I am messing with mine right now. The plan is to robotize my boat so it will maintain a heading attitude during a drift. I like to keep the boat perpendicular to the wind so several people fishing off one side don't get their line crossed. After some experimenting It appears that the soft pot in the foot controller is no more than a voltage divider that sends a voltage to the control board. The control board adjusts the speed of the motor in proportion to this voltage.