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Author Topic: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]  (Read 12959 times)

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negative1

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Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« on: October 05, 2020, 07:22:00 pm »
Atari Fightstick twin with trackball and USB
============================================

There are 3 versions of this:
----
Basic - Twin joystick with USB
Normal - Twin joystick/Trackball with USB
Expert - Twin joystick/Trackball with Raspberry Pi


I bought the normal version.

You can get them from Microcenter, or Amazon.
I got an open box one from Microcenter for $120.
Which is about $30 less than a new one.

I specifically wanted one with a Trackball to play
Atari games, and other ones that use it.

==================================================
Hardware background:

I have used arcade joysticks for every console I
have ever owned starting with the Sega Genesis.
Also owned a Sega Saturn arcade stick, which I still
use to this day. I have one for the Dreamcast also.

From then I moved to a custom Arcade Stick I bought
for the xbox 360, which used professional parts, and
buttons (It was an 8-way stick).

After that, I got a tekken fighstick for free, and
an X-arcade single player joystick (which was terrible
and never worked with the 360). After that I got a
Madcatz joystick which can be used with the xbox one.

To play a lot of retrogames, I also needed spinner
and trackball support. I have several USB compatible
spinners, and trackballs. However, I had to use a
Cronus Max pro which maps all the controllers to
different outputs, like XBOX 360, and XBOX one.

All the USB controllers map to mouse controls, on PC's,
tablets, and other devices (arcade 1up, etc).

==================================================

Use cases
==============================================================
I have never had a twin fightstick, but for several
years have seen pandora's boxes that come with games in them.

There was a twin fightstick with a trackball from x-arcade,
but after the bad experience with them and their support.
I would not recommend them.

In the last few years, there are tons of fight sticks out
from SNK, Capcom, and Atgames to name a few.

In fact, the Atari w/Rpi goes up against the Atgames
Legends gamer fightstick mostly:
https://www.atgames.net/arcades/legends-gamer-series/



comparison:
ATARI                        Atgames
===============================================
games built in               games built in
twin joystick 8-way          twin joystick 8 way
trackball (2.5inch)*         trackball*        *optional
HDMI                         HDMI (through puck)
16 buttons                   26 buttons
17.7 pounds                  8 pounds
-----
USB compatibility            N/A
Rpi, PC, Android,
PS3


There are other differences, as the ATgames is all wifi,
and wireless. And has a ton of software options.

Pricewise, this and expert Atari versions are the same.
But the Atgames has a ton more features including BYOG
for putting your own roms and emulators on there.

Atari is locked into 100 licensed Roms.

==============================================================

For my purposes, I only wanted a controller to use with dual
stick games, and trackball games.



Packaging, and quality
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Simple box, Joystick unit with 2 foam inserts on left and
right. 1 USB cable (with 2 connectors).

1 instruction manual, with basically no useful information in it.

The box was well packed, and it was easy to remove the unit
and the parts from it.

---------------------------------

These are heavy duty wood, with t-molding around the edges.
The buttons are all arcade quality (not sure what kind),
and same with the 8 way joysticks. The trackball is a
serious heavy duty arcade quality, and is a 2.5 inch one
which is inbetween the 2 1/4inch of Centipede, and the
3 inch ones on Missile Command/Millipede.


Very professional and clean wiring:
---


There are 2 support struts to hold the top open, and you turn
a key in the lock to open it. Which makes it incredibly easy
to mod, or diagnose any issues.

The wiring is very clean, and there are 2 connectors going
to the controller board. I didn't alter or mess with any
of the wiring.

There is a yellow LED that lights up when power through USB is used.

The joysticks can be changed from being recognized as digital to analog
by doing this:
"The mode switch is not broken out to a physical button on the Fight Stick. You could change the mode by touching the

wire coming from P2 Pin 4 to ground (all of the black wires on the wiring harness are connected to ground) or

repurpose one of the buttons as a mode button by replacing the colored wire on the button with the wire coming from P2

Pin 4. "

There is a whole support forum at microcenter for them
to answer questions and issues for support for the joystick
through their retrogaming portal.

===================================

There are 2 USB connectors. 1 for the trackball (and a PS/2 adapter), and 1
for the joysticks/buttons.

Compatibility is across Windows 98 through Windows 10, and it shows up
as 2 controllers. (1 for each side). The trackball shows up as a mouse.

I don't have any android/ios/chrome/rpi to test it out on.


I have only had a chance to test out 2 cases, for several hours:
-------------------------------------------------------------
PC- MAME, several different versions, all recognized the sticks/buttons and trackball.
Response was very good, and no lag detected. Depending on the game, adjusted the
sensitivity for the trackball to make the games respond better.

Tried out centipede/millipede/missile command, and liberator, and all
performed great.

XBOX one, through cronus max pro. Joysticks work fine, and trackball also,
but definitely have to fine tune the response for the best gameplay.

I will be trying it out on xbox 360 also, and on several other PC's.

It's big and sturdy, and the texured panel has plenty of room for your
palms to rest. I'm not a huge fan of the artwork, it's too busy, and I
would have preferred just the Atari logo, but it doesn't affect anything anyways.


Final verdict
=========================================
Value - incredible bargain, instead of having to source parts, its worth $120-$150

Usefulness- worthy arcade replacement panel if you need a dual stick/trackball across several
platforms

Game library - i didn't buy the one that had 100 games, but if you like atari, you will love those
games. I have them on several platforms, but you can also play games from many other game companies

Expandability and Modding - this is perfect for modding, and its easy to add spinners and other
other controls to it, the wiring is neat, and simple, there isn't much or any lag, and there's
plenty of buttons to map


Overall 4.5/5 stars

TLDR;   short version
=================================================================
It is not clear how to set it up, the manual is terrible, and
unless you know what you are doing, you might get stuck trying
to figure out how to get things working.

Most stuff is plug and play, but depending on your console, and OS,
you could end up fiddling around for awhile.

Its easy to mod, so I will probably add a spinner to it also.

Very happy to get this compared to a lot of overpriced, and bloated
game sticks with games I don't want.

The quality is excellent, and it seems to be very durable.

I keep my joysticks for several years, and this one looks like it
low maintenance and durable, and will definitely enhance my gaming
experience.

Highly recommended.

later
-1

nexusmtz

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2020, 11:32:35 pm »
As your picture shows, there is a fourth model.
Dual, no PI - $120
Dual, PI - $150
Dual, Trackball, no PI - $150
Dual, Trackball, PI - $200

That last one seems like a ripoff, if the PI is identical in both PI models.

PonderosaPilatus

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2020, 12:32:53 pm »
Thanks for the review.  This is exactly what I was looking for.

ETA:  Would 2 of the USB versions connected to a PC work for 4 player games? 
« Last Edit: October 15, 2020, 04:00:41 pm by PonderosaPilatus »

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2020, 04:38:28 am »
Thanks for the review.  This is exactly what I was looking for.

ETA:  Would 2 of the USB versions connected to a PC work for 4 player games?

They should work, but I haven't tested it, since I only play 1 player games.
(even though I have multiple joysticks)

later
-1

PonderosaPilatus

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2020, 09:58:17 pm »
Seems like it should work with 2.  Guess I'm going to have to try it out. 


FYI: Microcenter has these on sale right now for the non-pi versions.  $129 with trackball, $99 without

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2020, 11:29:49 am »
Seems like it should work with 2.  Guess I'm going to have to try it out. 


FYI: Microcenter has these on sale right now for the non-pi versions.  $129 with trackball, $99 without

Good luck, sounds like a good deal.
Mine also had several open box ones, but they are only about $10 cheaper.

later
-1

pbj

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2020, 04:02:48 pm »
These sure look suspiciously like Xarcades.....


Vocalitus

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2020, 04:08:34 pm »
These sure look suspiciously like Xarcades.....

Well if Xgaming looked after their customers, their competition would be stiff.  Saying you have a lifetime warranty on a control panel and then finding out it is only for modern products recently purchased is not good.

I like the panel and the lock at the bottom is cool.  Would be nice if it was styled like the 2600.

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2020, 04:23:48 am »
These sure look suspiciously like Xarcades.....

Well if Xgaming looked after their customers, their competition would be stiff.  Saying you have a lifetime warranty on a control panel and then finding out it is only for modern products recently purchased is not good.

I like the panel and the lock at the bottom is cool.  Would be nice if it was styled like the 2600.

i was banned from the x-arcade pages, from their tech support emails, and phone.

i paid for several cables to get their stupid joystick to work with the xbox 360.

IT NEVER WORKED.

i then returned the cables, and they wouldn't refund me, were very rude,

and lied constantly whenever i called to find out what happened.

hope they burn in a fire.

(no, i'm not biased) ha ha

later
-1

thatpurplestuff

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2020, 10:25:51 pm »
Figured I would bump this since I just checked and they are offering a deeper discount than before.  $99 for the 2 player trackball version.  I was a no at $149, going back and forth when it was $129, but for $99 I caved.  Also next day shipping was only $11.99... that seems very low for a product of this size?  We'll see when it actually arrives haha!

Thanks for posting about this, wouldn't have seen it otherwise!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2020, 11:28:47 am »
Figured I would bump this since I just checked and they are offering a deeper discount than before.  $99 for the 2 player trackball version.  I was a no at $149, going back and forth when it was $129, but for $99 I caved.  Also next day shipping was only $11.99... that seems very low for a product of this size?  We'll see when it actually arrives haha!

Thanks for posting about this, wouldn't have seen it otherwise!

Just in case, this is an instore price only for some people at certain stores.
They do not ship online in certain states, someone reported.

later
-1

Vocalitus

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2020, 12:15:28 pm »
These sure look suspiciously like Xarcades.....

Well if Xgaming looked after their customers, their competition would be stiff.  Saying you have a lifetime warranty on a control panel and then finding out it is only for modern products recently purchased is not good.

I like the panel and the lock at the bottom is cool.  Would be nice if it was styled like the 2600.

i was banned from the x-arcade pages, from their tech support emails, and phone.

i paid for several cables to get their stupid joystick to work with the xbox 360.

IT NEVER WORKED.

i then returned the cables, and they wouldn't refund me, were very rude,

and lied constantly whenever i called to find out what happened.

hope they burn in a fire.

(no, i'm not biased) ha ha

later
-1

Yeah X Gaming had a work around to Microsoft's DRM on the controllers. 

You had to purchase a X Arcade to PS2 adapter and then plug the PS2 adapter into the Xbox 360 adapter.  Funnily enough the 360 adapter worked flawlessly with the PC.

What? Two ($30) external boxes?  It was easier and cheaper to get a second hand Madcatz 360 Arcade controller.  :lol

I gutted my Xarcade and stuck a Pi in it.  I have a Kronos Max if I need to stick anything into the 360.  :o 

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2020, 05:12:43 pm »
These sure look suspiciously like Xarcades.....

Well if Xgaming looked after their customers, their competition would be stiff.  Saying you have a lifetime warranty on a control panel and then finding out it is only for modern products recently purchased is not good.

I like the panel and the lock at the bottom is cool.  Would be nice if it was styled like the 2600.

i was banned from the x-arcade pages, from their tech support emails, and phone.

i paid for several cables to get their stupid joystick to work with the xbox 360.

IT NEVER WORKED.

i then returned the cables, and they wouldn't refund me, were very rude,

and lied constantly whenever i called to find out what happened.

hope they burn in a fire.

(no, i'm not biased) ha ha

later
-1

Yeah X Gaming had a work around to Microsoft's DRM on the controllers. 

You had to purchase a X Arcade to PS2 adapter and then plug the PS2 adapter into the Xbox 360 adapter.  Funnily enough the 360 adapter worked flawlessly with the PC.

What? Two ($30) external boxes?  It was easier and cheaper to get a second hand Madcatz 360 Arcade controller.  :lol

I gutted my Xarcade and stuck a Pi in it.  I have a Kronos Max if I need to stick anything into the 360.  :o

right on. i have a custom arcade stick built with xbox 360 controller guts, and still use it with the chronus maxpro on the
xbox one.

later
-1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2020, 05:41:59 pm »
At $100 the unit is cheaper than you can buy the parts, assuming they are quality parts.  I don't think microcenter will ship to WV but I'm tempted.  I'm confused about the giant atari branding though.... yeah all those atari games and their 6 buttons.....  Whoever owns atari needs to scale back a bit. 

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #14 on: November 11, 2020, 07:09:23 pm »
Quick update... when I ordered it, the confirmation email said it wasn't going to ship until Nov 17th which made me a little worried that the order was going to get cancelled or something, but I just got a an email with tracking number saying my order has shipped (I live in California and FedEx is saying delivery should be tomorrow, doubtful but we'll see haha).

Howard: I agree, even if the parts aren't the best it still appears to be a very good deal when you consider that it's the control panel itself, 2 joysticks, 16 buttons/switches, hydraulic hinge supports, a lock, all of the USB controllers and wiring, artwork etc.  At the very least I'm hoping it'll be something fun to throw a Pi in and play Shuffleshot in the living room!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

JimmyU

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2020, 08:13:37 pm »
I don’t see it on the Microcenter website. I wonder if they’re sold out.

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #16 on: November 11, 2020, 09:51:30 pm »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Howard_Casto

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #17 on: November 11, 2020, 10:37:23 pm »
See I don't know how you guys are getting it shipped.  The link you just posted says "In Store Only" for me.  Closest store is Fairfax VA.  :(

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #18 on: November 12, 2020, 03:36:27 am »
See I don't know how you guys are getting it shipped.  The link you just posted says "In Store Only" for me.  Closest store is Fairfax VA.  :(

Hmm uh oh it's saying "In Store Only" for me now too, either warehouse inventory got low or they just randomly decided to change it.  That's really weird considering I just placed my order Nov 10th without issue.  FedEx still saying it should be delivered tomorrow (eesh nevermind it's past midnight, technically today November 12th by 8pm) even though the latest update still says "Label created".  Fingers crossed, but I still won't feel confident that this purchase is going through until the thing is in my hands!

Edit this morning 11/12: Just checked and shipping info still says "Label Created"... last update was 9:17am 11/11.  Looks like it is supposed to ship from Columbus, OH.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2020, 01:05:34 pm by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

thatpurplestuff

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #19 on: November 14, 2020, 01:20:29 pm »


Got it in the mail, figured I would give my thoughts for anyone interested.  First of all, I have no idea how they sent this gigantic box 2 day shipping for $11.99.  It came very well packed both in the shipping box and the product box.  Particularly since they have made it in-store only now, I have a feeling this deal was never supposed to be available online and I almost feel guilty about the price I paid.

REVIEW:

The "box", frame, whatever you call it
--------------------------------------
Could not be happier, this thing is very substantial and feels very well made.  I get the impression that I could drop this from a decent height and it would be no worse for wear.  It's heavy enough that no amount of rigorous "Marble Madnessing" or "Street Fighter II'ing" is going to make it budge, and the rubber feet on the bottom are a nice bonus.  The hydraulic supports are awesome, the lock is... locky?, and the top has a very durable feel to it.  The back has a somewhat awkward large multi-purpose oval hole as opposed to a smaller more focused opening for a wire or two, but given that they don't know how people plan on using these things the larger opening makes sense.



Controls
--------
Not sure what brand they are, but the joysticks feel comparable to Happ Competition joysticks.  Buttons feel very Happ-esque as well, although I'm sure that neither the buttons nor joystick are actually Happ or IL.  The button colors were slightly different than advertised, with the bottom left button being red instead of all of the buttons being black.  I plan on moving the red to the top left position, but I like the color difference since it could help with navigating the frontend.  The microswitches feel a bit "soggier" than Cherry microswitches, but they seem to work well and clickiness really boils down to preference.  Trackball feels good, no idea what brand it is but after giving it a very fast spin it goes for about 3-4 seconds and I didn't notice any stuttering/skipping.  It has USB and PS/2 plugs which is cool, although I've only used the USB plug.  It does not seem as nice as a Happ or Electric Ice trackball, but honestly I was anticipating the trackball to be pretty janky and I was pleasantly surprised (Shuffleshot and Shuuz played great).  I bought this assuming that I would probably be swapping out some controls, and after playing with it this evening I honestly don't plan on swapping anything out.







I'm not a big fan of the bottom row of buttons being slightly staggered to the left, I would have preferred them to be directly beneath the top row.  Again, personal preference and given the fact that most of the games I want to use this with don't even come close to 4 buttons, I'm not worried about it.  Also, the button wiring was REAAALLY close to the hydraulic supports, and the "down" microswitch for joy1 ended up getting disconnected after 2 or 3 times opening the case.  Bent the quick disconnect and put it back on, don't think the issue will return.



NOTE: If using with a Retropie, the Xin-Mo USB controller for the joysticks/buttons DOES NOT play nice out of the box (it recognizes it as 1 controller instead of 2, so both joysticks register as the same inputs and you can't configure anything to work for 2 player games).  You have to follow the instructions here -> https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Xin-Mo-Controller/ in order to get it to work correctly, but once that is done you are good to go.

Artwork
-------
Frankly, this is the one area where this disappoints.  I wasn't in love with the artwork in the photos, but having spent some time with it in person and really looking at it, I like it even less.  The disjointed nature of it all together, the combination of vector line graphics and pixel graphics is strange, and the differences in scale just don't look right.  It is a very unfocused collage that spends more time trying to shoehorn disparate elements together than trying to get those elements to interact with one another in an organic way.  Maybe trying to have a timeline of vector graphics on the left transitioning to pixel graphics on the right, I don't know?  They would have been much better off with just the Atari logo.  Like I said earlier though, the quality of the print material seems to be top notch and durable.



Final thoughts
--------------
Before I got my hands on this control panel I was a hard no at $150, a maybe at $130, and a yes at $100.  After seeing the build quality I would snatch one of these up even at the $150 pricepoint, so it's a no brainer at any type of discount.  I realize I just crapped on the artwork pretty hard, but it's the only thing that I can point to that I wasn't impressed by, and definitely not bad enough to be a dealbreaker.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2020, 01:26:54 pm by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #20 on: November 23, 2020, 01:33:38 pm »
ETA prime review:



later
-1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #21 on: November 23, 2020, 02:38:01 pm »
I don’t see it on the Microcenter website. I wonder if they’re sold out.
I was in my local store Sunday, they had a ton of these on the shelf.

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #22 on: December 08, 2020, 04:20:47 pm »
All models of these are selling on Amazon,
by microcenter. Not sure if they were doing that before:

https://www.amazon.com/Fightstick-Trackball-Controller-Raspberry-Preloaded/dp/B08MFG7J1K/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=atari+pong+jr&qid=1607462119&sr=8-1

later
-1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #23 on: December 31, 2020, 01:27:07 pm »
Alright, so after buying 2 of these for Christmas we got them up and running.  I can confirm that 2 control panels will work on 4 player games.  I am currently running everything on a laptop until I'm finished building a dedicated arcade PC.  The laptop only has 2 USB inputs, so I've only been able to test both panels with buttons and joysticks only (trackballs each require another USB input).  Once I either get the arcade PC built, and/or buy a USB splitter, I'll be able to test the full functionality of the control panels with trackballs.

Marky161

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #24 on: January 07, 2021, 07:14:16 am »
Hi all,

Long term viewer, first time poster (although I had registered initially back in 2006!)

Just wanted to ask if there was anyone has used a firm that can help ship one of these to the UK?  It seems the MicroCenter website doesn't like non-US credit cards for a purchase, even though I have signed-up to a US-to-UK shipping firm?


Any pointers much appreciated.


Mark

negative1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #25 on: January 07, 2021, 06:57:29 pm »
Hi all,

Long term viewer, first time poster (although I had registered initially back in 2006!)

Just wanted to ask if there was anyone has used a firm that can help ship one of these to the UK?  It seems the MicroCenter website doesn't like non-US credit cards for a purchase, even though I have signed-up to a US-to-UK shipping firm?


Any pointers much appreciated.


Mark

https://www.myus.com/where-we-ship/united-kingdom/

https://www.reship.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiA_9r_BRBZEiwAHZ_v1_W8mzf89C90jh7fS8Z1FoaUhjccoCZt0i02NZxGZt_Mrjivut7plBoCZ0oQAvD_BwE

for starters.

later
-1

Marky161

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #26 on: January 08, 2021, 05:32:32 pm »
Many thanks for the suggestions.

I sent an enquiry to MyUs and got things lined up very quickly.  Sadly Microcentre isn't a website where they can support that 'repack' or concierge service. :(

Will hopefully progress further with ReShip, and if not will have to wait until vaccinated and my next NY trip! :)


Mark

pbj

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2021, 09:13:06 pm »
I’ll do it for $100 above the cost of product and shipping.  I live a few miles from the Houston micro center.

 :cheers:


Marky161

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #28 on: January 09, 2021, 11:43:57 am »
Thanks both -1 and pbj

I will keep this in mind if the prices from Personalised Shoppers suddenly make it non-viable.


Mark

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #29 on: January 10, 2021, 01:15:05 pm »
Thanks both -1 and pbj

I will keep this in mind if the prices from Personalised Shoppers suddenly make it non-viable.


Mark

i'll do it for free, just make sure you cover postage, taxes, etc.

i work a few blocks away from the store, so it would only take a trip to the
post office for me.

later
-1

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #30 on: January 12, 2021, 01:44:03 pm »
Really kind of you -1.  Thank you.

Lovely to see good spirit even though the world is in turmoil!

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #31 on: January 26, 2021, 02:59:49 am »
Question for anybody who has one of these: what is the thickness through the panel in the routed joystick pockets? Is the top 3/4" or 5/8"?

I was in need of a cheapish stick and decided to try one of these, bought via Amazon (Trackball, non-Rpi version), but won't be seeing it here for another week or so. Curious about the control panel thickness from a stick replacement perspective. 

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #32 on: January 26, 2021, 10:26:48 am »
Question for anybody who has one of these: what is the thickness through the panel in the routed joystick pockets? Is the top 3/4" or 5/8"?

I was in need of a cheapish stick and decided to try one of these, bought via Amazon (Trackball, non-Rpi version), but won't be seeing it here for another week or so. Curious about the control panel thickness from a stick replacement perspective.

The panel thickness itself is 3/4".  The joysticks pockets are routed 13mm deep, the trackball pocket is 14mm deep.

You made a good purchase, I am still very happy with mine.  I added a couple of coin buttons to the bottom and replaced two of the buttons up top with Turbotwist spinners.  With the trackball I was having a bit of backspin when playing games like Shuffleshot, so I ended up replacing the trackball with a Electric Ice trackball I had laying around.  I honestly think it was a Pi settings issue though, as the stock trackball performed just fine on a PC when I tested it.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2021, 10:29:00 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #33 on: January 26, 2021, 02:24:38 pm »
The panel thickness itself is 3/4".  The joysticks pockets are routed 13mm deep, the trackball pocket is 14mm deep.

Perfect - really appreciate the info.

I am planning on doing much the same with regard to adding flipper buttons. As I understand it, there are already pre-crimped leads on the wire harness to the XinMo board for the unused inputs? NBD if I need to roll my own to reach the edges of the case, but it would be convenient if the stock harness will work as-is.

Will be using mine on PC, so will see how this trackball shakes down. I've seen it mentioned that the stock trackball has both USB and PS/2 connectors. Is the trackball cable pigtailed or does it have two separate leads? I've been thinking about maybe putting a switched usb hub inside the case to minimize cable clutter; I'd much prefer to have a single cable out to PC.


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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #34 on: January 30, 2021, 10:18:12 pm »
I received mine yesterday, and figured I'd answer a couple of my own questions and offer a few observations.

Adding flipper buttons to this unit may be tricky, as the little pneumatic/gas struts which prop the control panel open fold into the areas where you might normally want to place flippers. There may be enough room below the centerline of the strut to allow button placement in the lower sides, but I won't know for sure until some of the extra buttons I'd ordered arrive (I don't feel like disassembling any of the buttons currently installed to test fit; I'll be going through the panel once I've got my new parts in hand). The stock wire harness does include pre-crimped leads for ~7 additional inputs per player (input is handled by a XinMo board which outputs as two separate game pad controllers) and the leads do seem to have enough length to populate buttons just about anywhere in the case.

The trackball does have a pigtailed cable end, with the USB connector at the terminus and a PS/2 connector ganged on about 8" from the end. The trackball encoder is internal to the unit. It does seem subjectively better to me than the one in the Tankstick, in that it is smoother on all axes and the ball is fit more closely within the trackball case, such that it doesn't chatter under hard input like the X-Arcade unit I had did. I haven't noticed any issues with backspin or resolution in MAME on PC. It's still much coarser in feel and nowhere near as smooth as a real arcade unit (my benchmark is the one Atari used in Missile Command), but it's serviceable for what it is and does seem to be improving as the bearings break in.

On that same note, the sticks, buttons and switches (all Baolian-branded) are serviceable but not great in my opinion. The sticks are more stiffly sprung than the IL Compact models they copy, and have some pretty noticeable interference in their pivots in certain spots - some cleanup and lubrication of the pivots may help. The size of the circular gates and positions of the microswitches make diagonals a little bit inconsistent, and it seems like the engagement range is not completely symmetrical on the cardinals. The microswitches fit to the sticks and buttons all have a fairly heavy actuation force; I'm guessing that they're north of ~50g. Very stiff and clicky. I much prefer the lightest action possible on microswitch buttons and sticks and usually use 20g switches by preference. The button plungers are typical of IL clones - spring force feels fine but a little sloppy in terms of lateral movement. It all works reliably at a basic level, but there is definite room for improvement.

One other minor issue is that there is no strain relief in the cabinet for the USB cables, which combined with the large oval cutout for cable passage which @thatpurplestuff pointed out could cause eventual fatigue issues with the micro-usb cable header on the XinMo board.

With regard to the joystick axis mode switch discussed earlier in this thread, what the mode switch does is change the reported axis from 'joystick' to 'hat switch' in Windows. It doesn't have anything to do with analog/digital switching. There is no button installed for the purpose, but the function is available by pin header if desired.

All else aside I agree completely with @thatpurplestuff in his review above. The product is a good value for what it is, and probably more than fine for its intended audience. I'm not unhappy with it. For the BYOAC crowd in general you may find the controls to be a little under par when compared to genuine articles, which is probably not a surprise to most here :)

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Re: Atari - Twin Joystick and Trackball with USB [REVIEW]
« Reply #35 on: February 20, 2021, 02:17:54 am »
Added flipper buttons to my Micro Center stick. Space was really tight due to the aforementioned prop struts, but with some mocking up and measurement was able to get them situated.





I also installed a mini-grip flight stick on P2, and have been tweaking and modding it to work a bit better than it did stock. Tightened up some rotational slop in the pivot, shimmed up the centering spring a bit to give it a little preload, removed the external spring from the topfire button, filled the handle with lead shot to give it some extra mass, and swapped out the switches with lighter-action units. I am on the lookout for a stiffer centering spring (and a dustwasher that fits properly), but beyond that I'm happy with the trigger stick now. I can finally play Battlezone without fumbling for a fire button with my thumb or the edge of my palm  :applaud:



I did some wire management as part of the flipper button install and added some strain relief for the USB cables. The cable for the trackball is much longer than the one for the digital encoder so for now it's just coiled and secured; eventually I'll probably cut the cable to length and resolder it. I bundled off and zip-tied the extraneous leads for all the unused Xinmo inputs so the interior is a little bit cleaner, but I do kind of wish that the manufacturer had only harnessed the wires for the inputs actually installed. Not much of a fan of these generic daisy-chain harnesses and their attendant wire clutter  :banghead:





I've decided that the stock Happ Super-clone stick and buttons are going to have to go, and will be replacing them with an Omni2 for the P1 side and better buttons + switchgear from Randy soon. These clone parts just aren't doing it for me - the quality just isn't quite there. Disregard the skittle-barf appearance of the current button colors, they're temporary and will be going away soon. The skittle-barf appearance of the cp artwork will probably remain for a while though :lol