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Controllers

16043 Views 55 Replies 35 Participants Last post by  Gone Racin
As a beginning to an article on Controllers I would like to glean information on the various types out there, can anyone add to this list of manufacturers of controllers suitable for 1/32 scale tracks?

Ninco
Scalextric
Carrera
SCX
Professor Motor
Red Fox - Do they have a website?
Parma
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See this article in the Technical section of the British Slot Car Racing Association website.
In 1966 I used a home made controller - a simple box with a paddle held rheostat and an on and an off button-
It took two hands to operate it but it was extremely effetive
the left hand had ON/OFF and th right made midrange adjustments as required thru curvy sections
ONvoverode the rheostat and brake over rode both.
the advantage was instant on to off or off to on
as is typical- on any given track-- the twiddling of the rheostat was minimal- just find the basic range for curves
why not visit mhsc j5 m1 they have truspeed, mbslot,nsr,parma and more you can have a go with! all the members are friendly and will give you some great advice.
3
Hi, I have just bought this.



It works, bought it SH, with a 32 race car, £60. Used it on a wooden track with this type of SC car



At this track

Netley MCRC

Another photo on the Controller



Question. The knobs....Is it just a case of playing and seeing what drives best, or is there a way of setting them, in other words, how do they work?

TIA. Andy
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Hi Andy
On most controllers the 3 knobs are sensitivity, brakes and choke

Sensitivity adjusts much power power you get when the trigger is part way down. This is used to make the car easier to drive round corners. It makes no differance to full power or brakes. If the car feels like it's sluggish in corners turn this up, if the car seems to have too much power in corners turn it down.

Brake adjust how hard the car brakes. If the car feels like it's topping too quickly into corners turn this down, if the car won't stop quickly enough going into corners turn it up. It makes no differance to full power or sensitivity.

Choke usually reduces acceleration out of corners, which can make the car easier to drive. If you have too much power comimg out of corners making the car unstable, turn in some more choke. It makes no differance to brakes.

I'm not going to guess which knob is which on that controller.

Adjust them to suit your car and your driving.
hi all
when i made my controllers for other peoples i tryed to make easy for them to remember what the knobs did
ie, red knob for stop( brake), green for go (ohms control), and blue for choke
so may be thats the same but hay what would i know

what ever the knobs do
having more control over a standard controller will have it's advantages
100ths gained is better than 100ths lost in this game
good luck with it

Robbo
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QUOTE (Gone Racin @ 2 Apr 2010, 13:06) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Andy
On most controllers the 3 knobs are sensitivity, brakes and choke

Sensitivity adjusts much power you get when the trigger is part way down. This is used to make the car easier to drive round corners. It makes no difference to full power or brakes. If the car feels like it's sluggish in corners turn this up, if the car seems to have too much power in corners turn it down.

Brake adjust how hard the car brakes. If the car feels like its topping too quickly into corners turn this down, if the car won't stop quickly enough going into corners turn it up. It makes no difference to full power or sensitivity.

Choke usually reduces acceleration out of corners, which can make the car easier to drive. If you have too much power coming out of corners making the car unstable, turn in some more choke. It makes no difference to brakes.

I'm not going to guess which knob is which on that controller.

Adjust them to suit your car and your driving.

Very helpful GR, thank you. I now have a clearer idea on how things work.

QUOTE (DR STICKY @ 2 Apr 2010, 16:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi all
When I made my controllers for other peoples I tried to make easy for them to remember what the knobs did
i.e., red knob for stop (brake), green for go (ohms control), and blue for choke
So may be that's the same but hay what would I know

What ever the knobs do
Having more control over a standard controller will have its advantages
100ths gained is better than 100ths lost in this game
Good luck with it

Robbo
That makes sence, Red = Brake, Green = Go, Blue = Choke. Mine had the Red and Blue wrong, now changed. Thanks to both of you. Next race a week Monday.
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my goodness
a doctor making sence
and me at that
glad to be of some help


Robbo
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2
Hi, I'm looking for any info about Parma EC Electronic Controller.



Thanks
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The Parma EC controllers use a very complex circuit and they proved to be unreliable. Most people liked them when they were working, I believe. Parma took the controllers off the market and they were supposed to fix the reliability issue, but that never happened.
Hi,

it seems that this controller is history probably.......

Thanks for the info
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That Parma controller worked on a switching rather than liner circuit, hence the lack of heat sinks.
I'm told by a guy who was trying to repair one that some of the spares are unobtainable, so he couldn't fix it.
Never quite sure if unobtainable means that guy didn't know where to look. Has anybody else had experience fixing them?

(I think it uses quite a lot of standard off the shelf electrical components aren't a problem)
Hi, here see electronic circuit and comments for Parma EC including details of electronic components.
Hi all I understand that an Australian company is now offering a wireless controller has anyone tried one of these?

Linky http://www.scorpiuswireless.com/

Ray
Guys with lots of knobs and dials and buttons are control(ler) freaks who secretly want to fly the Starship Enterprise


I have 16 buttons and two knobs on my Parma Plus, but all are glued on with Velcro and do nothing, but I sooooo enjoy pushing them all the time.
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Really useful adjustments on controllers help drivers who know how to use them lap quicker and/or fall off less.
Drivers who need a lap or less to know which way the knobs need adjusting gain a real advantage. It might take a few trys to get it perfect, no problem as long as the driver understands what he's doing so it is an improvement.
Drivers who don't know what to do with the knobs even after several laps aren't likely to gain an advantage. For sure they might learn how to use it with some testing. If not they might be better off with 16 buttons and two knobs all glued on with Velcro and doing nothing.
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