I can't remember...

[FootScoot]

When I read the title of this post I thought it was going a whole different direction. I seen "I can't remember" and thought I can't remember sometimes either. :lol: Now that I know what's going on I'll crawl back under my rock. :laughing-rolling:

[RichD]

It sounds like the PM controllers that you have are the older diode type, those could be had with a dual polarity feature. The newer PM controllers use a transistor and dual polarity is not an option with those. As someone already mentioned resistor controllers are not polarity sensitive. The better transistor controllers include a diode to keep from damaging the transistor if they get hooked up backwards. With a diode controller you can safely test it by connecting just the white and black wires, DO NOT CONNECT THE RED WIRE. If the controller works you can then connect the red wire and have fun. If the controller only has full off and full speed with nothing in between the polarity is wrong. If the controller has a polarity switch change that and you should be good to go. If there is no polarity switch you can swap the black and white wires and the controller will work, BUT YOU MUST LEAVE THE RED WIRE DISCONNECTED.
You can add the variable brake feature to any controller that has a red wire, just put a 25 ohm potentiometer in the brake circuit. Radio Shack part # 271-265 works well. I put these in a box with a pig tail and alligator clip. The red wire from the controller connects to the box and the box connects to the track brake connection.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

That controller is working fine now, as I said above. I would feel better if I could get some kind of visual cue as to the polarity. Like which end of some component has which color wire attached to determine polarity, maybe? It would be complicated by the presence of that polarity reversing switch, of course. What mystifies me is that the switch position seems to be reversed for two examples of the same controller. I know it works, because I ran it last night, but I'm uncomfortable with that as the be-all and end-all of the solution. And then there's the mystery of the possibly misaligned switch, which by the way, is completely unmarked. I don't know how they could tell what position is which when they built it.

The Radio Shack thing is a neat thing, I'll get one for the econo controller. But Radio shack has changed something. I can't find it at all.

[Wolseley Hornet]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

If they didn't cost $130, yep, that would work. I'm happy with how it all came out, but I was very concerned about ruining a controller for a while there. I still have no idea how to tell if one is wired with positive or negative polarity. I was going to call Andy today and never got a chance.

[Wolseley Hornet]

Ah yes, OK, if you put it like that ($130 :scared-eek: ).

I haven't explored the dark realms of fancy electronic controllers; the more knobs to twiddle, the more chance of me breaking something!

I thought £25 for Parma Economies was expensive (but they are in a different league from basic Scalextric).


David.

[ddyke]

Like RichD pointed out some of the fancy stuff can be added to a Parma. My theory is that if everyone is using a Parma then it is up to the driver to drive the track and not the controller.

[RichD]

The part number is correct, Radio Shack calls it a rheostat, but a rheostat is really a more robust potentiometer that is wound on a ceramic core, which this is not. A real rheostat would cost you over $25. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... ntiometers

The issue of adjustable VS plain controllers comes up all the time. I have been in the hobby for 52 years and in that time I have run all four scales and used or at least tried dozens of controllers on countless tracks. My experience has been that if you are a poor driver you are never going to win a race no matter what controller you use. A great driver can win races with a controller that is less than optimal. If the controller is a very poor match for the car or track even a superior driver is not likely to win. If you use a plain resistor controller it will work very nearly as well as a fancy eletronic controller providing that it is a good match for the car and the track. The main advantage to electronic controllers is that a single controller can be dialed in to work with many different cars and track voltages. In order to cover the same range of conditions you might need a half dozen resistor controllers. People that only run on one track with cars that have similar motors might be wasting their money on expensive controllers.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[moparjenny]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I bet that's right. I've never seen the term capitalized before, including all the Supreme Court case studies and hoohah I had to study years ago and all the sports matchups I've seen. Funny that makes it completely foreign. Just another of the weirdities of the human brain.