Ultimarc Mag Stick Plus opinions.

[Titchgamer]

So ime thinking of changing out my joysticks for the 4/8 way adjustable type.
I have 8 way Happ competition bat tops at the moment which are great but ime thinking of changing them for the Mag sticks plus bat tops.

I found a few similar threads on here but most are pretty old so I wondering if opinions had changed with time?

Most seem to dislike the short travel on them is that still the case?

I just like the idea of being able to change the plate at the pull of a stick 

[Nephasth]

Go with a Servostik or U360.

[monkeybomb]

The only change I'm aware of in the last couple of years is the dust cover restrictor.  Only for wood panels,  but here it is.

http://www.mameroom.com/webstore.asp?productid=JOYSTICKRESTRICTOR&category=195

[jeremymtc]

So ime thinking of changing out my joysticks for the 4/8 way adjustable type.
I have 8 way Happ competition bat tops at the moment which are great but ime thinking of changing them for the Mag sticks plus bat tops.

I found a few similar threads on here but most are pretty old so I wondering if opinions had changed with time?

Most seem to dislike the short travel on them is that still the case?

I just like the idea of being able to change the plate at the pull of a stick 

The short travel does take some getting used to, but otherwise it is a pretty novel solution for 4-8 way switching. It is, to the best of my knowledge, still the only "seamless" top-switchable 4-8 way mechanism with actual restricted gates, other than the OmniStick which has an external lever for activating the 4-8 way switch.

I use the T-stick model on my 2P panel (spring instead of magnetically centered) with a few mods to make them a little easier to manage: lighter-action microswitches, longer levers (with balltops), and reduced spring tension. I've seen mods to reduce the magnetic attraction on the Mag-Stik which accomplish the same thing. I still prefer my modded T-sticks to a Sanwa JLW in 4-way mode (a fairly well-regarded setup in it's own right), if that's worth anything.

It's great for shooters and twitchier games, but maybe a bit less so for fighters and such. These sticks do suffer a slightly more vague 8-way contact pattern due to their square restrictor, making the cardinal up/down/left/right directions a bit more difficult to hit in 8-way mode, as opposed to what you get from round or octagonal restrictors in conventional sticks.

[Titchgamer]

Cheers guys.

I did look at the Servo stick but thought it a little OTT for the job!

Those dust cover restrictors look quite nifty to, Anyone used them?

[ppv]

Cheers guys.

I did look at the Servo stick but thought it a little OTT for the job!

Those dust cover restrictors look quite nifty to, Anyone used them?

I have yet to do my final tests (right in the middle of renovations and another build).

But from what I can tell you, it seems to work pretty well, but it's a paint to place, as it seems it has to be perfectly placed for it  to work correctly.

In my test, I will make sure to use the correct panel size as mine is under whats needed.  And you have to make sure you have enough space between the joystick and the first buttons, as it is quite large. This will be mentioned in the review.

Going to New York tomorrow, and will be on vacation for 3 weeks, so things will get moving!

[Titchgamer]

Cheers guys.

I did look at the Servo stick but thought it a little OTT for the job!

Those dust cover restrictors look quite nifty to, Anyone used them?

I have yet to do my final tests (right in the middle of renovations and another build).

But from what I can tell you, it seems to work pretty well, but it's a paint to place, as it seems it has to be perfectly placed for it  to work correctly.

In my test, I will make sure to use the correct panel size as mine is under whats needed.  And you have to make sure you have enough space between the joystick and the first buttons, as it is quite large. This will be mentioned in the review.

Going to New York tomorrow, and will be on vacation for 3 weeks, so things will get moving!

I will look forward to seeing it

[Titchgamer]

Thought I would update this, So after lots of research and video watching etc I decided to take the plunge and get a pair of Mag sticks.
I like the idea of the Servo stick, But I dont have much room under my CP and I also use to many USB ports allready so the U360 was not a option (Though I really liked the idea of it).

So anyways they came early last week and I fitted them.
First thing I notice is as so many do the throw is short, Like REALLY short. But thats something I actually rather like as I have noticed my control is now much more snappy! It will take some practice to get used to though as I am occasionally bashing the diagonals but thats getting less and less as I get used to the sticks.

Now after using them for a week I also come to the conclussion that the switches are to stiff and binding, So much so that with the left and right switches on one of the sticks I had to push the opposite direction to allow the switch to release properly and then return to normal.

So next thing on my agenda was to find some better switches I was thinking Cherry as that is what the rest of my CP uses but I couldnt find one with the same lever on. While researching this I found several people had similar problems with bad switches which were from sweedish (I think) company.
But the general consensus was to just modify regular switches.

So I went digging in my spares and found some spare micro switches from when I changed my buttons for LED and they came with Ultimarc "Game Switches" Quick fondle and they feel good so I decide to take them apart and try transplanting the lever from the normal switches.
So I take the switches off the mag stick and I am suprised to find they are Sanwa!
But even out of the stick they feel stiff, So I pull them apart and transplanted the lever into the game switch and then replaced it.

The result of this mod? Much much smoother joystick! It doesnt feel anywhere as near as stiff and so far no binding.
I have only done this mod today so time will tell how I get on with it but I am currently much much happier with them

I noticed when I took the sanwas apart they have a taught spring to return the switch after actuation which I assume is why they feel so stiff where the Ultimarc look to be sprung contacts.

The 4/8 restrictor works great, I did have some problems with the one not catching at first (The handle just turned) but that turned out to be my fault not tightening the lock nut enough at the bottom. Extra turn on it and everything was fine. It did take me 30 mins to work that out like and I was suprised 1 turn of tension could make that much difference but there we go!

In terms of the deflection on them its great (none at all) which was a big problem with my old sticks, when it returns to neutral it stops there!

They look nice with their chrome shaft cover (which matches my button shrouds) and they are a piece of cake to fit into my 3/4" thick CP (Specs say 1/2" max) but they work fine in the 3/4", Think its more to do with how high they come out than anything but I think there is plenty to grab so no problems from me there guess its just personal preference. The foot print on them is pretty small to which is nice for me As I said above my CP is pretty busy underneath!

I will update in a week or so with how the switch mod is going

[Titchgamer]

And some pics for anyone interested:

Original Sanwa switch (Left) and Ultimarc "game switch" (Right) side by side.



Internals of Sanwa.



Internals of Ultimarc (with lever swapped).



Side by side again with swapped leaver.

[Titchgamer]

Rise from the grave!

Sorry just realised I never did say how the switch mod worked.

Well nearly 3 years later they are still working great

[Mike A]

Thank you! Now I can sleep at night.

[Titchgamer]

Thank you! Now I can sleep at night.

No problem Mike

[keilmillerjr]

So ime thinking of changing out my joysticks for the 4/8 way adjustable type.
I have 8 way Happ competition bat tops at the moment which are great but ime thinking of changing them for the Mag sticks plus bat tops.

I found a few similar threads on here but most are pretty old so I wondering if opinions had changed with time?

Most seem to dislike the short travel on them is that still the case?

I just like the idea of being able to change the plate at the pull of a stick 

What you found and your opinions are 100%.

I swapped to jlf because i can tailor them to what i like. If the magstick was revised with customization in mind, i would revisit it.

[LeedsFan]

I've tried various joysticks over the years. The servo stik in my current cab is excellent though I did mod it slightly to reduce the throw but that's me being anal. The auto switching works great. I also recommend the Ultra 360s for games like Q-Bert and Robotron. But for simply switching between 4 / 8 way I'd go Servo.

I had a Mag Stik (or was it T Stik) a long, long time ago in one of my first projects. I felt it was very stiff and the throw is extremely short. It's all personal preference but I prefer a low down Japanese style ball top with very light, slick and easy movement with a short throw.