87 replies to this topic

[Racer36]

Rather than starting a new thread, I'll just ask this question here because it seems to apply to all Difalco controllers -- not only to the two Difalcos that I own, but also to the new Genesis 2 with traction control, that I tried last night.

 

Why do the bands get the "gritty" feel when you pull the trigger -- is this normal for all controllers of similar design?  I don't recall every seeing where Jim Difalco has mentioned this issue and how to cure it.

 

I found that a drop of VooDoo on the bands stops the gritty feel, so about once every 10 minutes or so, I put a drop on the bands.  This seems to act as a lubricate and works well.

I’ll post this again, as it likely got buried by now. 
to make your controller operate more smoothly, use nose wax......yes...nose wax.  Wipe your finger on the OUTSIDE of your nose and then smear said wax(sweat) on the copper bands. It works like a charm! I got this from Greg Fox and Bud Bartos....two old nose waxers from waaaaay back.

try it!

 

[Eddie Fleming]

It works.

 

Nose wax/oil

[Phil Beukema]

Classy

[Racer36]

Classy

That’s  why I specified the wax should come from the outside of the nose......keepin it classy.....

[orangecrate]

I have the same problem with my controller and that I used a soft pencil eraser to clean the contacts and a smooth sweep. I also take a piece of index card and insert between the wiper contact and contacts to clean no abrasive material it will do more harm then good.

[Zack Morgan]

I have been using mine for a few races now. It is a great controller for the price point, and the braking ability of this over my previous controller is unbelievable. 

 

There may be even more trick stuff out there, but I feel you get a lot of performance for the money with this thing!

 

Zack

[Rotorranch]

When I get bored with the same circuit board I change my soldermask colors. My 17 band design was blue and is now black. The black looks good but it hides the circuit lines on the PCB's. I have used a clear mask in the past so the boards have a copper color which looks good with black.
 
One of my favorite colors was my silver finish. This was done by first plating the entire circuit board with nickel then applying a clear mask to the surface. Usually the nickel is done after the soldermask only in the exposed copper areas.

Is it possible to order custom color boards? I'm kinda partial to blue.

Thanks.

Rotor

[Jim Difalco]

Rotor, I have used blue many times in the past but ordering just a few in blue is not really an option. Racers did not love it when some of my new Genesis 2 controllers had a red PCB on the new bottom power unit with a green circuit board in the handle. That might have flown for a xmas special edition , but generally racers like the colors to match.

 

I did just change my PCB manufacturer so I have a wider palette of colors they will use. I might as well tell you now that I will have some silver/gray circuit boards in the near future. I think the red,black and silver colors will look great together combined with mostly black and silver components. My new frames are also done in red or black instead of the greenish/yellow bare fiberglass.

 

Thanks for asking. I always like racers feedback on my products.

[F1fletch]

Jim, asking this question on this thread as apposed to starting a new thread. There has been lots of discussion on full power relays vs electronic transistor type bypass methods. It seems the old full power relay can cause some issues on higher power cars. Are you going to be switching to a new electronic full power bypass at some point, just curious. Or does the new design eliminate this?

[Jim Difalco]

Darren, the new Genesis 2 design was to make a more user friendly and smaller package version of the original design. Switching over to the new 2 transistor design also improved the controllers reliability by increasing the transistor amperage and heat dissipation. It makes sense to use the mosfet for full power when you have a mosfet based controller to control the bands. Racers like the way my controllers feel using the bi polar transistors in the design as opposed to some mosfet controllers.

 

Full power is handled by a 40 amp (continuous) relay with real 10 gauge wire soldered directly to the relay terminals. There is NO fuse on the relay outputs. My power fuse is there to protect the transistors.That controller with the extra eye uses a mosfet for full power but then feeds it's output through their thin copper circuit board to an electronic reset fuse! 40 amp relays typically have a starting contact resistance of .002 ohms. Their electronic fuse has a minimum resistance of .0037 ohms which is almost double the .002 ohms of the relay's resistance.

 

Now over time a relays contact resistance will rise as it is used but since the relay is only switching the difference in amperage between the last wiper band and full power there is little contact degradation. Long ago I had a switch to shut off the relay to preserve the contacts over time but after examining relays after years of use the contacts looked great and the switch was discarded.

 

Electronic fuses vary in their resistance, especially when they are shorted out while protecting circuits. The controller with the extra eye's fuse has a max internal resistance of .0063 ohms which is now triple the relays starting resistance. Not sure what their internal resistance is on their mosfet but you can add that in there too.

 

My braking circuit is designed the same way. My brake fuse protects the brake rheostat. Once the ESP brake relay is turned on it also bypasses the brake fuse for a direct short circuit and consistent better braking. The extra eye controller has a fuse on the mosfet brake outputs of either .02-.05 ohms or .038-.0653 ohms depending on the brand of the fuse. So this adds resistance to the circuit.

 

So there is no perfect way to do things. You never get something for nothing designing a controller, or anything for that matter, it is always a compromise. Will I ever switch to a mosfet design in the future? Maybe. Use mosfets for just full brake and power? Maybe. Right now I am working on some less expensive controller designs for people entering the hobby. Finishing my choke controller layout is after that.

 

I hope this answered your question Darren.

[F1fletch]

Jim, great explanation and I really appreciate the transparency. I ordered two of your entry level controllers for lower end racing because your quality and reputation is well known. I look forward to getting them from You and Scott soon. I will no doubt buy several controllers because along with great build quality I want to find that feel that is very difficult to describe with technical specs. It just feels right. Your traction control model (hopefully with the new choke) is on my list as I will need a choke for ES and Gp7.

Thanks again Jim!

[F1fletch]

Hi Jim

Keeping questions to this thread on your controllers. Can we add anti-brake to your newest controllers with traction control?

[pmwslots]

Hi Jim,

 

Thank you for your kind words. I was referring to the volt meter not the foam. The foam was just an added touch. 

 

The foam is self adhesive and was from Michael's craft store. Comes in many colors. Makes the controller easier to hold and way more comfortable to grip for long periods of time and eliminate the plastic slip feeling. I would not expect you to supply the foam on the handle themselves, although it's easy to cut and apply. You can always include a sheet of it and let the customer cut to their desire or just let them do it themselves. One sheet which is 8 1/2x11 is about $2.00.

 

Sorry for the stupid question, but can you please post a link to this foam please ? thank you Mario