Length of shaft - how short is too short?

[EightBySix]

And yes, this IS SFW 

I have a Sanwa ball top joystick, which I need to mount in a shallow space (within a drawer, so the overall height is the issue). I'm thinking I could just cut the shaft a bit to reduce the height, but how far do you think I could go without affecting gameplay? I think I can get a smaller ball top for it, but again - does it affect the experience much?

I'm mounting in wood so I need to consider how much of the shaft will actually be exposed (this is just getting more and more dodgey  )

I realise this is a personal preference, and I'm not really worried about how 'authentic' it needs to feel, but I'd be interested in your opinions and any issues you might know of that I need to consider...

So - how long is your shaft?

[HaRuMaN]

*cough* no comment...   

[DillonFoulds]

Well, I recently played Ms Pac on a cocktail with metal panels, that had joysticks that seriously couldn't have been more than .5cm off the control panel.

Felt like crap, was dragging my fingertips the entire game. Would NOT play again.

[DashRendar]

Yeah, I've seen some Japanese arcade games that have short shafts like that.

Definitely not my preference.

[Trap]

You could put some spacers between the bottom of the cp and the top of the joystick so you could try it out for yourself.  The throw would be shortened by cutting the shaft down but you could do this just to get a general feel of how short you want to go.

_|_  cp
o|o spacer
[=]   joystick base

[DashRendar]

That's not a bad idea.

Get this:

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=317

To undermount your joysticks.

Replace those screws with longer ones, and use washers to control the spacing.

That way you can adjust it to the height you like without permanently modifying the joy shaft.

[Alpha17X]

I know I'm not really adding anything here but;

I have a Sanwa ball top joystick, which I need to mount in a shallow space (within a drawer, so the overall height is the issue).

... That's what she said.


In all seriousness though.  and possibly rediculous question, why not just get some sanwa shafts? Or do you have spares that you want to put to use?  Does anyone know how far above the... I can't think of how to avoid innuendo in this... how far above the shaft.. hole the shaft extends on a normal sanwa set up?

[Franco B]

lA JLF is 32.5mm from the plate to the bottom off the ball. IIRC the correct mounting height is to have the mounting plate 4-6mm below the top of the CP so you are looking at a exposed shaft length of 26.5 - 28.5mm.

Standard ball size is 35mm so you are looking at a total height of around 62.5mm.


I think the important question here is how much space have you got in your drawer?

[Havok]

Whatever length you decide on, make sure to polish your shaft regularly...

[apfelanni]

i ve  undermounted  a sanwa anda china longshaft stick into a wooden table with 18 mm panel . no problem at all with the gameplay and the appereance .  my ok baby sticks are very short , 2o mm panel to ball distance , but feel nice . astro has 25 mm around . naomi around 30 mm . if u get used to short stickssomeday u will hate the gaming feeling on cabs like sega naomi  .

why not use seimitsu ls 33 instead of the sanwa ?   

[RayB]

It's not length but girth that matters. You want something big and solid that feels good in your hand.

[Bender]

Ahh my shaft is very short.... but VERY effective

I have a JLF Bottom-mounted (without the metal plate) under a 19mm CP on a mini cab I'm building and the shaft length is 16mm above the CP I also used a 30mm balltop instead of a standard 35mm one so the total hight above the CP is 44.5mm
(the balltop has a flat-spot on the bottom where it's treaded so it is only actually 28.5mm tall)

It plays great to me, very similar to my real DK cab

Do i sense a coffee table project?

[Kevin Mullins]

It's not length but girth that matters. You want something big and solid that feels good in your hand.

Kinda sounds like a recommendation to test drive other shafts. 

Seriously, if it's to be mounted in a limited space like a drawer and you have to shorten anything at all, shorten it the least amount necessary. The options for spacing the base from underneath may be a good option to look into, if enough space is given to do so.

And be sure the hole the shaft protrudes through isn't too small or too big, that'll effect gameplay as well. 

[EightBySix]

Hey, some good suggestions.

_|_  cp
o|o spacer
[=]   joystick base

Adding spacers wont work for me though, as I want to reduce the overall height of the entire joystick.

e.g. I need to reduce the total of A + B

why not use seimitsu ls 33 instead of the sanwa ?   

That looks perfect! Wish I had asked here before shelling out on the Sanwa. Would anyone be kind enough to post the "A&B" measurements of a Seimitsu ls 33 for me? I've looked around and can only find mounting plate measurements. (for sale - 2 Sanwa joysticks - never used  )

I think the important question here is how much space have you got in your drawer?

There is no drawer at the moment - I'll be making it to fit whatever joystick I end up with / modify. So this is the key dimension for my project really.

Do i sense a coffee table project?

Aww, you remembered. Yes, you do. I've been building a proper workbench in my shed before I get stuck in, and then of course, there have been lots of overdue projects for the house that needed to be done...

So all I need to do now is measure up the shaft, so I can get wood. Erm, I'll stop now.

[Trap]

I was suggesting the spacers so that you could get a feel (on a test panel or something) of just  how short you could cut the shafts down, not as a final solution.

http://www.akihabarashop.jp/catalogs/Seimitsu2007.pdf

[EightBySix]

Ahhh, I see. Then I could see if the height saved would make for a playable setup before I buy. Thanks for the link too. You know, I saw that pic when trying to figure out the height, but didnt look past the part numbers! 

Wow - that IS a small joystick, it must be les than 1/2 the height of mine

[Kevin Mullins]

Is there a US distributor of any sorts for something like the Seimitsu ls 33 ?
Anyone know if they are as durable as the LS-32 ?

I've looked at these before, but the only source (until now) that I had found wanted multiple orders of like 30. So this is looking like a good option once again for a "limited space" project I have as well.

 

[Trap]

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

[shateredsoul]

*cough* no comment...   

lol *ahem*   yes..

[EightBySix]

I've redone my sums, and I think I was getting a bit excited. The difference is only 8.5mm between them.

	Handle to plate	Plate To Base
Sanwa JLF	32.0	36.0
Seimitsu LS 33	25.5	35.0

         

Another option would be to have the joystick horizontal,

e.g. from this:

 O
 |
 |
XXX

to this:

X
X--O
X

Which would make the height 65mm, including the handle. I've seen some cocktail cabs like this, but are they comfy? I'm only supporting classic games, and dont anticipate gaming marathons on it...

[Alpha17X]

I've redone my sums, and I think I was getting a bit excited. The difference is only 8.5mm between them.

	Handle to plate	Plate To Base
Sanwa JLF	32.0	36.0
Seimitsu LS 33	25.5	35.0

         

Another option would be to have the joystick horizontal,

e.g. from this:

 O
 |
 |
XXX

to this:

X
X--O
X

Which would make the height 65mm, including the handle. I've seen some cocktail cabs like this, but are they comfy? I'm only supporting classic games, and dont anticipate gaming marathons on it...

Personally, I would suggest trying to get them set up in what their factory positions/settings would be. Then adjust to your comfort level. Just play some games and if you find that you're cupping holding the ball with your hand all around, and your dragging your knucles across the cpanel, you may then want to raise the shaft if you can.

Setting things up to a specific standard makes perfect sense in the world of mass production, but if it's for your personal use, you may as well customize it to your level.

Personally I hate my hands dragging across the panel when I play so while I have the baseball bat shaped tops, they're set a bit higher than normal.