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Best Hand Controller


kart.68

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Ian,

 

Get yourself a 30 band Difalco with a 148 ohm resistor pack. I think they come with a blast relay too, which is nice but not really necessary with these cars.

 

If you have the funds a Carsteen will do the job too. Contact Camber on this forum for info.

Cheers,

Garry J

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Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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This is such a personal decision.

 

Parma, Upper Professor Motor, High Current Slot.it, Difalco, ACD, Carsteen, DS Electronics, TruSpeed.

They will all work, and all have supporters.

 

Best bet is to use as many as you can, and pick what suits you...

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Thanks Garry the Carsteen is the better?

 

And dearer by a couple of hundred dollars.

The Difalco is more entry level in the high end controllers, and I have heard of few people have had problems with the Carsteen, but I don't know what the issue is. But I've heard people rave about how good they are, and the one time I tried one I was very impressed.

PM have a " unique " style trigger, that I personally don't like, but others don't seem to mind.

TruSpeed have some good controllers, but can be pricey, I do own the PWM II, and the only issue I have with it is the full power relay doesn't work on the 10 volts that most of the tracks I race on use. Has the best traction control I feel, and the brake hold feature is fantastic one you get the hang of it.

SlotIt are a home set controller in my opinion, but some guys I race with happily use them, and win races with them.

The one DS electronics controller I've seen has a really bad design, trigger wire which will fail in time, and you can be sure it will happen when you winning a race.

ACD Pro, I have both the 5, and the 5L, the 5 has a short trigger throw, which is way to aggressive for 32 nd scale or tight tracks, the 5L with the longer throw is one of the best controllers I've used, but I've not used it for 32 nd scale, on the rare occasion I race the smaller scale cars I use my Difalco or TruSpeed.

Edited by espsix
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I guess it comes down to what you're used to, what you like and how you drive.

 

I like simple, and I like a controller that I can ride the resistor as I tend to used aggressive sensitivity. I've built myself a mosfet controller that's very nice but I've never been happy with the brake setup so it never gets off the breadboard. Maybe Rusty can help with that.

Cheers,

Garry J

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another vote for Carsteen here but as previously stated try before you buy, if possible.

 

I like the Parma (Carsteen uses it) style handle because I have "Trump" hands so some of the other style handles dont suit me.

 

Also are you left or right handed as the positioning of some of the knobs can make it more difficult to adjust during race conditions.

John Warren

Slotcars are my preferred reality

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Haven't used a Third Eye, but people say they have the most brakes of any controller, very expensive though, but all the really good controllers are.

 

As mentioned earlier, use as many controllers as you can before you buy.

 

ACD Pro, SlotIt don't have wiper contact, so pretty much maintenance free, all the others do have some form of contact on the wiper , so, need to be looked after.

Some people don't like the contactless controllers because of the lack of " feel " , but firming up the spring can go some way to fixing that issue.

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Hi Espix.. Like Garry, I think the 30 band Difalco is very good. I would definately rate it as the best all rounder because just by changing a cheap chip set you can use it to race anything from Falcon powered Flexi's right down to plastic 1/32.

Also from a repair point of view its an easy fix with parts readily available. I had my Difalco for 3 years and then bought a Carsteen thinking it was the next step up. I've had the Carsteen now for nearly 2 years and it has never given me any trouble but sometimes feels a little tame where as I could alway liven up the Difalco with a hotter chip set. Different tracks sometime require different controllers. I like on the Carsteen I can quickly change from linear to bellcurve if there is a part of the track that needs lots of mid range control... Another controller worth considering is the ACD from Ace hobbies - used very successfully by quiet a lot of the fast scale guys - Unique contactless wiper. I;ve had/got all three controllers so In summary:

  • Carsteen - Has great mid range control and by having both a volt and Amp choke can really smooth out a rough car or bad driving. I like it because I'm getting old and I can dumb it down. ( so i stay on ) As for reliability both mine and Noels have been faultless.. Note! Wiper needs regular cleaning or it gets impedance and starts to feel a bit dead.
  • ACD - bit of acquired taste, very reliable but you need to pay more and get the pro long stroke. Suits left and right hand with sensitivity controls on top. Trigger is a bit weird .. needs sculpturing and I find it lacks mid range... however.. nothing beats it on tracks with tightening radius turns and those stupid half turn (kinks) that upset a cars handling. Why.. well because the brakes come on the moment you start to lift of ( yep.. while the trigger is still in the mid range position! ) you can do a brake blip and be back on the power quicker than anyone.
  • Difalco - nothing to dislike - probably the most prolific controller in commercial track pro circles. Has a far greater range of control from aggressive to wimpy - just change the chip set to suit. You can even build your own chip set and make whatever power curve you want. Brake pots and parts are very easy to find.

Edited by axman
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Hi guys

I agree with every Axeman wrote

 

Just one more thing to add

I had ACD pros but swapped to Carsteen mainly because of my driving style with braking.

 

the Carsteen braking control range is 0% to 100%

 

The ACD brake is set at 50% minimum, so braking control range is only from 50% to 100%

 

Most of my 1/24 racing, brake is set around 30% to 60% but 1//32 is usually much less and if racing magnet class, brake can is set at 0%

I hope this Helps

Rodney

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The unique braking on the ACD sets it apart for certain tracks.

As an example the Plafit Masters track at Red Racer... You go there and think you're going fast.. and then Werner turns up and the lesson begins. No one drives the bridge at Red Racer better than Werner from Ace Hobbies - ( its a good thing for us he did'nt race in the APC of MCN there). The track looks a lot easier than it is.. many don't realise but on that track ultra fast micro blips of braking make up a lot time. Going thru the esses over the bridge, the kink at the start of the drivers panel and most importantly the entry to the banked right hand turn past the drivers panel. I see so many driver hold there cars flat there.. the cars get a bit out of shape but stay on.. and lose speed. Or brake too hard and are slow to get back on the power only to lose speed. In this situation you only have to lift of a fraction with the ACD and bang the power back on and the cars straight and fast.

We also used the ACD to win the Hornsby race.. again, its the big brakes you need on the gutter lanes and micro blip for the esses and back straight kink so you dont lose speed.

 

Its not that simple though, like I said some tracks just suit certain controllers.. and just to mess with you minds..

I still prefer my Carstein because it suits the tracks I normally race on. :blink:

Edited by axman
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Your both right, braking starts immediately you lift off, but the ACD braking is only in the 100 to 50% range, I even have an email from the people that makes then stating it.

 

So when I turn the dial right down I am still getting 50% brakes? - Doesn't seem like it it seems like no brakes..... I asked Werner about this and he said the 50-100% wasn't correct - either way I have found it quite an enjoyable controller to race with.

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I must be one of the few old timers who still use a Parma Turbo for all my racing. It's been modified with brake and acceleration pots (which have since been removed), the trigger has been filed to perfectly suit my finger and the spring is now super soft. It's a bit vicious for 1/32 racing with it's 15 ohm resistor but that's how I like it. Feels great to hold and doesn't get painful to use during enduros.

 

And it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

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May the downforce be with you.

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You're not alone.. Stu, one of our "veteran" racers still uses his.. I've used it and its great. It only has an adjustable brake pot and like you, a 15 ohm resister. You gotta laugh.. that 15 ohm "old school" wire wound resister would have way more variable power than a 30 band Difalco!

Edited by axman
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aaaaaargh you guys are in the dark ages.....see the light, feel the noise, experience the refreshing difference that a good electronic controller makes.

 

If you are racing on plastic tracks using lots of magnets in your cars then sure, step back in time and fit a 4 OHM resistor but for racing on routed tracks, no way!

John Warren

Slotcars are my preferred reality

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