Detection Hardware

A few months back I made an interface box which is wired between the detection components on the track and the laptop.  The soldering was never up to much, and it gave up recently.  I've been looking at more complex USB interfaces that would give the laptop control over inputs and outputs (e.g. controlling start lights or power) but they are quite expensive.

So for a fiver I bought another USB Gamepad yesterday and this morning it donated its innards to make a new interface box - USB socket at one end for the laptop, terminal block at the other end wired to the gamepad circuit board where the buttons would have made contact.  All housed in an old video box.  I'm still using the Scalextric RMS hardware for detection at the moment but now I can again use the start/stop and pause/resume buttons fitted to the table.