Ever since I set up my AFX track I’ve been trying to find a controller that satisfies me. The stock Tyco controllers were like Cadillacs compared to the junk made for AFX! Now, I never expected much from the stock controllers, although I have tried several iterations of them. But I figured it would be easier than it has been to find a set of aftermarket controllers that gave me the feel and the expertise I’ve been looking for.
Including an odd set of Japanese market F1 style controllers-which looked interesting but didn’t suit me-and a set of cheap Auto World “thumb controllers,” I’ve tried 5 different types. The closest I came to something I liked was my Parma Econo controllers. These are very good: they have a great feel and are consistent and reliable. The problem, however, is that they don’t have enough resistance.
ohm…ohm….
Aside from quality, the biggest sticking point has been resistance. Resistance, as you probably know, provides “braking power.” When I bought my Parma Econo controllers, I made the mistake of specifying 45 ohm coils. That sounded right for the traction magnet Ultra G’s that I race, but although they are fine for at least 70% of my cars, that remaining 30% or so are too fast for such a low resistance rating. Coming down the long straightaway at Drag City into a turn, the cars with the strongest and freest-spinning motors cannot be brought down in speed enough to prevent from deslotting unless the “throttle” is released entirely, causing the car to stop, which results in unacceptably poor performance.
This is the reason why, when I race my 100% stock chassis Trans Am fleet, I have no choice but to use the 120 ohm Tomy controllers. This works to a point, but these are of such poor quality that the trigger response creates new performance problems. After trying to race with these only a few times, I’ve come to the conclusion there’s no point.
Since the Parmas are the only ones that were any good, I recently found the pair I’d been looking for months: the same model as the ones I have, with a 90 ohm resistor! That is, I thought I had found them…after paying for them, I got an email from the vendor I bought them from telling me he was refunding my money because Parma has gone out of business and the controllers are sold out and no longer available!
Now what???
One Controller To Rule Them All…?
Enter the DS Basic-3! I found out about these while web searching all night for alternatives to the Parma Econo. I was a little skeptical about the construction of these, which utilizes a bank of resistance segments instead of a rheostat coil, but what sold me on them was a feature that was like an answer to a prayer: a switch that allows the racer to toggle between 3 resistance settings: 60, 90, and 120 ohms! Once I saw that, I was convinced that even with the high price, I had to try them.
And pricey they were! With tax and shipping, a pair of these cost me $200, but they were brand new, and they are factory made pieces. I wanted a pair in purple but the vendor only had one left, so I settled for one purple one and one yellow one, which seemed like a good compromise.
Once they arrived, I was impressed with the build quality even though they came with bare wires with no alligator clips. It was easy enough to add my own alligator clips and solder them in. They have a good feel, although they are not as heavy as I’d hoped.
Turning the tables
As part of my intent to implement these controllers, I decided to stop chopping the AFX connectors off of my undesirable controllers to use as leads for aftermarket units and to set up something more professional. I opted to buy a set of solid brass bolts, washers, and nuts and to install these on the sides of my table, hooking ring terminals to the ends of the connectors that lead to the terminal track on the underside of the table and leaving the exposed bolts on the front to connect to alligator clips of the controllers too. I bought bolts long enough to hold 2 sets of alligator clips, because I planned to use my Parma controllers in addition to the DS Basic-3’s: this would give me the option of racing with 45, 60, 90, or 120 ohms of resistance, allowing me to choose which level was best for the car I was running and the track I was running it on. Finally, in order to accommodate 2 sets of large controllers in addition to just having a better space for data recording, my remote keyboard for the Jumbotron, and whatever beverage I was drinking, I doubled the side of the platform beside the table that house the timing controller.
After all of this, a friend asked me, “So…instead of spending all that money on those controllers, why didn’t you just install a couple of inline rheostats?”
Well, that’s a good question! And if you remember this post from nearly 2 years ago, you can see that I thought about that way back when I was moving from the Tyco to the AFX track! It seems to me, however, that there are some concerns about rules and fairness here: how much “tweaking” is going to be allowed? At a gut level, I feel like choosing between 4 set resistance levels might be a little more fair than letting each racer dial in the perfect degree of resistance every time. This is something that needs more thought, so I am revisiting this idea and I believe that I may eventually decide to do exactly this, since I have found some rheostats I can buy online that are of high enough quality that they may satisfy my need for longevity and reliability. But I needed a better set of controllers regardless, and even if I decide to install a set of “speed controls” later, I now have them.
SO, what is the result?
So far, it seems like a game changer! I just ran my first tournament with these new controllers and it was like a whole new world: the results were very different-and more varied-than I’ve been seeing over the last year; it made for some white-knuckle racing with unexpected results and big surprises! I’ll be post more details about those results soon! In the meantime, let’s see how the DS Basic-3 performs over the next couple of months of racing! If they hold up, I may have finally found the solution I’ve been looking for!
