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How to Modify the Controller of a HO Scale Slot Car

HO scale slot cars utilize a hand-held controller to govern the speed of the electrically driven car on the track. Stock controllers are usually not as precise as their more expensive, customized variants and often introduce fatigue to the hands after hours of use. Modifying the controller for smoother trigger operation helps reduce the occurrence of fatigue while also improving the control and performance of both the controller and the slot car.

Things You'll Need

Phillips screwdriver
Slotted screwdriver
Dremel tool
Soldering iron
.0625-inch pin tubing
.032-inch wire

Instructions

- 1
  Disassemble the controller by removing the screws holding the case together with a Phillips screwdriver. Pry the case apart with a slotted screwdriver and remove the trigger and wiper.
- 2
  Cut the wiper arm with a Dremel tool flush with the top of the contact shoe. Remove the retaining screw holding the shoe to the trigger assembly. Remove the shoe and retain the lower portion of the wiper arm.
- 3
  Solder a small piece of .0625-inch pin tubing flush with the bottom of the recently-cut piece of wiper arm. Solder a small piece of .032-inch piano wire across the wiper arm, .25 inch above the tubing.
- 4
  Bend a piece of .032-inch wire 90 degrees and solder it to the back of the contact shoe. Bend two more pieces of .032-inch wire in the same fashion and set them aside.
- 5
  Place the two short ends of the .032-inch wire onto the soldered pin tubing. Solder the long ends of the wire to the contact shoe. Solder a length of pin tubing onto the contact shoe, below the brake contact beside the rear wire of the hinge.
- 6
  Solder a length of motor shunt wire from the wiper to the contact shoe. Make sure the hinge moves freely.
- 7
  Reassemble the trigger and wiper. Insert a motor brush spring between the tube below the brake contact and the wire on the wiper arm.
- 8
  Cut both plastic tabs from both sides of the controller case with the Dremel tool. Reassemble the case, reinsert the retaining screws and tighten them with the Phillips screwdriver.

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