Happ Super Joysticks - how to make them better?

[MaxAsh]

Hello All - hopefully a quick question - I received a bunch of brand new Happ Super Joysticks (friend ordered them by accident, he wanted the Competition ones). I've been testing them, and I notice that it's tough to properly hit the diagonals on it, especially during some fighting games, or any game that requires a diagonal jump or motion. It can be done, but it feels like you really have to work hard to get them to register properly.

Looking around various reviews/forums, it looks like this complaint pops up now and then. Some people like them, many don't. I see references to "fixing" them so they work better, either by modifying the flexible "leaf" switch style triggers for the cherry switches, or maybe replacing them? Is anyone familiar with these joysticks, and how to mod/fix them so they work better? I saw references to "bending them into an 's' shape" and other suggestions. Detailed advice welcome; I'd hate to waste perfectly good sticks, so fixing them somehow would be great.

Thanks!

[DolansCadillac]

Here's a few easy things you can try:
- Flip the actuator around so the larger end is hitting the contacts, if you haven't already
- Try spooling some vinyl tape around the actuator to fatten it out a bit where it hits the contacts (you don't need much at all)
- Replace the stock Super springs with Eurostick springs (they're a bit lighter)

[UEDan]

My fix was to replace them with competitions.
They will be used for a 4-way project... if I ever make one.

[paigeoliver]

If you can't hit the diagonals with a super then you have it put together wrong or have fake supers. I actually used to pull out Comps just to install supers.They are probably the best all around American style 8-way stick that you can still buy.

[DolansCadillac]

They are probably the best all around American style 8-way stick that you can still buy.

Agreed. They've got to be the most versatile stick I've used, I've never had a problem customizing them to get the feel I want. They're okay for 4-way, good for fighters, and great for everything else.

[MaxAsh]

They are probably the best all around American style 8-way stick that you can still buy.

Agreed. They've got to be the most versatile stick I've used, I've never had a problem customizing them to get the feel I want. They're okay for 4-way, good for fighters, and great for everything else.

They're definitely Happ, the company they were purchased from only sells Happ products I'm told. I mean, it's possible they swapped them out, but even the paperwork that came with them was Happ, and all the other products (buttons, etc) are labeled SuzoHapp. Are the joysticks stamped somewhere? These aren't, so if the "real" Supers are, then perhaps they're fake.

I think this is why the discussion I've seen on this forum (and others) varies. Some people say they're incredible and have no diagonal issues, others say they're awful and best for 4-way usage. Even this thread is headed that way given the responses. Very strange.

Regarding how they're put together, I've tried every way possible, and still have issues with them. Oddly enough, out of the 4 I was given, one seems fine, two seem to work sometimes, and the last one barely at all. So it's quite erratic.

Meanwhile, the competitions I have in my own setup have zero issues, and work flawlessly.

[DolansCadillac]

Oddly enough, out of the 4 I was given, one seems fine, two seem to work sometimes, and the last one barely at all. So it's quite erratic.

Do they have enough grease? Might explain the inconsistency. I wouldn't put it past Happ to cut corners on QA though. If I wanted to buy new Supers these days I'd look for IL Compacts.

[RandyT]

This is a strange thread.  Diagonals on the Supers are usually easier to hit than the Competitions.  It's actually one of the aspects which make the Competitions a bit more "rounded" for both 4 and 8-way games.

I have to agree that something can't be quite right in the way they are assembled or adjusted.  If you want to hit diagonals properly with these, you need to have the larger end of the hourglass actuator contacting the switch levers.  And don't forget that the switch levers can be tweaked to make diagonals even easier to hit.

I honestly believe that Supers would be a lot more popular than they are, if HAPP would start producing them in multiple colors, instead of just basic black.  Aesthetics seem to carry a lot of weight in the decision whether or not to use them.

[Cynicaster]

The way OP describes the problems, it sounds a lot like the experience I had with the stock sticks on the X-Arcade tank stick, which are bad Happ Super knockoffs.

Personally, I prefer Competitions to Supers for general purpose 8-way use. 

On a semi-related note, a few years back I installed a Super as a dedicated 4-way on my main cabinet and it was decent, but I found it a bit sloppy, and I hate the look and feel of the standard black bat-top handle.  I eventually upgraded it with a Super 4-way restrictor and versaball shaft from Groovygamegear and now it's fantastic.  The upgrades cost more than the stick itself, but IMO it's still well worth it because the end result is a very nice general purpose 4-way solution that can be easily bottom mounted on a wood panel using the standard Happ hole pattern.  If that stick vanished from my panel tomorrow, I'd probably buy the same set up again to replace it.