New Product: Ultrastik 360 Front-Mounted Restrictor Kit

[AndyWarne]

This kit allows easy mounting of the joystick and also very quick switching to 4, 8 way or analog mechanical restriction.

Full details:  http://www.ultimarc.com/ultrastik_info.html

[opt2not]

WHOA.
This looks exciting!

How does the mechanical switching work? Is it automatic, through the software? Or is it set manually?

[Nephasth]

Would be nice to see something like this for sheet metal CP applications too.

[AndyWarne]

WHOA.
This looks exciting!

How does the mechanical switching work? Is it automatic, through the software? Or is it set manually?

Purely manual, the restrictor insert is lifted out and rotated 45 degrees then pushed back in. It splits in half so can be removed for analog.

[SammyWI]

Very interesting.  I'd like to see it installed in a panel.  Do the restrictors stick up above the panels a bit so you can grab them?  If so, I'm guessing a dust washer wouldn't sit flush on the panel.  None of this would be a deal breaker for me, just some things to consider.

[AndyWarne]

You would not use a dust washer with this, the restrictor has a groove to grip to pull it upwards, and the groove sits above the panel.

[tedhowe]

Is there any particular reason this wouldn't work in a sheet metal CP?

If I have the right hole pattern and don't mind how much the restrictor sticks up through the hole, I should be able to undermount this in my sheet metal CP, correct?

I was just about to get back into MAME after a year of leaving my machine fallow (and 10 years since I did my original machine/CP) - I was already considering the U360s as an upgrade to the joysticks, and this would totally seal the deal to have mechanical, switchable restrictors from above without having to open the box up.

I'm tempted to order two of them even though they are not recommended for sheet metal CPs just to try it out.

[tedhowe]

One other question... is there any reason this kit would not work with oval tops for the U360s?

It only pictures with the ball top, but I actually prefer the ovals.

Thanks,

Ted

[Bender]

One other question... is there any reason this kit would not work with oval tops for the U360s?

It only pictures with the ball top, but I actually prefer the ovals.

Thanks,

Ted

I believe the bat tops have a wider shaft (top half) so I don't think they'd work, but you could try an adapter insert to but the bat top on the ball top shaft

[AndyWarne]

Our current U360s have the same handle for both the bat and ball tops so it would work with either.

It would work OK with a metal panel, but might look rather strange.

[Bender]

Our current U360s have the same handle for both the bat and ball tops so it would work with either.

Cool, good to know

It would work OK with a metal panel, but might look rather strange.

You could place a spacer underneath between the metal CP and the new plate, and it would look pretty much the same, no?

[tedhowe]

Thanks, Andy.

I think I will probably drill out the dust washers I have on the CP now to just act as a trim ring on the outside to cover the hole in the metal CP.

I don't mind the body of the restrictor plate sticking up as long as I can make the trim work.

Alright, I think I'm placing an order tonight. My first order from Ultimarc since I got my original iPac way back when (it's still going strong by the way).

[tedhowe]

You could place a spacer underneath between the metal CP and the new plate, and it would look pretty much the same, no?

Hmm... spacers are an interesting idea... I'm pretty sure I have the clearance for the extra depth beneath my CP... I'll have to do some experimenting once I receive my order.

[secret80sman]

What about 4 way diagonal, for the Q Bert type games? Does the restrictor have a notch for that Andy?

[Bender]

What about 4 way diagonal, for the Q Bert type games? Does the restrictor have a notch for that Andy?

same physical restriction as 8-way, different map

[robertsig]

Is the new top-mount restrictor better than the traditional bottom-mount one?  If you have a wood panel, would it be worth converting?

[secret80sman]

From the picture it looks like the square plate is mounted underneath the panel on top of the joystick and then you pop the little restrictor in and out. I can't imagine it makes any difference so long as the mapping software sees them both exactly the same.

[Gray_Area]

No 'round' restrictor?

[Donkbaca]

Somebody needs to do a review...

[mgb]

Man, this is not good.
another product I'm gonna wanna buy.  resist resist

[VanillaGorilla]

Andy-

An action video of this would be a great sales tool, how bout it? 

[AndyWarne]

There would be a difference in the feel of the joystick between the existing restrictor and the new one. This is because although the ball sits the same distance above the panel, the pivot location is lower down. It would not be any lower than the existing stick mounted on the underside of a 3/4 in panel but I would think most people recess the stick into the underside of a panel of that thickness. In this case, the handle is longer to make up for the lack of recess. This will feel different to the shorter handle.

[tedhowe]

DHL just delivered my order. Two new U360s with top mountable restrictor plates.

I won't be able to get to it until late tonight, and the weekend is pretty well booked, but with a bit of lack of sleep, I may be able to post first impressions by monday.

Thanks for the quick shipping Andy.

I got my MAME set updated and PC reinstalled in my cabinet last night, so I'm all set.

Can't wait to get rid of the clickiness in my control panel - not to mention physical restrictor plates. I've read so much about the U360, I'm really looking forward to that huge upgrade, but I think initially I'll mount one joystick with the restrictor and one without so I can compare.

[Brian B]

Hey Ted,

Was about to purchase a couple of sticks myself, so anxiously awaiting your impressions.  I was looking at the hard spring and the round restrictors, but would love to hear about how easy/hard it is to change from 8-way to 4-way, etc. and maybe just go with the new restrictor option.

Thanks,
Brian

[tedhowe]

Well... that didn't go quite as I planned.

The old holes in my metal CP are too small for the restrictor plate to fit through, so last night was an experiment without the restrictor plate - I love the feel of the U360.

I googled around a bit and found a step bit I can use to enlarge the hole - harbor freight has it, and as luck would have it a harbor freight just opened about 10 minutes from my house, so I should be able to pick one up today and try again tonight to mount the restrictor plate.

Well... it was a good chance to use the U360 itself so I can give some comparisons when I do get the restrictor plate installed.

Ted

[tedhowe]

Well, I got the step bit I needed at Harbor Freight and I got the U360s and restrictor plates installed yesterday.

My first impression is that I'm in love with these joysticks.

As I said before, I don't really have anything modern to compare to. I had 10 year old Happ 8-way joysticks with cherry microswitches installed before, and now with the U360s with top-mounted 4-way restrictor plates, it's just night and day.

Initially, after enlarging the hole just enough to get the restrictor plate through, I mounted it without spacers, so the restrictor was sticking up through the panel. As Andy had suggested, this was a bit... odd... not bad really, but everything felt just a little bit off as the plane of movement for the joystick seemed wrong.

A quick trip to the hardware store for some longer carriage bolts and nylon spacers and about an hour later, I had the sticks mounted just about flush with the surface of the panel - leaving just enough room to lift the restrictor and rotate it as needed.

I'm mainly interested in old 4-way games - Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Dig Dug being the most important.

Once the sticks were recessed, it was the closest I've ever felt to the real arcade Pac-Man or Ms. Pac Man at home - crisp, even movements with no wrong turns (at least none that could be attributed to the equipment - and not the operator).

I was concerned when I received the sticks about whether the design was going to feel solid, but once I had everything tightened up and in place, the restrictor does feel solid - no extra wiggle or noise.

Next, I played a few favorite 8-way classics - Time Pilot, 1942, 1943. The stick feels very good in this mode as well. No complaints whatsoever.

My next task in resurrecting my mame machine is to get Hyperspin/Hyperlaunch/Ultramap all working together well to automatically download the maps to the sticks.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the restrictors and the U360s themselves.

I've been waiting for a couple of years to make this change in my machine... I have a converted Dynamo Solitaire Challenge - it has a very small control panel since the original game was just a track ball with two buttons. The CP is no more than 7" x about 24". In that space, I have two joysticks each with 5 buttons, a 1 and 2 player start, a coin up button, track ball and a left and right mouse button.

Shortly after completing the cab back in 2000, I realized that I wasn't satisfied with 8-way joysticks - but I had no room for a dedicated 4-way so I lived with it. For the feel of physical restriction, I needed to have something that could be changes from the top side - and Ultimarc's latest addition was finally the right product for me... and it arrived just at the right time.

Thanks Andy for a great product.

I'll try to post some pictures tonight of my machine/panel. I think that the way it turned out is very good and you might want to consider offering a metal cp "upgrade kit" for the top-mounted restrictor - it was just a matter of longer screws and nylon washers and I think it all looks great from above when complete.

Ted

[VanillaGorilla]

Cant wait to see the pictures of it installed! Curious how the act of switching the restrictor looks? I'd love to see a video...

[tedhowe]

Okay... here are some photos.

First, here's the overall CP on my machine - not a lot of room.


Next, here's a close up of the mounted U360 - the restrictor ring sticks up just a bit above the panel


Here's a shot with the restrictor removed


Finally, here's a shot with the Control Panel opened showing the nylon spacers. I wanted 5/8", but the store only had 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and larger, so I went with 1 1/4 and 1 3/8"



I've played a bit more this evening, and I really like it - it has not made me any better and the lock levels on DK Jr. however,

[Red]

Will these easily fit into an X-Arcade Tankstick or is there going to be some modding required?  Thanks.

[yotsuya]

You know, there on your CP, those look great!

[AndyWarne]

Probably worth mentioning, if used in a wood panel with our joystick mounting kit, there would not be any visible bolt heads on the top of the panel. The restrictor ring would sit slightly more flush if used with a 3/4 in panel.
Andy

[stu33]

Would these only work on the u360?  Could I get this for one of the paradisearcadeshop's zippyy joysticks (a seimitsu ls-32 clone, I think).  I'd love to not have to lift my panel.

[AndyWarne]

I need to do some testing on switch-type joysticks with these. The potential problem is the physical restriction might not match up with the switch actuation points so that two switches might still get activated in the corners in 4-way mode.
But this might not be a great problem in Mame, the feel of a 4-way stick would be there. Mame would behave as it generally would do when using an 8-way stick in 4-way games. But I am not really sure how effective the overall result would be.

[stu33]

If you want to send me one, I'll test it for you. 
 

[ragnar]

If you want to send me one, I'll test it for you. 
 

Ya, me too ;-)

Actually the one thing i would want even more than this is the old fixed mount restrictors with greater play.  I have mine set up as 8 way, but the analog portion is to tight.  I'd really like the stick to simply move more.  No restricor does not work thoguh since you can over-extend the range of motion and at extremes, the reading actually drops below max values.

[Blueic5]

Has anyone tried these out,  what's the verdict over the standard restrictors

[dkersten]

Are you asking specifically compared to other U360 options?  Or versus other sticks with changeable restrictors?

I have them in my main cabinet, and while I like the versatility and how much better it makes 4 way games compared to an 8 way, the inserts can work their way out under heavy use and have to be pushed back in once in a while.  Unfortunately, friends who come over and play without me around end up bringing the pieces to me later and ask me what they are for.  As long as you show the user how they work and what they are for, no problem.

Someone suggested trying the new octagonal restrictor plate, and combined with the software to switch modes, I think I like it better.  Not as good in 4 way games as the top mount restrictor, but overall better without having to mess with anything after it is set up and still better than a regular 8 way in 4 way games.  A good compromise.

Overall, if you want to be able to change restrictors "on the fly" on a U360, this is your best option, and not a bad one, there are just a few minor drawbacks.  With joysticks, everything is a compromise.  I also like the j-stiks with the servostik option because I like the feel of the j-stik 8-way but don't like having to switch it to 4 way manually.  But with those you lose the programmability of the u360.. no analog, 49 way, or q-bert mode.  Always a compromise...

[Blueic5]

Thanks,  I was meaning compared to the other restrictor for the u360.  I'm pretty set on this versatile stick as my first joystick.   Just wanted to be 100% before ordering the Octagonal  restrictor.   I'm installing on a 3/4" panel and these sticks looked simple to install from the bottom with little effort which I also like.

[dkersten]

I would suggest the longer shaft with a 3/4" undermount unless you like short joysticks.  Not only would I add the heavier springs, but I might even consider doubling up the heavy spring with the normal one, unless you like it to be really loose feeling. 

[Blueic5]

Yes I planned to by the heavy  spring and the Octagonal restrictor with long shaft.   What you mean doubling up I don't think they do a medium one?

[dkersten]

With the long shaft and the heavy spring it is still pretty loose IMHO, so you can take the original spring, wind it around the heavy spring, and use that for a stiffer feel.  If I ever get around to reworking my CP, I intend to do just that.  I have a few sets of the original springs, I figure I will try 2 of the original ones first, and if it still isn't stiff enough, go with a heavy and an original.