[Breadbocks]

I think the cheap & dirty control system predates the existence of REV Sparks ($45) and SD540($49, 2x$95, 4x$188), both of which are cheaper than those and can take much, much more power which may be relevant for your project. Unless being waterproof is an important trait for your application, I would say go with either of the above.

I can personally attest to REV Sparks being nice to work with. If you used the old Talon SRs, they're basically those but cheaper and with limit switch ports if that's your thing. I've heard very little about the SD540s, beyond that they exist, which I only discovered when I was looking up the legality of some other motor controllers and noticed them and didn't recognize the name.