Controller for lefties - wrong way around...

[Keld]

I surely hope this is a friendly fora.

But that worries me to read that one person didn't purchase yet because he think the controller ain't ok. If one is writing that, many are properly thinking that.
So something must be done to the design of the controller, please Mr. Raynor you can start the designing machine again

If anybody have a good design tip, please give your input here.


I have a picture in my head bye a Parma controller, fitted with a small wheel on the top, that will make the controller both handed
most slotracers are using 2 hand driving and it will be natural to have the steering on top.

on this video 8 of the worlds best slotracers are driving in racefun, all using 2 hand

[Keld]

I hold the controller horizontally, parallel to the floor. This gives me my 'good' right slot car hand to control the throttle - and I find I can intuitively 'twist' the knob in the direction I want the car to 'twist' or steer, wherever the car is on the track -
It works pretty well for me - and I don't even have to think about about 'left' and 'right' - Just twist the way I want the car to 'twist' or steer.

I hold it with right hand in front of and close to my chest, then i can steer with left hand. but i will work on a new design to fit my personally preferences.

[Oldgoat]

Lasp

my comments was to Ravajack's comment about the controller and it's creator, nothing directed toward you.

Chris Sr.

[tsmra]

I hold the controller horizontally, parallel to the floor. This gives me my 'good' right slot car hand to control the throttle - and I find I can intuitively 'twist' the knob in the direction I want the car to 'twist' or steer, wherever the car is on the track -
It works pretty well for me - and I don't even have to think about about 'left' and 'right' - Just twist the way I want the car to 'twist' or steer.

+1

I like the basic idea behind MAGracing so much I placed an order for 2 cars yesterday and going to see where it leads. Track supplies are next on the to do list.

Brion.

[sincityslotcars]

...I'm sure the inventor of this awesome concept wouldn't mind accepting a ton of R/D (research and development) cash from the dissatisfied to immediately tool a custom controller line...... LOL

[RichardD]

Therein lies the problem - the cost of tooling for pretty much *anything* is exorbitantly expensive. At volume, things can be churned out pretty cheaply, but you need to have some guarantee of volume sales. I'm eminently unsuited to give anybody business advice, but I wonder if there is scope to use something like Kickstarter - a crowd-funding method - both to raise funds for better tooling (version 2.0 of the cars and transmitters, perhaps) and also to raise awareness. It wouldn't be the first time that I've encountered projects that would benefit from both the publicity and the financial backing up front. Heck, even though my own experiences with backing projects on Kickstarter have not always turned out well, I'd buy into Magracing if it's Wes's decision that it would be a suitable way to fund better bits.

[Oldgoat]

hummmmm how could we do this, sure makes you think. I am sure many members and non-members would love to help in this project.

Chris Sr.

[racer6583]

When I was in to the XMODS RC Racing their controller you could remove the steering input to the other side of the controller so you could have it either left hand or right hand.

Can the same be done to the controllers form Wes?

[Keld]

that could be a possibility but not right now as the print are just behind, but a small change can help.

[Nor Cal Mike]

For those concerned about discussion that "friendly" to the controller/transmitter, I think there is a line between ragging (American term for unconstructive criticism) and positive but critical observation. I see nothing of the former going on here. I think the folks here really want this Magracing thing to succeed so have its best interest in mind. However this is a discussion forum and discussions while wearing a muzzle are hardly discussions. Rather they are more like singing with the choir. I pledge to keep my comments , even those critical in the design, positive but see no reason not to honestly report what I see.

My observations on the transmitter are that, mechanically, it works very smoothly. The trigger pull is precise and the steering control works well also. Ergonomically it can be improved in future versions. I agree that some future version might do well in having the option to mount the wheel to either left or right. I am mostly satisfied. Now here is my constructive criticism. It is of an electro/mechanical nature. It is something that I have reported before. On the first time I set up one of my cars, it would not work. I double checked all of the wire connections in the car and checked that both the car and the controller/transmitter were set at the same frequency settings. Everything seemed OK but the car still did nothing. I started to think that maybe I had a faulty car when I thought that I would try it with my other transmitter. I switched the frequency ID's to match, pressed the trigger, and the car went worked exactly as it should. So I turned my attention to the controller in question and found that the battery had dropped too far into the slot allowing the positive contact of the battery to slip past it's contact in the transmitter causing the electrical circuit to be incomplete. I cured this by placing a small piece of the sticky back foam tape provided with the car in the bottom of the battery slot to act as limiting bumper that prohibits the battery from slipping past its electrical contact in the controller.