Buying a Spinner - SpinTrak vs. Trubo Twist 2

[cmoses]

Getting ready to purchase a spinner or possibly two for my arcade cabinet.  Needing help trying to decide between a Ultimarc SpinTrak and a Groovy Game Gear Turbo Twist 2.  I already have products from both of these manufacturers and think they are both top notch.  The products seem very similar to each other as far as capabilities and features.  There are some slight advantages to each but I want to get some opinions and see what everybody thought. 

Similarities:  Good quality spinners from reputable companies.  Have the ability to add additional weighting (flyweight vs energy storage cylinder).  Both have attachable steering wheels for driving games.  Both have multiple knob options.  Both use standard button size holes for mounting (no brackets or mounting plates needed).  Very similarly priced with all the options.

Differences:  SpinTrack can be connected to my existing MiniPac (but I think I can only connect 1 spinner).  Turbo Twist 2 comes with a Opti-Wiz controller that would allow me to connect an additional spinner to it.  More wheel size options with Turbo Twist 2 (they have 5", 6" & 7" wheels, Ultimarc only has 6").  Some knob differences, Turbo Twist 2 seems to have more options listed on their web page. 

What I am looking for: I would like to add at least 1 spinner to my control panel to allow me to play all of the spinner games, Tempest being the one I want the most.  Not sure which spinner knob is closest to the Tempest knob, but would probably pick something similar to it as my standard knob.  Having a spinner would also allow me to play some driving games that I currently cannot.  I like the idea of the mini steering wheel addition, but do not know how practical swapping out the wheel and knob is.  I have seen a few people say that they ordered the wheel but never swap it out.  I would probably go with a 5" wheel for space reasons (only offered from GGG).  Not positive of where I would mount the spinner on my control panel yet.  I would like it on the right hand side, this is where it is located for Tempest.  I would also have to consider spacing if I would be using the wheel attachment.  Having 2 spinners is an option I have considered for 2 player racing games (Ivan Stewart, Super Sprint).  I would think having 2 spinners with racing wheels and playing some of those games seems like it could be a lot of fun.   

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on each and your experiences with the spinners, knobs, wheels, etc. 

Thanks

[shponglefan]

I recently received a Turbotwist 2 although I've yet to install/use it as I'm still designing my panels.

My plan was to have two of them with the optional wheel attachments specifically for Super Sprint and the like.  FWIW, I received the 7 inch steering wheel.  Having held it, I can't imagine going with anything smaller.  The 7 inch wheel isn't very big.  In fact, it's almost made me reconsider this plan in favor of dedicated driving wheels.  But I'm going to wait until I have a test panel built to try it out at least.

[cmoses]

How big is your control panel going to be?  I have a MKII cabinet that was converted to Blitz '99 4 player cabinet. I am doing just a 2 player control panel. Trackball in the middle, joystick and 7 buttons for each player. I need to figure out where to put the spinner(s) on there. I thought about doing them in the outside on the ends. Player 1's on the left of the controls and player 2's on the right. This would give both options when playing games like Tempest and Arknoid. If I go with only 1 spinner I would probably put it to the right of the trackball and push the player controls out. Where do you plan in mounting yours?  The 7" wheels seem like they would take up a lot of room and cause issues with the other components.

What spinner top did you order with your Turbo Twist 2?

[jvanicor]

Would you sell the 4 player cp harness for the blitz?

[shponglefan]

How big is your control panel going to be?  I have a MKII cabinet that was converted to Blitz '99 4 player cabinet. I am doing just a 2 player control panel. Trackball in the middle, joystick and 7 buttons for each player. I need to figure out where to put the spinner(s) on there. I thought about doing them in the outside on the ends. Player 1's on the left of the controls and player 2's on the right. This would give both options when playing games like Tempest and Arknoid. If I go with only 1 spinner I would probably put it to the right of the trackball and push the player controls out. Where do you plan in mounting yours?  The 7" wheels seem like they would take up a lot of room and cause issues with the other components.

What spinner top did you order with your Turbo Twist 2?

I've decided to do multiple swappable panels, to avoid cluttering a panel with too many controls.  They'll be 36 inches wide.  I'm still working out the logistics of how to make them swappable; either having seperate interface(s) for each panel or coming up with some sort of cable system to easily plug/unplug from one interface.  The plan for the dual spinner panel is to have the spinners where joysticks would typically be located.  I'd also add a 4-way joystick in the center of the panel for games like Pac-man, etc.

Like I said, that's the plan.  But depending on how games like Super Sprint play with the TT + wheel will determine whether I go the dual spinner route or go for a proper driving wheel panel.

For the top, I picked the Silver Dome.  I assumed by picking another top it would include both the standard top and the additional top.  But it didn't; it only came with the silver dome top.  It seems nice, though.

Btw, regarding swapping the dome and the wheel, it takes literally 10 seconds or less.  All that is involved is using the included allen key to loosen the dome top, pop it off, then put the wheel on.  The wheel is held on strictly by gravity, so there's nothing to tighten.

[shponglefan]

Decided to try it out tonight, so I hooked it up to my SF IV stick.  It installed quite quickly both in terms of h/w and s/w.  Had no trouble getting it running MAME (once I enabled mouse support).  I had to dial down the sensitivity in Super Sprint, but once I did it played it quite well.  Now I just need a foot pedal to go with it.

Here are a couple pics to give an idea of size.  I'd say I have average sized hands.  The 7" inch wheel is comfortable to use, but as I said, I couldn't imagine it any smaller.

[jvanicor]

Any luck with that blitz harness?

[cmoses]

Thanks for the pics. It looks good. The size is a tough decision. Larger is probably a better feel but also takes up more space.  Smaller wheel would mean less room and covering up buttons or hitting knuckles on other hardware. I know it won't replace a dedicated wheel but just looking for the best compromise and control panel layout. I would not be putting in pedals so you would still be using buttons for gas and brake  Also deciding between one or two of them.

Did you by chance try playing Super Sprint with just the knob on there and not the wheel?  Curious to how that would feel.

[PL1]

Any luck with that blitz harness?

Umm . . . Wrong thread, man.  Check your B/S/T thread for his reply.

[/threadjack]

+1 on the TT2 with the 7" wheel.

TT2 works great for Arkanoid.

Dial the analog sensitivity down to 6% for Tempest, more info here and here.

Super Sprint without the wheel doesn't work anywhere near as well IMHO.


Scott

[shponglefan]

Did you by chance try playing Super Sprint with just the knob on there and not the wheel?  Curious to how that would feel.

Not yet, but I can try that out this evening and report how it goes. 

I would not be putting in pedals so you would still be using buttons for gas and brake  Also deciding between one or two of them.

Having played Super Sprint w/ the wheel and no pedals, it's a little uncomfortable TBH.  I kept wanting to have two hands on the wheel instead of one holding down a button.  It's still playable with one hand, but just not quite the same.

FWIW, there are inexpensive foot switches that can be rigged up to use as a button.  For games like Super Sprint or Off-Road you only need just the one.  I was also going to try hacking a keyboard sustain pedal to see if I could use that with MAME.