# cleaning up the old Russkit 80 ohm controllers



## tonesua (Jul 1, 2006)

HI folks

I am a long time lurker and have gleaned a lot of information in the two years I've been on the board. 
I don't have a permanent area for a track, but have been storing up track and cars for a future permanent track with the Riverside international as a model( but I digress). I spend a few days out of the month in the backyard shade, on a 4 by 12 sheet racing the neighbors.

Most of my time spent with the hobby is with the t jets lately. Lots of fun. But with a tomy set up, the controllers aren't right for them. I am aware that Parma makes a 90 ohm controller, I just haven't gone through the trouble of buying them, yet.
I did find a bargain on 3 russkit 80 ohm controllers as a lot of the 'bay. I spliced them into the tips for the tomy hookups. 
I sneaked a bit of wahl clipper oil and got them to work, somewhat. They was a bit of moisture and all the controllers have the pot metal tarnished and there is some corrosion. I am sure they ohm out way past 80 now.

Questions: How do I clean up the contacts, and where do you suggest I clean them? On the rheostat? Would you suggest that contact renu or the gold shield from Radio shaq? (SP)

How do I check the ohms on controllers? at the point where the two wires are hooked up in the controller? Or on the Rheostat?

I have revived many a tjet/afx and gplus in the past two years, that I feel fairly confident in my tinkering abilities. Or should I just buy 4 new parma controllers and save the fussing for the cars?

Tony in Sandy Eggo :wave:


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I would take them apart and lightly sand the rheostat where the wiper contacts it with 1000 grit or higher wet/dry sandpaper. Just enough to make it shiny. Do the same with the wiper and button if it has one. After everything looks good, wipe it all down with a small paintbrush dipped in 90% isopropyl alcohol. Make sure you wash away all dust produced by the sanding. It may be messy and best done outdoors. Then blow dry everything with compressed air. Canned air will work. After everything is clean and dry make sure you remove any brush hairs that may have caught on anything in the controller. Before you put it all back together you may want to put a little oil or white lithium grease on any mechanical pivot point and adjust the wiper tension to your liking. You could also wipe the rheostat down with an electrical contact cleaner, the kind designed for circuit board edge connectors.

This is what I use to clean the electrical contacts on my cars and controller: 

http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/801b.html

which I buy at:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0210042

I keep a felt pen version of this in my pit box and use it on my pickup shoes, top and bottom, and on brush barrels.


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

I would avoid sanding, use a 3m srubbing pad from home depot. They have them near the paint. It cleans electrical connections very well, and it doesn't remove material like sand paper or leave a non conduting grit behind. Polish it up, blow it off with a computer spray duster or your mouth. Pen eraser is also very good but since they sell eraseable pens they are very hard to find. Good Luck!


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## tonesua (Jul 1, 2006)

Thanks for the tips. I got two of the ones running fairly decently. I am still going to spring for new parmas soon. These def. work in the mean time for tjets.


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