Best joystick for Robotron on Mame cabinet that needs 4-way and 8-way joysticks

[NorthPortFL-Pinball]

Hi everyone,

I just found this forum tonight.  Great to see so many people willing to help others.

I was reading this thread regarding the best joystick for Robotron ( http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,163836.40.html ).

I have an older Ultracade multi arcade system I bought about 10 years ago. We bought it primarily because it had Robotron on it (my wife and I love this game). I bought an XXXX-IN-1 system that died, so we are back to playing Robotron on the Ultracade system.

I purchased the Ultimarc Mag-Stik Plus joysticks so we could switch from 4-8 player from the top panel.  The joysticks work, but it can be really frustrating.  When playing Robotron, the diagonal/45 degree angle shots work well, however up/down/left/right shots are problematic.  Many times the joystick just won't shot up/down/left or right when we need.  I've tried adding a joystick extender to the top of the joysticks, but that has had very little effect.  I also don't see how I could improve the leaf switches to fix this problem.

I am planning to retrofit the Ultracade with a Windows based Mame computer with a new panel for the joysticks and buttons.  So, I'll still need to be able to have 4 way and 8 way playability.  Ultrimarc now makes another joystick called "ServoStik".  Not sure if that would be any better.

I know having a dedicated Robotron machine is obviously the way to go.  But what would you recommend doing in a Mame cabinet situation?

Thank you.

[BlueGhost]

GRS makes a 8/4 way servo kit that works with JLFs and their clones. 

Here's the kit with a servo for one joystick:  TOS GRS Switchable 4-to-8-Way Restrictor for Sanwa Joystick | All in One Kit

It will control up to 4 joysticks, here's the add on for an additional stick:  TOS GRS Switchable 4-to-8-Way Restrictor for Sanwa Joystick | Extension kit

I have a pair with a set of JLFs, I don't have them in a cabinet yet, but I have hooked them up and tested them.  You can toggle them from a button or via an executable you call from a script.

[NorthPortFL-Pinball]

Thanks BlueGhost.

When you get it working, can you let me know how that plays with Robotron please?

Thank you.