[woodcote]

I would say an old-school resistor controller is a good thing to have in your armoury. For those of us who grew up with Scalextric (or whatever home system), I think our brains are tuned to the direct nature of a resistor controller.

What ohmage our brains work at is a different question - and is very personal. 45 ohms is perfect for me for most standard motors on an averagely twisty home track. But an adjustable electronic controller is more versatile (adjustable to track, motor and driver) and offers nuanced adjustments to acceleration, braking, throttle curve etc.

Where a simple resistor controller is particularly handy is to strip things back to that basic finger (or thumb) to motor link. That means I can sum up a new car in an instant, without controller settings clouding the water. It can also tell me if I have a problem with my electronic controller (or more likely the settings I'm using). I should always be able to adjust an electronic controller to get a better feel and faster lap times than my trusty 45 ohm Parma Eco. If I can't, then I need to work on those adjustments. So having a resistor controller that suits your driving style and the general type of cars you drive is an excellent reference point for setting up cars and adjustable controllers.

Apart from an armful of Parma Economy resistor controllers, I have a Truspeed MT1 and a Slot.it SCP2 (analogue & oXigen) which I use. The Parma controllers are hard to come by these days. The DS v.3 'Slot Racing Controller' is a very good replacement - and offers 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55-ohm versions.