Hmm tricky. I have 3 hornby toy dc controllers, 1 hornby select dcc controller and a spectrum magnum.

The hornby controllers are meant for HO but work just fine with all my N chassis's. The hornby DCC is

probably the cheapest on the market but also the simplest to use. The biggest issue is you can only access up 

to 10 functions, and some of my DCC locos with sound chip have 40ish functions that I simply cant access.

The spectrum magnum is the best DC controller i've used ever, puts out pefect resolution regarding speed. moreso with slow running.

The hornby DC are total and utter rubbish, more like an on and off rotating tiny knob. but too handy to just throw away if need lots of trains going around a circle

Muir - I've found some items on Trademe that might be what you're after.

1. A Gaugemaster. Supposedly modern motor friendly and will run off you're H&M's AC outlet. Not cheap though !

2. A Fidelity Controller. I've heard some guys in the UK rave about these. Again modern motor safe and smooth at low speeds. It looks scruffy but it's whats under the hood that counts. Good price though.

There was a guy selling controllers on Trademe for a while under the RG Enterprises label (their website seems to have dissappeared as well). Their controllers aren't cheap but work as well as the two I've already mentioned.

Hi Muir, i also use a clipper controller for DC running on one of my layout circuits.the other circuit is powered by DCC with a NCE Powercab. i have always run my clipper as a standard controller with half wave only and  i can get slow speed running to a crawl,etc with no problems. i have always used power feeders on most sections of track as well as soldering most rail joiners.i also spend time cleaning my track well as well as wheels on locos and wagons. also i strip down motors from time to time and clean with isopropyl alcohol. i then use Labelle oil and grease or similar product to relube.(sparingly)most people i find don't have enough power feeders on their layouts and suffer with poor running as a result. even more important with DCC.  New bachmann G F have new chassis and are lovely runners. old G F are terrible and i have tried both 3 pole and 5 pole motor. hence i don't own any of these.just my opinion.  John  

This is my DC controller:

As you can see it is a Fidelity Control with all the bells and whistles, well actually no bells and whistles but plenty of features. I have found it to be the best DC controller I have ever used. I say that without exaggeration, though I have never actually used a classic H&M Dreadnought.

The crawl capabilities are fantastic, and the downhill speed retardation (a back emf I understand) makes a huge difference visually. My trains would not rapidly accelerate downhill in an unprototypical and undignified fashion. It made my friend envious, as his Marklin engines struggled to crawl and would frequently lurch in to motion at about 25mph when starting. Mind you he switched to digital and now his engines behave properly and do all the fancy things that DCC lets you do. Though his engines do still rattle, clank and grind far more than mine.

As has been stated before, good contact and plenty of track feeds makes a big difference to performance too. Perhaps you could try an MRC unit? I have never used one of those either, but they seem popular with the yanks, well those that haven't shifted to DCC.

And in case you were wondering: No my controller is not for sale.

Thanks guys for all your info and advice - I see those MRC tech 2's pop- up on ebay fairly regularly...

I'm thinking, especially at the moment, just getting trackfeeders and consistent power feeders together first - there's over 120' of mainline so I'm thinking that yeah - the three feeders probably just don't really cut it... so that first and then sort out the control system...

I'm starting to be inclined towards exactly what you say there John -

Just something Captain, do your motors howl? a high-pitched squeal? almost like a noise chip? I do know that some loco's are quieter than others - but say something like the fairly common spectrum dash series diesels if you happen to have any?

Some of them sing at minimum crawl speed, or when stalled, but it is not loud. Except for an Atlas with a factory DCC chip, which while fine on straight dc sings to the heavens at certain speeds on the Fidelity control.

I think I recall a cheap Bachmann GP35 whining frequently too, before I sold it off some time ago.