolation inbetween the two sheets of metal at both ends and verify the soldering.

Over all the years I don't think I have ever thrown away a tape switch because it was damaged. Normally you can fix them yourself.

/Jani

Wesley Tucker
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Post by Wesley Tucker » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:48 pm

Jani,

The best way to describe the "kink" in my tape is it feels like a toy "cricket clicker." You know what I mean? Hold it in your hand and there's a piece of metal and when you push it the metals "clicks" then when you let go it "clicks" again.

I spoke to Tapeswitch and described it to the rep and he said, "yeah, the bottom strips is bent "side to side" and will probably never be straight again." I took the strip and did just about everything I could to push out the strip so it would be flat again, but you can clearly see the distortion in the plastic along the length of the tape.

Oh, well. I ordered another. If I do get this way straightened out, I'll at least always have a spare in case of a real catastrophe on race day.
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Jani Soderhall
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Post by Jani Soderhall » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:56 pm

OK, I see what you mean. Mine have never suffered that seriously. The old ones I had almost couldn't bend. That was actually very convenient and good for them. That meant that they always stayed flat at the bottom of a bag or trunk. The new ones were 2 m wide when I got them and very flexible. That meant that we were encouraged to roll them and store them differently, which meant that they were easily bent (like yours) but never that badly. In the end I cut them down to 2 - 2.5 feet (70 cm) each, so that I could more easily store them flat. Not always easy as they tend to flex in all directions.

Important rule: teach everyone around you to be careful with them as you're out practising and racing together.

/Jani

John Gilmour
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tapeswitch

Post by John Gilmour » Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:40 am

I think tape swtches should be reinforced. I would suggest glueing them to a thin sheet of ptex with epoxy and having a very thin sheet of rubber (less then 2mm) underneath. The switch will grip teh ground without having to conform to the indentations in the road surface so it won't get "mini kinks" . also if someone is aggressive in removing a switch it should not damge it. Rolling tapeswitches is not very good for them - I think storing them in a poster tube is a better idea. I've seen jani's switches and theya r ideal....but I don't think they are being made anymore- his have stiffer and stronger jackets while still being very sensitive. Tapeswitch does make a thick jacketed switch but it is not sensitive enough for a really fast racer to trip it...the switches were made to measure cars.
One good turn deserves another
john gilmour

Jonathan Harms
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Post by Jonathan Harms » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:06 pm

Wesley, if it's really wrecked, try slicing the rubber open and looking inside. We had to do that with one of Goad's switches that got badly kinked. By slicing it open near the kink, we (actually I) were able to find the spot that was buggered up and straighten it out.

Slice it open? I know it sounds extreme, but if it's already useless, what are you gonna do? Break it *worse*? :-)

Marcus Seyffarth
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Post by Marcus Seyffarth » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:21 pm

I have 2 different versions one is yellow and pretty hard and the other ones are green and very fragile. The green ones have been kinked quite a few times but I have always been able to fix them by bending/rolling them 'the wrong way' back and forth at the kink.

Cutting them open sounds pretty smart, it's not any rocket sience inside of the switches.

I also cut mine down, I think they are down to 50cm now. I figure if you can't hit something that's 50cm wide at the finishline then you need to practice some more and the time was probably not worth saving anyways :)

jeff bonny
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Post by jeff bonny » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:19 am

For a little less than the price of two tape switches you could go to IR boxes that are waaaaaaay more durable, very reliable and if you've ever seen someone loose their rear end pumping over a tape switch you'll agree safer.

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Post by Jonathan Harms » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:46 pm

jeff bonny wrote:For a little less than the price of two tape switches you could go to IR boxes that are waaaaaaay more durable, very reliable and if you've ever seen someone loose their rear end pumping over a tape switch you'll agree safer.
Jeff, got a link to an example of some affordable IR boxes?

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Post by Marcus Seyffarth » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:44 pm

Daniel, who sells the Trakmate also sell IR boxes.

In my opinion the downside of needing a powersource at the start and finish outweighs the upside that the durabillity gives. But for larger races I think IR's should be the way to go.
It's way harder to lift your front wheels at the start if you use IR, that's reason enough.

http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/catalog.htm

jeff bonny
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Post by jeff bonny » Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:54 am

Marcus Seyffarth wrote:Daniel, who sells the Trakmate also sell IR boxes.

In my opinion the downside of needing a powersource at the start and finish outweighs the upside that the durabillity gives. But for larger races I think IR's should be the way to go.
It's way harder to lift your front wheels at the start if you use IR, that's reason enough.

http://www.infoserve.net/oss/slotcar/catalog.htm
Have you regularly used IR boxes? Sounds to me like you haven't.
After over a year I've replaced the batteries once and even then it was before an event and the ones I removed metered strong enough to have kept to re-use...the draw is next to nothing. Based on my experience I have to very strongly disagree that a power source is a problem for day to day training use. The advantages of IR boxes outweigh tapeswitches in every way and in the long run easily justify the extra cost.

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