What are Carrera Ghost Cars?
Carrera Ghost Cars bring an exciting dimension to your Digital 132/124 racing experience. These are essentially autonomous vehicles that you can program to run laps independently at a set speed. Think of them as automated pacers or rivals that enhance solo practice or add a layer of challenge in multi-player races. A fantastic feature of the Carrera Digital system is its capacity to handle multiple Ghost Cars simultaneously, limited only by the track’s power supply. This means you can populate your track with a whole fleet of self-driving cars, creating dynamic and engaging racing scenarios. Importantly, this function is readily available – no special decoders are needed as the Ghost Car programming is built into every standard decoder for Carrera Digital vehicles.
Programming Your Carrera Ghost Car: A Simple Guide
Setting up a Ghost Car on your Carrera Digital track is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to get your autonomous racer up and running:
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Power Up Your Track: Begin by switching on your Carrera Digital 132 or 124 track system, ensuring all components are properly connected and powered.
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Place Your Vehicle: Position any Carrera Digital car on the track. Remember, any standard Carrera Digital vehicle is capable of becoming a Ghost Car; no specialized equipment is necessary.
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Initiate Ghost Car Mode: On your Carrera Control Unit, locate the “CODE” button. Press this button twice in quick succession. You’ll observe two LEDs on the control unit illuminating, indicating that you’ve entered the Ghost Car programming mode.
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Engage Programming Sequence: Next, press the lane change key on your controller once. You’ll notice the lights on your placed vehicle beginning to flash. Simultaneously, observe the LEDs on the control unit – they will now start to light up sequentially, one after another, signaling the next stage of programming.
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Set the Ghost Car Speed: The LEDs on the control unit will continue to cycle until only the middle LED remains lit. This is your cue to begin driving the vehicle. Carefully accelerate and establish a consistent speed that allows the car to navigate the entire track lap without derailing or losing control. It’s crucial to maintain a steady speed and avoid changing lanes during this speed programming phase.
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Finalize Speed Programming: Once you have achieved your desired constant speed for the Ghost Car, press the lane change key on your controller again. This action confirms and locks in the programmed speed.
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Autonomous Racing: Congratulations! The programming is now complete. Your chosen vehicle will now operate as a Ghost Car, autonomously driving laps at the speed you programmed. It will continue to run independently until you manually interrupt it. To stop the Ghost Car, you can either press the START button on the Control Unit or use the SmartRace app to trigger a stop. When successfully stopped, all five red LEDs on the control unit will illuminate.
With these simple steps, you can easily add Ghost Cars to your Carrera Digital racing setup, opening up exciting new ways to enjoy your slot car track.
