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Has anyone seen/used the new T-Stik PLUS from Ultimarc???

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Zathras:

I've got three of them in my cab - unfortunately it is my first project so I don't have much to compare them to.  That said - I really enjoy them so far- they are very short throw and even with the longer shafts you have to do some recessing to get them to a normal height on 3/4 inch panels.

I've got both balltops and bat handles and both the regular and soft microswitches.  I am still debating which switches I like better - you do have to do some tweaking on the soft ones as the holes are a tiny bit bigger (the instructions that come with them instruct you to push them to the outside when tightening them down).  It is one of those things that when you have it right you don't have to change it though.

The switch between 4 and 8 way is very easy to do and very secure - there is no way you would ever accidentally switch between the two.  

I would certainly buy them again.


SuckerFish:

cool... I am being patient :)
I just know that a lot of people tried them and don't want to decided only on what retroblast says or just one source..
Thx for the input!

mushmouth:

I've been waiting for more than 2 months for black balltops for this stick. None of my so-called "loved ones" had better ever tell me again that I am "not patient."

Apparently, Andy had to scour all of Japan to find them and "supposedly" they're now on their way to him. Do I sound skeptical? Really? Do I?? It's not Andy I have lost faith in, it's this apparent underground of secret balltop makers who *I KNOW* are part of a global scheme to cause me endless waiting, frustration, and yes, I'll say it, suffering.

It all started when I was first going to go with the Omni-Stik Prodigy about 3 months back when Randy announced sneak peak pics of his new Retro version. Same thing... The *&$^ #*&^$^ BALLTOP maker left him hanging, and as a result ME hanging.

Then I decided to go with the BallTop T-stick upon redesign of my CP overlay, but it has to be a black balltop to match the other balltop stick going onto that panel. HOWEVER, the T-Stick is only available right now in the small red balltop version. To find the black balltops of the correct size, Andy went through (I THINK) 3 different suppliers, the first two of which let him down after 2 weeks of waiting each, and now this newest one from which he's still waiting for a shipment (another 2 weeks of waiting).

Sorry to hijack the thread, but this is an open letter to the top-secret society of slow-moving balltop makers: What's it gonna take guys? I mean... It seems so simple... Shiny, painted balls. Not even big balls, just little ones. Little shiny painted balls that go on the end of a shiny straight steel stick. With a little groove for an E-clip. Ya know what I'm saying? I know they're probably like the mob or something, these makers of balltops, and I'm probably risking my very life by calling them out, but guys... please... could you send Andy my Ball(top)s now?

:)

I will continue to wait. Because Andy's offerings are the bomb, and it's that simple.

AndyWarne:

Now would I let you down...!!

Remember the Monty Python Cheeseshop sketch?
I had an exchange with an official Sega parts agent, who supplies Seimitsu joysticks as Sega parts:
   have you got any 35mm joystick ball-tops
   yes sir, plenty
   good. any in black
   no sir
   any in blue
   no sir
   What colours do you have?
   Any colour you want
   Except blue and black?
  Yes, there's not much call for black around these parts.
  OK, Green.
  No we don't have those.
  Now I'm going to ask you that question again, and if you say "any colour" I'm going to have to shoot you. What colours do you have?
    I'll have a look... red and pink
   errr. I have 100 red already and I'll give pink a miss.  How many red ones do you have in stock?
   I'll have a look sir...   None.
   Arrrgghh.
   No problem I'll order one for you from Sega. It'll take about 2 months.
   But I need 200.
   We can't get that many.
   Well how many can you get?
   A reasonable number
   What on earth is a reasonable number?
   Five
   That's not enough
   OK, Ten.
I was starting to feel this was going nowhere..

I tried every avenue. None of our normal Asian suppliers do black because this colour is not used in Asian cabinets.
I started to investigate tooling costs to have some specially made. Then another Asian contact suddenly came up with the goods.
They are on their way to me via DHL, in black, blue and green.
NOW we are out of stock of the actual joysticks until 15th owing to "the great world microswitch shortage of 2004"....terrific!
   

   
   
 



SuckerFish:

lol I work in the PC industry and have the same problem with a lot of my asian suppliers. Always try to make us " very special offer" but deliver short :P

(Nothing against asians, just that 80% of mine are) :)

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