[FTC]: DC Motor Controllers

[Nemo]

I've been checking the FTC store for spare DC motor controllers for weeks and weeks and they're still back ordered. Our team is fortunate to have enough to compete with, but local teams keep asking us if we have any spares to lend them (we unfortunately don't). I feel really bad for teams that can't buy the motor controllers they need to field a robot with 4/6/8 motors due to this extended back-order in the middle of the season. It's super unfair to them.

Has anybody given up and converted to Matrix Robotics motors/controllers/batteries?

I think the DC motor controller situation is a huge problem for FTC and Tetrix.
1) The team price went from $57 to $90 this year. Ouch.
2) These controllers are flaky. I don't know if our team is just abusing them too much, but we get weird power issues, and sometimes the controllers just die. It hurts when a $90 component dies.

I would like to see FIRST look very seriously into other options so teams don't have to rely on HiTechnic for DC motor controllers. Maybe Matrix is the answer, but I am not enthusiastic about forfeiting the hundreds of dollars we've spent on Tetrix motors and batteries so we can spend hundreds more on Matrix motors and batteries. Maybe they can convince Cross the Road Electronics to create a legal motor controller that works with Lego/Tetrix. Their FRC Talon controllers are outstanding.

P.S. I would also like to see the Samantha module produced in sufficient quantities to allow teams to get a spare at a reasonable price.