Since Robotron sticks aren't readily available, what's the next best thing?

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

After fussing with GGG Micro Leaf switches & the folded paper trick to quiet my switches, I've gone back to my standard clicky joysticks across my "2-Joystick-Games" row of controls on my panel.

I'd *love* to get 4 proper Robotron sticks, but those are rather hard to come by.

What's the next best, readily available red ball top leaf switch stick that I should look for?

Thanks,
-Jason

[HHaase]

That all depends.  Is the ball color more important, or is the shaft length?   There's some 8-way wicos on e-bay from time to time with the leaf switches, but almost always short shaft.  Bob Roberts has short replacement sticks in a bunch of colors, or long shaft's in blue or plum. 

Heck, there's a guy right now in the for-sale section with a half dozen bare 8-way bases for real cheap and some red-top shafts at a decent price.  At those prices, I'd snag them up and start building up new ones. 

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

Thanks for the prompt & helpful reply.

I definitely want/need red to go w/ my cab's color scheme & my nostalgia requirements. 

I'm a bit ignorant on shaft length.  I understand that Robotron sticks are a little longer than standard sticks, which is what makes them special & hard to find.  Can you please elaborate?

Thanks,
-Jason

[HHaase]

Well, hopefully somebody with more knowledge than me will chime in to confirm it.  But the basic version is that they are the same 8-way leaf switch sticks.... just that the sticks were longer.  I believe that all the other parts were the same, and can be interchanged mechanically and electrically.  The good thing is that replacement switches and a lot of the other parts are still easy to get. 

And it seems that it's both the long and short stick versions that are hard to get these days in a leaf switch stick.  Everything now seems to be microswitch.   I know what you mean about the microswitches, I don't like the feel of them either.

-Hans

[FrizzleFried]

Robotron used WICO sticks with 4" shafts.  The "standard" WICO stick shaft length is 3.5".  The 3.5" variant can be had much easier than the 4".  Hell,  I have a few extra 3.5" shaft sticks sitting around collecting dust... but I am not sure of the ball colors (if they match) or if the centering grommet is good in them.  I'm pretty sure I have 4 or 5 though... I'll take a look at them tomorrow.

If you're using a metal CPO,  the 3.5" sticks will work great.  If you're using a wood CPO,  the 3.5" sticks will be a bit short,  though still usable.

[opt2not]

Have you tried Lizard Lick?

They have Wico NOS 8-Way Microswitch Joysticks listed on their site, as well as 4" shafts...

http://www.lizardlick.com/pages/joysticks.shtml

Perhaps you can rig leafs to it somehow?  I dunno...there's got to a be a solution here.  Anyways, they've got the 4" shafts..

[Paul Olson]

My neighbor has Perfect 360s in his Robotron and loves them.

[Havok]

My neighbor has Perfect 360s in his Robotron and loves them.

Second that - I have P360's with Slikstik shafts and Koval's metal actuators; I like it better than the Wicos...

[RandyT]

I'm not what you would call an avid player and I have scored over 600,000 points on Robotron with 49-ways.  I was never able to do that well with microswitch based sticks.

[CheffoJeffo]

I'm going to +1 Frizz on this ... but you aren't really clear as to what you want to do. If you want to play Robo, then get a pair of 8-way Wico leafs and bide your time until you can find 4" shafts. If you want to do something else, like play SF2SpecialRanbowWillItFitInMyBasementEdition, then don't bark up that tree because it isn't worth your time.

[jasonbar]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, guys.

Hhaase: thanks for the tip on huygens' B/S/T post.  We've been communicating & I just sent him paypal.  He can get me 3 complete 3.5" red ball sticks & 1 more minus the grommet.  There's a good deal on the grommets here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170447349603

FrizzleFried: My panel is wooden.  It started life as a SlikStik Quad before I pimped it.  My current 4-in-a-row set of sticks for games w/ double sticks sit a little low.  I'm used to it.

opt2not: Thanks for the Lizard Lick (ewww) link.  I forgot about them.  Took me a while to wade through that page, but I found the 4" sticks: Wico NOS 8-Way Microswitch Joystick, $24.95 each.  I'll see if those 4" shafts alone are available for purchase.

CheffoJeffo: all of this effort is in the name of playing Robotron & Smash TV properly (and a bit of occasional Total Carnage, Lost Tomb, & a couple others...).


Thanks,
-Jason

[CheffoJeffo]

CheffoJeffo: all of this effort is in the name of playing Robotron & Smash TV properly (and a bit of occasional Total Carnage, Lost Tomb, & a couple others...).

 

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

Huygens came through with the goods--fast shipping, lots of spare parts, good stuff!

I got the goodies in the mail today & spent a while this eve soldering leads to them, fussing with the leafs to make them all symmetric & such.

Got 2 sticks installed tonight & played just a little Smash TV.  This is going to take some getting used to the feel of these sticks compared to the newer microswitch sticks that I was using (different ball size, throw distance, throw effort, diagonal zone size, etc.).

Do you have any recommendation for cleaning the leaf switch contacts & for adjusting them so that the throws & diagonal zones are all symmetric?  I imagine that leaf switches "drift" or "wear out" over time & need adjustment or replacement...?


Thanks,
-Jason

[opt2not]

Huygens came through with the goods--fast shipping, lots of spare parts, good stuff!

Funny, i've been having a PM conversation with him for the last few days, trying to get him to sell me those Wico parts rather than going through ebay where he listed them.  I hope the ones he sent you weren't the same ones.

He said he'd rather go through ebay, than make the sale directly to me! Where's the community love?! 
Ah well, we'll see in 5 days whether or not I can win this bloody auction, otherwise I'll have to keep looking.

Got 2 sticks installed tonight & played just a little Smash TV.  This is going to take some getting used to the feel of these sticks compared to the newer microswitch sticks that I was using (different ball size, throw distance, throw effort, diagonal zone size, etc.).

congrats on getting the sticks regardless! Now you  must unlearn what you have learned with the microswitch ones.

Do you have any recommendation for cleaning the leaf switch contacts & for adjusting them so that the throws & diagonal zones are all symmetric?  I imagine that leaf switches "drift" or "wear out" over time & need adjustment or replacement...?

I'm assuming when adjusting them, couldn't you just bend the leafs slightly to center and widen?

[RobotronNut]

the ultimate robotron joystick: happ P360, with kowal's mod, 4" wico shaft, and springs taken from happ supers. see the page linked in my signature line for lots details and links. also click here for a dissertation on robotron joysticks.

other simpler, cheaper, and usable alternatives i've tried:
  - ultimarc U360 with round restrictor
  - happ super

generally, the characteristics you're looking for are:
  - 8-way (or 49-way or analog)
  - round restriction
  - tight engagement (= small center "dead zone")
  - the right balance of diagonal vs up/down/left/right
  - not too much spring resistance

imho, if you're serious about robotron, you really should try the p360/kowal. the original wicos, with their leaf springs, can probably do as well if perfectly tweaked (and periodically re-tweaked), but i'd rather not fuss with them. the p360/kowal is as good as it gets, and is perfectly stable.

i don't know if kowal is still selling his mod, but if not, it's just a simple metal cylinder, which any good machine shop can make for you.

[jasonbar]

I'm assuming when adjusting them, couldn't you just bend the leafs slightly to center and widen?

Indeed--it's a straightforward matter of bending leaf 1, and/or leaf 2, and/or the backing bar.  I could spend a whole lot of time brute-forcing my way through it, but I figure that there might already be some rules of thumb or tried-and-true methods that have already been developed.  Why reinvent the wheel?  

Thanks,
-Jason


PS--Lizard Lick does *not* sell the 4" shafts individually.  You have to buy the whole stick.  Darn.  But they've been very helpful w/ customer service & answering my questions--it's much appreciated!