spinner recommendations/opinions

[Crayola]

I started buying all the pieces for my control panel today.
30+ happ competition buttons, and a happ 3" trackball
so far...

Now onto the spinner.. What do ya''ll recommend? I have
checked out the Vortex and Tornado spinners. Both are pretty
pricey IMHO but I do want to get a spinner that plays well and
can take a beating. What do you recommend?

Any other spinners I should check out? I am going to hook the
trackball and the spinner to an optipac if that matters.

Thanks,
Crayola

[cdbrown]

Oscar makes excellent spinners and is an extremely nice person as well.  Never heard any complaint about his products or service.

*edit - but i should try and answer the question
The Vortex has the strongest & most durable frame available in any spinner due to its all steel welded-box construction

[Tailgunner]

I have one of his Pro spinner's I've been quite happy with. When I need another the Vortex will be my first choice, with the DOT style spinner being a close second.

[usedelectronics]

Being in the middle of reviewing all the currently available spinners, I cast my vote strongly in Oscars direction.
Oscars only real "competition" is Slik-Stik...
Slikstik's spinner has 2 traits that are in its favor:
1.Relativly small control panel "real estate" needed.
2.It spins for hours on one flick of the finger. Why this is important is 100% beyond me.

If you want a arcade authentic feel, with excellent construction. Oscar is the way to go. (Unless you feel like hacking a origional arcade spinner)

A review will be up on my site soon, with all the details.

[Oldskool]

What do you recommend?

 I haven't installed it yet (it's in the mail), but from the posts and reviews I've read, the Oscar Model 3 offers great feel.

Who would want a spinner that spins for days? It may impress your friends, but is it good for game play? I think not.

[SlikStik-Christian]

Crayola,

  Oscar groupies club, can I join?

   How about we send you a Tornado spinner for your review, if you like it you can pay for it, if not you can send it back at no charge to you.

Email us at info@slikstik.com with your ph # and we will call you and set up the shipping.

Of course you should have an Oscar spinner for comparison, (hey Oscar, feel like sending one to this gent for review?)

[Minwah]

Crayola,

  Oscar groupies club, can I join?

   How about we send you a Tornado spinner for your review, if you like it you can pay for it, if not you can send it back at no charge to you.

Email us at info@slikstik.com with your ph # and we will call you and set up the shipping.

Of course you should have an Oscar spinner for comparison, (hey Oscar, feel like sending one to this gent for review?)

It's very nice of you to offer to send Crayola a spinner to try, but why the comment about 'Oscar groupies'?  Crayola asked an opinion and a few people replied, none of which said a bad word about the Tornado, just that they had owned/tried Oscars spinners.

Usedelectronics said if authentic is what you want, then get an Oscar - I'd agree with this.  In fact, I believe SlikStik-Cristian, you have said in the past your goal was not to make arcade authentic spinners, just to make a great spinner.  If that is the case then just let Crayola decide...

FWIW I have only ever bought Oscar Spinners, and am not keen on the Tornado's massive spin time.  That said, I can see circumstances where the (very) small footprint of the Tornado would be extremely useful.

[zaphod]

Both Oscar's and SlikStik's spinners are excellent products.  You will not go wrong with either party.  I love my Oscar Pro but a buddy owns a Tornado and prefers it.  He likes the lengthy spin.  I have tried the Tornado myself and just prefer the feel of the Pro.  Personal preference.  

However, the Oscar does require more area in the controller, so if space is a consideration, you may want to go the SS route.  

Retroblast has a nice comparison, too.  http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/roundup.html

[MameMaster!]

Two words.

Oscar Controls.

'nuff said!

The MameMaster!
PS- but that was an awfully generous offer by Slik Stick I have to admit!!!  

[Thenasty]

both product are both good. I still have to decide myself which one to get. I still want to find out if the Tornado runs in pure dos (ps2). I use Cutemouse as the driver and if Christian can  check this out and post, I'll be gratefull.
Back to Crayola question, I think he can't go for the Tornado becuase the Torando does not hook up to the Opti-Pac. Does it Christian ?

[Stingray]

Zaphod, thanks for that link to the retroblast comparison. I'm still undecided if I want to include a spinner on my cab. I have to admit that I had no idea that they were so expensive new. I think if I do decide to go with one it will probably be a used arcade spinner.

-S

[m3talslug]

If you add the circuitry + the spinner knob, the oscar solution becomes just slightly cheaper than the Tornado.

I like both products, but I think the Tornado is constructed better.

I don't really care for the long spin times as no games really require a spin longer than a few seconds.  However, I do like a smooth consistent spin, and the long spin times are a direct result of a smooth, consistent spin.

I would go for the Tornado.

89USD + S&H is a lot to pay though <-- which probably explains why I haven't put one in my control panel yet.

[etumor]

While I can't comment on the Tornado from personal experience, I can also say that I've had a fantastic experience with the Oscar spinners.  The Pro has a fantastic feel to it, and the way it is designed makes mounting it a breeze.  I have also had a very positive experience in terms of Oscar's customer support.

I would definitely consider the Tornado, though, just because of its small footprint.  If I needed the space, that's the way I'd go.

-Jeff "etumor" Allen

[NoOne=NBA=]

I've got Oscar's Discs of Tron Up/Down, and it works great.
I did have to tweak it a bit though to make it feel "right" to me.
Out of the box the knob had alot of backlash in it due to the way it is built.

In order to make it go up and down, the knob shaft actually slides inside of the shaft for the encoder wheel.
To make the knob shaft turn the encoder wheel shaft, there are slots cut out of the encoder wheel shaft, and a hole through the knob shaft that holds a little rod that slides up and down in the slots.
This cross rod was not quite large enough to prevent the knob from having backlash.
I wrapped a few pieces of mylar (metallized polyester label stock) around it, and it works great now.

So far as I know, there are only two games that require the up/down spinner--Discs of Tron and Zwackery.
I'm guessing you would be fine with one of his other spinners unless these games are a big priority for you.

[Minwah]

I've got Oscar's Discs of Tron Up/Down, and it works great.
I did have to tweak it a bit though to make it feel "right" to me.
Out of the box the knob had alot of backlash in it due to the way it is built.

In order to make it go up and down, the knob shaft actually slides inside of the shaft for the encoder wheel.
To make the knob shaft turn the encoder wheel shaft, there are slots cut out of the encoder wheel shaft, and a hole through the knob shaft that holds a little rod that slides up and down in the slots.
This cross rod was not quite large enough to prevent the knob from having backlash.
I wrapped a few pieces of mylar (metallized polyester label stock) around it, and it works great now.

So far as I know, there are only two games that require the up/down spinner--Discs of Tron and Zwackery.
I'm guessing you would be fine with one of his other spinners unless these games are a big priority for you.

I noticed a bit of play in there too...I was a bit worried wrapping something round the pin might make the up/down motion stick a bit, I take it you have no problems?

[usedelectronics]

Crayola,

  Oscar groupies club, can I join?

   How about we send you a Tornado spinner for your review, if you like it you can pay for it, if not you can send it back at no charge to you.

Hey Christian,
I think it would be nice if you spent time sending confirmation emails/shipping info emails to current Paid orders, before spending time trying to ship stuff out for free.

<---Usedelectronics, who hasn't heard anything about his slik-stik order except the automatic email reply days ago...

[Crayola]

I want to thank the Oscar and Silkstick folks for offering to send
me a unit the evaulate and buy if I like it. I think at this point,
since I am still building my control panel I am going to have
to gracefully decline your offers to try each out. I will
however be reviewing everyones comments here and in
the review on the retro gaming site to make a decision.
One of you will get a order by the end of the week:) Unless
you want to send me free ones:P Then I will really do a review
of them.. heh:)

Thanks,
Crayola

[NoOne=NBA=]

Minwah,

The material I used is basically the same stuff that tinsel is made out from, except that it has adhesive on one side.
It is really smooth, and doesn't seem to hang up the push/pull at all.
I tested the knob's up/down with and without it, and can't feel ANY difference.

It makes a BIG difference on the spin control though.
I like very precise controllers, and HAD to get rid of the backlash in mine.

The material I used is also fairly tough.
I haven't had any problems with it wearing through, and it's been in place a couple months now.
(I play alot of spinner games, too).
If it should happen to wear through at some point, it's a matter of minutes to replace it.

The only problem I have had with it at all, is that one piece of the mylar slipped once, and was making a ticking noise every time it came past the upper leaf switch.
I had to use about 3 or 4 layers on each post to get it completely tight.

All-in-all I'm absolutely delighted with it though.
You can't play Discs of Tron without one of these.
(Well I guess you COULD, but you wouldn't get very far).

[bigmoe]

Minwah,

The material I used is basically the same stuff that tinsel is made out from, except that it has adhesive on one side.
It is really smooth, and doesn't seem to hang up the push/pull at all.
I tested the knob's up/down with and without it, and can't feel ANY difference.

This is a GREAT tip!  

Any hints on where I would buy something like this or what it's name would be?

Thanks!

[NoOne=NBA=]

You can probably get scraps for free from a local label printer.
I work in a label shop, so I just grab it out of the garbage can.

Look in the phonebook under labels, and give some of them a call.
Just ask if they have any scraps of mylar you could have.

Another can't do without item that you can get from them is self-adhesive aluminum foil.
It is basically aluminum foil with adhesive on it.
It is used for making labels for the back of woodstoves and such.
It makes great shim stock when you need to adjust something slightly.
The only problem I've had with it is that, if you put too much pressure on it, the adhesive will squeeze out--so you don't want to use it in a place where you are going to be cranking down on something.

I didn't use the aluminum foil in this case because the mylar is alot slicker, and I was worried about creating friction on the up/down function.

[shmokes]

I don't want to say that I am STUCK getting a tornado spinner because I don't think that I will be disappointed in it for a second.  It looks like a spectacular spinner (and I'm eyeing some aluminum ball-top sticks while I'm at it) and everyone who has used one seems to think so.

What disappoints me, though, is that I can't get an Oscar spinner.  I simply don't have room on my panel.  The tornado spinner will mount in like a 2"x2" space.  Oscars spinners (especailly the DOT spinner, if I'm not mistaken) take up over twice as much room on the cotrol panel.  I simply don't have the real estate on my panel for it.  It disappoints me because Oscar is just the best damn person you will ever have the pleasure of doing business with.  He bends over backwards for his customers on a regular basis.  His groupies club stems from the fact that he is omnipresent on this board and willing to help anyone with any question (no matter how many times it has been asked and answered, often by him, in the past).  His contribution to the MAME scene, and this board in particular, are unmatched.

So, at any rate, sign my name up right under Christian's.  I'm in.

[Minwah]

Minwah,

The material I used is basically the same stuff that tinsel is made out from, except that it has adhesive on one side.
It is really smooth, and doesn't seem to hang up the push/pull at all.
I tested the knob's up/down with and without it, and can't feel ANY difference.

It makes a BIG difference on the spin control though.
I like very precise controllers, and HAD to get rid of the backlash in mine.

The material I used is also fairly tough.
I haven't had any problems with it wearing through, and it's been in place a couple months now.
(I play alot of spinner games, too).
If it should happen to wear through at some point, it's a matter of minutes to replace it.

The only problem I have had with it at all, is that one piece of the mylar slipped once, and was making a ticking noise every time it came past the upper leaf switch.
I had to use about 3 or 4 layers on each post to get it completely tight.

All-in-all I'm absolutely delighted with it though.
You can't play Discs of Tron without one of these.
(Well I guess you COULD, but you wouldn't get very far).

Yes thanks for the tip

Something perhaps worth adding is that the Up/Down spinner combined with a digital stick can add life to rotary joystick games, you can use the 'down' as fire and 'up' as grenade (or whatever)...

[NoOne=NBA=]

I hacked a Saitek stick top that has 3 thumb buttons and a trigger onto a Happ base, so I use those for firing instead.
I don't like having to repeatedly push the spinner down for firing.

[Minwah]

I hacked a Saitek stick top that has 3 thumb buttons and a trigger onto a Happ base, so I use those for firing instead.
I don't like having to repeatedly push the spinner down for firing.

Yeah I know what you mean, I'm having a top-fire stick on my spinner panel.  Just thought it might work for those with digital sticks with no fire buttons...

[HagHore]

After reading the reviews on retroblast I opted for Oscar's Model 3 spinners based on that, cost and space (spinners are going into 2 minicabs and are sharing real estate with a trackball and buttons set up for Asteroids).  The sliksticks are a little more compact but are twice the price of the model 3s and the model 3s use less space than the rest of Oscar's lineup.  One cab is using an optipac and the other is using the USB Mouse harness from Oscar.  Have tested both of them in Tempest and Super Sprint and they both work extremely well after tweaking the settings in MAME.  If you are looking to save some money then IMHO the Model 3 is the way to go.

[Ted_Striker]

I just got my spinner installed 2 days ago.  My mom got me an Oscar Model 3 for Christmas (that sounds like I'm 12... I'm not maybe 12*3).  My cabinet has been done (well playable.  we all know they are never done) for about 3 years and I just got around to adding a spinner.  Let me just say, add me to Oscar's groupies.  

The spinner works great.  I can't believe how much fun I'm having with it.  When I built my cabinet, a spinner was a luxury that I could live with out.  Now after 2 days of blistered fingers, I really think I was wrong on that one.

The model 3 is just plain works well.  And the mounting area really isn't that much.  If I can squeeze it in on my panel, anyone can .  The action is just great and it seems to me the spin time is "just right".  

But what I really like about the spinner is the knob.  I got the black anodized mame engraved one and it looks fantastic.  The pictures just don't do it justice.  The engraving comes out really shiny and looks great on the black backdrop.

I really think customer service should count for something.  As a previous poster noted, Kelsey is a hell of a nice guy and dealing with him is nothing but a pleasure.  I think a company should strive to earn your business.  And Oscar has done nothing but that for me.

I made my choice mainly based on price and the model 3 was the most affordable for my use.  I also don't want anyone to think that I have anything to say negative about Slikstick.  Christian seems to do his very best too and is very personable.  I'm sure he has good product as well.  I will probably do business with Slickstick some day.  So I'm pro slikstick,  just a good bit more pro-Oscar with my recent experience.