Best Hand Controller

[espsix]

This is the email a friend got back when asking about the different controllers.

 

"The ACD dual works in general like the pro Controller. The difference

is that the ACD dual has a wider setting range for the brake( 0 to

100%) and 2 brake modes(ACD Braking and traditional braking mode) The

pro version has only ACD braking and the brake range is 50 to 100%

 

The pro working voltage is 7..22V The ACD dual 8..22V

 

Please note:

Actually we don't have an English manual for the ACD dual.

 

Best regards

Bassem Yahya

 

Ing. Buero Yahya

Robert-Schuman-Str. 2A

D - 41812 Erkelenz

 

Tel. ++49 (0) 2431 6444

Fax. ++49 (0) 2431 4595

Email: B.Yahya@yatronic.com

------------------------------------------------

ACD dicon Digitales Slotracing www.yatronic.de"

 

ask them yourself.

Edited August 21, 2017 by espsix

[axman]

There ya go.. thanks Espsix.. now we know why the ACD Pro has so much braking... and non of this woffle relates to 1/32.. I'm a 1/24th kind of guy.

Edited August 21, 2017 by axman

[dangermouse]

Dont know about zero brakes for ACD... and why would you want no brakes anyway.

 

With some cars - mainly Ninco NC-1 type cars you don't really need them my preferred driving style with them is to coast into the corners. I also find when we race the Carrera 1/24 cars they are better with the brakes turned down

[4orceracing]

I'm going to throw a cat amongst the pigeons...

 

I use a Tru-Speed MTII and I race both 1:24 (Scaleauto, Plafit, GT3 & LMP) and 1:32 plastic, mainly non-magnetic but have used very successfully on magnetic too. I tend to run at the front end of both fields so the controller doesn't favour 1 or the other.

 

The brakes work on a hit and release system and the more you wind the brakes on the longer it hold them.

 

It has a dynamic choke which allows a delay in full power for tracks that are over grippy or slippery.

 

The sensitivity is done by preprogrammed bell curves and suits cars from 1:32 NC1 to 1:24 LMP.

 

I imported them for the new guys starting at BVR and have sold about 10, they all appear very happy with them.

 

For a retail price of about $275, they take some beating.

[munter]

Had to google images for the Tru-Speed although I have read about them. They use the JK/ Sunset handle which isnt for me but I like the controls on top.

 

Price is certainly attractive for this spec controller.

 

I will stick with my two Carsteens and my old Professor Motor...I cannot afford to change.

[axman]

I'm going to Bonogin Valley Raceway tonite.. I'll have a go with one.. The price certainly seems good.

[espsix]

Please post your thoughts after you've had a go with one Kim.

I was chatting with Mark about them on the weekend, and would of loved to have had a run with one but things were a bit hectic.

 

I have a PWM II which is great, but reaching down to change a setting during a race can be a problem.

[4orceracing]

Bugger Brett!!! Sorry mate!

 

Had 2 sitting there, always have 2 controllers just in case...

[espsix]

No problems Mark, like I said, things were hectic, and there was really no spare track time for playing with controllers.

Benno was faster with the LMP using his Difalco than both of us with the ACD, and I didn't even try the Difalco because I knew how everything felt with the ACD.

Spares are always good to have, I had my Difalco as my spare.

[mattcrackers]

Here at WASCRG we all used to use the Parma Turbo Plus controller for 1/32 racing on the club timber track.

 

It was pretty much an unsaid club rule that everyone sticks with the same controller to keeps things on an even playing field.

 

A while ago now some people started getting the Professor Motor controllers which they seemed to like.

 

Another racer turned up with a Difalco controller one night and it definitely improved his racing.

 

Now at the club we have people using Professor Motor, Difalco, Slot.it, Parma, Tru Speed and even a home made upgraded SCX controller.

 

I've only had a go with the Professor Motor controller and found it to be lacking 'punch' compared to the Parma Turbo I use.

 

What I have found is that some of the people who have upgraded to a better (more expensive) controller have improved their race times.

 

Until I have tried all the different controllers I can't really say which one is best, at least now I have the luxury of trying before I buy.

 

Hopefully Nick (nico87 here on the forum) buys more different controllers for me to try .

 

Really I'm in no rush to upgrade, still like my Parma Turbo Plus

 

And if I'm still winning races and setting fastest lap times theres no need.

 

Best of all I'm having fun either way, win or lose.

 

cheers

 

Matt

Edited August 23, 2017 by mattcrackers

[espsix]

Hi Matt, don't discount the Parma controller, I raced with a guy who could kick anyone's butt with a Parma economy with a brake pot and a switch for 25 to 45 ohm, in any class, be it 32 nd or 24 th scale.

[nico87]

mattcrackers,anything is possible as I do like having the option of backup controller,just have to do a bit more research to see what is out there,.thinking of getting a sloting plus or third eye.but the truspeed is working a treat at the moment,

3 other racers have bought one after trying mine and you seem to be doing well with the good old parma

[axman]

Matt, some guys can win with any controller, some improve with a more expensive controller simply because of their driving style.

 

My observation's re driving style are:

1/24th scale racers, particularly old school that started slotcar racing at commercial raceways have a brake / punch / brake style of driving.. to win with this type of racing it just gets down to being spot on with braking points and when to punch out of a corner.. controllers for this racing even have blast relays for fastest possible corner exit speed.

1/32 drivers have a completely different style... they use the mid range on a controller and have the ability to be delicate with a poorer handling car on a tighter circuit which translates well to being a good scale 1/24th racer.

 

So generally, I would have to say 1/32 drivers can adapt to 1/24 driving easier than a 1/24th scale driver can learn to control a 1/32.

 

And that makes the difference when it comes to buying a new controller, A good 1/32 racer is probably going to get less benefit than a 1/24th punch/ brake kind of racer. The punch/brake driver usually has a problem with the car lifting out of the slot on corner exits or loosing speed by being sideways... and has a lot of car chatter. An expensive controller can help this kind of driver.. at lot.. you can dial out the aggression, make the car a lot smoother to drive and stay on.. pilling on the laps to win.

 

As an example the other night a Ecurie Elite I arrived to find the car very loose and getting a bit of a hop going round the tighter corners. I had no time to work on the car so on my Carstein I simply dialled out the aggression and added a bit of choke. The car smoothed out and was so good I won the night.

 

I know this is a bit long winded but obviously your driving style will determine the type of controller you need..

Edited August 23, 2017 by axman

[Garry J]

For some reason this brake/punch thing has been put forward recently. I heard it at last weeks race in Melbourne, Little Pete said their track isn't like the tracks we run on in Brisbane because ours are all brake/punch and their's required more part throttle. I don't know where that idea came from, it's rubbish. Sounds like marketing in action.

[munter]

The "punch" term is used widely in the US. Probably due to their generally larger king type tracks where a driver can run with a controller sensitivity set high and they can negotiate the five corners well enough but get the power down hard and fast and early on exit.

[Garry J]

John, the latest Gerding King tracks are so banked they have only a couple of "braking" points over 8 lanes. Even then it's only a "blip".

 

When they refer to "punch" it usually means no backing off at all.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Garry J

[mattcrackers]

I had the brake pot added to my Parma controller by the WASCRG track owner Syd when I first started racing.

 

I don't discount the Parma controller, just don't see the need to upgrade at the moment.

 

Sure I might get a bit more speed, better handling for some cars but to what gain.

 

When all the championships at the club over the last few years have been won by myself and Nick,

 

do I really need to go faster, I don't think so, not at the moment anyway

 

I'd rather give others at the club who aren't as quick a chance to improve, not flog them all the time.

 

I've even missed rounds so as to take myself out of the running for the championships,

 

Winning isn't everything to me, I'd rather good, close racing, win or lose.

 

If I'm not having fun and taking it too seriously, I start to lose interest.

 

(Un)fortunately, due to an unlucky accident I missed the first few weeks of racing.

 

This has taken me out of contention for the championships so last Saturday I raced like I used to,

 

drove my cars as fast as I could and had fun, even scraped in for a class win on the night.

 

Do I like beating all those with the Whizz bang controllers, bloody oath.

 

Will I upgrade my Parma, one day, once Nick has tried them all out and let me try them too.

 

Oh, and by lacking punch I actually meant that compared to my Parma, the Professor Motor controller didn't seem to have the top speed, something was missing.

 

Sorry for getting a bit off topic, I'm off work at the moment and have a little extra time on my hands.

 

cheers

 

Matt

[axman]

When they refer to "punch" it usually means no backing off at all.

Did'nt know that Garry ... Lets call it another name.. so what do you call a driver that brakes fully for a corner, and once the car has drifted far enough into the corner hits full power.? They may as well drive with a microswitch

[dangermouse]

Isn't that point and shoot?

[Greenstar]

What do people think about the NSR controller?

[kart.68]

I Have a Diffalco 304 a Carsteen CS2 a truespeed MT11 the truespeed is the best for me.

[axman]

I Have a Diffalco 304 a Carsteen CS2 a truespeed MT11 the truespeed is the best for me.

 

Yes, I must say for the price the truespeed is a very good controller. I did some testing after club racing at BVR last week and was able to get my LMP to do the same lap times as my "tuned" Carsteen.

 

It's not all about the odd fast lap times though... to win a race you need a controller you can set up to give you a long string of laps with very similar lap times in a comfortable driving mode that allows you to keep the car on the track. For me the Carsteen ( and keep in mind I had spent hardly any time tuning the truespeed) lets me achieve that.

[kalbfellp]

The best controller is really the one that suits your driving style,and you feel right with.

All the bells and whistles will not help if you do not feel right with the controller.

The PM controllers are good value but I just do not like the shape and feel of the handle.

True speed appear to be good value.

I have a Difalco custom here, and have used a Carsten a couple of nights, just could not see the value in them.

But I am able to build my own so hard to justify the expense.

Edited September 12, 2017 by kalbfellp

[Sports Racer]

We did an 8 hour enduro yesterday at the Way2fast Canberra track and I took 4 controllers to test. Here's what I found and remember, this is my preference and probably won't suit many others.

 

15 ohm Parma Turbo - my favorite and the one I usually use for club racing. Non adjustable and I've carved the trigger to suit my finger and the spring has been replaced with a much softer one. It didn't suit the big 8 lane track because the brakes couldn't be turned down to suit the big corners and I was braking too much for them unless I really concentrated and you don't want that in an 8 hour race,

 

Professor Motor - I've got both types and they have adjustable brake and throttle. Nice to use and I tried them both for a few heats but I'm not a fan of the way they feel.

 

DS-3506 - This is their top controller and still fairly cheap. Lots of bells and whistles and it lights up with a pretty blue colour when you plug it in. Definitely a big selling point. I ended up using this one for most of the racing because I could back off the brakes for the middle lanes and turn down the punch out of the corners for the tight corners on the outer lanes. It felt nice to hold too. The only criticism is even when the throttle pot is set at 100% and the 3 way adjustable switch is on it's most aggressive setting it lacks punch out of corners like my 15 ohm Parma. Everyone who has tried it says it doesn't feel like it's giving the full 12v but I've checked and it does. I'll probably give it to Shadow Rusty to see what magic he can perform.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[kart.68]

The Canberra 8 hour the winning team used a true speed controller with 3 time long time Difalco users me included with each testing 1/10 a lap time improvement and our team Barby only team to do sub 7sec laps on all lanes not just cutter lanes, the true speed controller is unreal controller for its $230 cost.