Dan,
I've looked at the listing for that foot controller and I doubt it's a misprint. And considering that most motors are around .8 to 1.0 amps, a .5 foot controller doesn't really make a lot of sense.
Do you do a lot of slow speed high load sewing on that machine?
I asked because when I get mine running with straight stitching, start- sew - stop, repeat as needed, the motors and controllers rarely get past warm.
But if I want to do some decorative stitching that requires the machine to work harder, all the zig-zag mechanicals or cam drives are working and the motor has to drive them all, I sew slow to better control my stitch path.
That is when my foot controllers get heated up.
I suspect heavy material straight stitching would have a similar effect on the motor and controller.
But that's just a theory.
Joe