I must admit that I've never really thought very much about controllers. There are lots of controllers on the market, ranging from around £20 to over £250! 

I've been put off by prices and apparent complexity, negative and positive polarities, and also by the fact that not all are supplied with the right connector to hook up to my Scalextric power base.

A couple of years ago I bought a pair of Red Fox 45ohm controllers, which proved to be a vast improvement over the Scalextric ones I had been using, so I was fairly happy.

Recently I had the opportunity to borrow one of these Professor Motor Electronic controllers, and after that I had to have one of my own!

(I was fortunate enough to be able to buy one in a group purchase through SlotForum, so we got a good deal!) 

This particular model is designed for use with Scalextric and Ninco power bases, so I knew I was buying the right thing! It's quite large, but not heavy, and fits in my hand quite well - if anything I would prefer a slightly larger handle, but the shape is good and it hasn't caused any discomfort.

What I really noticed is how precise it feels, my Red Fox controllers feel really cheap and worn in comparison. It feels and looks very well put together, the sweep of the trigger is exact and nicely balanced against the spring tension, and somehow it just feels right. 

The wiper arm moves across a row of eleven contacts, rather than a resistor. The contacts are each connected to diodes(?). As the arm moves across it gradually bypasses the diodes, increasing the available power. 

I decided to try the controller with a range of cars, fitted with a variety of motors, magnet strengths and weight.

I did around twenty laps with each car with my old controller, then switched to the Professor Motor to see what differences I could find. Not very scientific, but fun!

The first major difference I noticed was braking. With every car, when I switched to the PM controller, using my normal braking points almost had the cars stopping before they reached the corners! The braking with the PM controller is so much more effective than the Red Fox, so you can brake much later into the corners.

Speed control feels much more precise too. Even with the high power, strong magnet Fly Viper it makes a difference. The back straight on my track is around 14ft long, leading into a Radius 3 corner. With the RF controller I had to back off quite sharply to lose enough speed to get the car round safely. With the PM you don't need such a big trigger movement, part-throttle control seems more defined and consistent. 

The real benefit though is with low- and no-magnet cars. The Slot.It Audi and Nissan, and the Ninco JGTC cars are a joy to drive anyway. But I feel like I'm getting more out of them with the new controller. The precision gives you the confidence to push a little more, knowing that an extra couple of millimetres travel on the trigger means more speed, but only a little. So you give the car a little more here, a little more there, gradually building towards that perfect lap!

The Fly 934 and TeamSlot Alpine are my mag-less cars. They respond really well to the strong braking characteristics, and the ability to offer measured doses of acceleration makes them much more controllable.

Ok, the Professor Motor controller is relatively expensive compared to the budget Red Fox controllers, but a bit of research will soon reveal that it's probably the best value electronic controller on the market. And it's upgradeable - a heat-sink, adjustable brake and throttle trimmer kit are all available. I will probably add at least some of these features in the future, just to see what difference they make. But a second controller is definitely on the shopping list!  

As you can tell, I'm hugely impressed with the Professor Motor controller. It really does make a big difference to the controllability of my cars, so it makes a big contribution to my enjoyment of racing them! I've definitely found it a worthwhile investment.

PS A big 'thank you' to Ray at Motorleague for a great deal and excellent service.