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Wiper Arms Verse Electronic?


jphanna

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Guys,

 

i know the 'what controller to buy' topic has been raised many times in the past. i am in the market for a new controller, and up till now i have been using the traditional style where the wiper arm is a mechanical action, with friction and wear and tear as a byproduct.

 

i know the Slot it brand has had a non friction style for a few years now. Is there any others like Slot-It style, with non contact trigger?

 

what are your thoughts on non friction controllers?

 

regards

 

John

Shed People Mutual Admiration Society

2 times Australian National Champion

1991-Flexicar 1999- Group 12 Sedan

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The ACD Pro uses a hall sensor the same as slot.it also the Scorpius wireless controller uses a contactless design.

 

Pair the Scorpius up with a WAM (wireless analog module) and you have a controller you can stand anywhere with to run your cars - it also has some nice features..

 

ACD Pro are quite flexible in terms of the range of cars you can use them with. A lot of the 1/24 Scaleauto/Plafit racers use them. They are also good for 1/32 cars. You can check out Ace Hobbies for more info on them.

 

There were a few other controllers that used this design - the Avant Slot Hammer XL Controller is one that comes to mind.

 

I have owned all 4 of them - I found the slot.it to be a good controller I had version 1 (I believe the later versions of the slot.it have refined things and they are better controllers than the ver 1) I found lots of dials and features but never really got a handle on the difference in the features. I bought a Hammer XL as a second controller for my track. It was on special seemed to have all the features of the slot.it for a way better price.

 

The Hammer is also a good controller but I found the features while good hard to adjust while racing - not a big problem as you could set your car up in practice but I found it and the slot.it to be 'complex' controllers in this regard - lots of features but you really need to get to know them well. I stopped using the Hammer when a part broke and while I was waiting for a new part (long wait from Spain) I bought a Scorpius.

 

I bought a Scorpius because I liked the wireless and it had features like my other two controllers but seemed easier to set up. It was my main controller for quite a while and was great when I hurt my neck because I could stand where I wanted to race. I had trouble with it on one of the tracks I raced on - the problem was specific to that track and tried a mate's ACD controller that day. I then ended up buying one. I use the ACD 99% of the time now. Easy to adjust - good features I use it for NC1 - through to 1/24 cars. great all rounder :)

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John the new ACD controller is now able to give you the braking of a standard controller so to speak. Up until the latest version the ACD would start to apply brakes the moment you come off full power. No need to return the trigger to the dead position to make contact with a brake post or button. You can now set the controller to do the braking the normal way at dead trigger or leave it in standard ACD mode. I only tested one last night and yes it does take some getting used to over my CS-4 Carsteen but I am now a convert. There is no maintenance at all on them either. I will admit it took me 3 different classes of cars and about 109 laps after racing to get my head around it, in the end my cars were all doing lap record pace the same as I could do with my Carsteen. Oh one other thing is you can get a short stroke trigger or long stroke. As said before Werner from Ace Hobbies in Brisbane is the Australian importer.

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You know I absolutely love the CS-4 it has more punch and mid range then the ACD how ever I’m having problems with brake failure when ever it decides to. I have sent it back to Steen and he has done a couple of upgrades and could find no fault with it. Since having it back the brakes fail every other day. It cost me a national title in 1/24 Scaleauto which was the first race after having it checked over by Steen. I only heard today that at a club race in NSW last night two Carsteens had brake failures. It seems to be a common issue with them. You maybe over paying at $20 😂😂

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Thanks for the reply...I bought two Carsteens about eight years ago. They are the basic CS-01 and the CS-02 both still work well with no issues.

I havent felt they are outdated or limit me in a race.

I did see George Kimber using the CS-04 when I attended a UK retro event back in 2017...it worked perfectly.

 

 

OK how bout $35.00

Edited by munter

John Warren

Slotcars are my preferred reality

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Don't know about the CS1 and CS2 but I had a Carsteen CS3 and had persistent trouble with the brakes. I thought it may have been a contact problem as the original brake contact was cheap and nasty for such an expensive controller. So I made a new brass brake post and a new brass wiper arm contact. The changes helped but every now and then I'd hit the brakes and have nothing.

 

After seeing so many people with the same issue my opinion is that it's a design fault and my advice is don't buy a Carsteen.

Cheers,

Garry J

Slotworx_Logo_Small.jpg

Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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The problem you are having with the brakes is dirt, yes that is what the problem is. You have to keep your controller CLEAN.

The contact that the controller is supplied with is just fine with a small mod,

Once I sorted the brake problem, I have been using mine now for years without a problem, never failed since.

If you look at the little contact tag on the trigger you will see where the brake bolt threads have dented it,

this has put very small dents into it, it is in the bottom of those dents where the dirt is.

You won't see it with the naked eye, use a lupes and you will see deep in the dent a small black line, dirt, scratch it out .

What I did then was to dull the threads on the brake contact bolt with a fine file, problem over.

The other mod to do is where the cable goes through into the handle, grind out hole to around 10mm ,

this will allow for more movement of the wire allowing it to curve and not a tight bend which brakes the wires, like the brake wire.

Having said all this, if you have connected the controller up the wrong way then you may have done some damage to a component, that will cause a brake problem.

As far as I am concerned Carsteen controllers are fantastic, they are a strong controller (electrically) and will take a very high current without blowing up.

I have used all the top end controllers including some you will not have seen or heard of.

Edited by trophy
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Telling people who have a problem that the problem doesn't exist sounds very much like our politicians.

 

As I said, I replaced the whole brake contact with a setup of infinitely better quality and it still has the problem. And ANY change to the brake contact will be infinitely better than the cheap and nasty stock setup.

 

If you go back in this thread you'll see Noel has the same issue. Inconsistent, unpredictable brake failure.

Cheers,

Garry J

Slotworx_Logo_Small.jpg

Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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Garry, since your fantastic up market brake pad etc did not work,

would that not ring a bell that the brake pad system that you so beautifully designed and built was not the problem, or still is, does to me, for both.

I just love problems, because if there is a problem then that can be solved.

Edited by trophy
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Trophy I have had mine back over to Steen and he could not find a problem and yet the intermittent problem still persists. Like Gary I’ve modded my brake contact points however still the brakes fail when it suits them and yes I keep them clean. However having to state that I keep them clean and you stating they must be clean is the issue. Hence the ACD is very atttsctive with the contactless operation. I have also fitted a new brake pot which dint fix the problem, if it would lose brakes altogether it’d be a lot easier to fix.

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Noel I know what you mean, I had mine back to Steen twice over a 12 month period and he could not find the problem.

I was so impressed with the way the controller worked I was determined to find out why the brakes had a problem.

Don't get me wrong here, Steen is one very clever switched on electronics guy and these controllers are rock solid.

I decided I would start a systematic process and then discovered what I said above.

Has your cable been replaced, as I mentioned above the small diam hole causes the wires to break.

I have had two other controllers have this problem in NZ and I did my mod, no more problems.

Noel If you want to send it to me I will look at it for you, no charge, except the return freight. I can fix it.

Phil you are correct about a spring, on the early models the return spring was a tad light, a feature I like,

what I did was to cut three coils off, the later models come with a stronger spring.

Edited by trophy
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Very strange, first there isn't a problem, now there are multiple problems, but they can be fixed.

 

$600 for a controller that requires modification before it works reliably is not for me. I sold mine and I won't be tempted again.

Cheers,

Garry J

Slotworx_Logo_Small.jpg

Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

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I have read of another possible reason why there could be a random brake problem on your carsteen controller...

 

The wiper button's connection to the wiperarm can degrade....check it if you still have it.

 

My two Carsteen controllers are working fine however

John Warren

Slotcars are my preferred reality

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John the new ACD controller is now able to give you the braking of a standard controller so to speak. Up until the latest version the ACD would start to apply brakes the moment you come off full power. No need to return the trigger to the dead position to make contact with a brake post or button. You can now set the controller to do the braking the normal way at dead trigger or leave it in standard ACD mode. I only tested one last night and yes it does take some getting used to over my CS-4 Carsteen but I am now a convert. There is no maintenance at all on them either. I will admit it took me 3 different classes of cars and about 109 laps after racing to get my head around it, in the end my cars were all doing lap record pace the same as I could do with my Carsteen. Oh one other thing is you can get a short stroke trigger or long stroke. As said before Werner from Ace Hobbies in Brisbane is the Australian importer.

 

thanks Noel, appreciate your comments.

 

with short stroke do i assume that between the initial feeding in of power and absolute full power......there is less slightly time than with the long stroke, but the long stroke has more progressive feel mid corner?

Shed People Mutual Admiration Society

2 times Australian National Champion

1991-Flexicar 1999- Group 12 Sedan

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Garry, since your fantastic up market brake pad etc did not work,

would that not ring a bell that the brake pad system that you so beautifully designed and built was not the problem, or still is, does to me, for both.

I just love problems, because if there is a problem then that can be solved.

3 experienced slot guys all agree it has an issue. Thats enough for me.

Smoke, mirrors and obsolescence. It’s a jungle out there.

www.scorpiuswireless.com

 

 

 

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