Author Topic: Opinions on 4-way joysticks (Read 7822 times)

rubberpoultry · « **on:** January 20, 2011, 09:41:47 pm »

Hi Guys,

I haven't posted in forever, but I thought I'd jump back in.

My MAME machine currently doesn't have a 4-way stick on it and it's driving me crazy. I bought a SlickStick Classic (a few years ago) that has pretty much everything but a 4-way stick on it. What it does have in the center top fire 8 way controller that I never use. I'd like to replace it with a 4-way stick that feels as close as can be to a pac-man stick.

I've done some searching, but I'm not seeing a clear winner. Maybe there isn't one. The True4 looks interesting, and the J-Stick Ball Top looks promising too.

Anyone want to weigh in?

Also... Since I bought a prefab control panel, is it fairly simple to swap out the 4-way for the top fire?

Thanks in advance!

Rubberpoultry

severdhed · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2011, 10:35:36 pm »

the ultimarc J-Stik balltop is a Sanwa JLW-TM-8......which is by far the best 4way stick i have ever used. the feel of this stick in 4way mode is just awesome. the throw distance is perfect, the spring tension is great, it just feels perfect. we got a J-Stik for our panel at work, and i loved it so much, i picked up a JLW for for my vertical classics cabinet. i had a betson 4 way stick that i really didn't care for at all..then i got a NOS wico leaf 4way and i hated it. it was very stiff and just not at all what i was looking for....then i found the JLW and fell in love.

i dare anyone to find a better 4way stick.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2011, 11:12:02 pm »

Cool. I read someone else saying similar things. Thanks for your response.

Rubberpoultry

mgb · « **Reply #3 on:** January 21, 2011, 01:11:49 am »

Quote from: severdhed on January 20, 2011, 10:35:36 pm

the ultimarc J-Stik balltop is a Sanwa JLW-TM-8......which is by far the best 4way stick i have ever used. the feel of this stick in 4way mode is just awesome. the throw distance is perfect, the spring tension is great, it just feels perfect. we got a J-Stik for our panel at work, and i loved it so much, i picked up a JLW for for my vertical classics cabinet. i had a betson 4 way stick that i really didn't care for at all..then i got a NOS wico leaf 4way and i hated it. it was very stiff and just not at all what i was looking for....then i found the JLW and fell in love.

i dare anyone to find a better 4way stick.

I completely agree. Check out Lizardlick, they got 'em.

RandyT · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2011, 01:18:10 am »

Quote from: severdhed on January 20, 2011, 10:35:36 pm

the ultimarc J-Stik balltop is a Sanwa JLW-TM-8......which is by far the best 4way stick i have ever used. the feel of this stick in 4way mode is just awesome. the throw distance is perfect, the spring tension is great, it just feels perfect. we got a J-Stik for our panel at work, and i loved it so much, i picked up a JLW for for my vertical classics cabinet. i had a betson 4 way stick that i really didn't care for at all..then i got a NOS wico leaf 4way and i hated it. it was very stiff and just not at all what i was looking for....then i found the JLW and fell in love.

i dare anyone to find a better 4way stick.

Have you tried a True4?

leapinlew · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2011, 01:34:58 am »

Quote from: rubberpoultry on January 20, 2011, 09:41:47 pm

I'd like to replace it with a 4-way stick that feels as close as can be to a pac-man stick.

Get a pacman joystick. You can find one easy enough.

Blanka · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2011, 03:20:22 am »

Put the smaller ball on the J-stick, the 30mm instead of the 35.
Also Ultimarc no longer sells the J-stick. The old 10mm shaft bat-top version and the 8mm ball top version are now replaced with a generic 9mm shaft stick. Although Andy says it's improved on the technical side, it has a slight different feel than a ball-top Sanwa with small ball.

severdhed · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2011, 09:26:44 am »

Quote from: RandyT on January 21, 2011, 01:18:10 am

Quote from: severdhed on January 20, 2011, 10:35:36 pm
the ultimarc J-Stik balltop is a Sanwa JLW-TM-8......which is by far the best 4way stick i have ever used. the feel of this stick in 4way mode is just awesome. the throw distance is perfect, the spring tension is great, it just feels perfect. we got a J-Stik for our panel at work, and i loved it so much, i picked up a JLW for for my vertical classics cabinet. i had a betson 4 way stick that i really didn't care for at all..then i got a NOS wico leaf 4way and i hated it. it was very stiff and just not at all what i was looking for....then i found the JLW and fell in love.

i dare anyone to find a better 4way stick.

Have you tried a True4?

no i have not...they were not available when i last ordered controls. And although i can't imagine my wife allowing any more arcade cabinets in the house, if i ever get around to building another, i may try one. the problem i have is this: Why buy a joystick that you don't know if you will like, when you can buy one that you know you already love? I'm not saying your joystick is inferior, for all I know, it could be the best 4 way ever. however, after trying several 4 way sticks, i found one that is absolutely awesome, so i have a hard time moving past that. does it come in different colors?

Epyx · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2011, 01:50:57 pm »

Quote

the ultimarc J-Stik balltop is a Sanwa JLW-TM-8......which is by far the best 4way stick i have ever used. the feel of this stick in 4way mode is just awesome

+1

What makes this stick so cool imo other than the awesome 4 way is how awesome it is in 8 way...it really is the best dual mode stick on the market of the sticks I have tried (and that is a lot of sticks). Sure you have to reach under to change between 4 and 8 way but I just leave the left stick on 8 way and the right on 4 way and then only ever change the right stick when I need to play dual 8 way games like Robotron or dual 8 2 player games like Street Fighter etc...the rest of the time I leave it as is and play 4 ways on the right stick and 8 ways on the left.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2011, 05:23:25 pm »

Thanks for the feedback everyone. When I get the funds I think I'm going to look at the ultimarc J-Stik.

So for part 2 of my question... will this be a simple install? Can I just the same wires from top fire controller I have in there now? I've never actually taken it apart.

Thanks,
-Rubberpoultry

Ginsu Victim · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2011, 07:51:24 pm »

mgb · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2011, 12:36:02 am »

Quote from: Epyx on January 21, 2011, 01:50:57 pm

I just leave the left stick on 8 way and the right on 4 way and then only ever change the right stick when I need to play dual 8 way games like Robotron or dual 8 2 player games like Street Fighter etc...the rest of the time I leave it as is and play 4 ways on the right stick and 8 ways on the left.

I do th same thing and my 8 way (left stick) has the round restrictor

Quote from: rubberpoultry on January 21, 2011, 05:23:25 pm

So for part 2 of my question... will this be a simple install? Can I just the same wires from top fire controller I have in there now? I've never actually taken it apart.

with the JLW, yes, as long as the top fire is a typical happ one with standard hole patern.
Some joysticks such as the JLF come with smaller bases that dont fit the standard hole pattern

armi0024 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2011, 01:26:34 am »

I would +1 the JLW, especially if you are going for a pac look, you can go ball or bat top on it... And you can get it from us too!

Another nice 4 way is the Seimitsu(very easy throw) of the knock off version Zippyy, which has been very popular for classic's replacement. All those sticks have larger hole patterns the normal Chinese stick, I'm posting measurements tonight!

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #13 on:** January 22, 2011, 01:41:34 am »

So is this the one you're talking about?

http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/104-sanwa-jlw-tm-8-joystick.html

I'm mostly concerned about the wiring. I'm assuming if I take the cables one at a time off of the top fire and plug them in on this stick, I'm good to go. Does it work like that?

armi0024 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2011, 01:48:07 am »

Yes that's it.

Your biggest thing with wiring is getting the directions right, and sometimes different companies orient the Micros differently. If you take a picture of the base of the stick with the connections, I can send a diagram back showing you which connections go where. Send it to bryan@paradisearcadeshop.com, or pm me if you it's easier to send a picture by phone.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #15 on:** January 22, 2011, 02:25:02 am »

I'll try and snap some shots tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.

Rubberpoultry

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #16 on:** March 07, 2011, 08:51:23 pm »

Quote from: armi0024 on January 22, 2011, 01:48:07 am

Yes that's it.

Your biggest thing with wiring is getting the directions right, and sometimes different companies orient the Micros differently. If you take a picture of the base of the stick with the connections, I can send a diagram back showing you which connections go where. Send it to bryan@paradisearcadeshop.com, or pm me if you it's easier to send a picture by phone.

OK, I think I'm ready to buy this puppy. Do I need to buy the ball separately?

And if I post a picture here can you tell me about the wiring?

Thanks!
-Rubberpoultry

armi0024 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2011, 12:46:05 am »

We did just start separating out the ball and joysticks, we dropped many of the joystick prices to reflect this change though.

Basically we are approaching 100 or so different ball top options and it just made more sense to allow people to select these separately instead of shoving 100 options on to each joystick page.
Joysticks are here:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/6-joysticks-trackball
Ball tops here
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/62-balltops

TopJimmyCooks · « **Reply #18 on:** March 08, 2011, 12:25:50 pm »

Has anyone tried the Ms Pac/galaga 4 way replacement that Divemaster/arcadeemulator.net sells? I ordered one and will report what i find.

D_Harris · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2011, 02:16:38 pm »

Quote from: TopJimmyCooks on March 08, 2011, 12:25:50 pm

Has anyone tried the Ms Pac/galaga 4 way replacement that Divemaster/arcadeemulator.net sells? I ordered one and will report what i find.

That's the same as all the other "MS Pac-Man/ GALAGA" 4-ways being sold all over.

It's not original for the original Pac* games, but it's supposed to be good for a micro switch joystick.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

erictrumpet · « **Reply #20 on:** March 08, 2011, 02:40:33 pm »

Quote from: TopJimmyCooks on March 08, 2011, 12:25:50 pm

Has anyone tried the Ms Pac/galaga 4 way replacement that Divemaster/arcadeemulator.net sells? I ordered one and will report what i find.

This is my 4-way of choice. I love it.

The only downside to it is that it needs to be top-mounted in a routed recess (or under-mounted on a metal panel). The shaft is replaceable with a longer shaft, but that spoils the feel IMO.

This stick is great for Pac and other classics.

I ordered mine from Happ: http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/5060841125r.htm

Eric.

TopJimmyCooks · « **Reply #21 on:** March 08, 2011, 04:26:54 pm »

It's going to be top mounted in a routed recess. it will be sharing room in the frankenpanel with a u360 p1 and jlw p2, so options will abound.

dfmaverick · « **Reply #22 on:** March 08, 2011, 06:05:37 pm »

Quote from: erictrumpet on March 08, 2011, 02:40:33 pm

The only downside to it is that it needs to be top-mounted in a routed recess (or under-mounted on a metal panel).

Bob Roberts sells a mounting plate for the Ms. Pacman/Galaga for wood CP's.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #23 on:** March 08, 2011, 06:20:49 pm »

Got my controller ordered! Can't wait to play pac man, donkey kong, froger, q-bert and others with a 4 way stick. Hopefully the frustration will end!

-Rubberpoultry

erictrumpet · « **Reply #24 on:** March 08, 2011, 06:53:21 pm »

Quote from: rubberpoultry on March 08, 2011, 06:20:49 pm

Got my controller ordered! Can't wait to play pac man, donkey kong, froger, q-bert and others with a 4 way stick. Hopefully the frustration will end!

You will love playing those games with a true 4-way! But you have to remove Q-Bert from your list. Yes, it uses a true 4-way, but it must be mounted at a 45-degree angle. So unless you mount two 4-ways (one at an angle specifically for Q-Bert), you won't be playing any Q-Bert

Eric.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #25 on:** March 08, 2011, 07:00:52 pm »

Quote from: erictrumpet on March 08, 2011, 06:53:21 pm

Quote from: rubberpoultry on March 08, 2011, 06:20:49 pm
Got my controller ordered! Can't wait to play pac man, donkey kong, froger, q-bert and others with a 4 way stick. Hopefully the frustration will end!

You will love playing those games with a true 4-way! But you have to remove Q-Bert from your list. Yes, it uses a true 4-way, but it must be mounted at a 45-degree angle. So unless you mount two 4-ways (one at an angle specifically for Q-Bert), you won't be playing any Q-Bert

Eric.

Oh well... you can't win them all.

Thanks for the heads up.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #26 on:** March 10, 2011, 09:00:31 pm »

Hi armi0024,

Here are those picts you asked me to post.

There's the bottom:

Here's the top:

Hopefully it's pretty plug and play.

Thanks again for all of the help!
-Rubberpoultry

mgb · « **Reply #27 on:** March 10, 2011, 10:01:17 pm »

You should have no problem swapping sticks. just make note of which wire goes to which switch and swap 'em right out.
That one switch in the middle is for the top fire button. that one you won't be using, just pull the connectors off and tape them up so they can't trip.

armi0024 · « **Reply #28 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:12:56 am »

mgb is right on, the configuration on the JLW's is exactly the same so just take a piece of tape and mark each pair of wires going to each micro, pull them all off, pull the joystick and just reverse the process with the JLW.

Hit me at sales@paradisearcadeshop.com if you have a question. Looks like it passed through Cincinatti tonight...

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #29 on:** March 11, 2011, 06:50:31 pm »

It came. I still haven't installed. Will it be evident which side faces the monitor? In other words, will I know which end is up when the panel is on it's side?

I guess I can just flip it around if I get it wrong. Still at work but dying to install it.

armi0024 · « **Reply #30 on:** March 11, 2011, 06:52:09 pm »

It is not directional, just match up the holes, and then connect the wires you pull off the old on on the same sides on the new one.

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #31 on:** March 12, 2011, 01:56:48 pm »

Question for you. Does it ship in 8 way mode or 4 way? I'm assuming I just move the disk on the bottom to switch between the two.

There weren't any instructions, so I wasn't sure which was which.

Thanks!

armi0024 · « **Reply #32 on:** March 12, 2011, 02:25:12 pm »

Yep, sorry, on the the JLW you loosen the four screws and rotate the disc. On just about any joystick, positioning the restrictor so there is a diamond creates a 4 way stick. On this joystick and many others the 8 way position is a box. Once you loosen the 4 screws just rotate the disc 90 degrees and tighten back up...then you should be ready to go!

sk8ersublime · « **Reply #33 on:** March 16, 2011, 08:10:39 am »

This thread talked me into getting 2 Sanwa JLW-TM-8 sticks

mgb · « **Reply #34 on:** March 16, 2011, 08:17:17 am »

Quote from: sk8ersublime on March 16, 2011, 08:10:39 am

This thread talked me into getting 2 Sanwa JLW-TM-8 sticks

You won't be disappointed

sk8ersublime · « **Reply #35 on:** March 16, 2011, 08:29:32 am »

Im sure I will

On my DK cab I was using the joysticks from Mike's Arcade, and I actually liked the way it felt. But built a 2 player panel with my extra joysticks I had in the house which are X-arcade bats :\...then the girl my wife watches was playing Ms.Pacman and pulled the joystick down and it broke off the panel, so i replaced it with a cheap stick i got on ebay, which is suppose to be a galaga/ms.pacman replacement that I had on my old cab.

Anyway...it was time for me to upgrade, I cant wait for them to get here! coming from ParadiseArcade, Great site, awesome shipping! I ordered at 11pm Sunday night EST, and the next morning it was on its way, actually processed from the post office....

Monday I mean...i forgot I was off work on Monday screwed up my sense of time....

rubberpoultry · « **Reply #36 on:** March 16, 2011, 09:04:02 am »

Once I got the joystick in 4 way mode, I'm happy as can be. Love the joystick so far!

severdhed · « **Reply #37 on:** March 16, 2011, 12:16:06 pm »

you went with the JLW? it is truly an awesome stick...and i've got good news for you. if you install some plastic washers on the screws that hold the restrictor plate on, you can set it so that they are tight enough to hold the plate in position, but loose enough to reach in and rotate it manually with your fingers. the JLW in 8way mode is fantastic for qbert. you have to reprogram qbert's inputs to hit two switches for each direction, but since the restrictor is square, it naturally wants to stop in the corners perfectly. we do this on our panel at work all the time, the JLW stays in 4way mode all the time, but when we want to play qbert, just lift up the panel and rotate the restrictor...it is amazing how well it works.

D_Harris · « **Reply #38 on:** March 16, 2011, 02:09:09 pm »

Quote from: sk8ersublime on March 16, 2011, 08:29:32 am

Im sure I will

On my DK cab I was using the joysticks from Mike's Arcade, and I actually liked the way it felt. But built a 2 player panel with my extra joysticks I had in the house which are X-arcade bats :\...then the girl my wife watches was playing Ms.Pacman and pulled the joystick down and it broke off the panel, so i replaced it with a cheap stick i got on ebay, which is suppose to be a galaga/ms.pacman replacement that I had on my old cab.

Anyway...it was time for me to upgrade, I cant wait for them to get here! coming from ParadiseArcade, Great site, awesome shipping! I ordered at 11pm Sunday night EST, and the next morning it was on its way, actually processed from the post office....

Monday I mean...i forgot I was off work on Monday screwed up my sense of time....

?!?

I've never actually seen a joystick break off a panel. And I've seen and played on a lot of bad ones. So it's surprising a little girl could do that.

I adapt very well to different kinds of joysticks, as long as they are ball-top. Probably because I'm never looking for that "perfect" stick.

The original joysticks for Time Pilot '84, Indiana Jones, Ms. Pac-man. etc. probably didn't fell the same, but I was too into the games back in the 80s to notice it on a conscious level.

Even though I'm an old school gamer, micro-switch joysticks don't bother me, but I decided to stick with leafs for other, non-game play related reasons. And I would never play a Williams game without the original sticks.(ie: Joust, StarGate, & Robotron).

By the same token I would never play Mario Bros. with anything outside of the original micro switches.

In other words there is no "best" joystick for all games, but I stay with what I've gotten used to for each game.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

sk8ersublime · « **Reply #39 on:** March 16, 2011, 04:31:58 pm »

I guess I should be more clear about the joystick breaking...the corner snapped from mounting it incorrectly a while ago. I glued it back together and I personally never had a problem with it. However, I dont beat up the thing. The kid just got a little excited pulled really hard and it broke the plastic again and the screws came out of the wood.

If i had room I would have original everything...but i live in an apartment and I made a DK scratch build cab that I try to get the best experience i can out of.

sorry for the thread jack haha


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