PACMAN JOYSTICK INSTALL UPDATED

[Shieldwolf]

Final days of my cab being built and I'm installing the pacman 4way anniversary joystick I got from bob roberts. I realized bob did not send me nor does he have any directions on how to install it. It also seems to sink way too low. Now when I was working on the cp earlier it appeared to  be fine. Any suggestions on how I can fix this or where i can find a diagram for that particular joystick

[paigeoliver]

You need to install it on a piece of metal and then install that metal onto your wooden panel.

[Shieldwolf]

Do I  have to buy the damn metal plate? BOY AM I SCREWED. I thought it was like every other freaking joystick I had. I can't put in the plate. Does anyone make a packman style joystick that's an inch to a half an inch longer?  Also when i move in any direction (up down left right) the joystick sticks.

[Apollo]

If you really can't put in the plate you will most likely have to go for a switchable 4/8 way. Maybe from Andy?
You can always sell the MsPac/Galag stick there is always strong demand for them.

[Shieldwolf]

having the plate really wouldn't help considering it would still have to go through the wood.

[J_K_M_A_N]

Why can't you put in the plate? Oscar makes or made a plate that would work with those. I think it will be worth it as that joystick is the best for old school 4-way games IMO. Good luck.

J_K_M_A_N

[Apollo]

Sheildwolf I think you are getting confused the mounting plate goes on top of the wooden control panel not underneath.

[Shieldwolf]

I actually do realize where the plate would go. I can't put in the plate now as  I don't have the room
Ill try and post a picture so you guys can see my problem.

until then you can see this one which is similar to mine.

http://www.runriot.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/arcade/gallery/LaminateOptions.htm

as you can see in my naive youth I thought all joysticks mounted the same and when bob didn't send me a plate or tell me i needed one i thought i was fine.

Also any ideas why the joystick is sticking?

[Apollo]

Sorry dude it sounded like you thought it went under the panel, my bad ( god I hate that "my bad" expression ).

[patrickl]

You don't need a metal plate, but you do need something on top of the stick. Check out Oscar's diagram on Mounting Happ Galaga/Pac 4-way in Wood Panel If you have some Plexi/Lexan on top you should be fine. If you plan on putting the CP overlay under the plexi/lexan then you'll probably need to put a thin plate over the top though (to cover the indent)

I used this way of mounting on my Galaga standalone CP and it works great. I can say you don't need the metal plate for strength anyway.

If you want the dustcover under the top panel then you need to make sure there is enoug room for it. In my stick at least, the e-ring on top of the stick lifts up the dustcover from time to time and it would get stuck under the top panel. I just took out the dust cover, but you could also route out a bit of space for the dustcover to lift slightly. I wonder how the metal mounting plate handles this problem.

[Apollo]

Personally I think there is way too much use of wooden control panels going on here. It is pretty cheap to get a 1.5mm mild steel flat panel made up and drill or punch the holes yourself. If we are going for realism here folks then steel control panels are the way to go don't ya think?

[patrickl]

Personally I think there is way too much use of wooden control panels going on here. It is pretty cheap to get a 1.5mm mild steel flat panel made up and drill or punch the holes yourself. If we are going for realism here folks then steel control panels are the way to go don't ya think?

A flat steel plate with some holes drilled in it is not usable. You need to bend and weld things to it to make sturdy enough and look good. Especialy getting rid of those ugly bolts on top of the panel is a lot harder with a metal CP. Sure, if you can pay for it or have access to the proper equipment (and skills to handle them) they are much better, but I doubt that applies to many people.

When I see the CP that Stingray made then I wish I could do something like that, but I just can't and I DO want to build it myself.

[Shieldwolf]

I want to thank everyone for the help. I was able to solve the problem and now the joystick doesn't catch and it fits on my cp perfectly. Thanks again

[patrickl]

Could you explain what you did to make it work?