Over the past week or so there been some concurrent internet discussions regarding the latest RTR releases and what DC controller is the best to use if you’re not using DCC. This discussion has been rumbling around for a few years, and going back many years theres been talk of the effects of using a poor controller and how that impacts the quality of models running properties.

Back in the 1980’s I bought a duette from where I worked. I kept it and looked after it, but a couple of years ago it started to give very erratic running for no apparent reason. As it was old I threw it away, mainly for safety reasons. If 240v are going into it from the wall socket, and it’s got a metal case, well you don’t need to be an electrician….

What I did was to standardise on Gaugemaster W or Combi controllers. I’ve rarely read of any problems with them, and they have a lifetime fixing warranty, which I had to use on an HH controller I had. A common comment is that people are using controller X from years back and they worked then, what’s the issue? Well the video above shows the potential problem, and the poor performance from it was similar to that which I had from my thirty year old Duette. The solution?, buy a contemporary controller, no regrets. And critically now when I run a DC locomotive for the first time, if it runs poorly it’s not a factor of the controller.