Best Spinner: Free-spinning or Geared?

[RayB]

I was wondering if anyone out there in Mame Cab land has experience with both varieties of spinners out there: There's the free-spinning type that Tempest uses, and then there's the geared version that Arkanoid uses (allows more slow/precise aiming, but then you can't spin it wildly like you would in Tempest).

There's pros and cons to either, but I'd like to hear others experience...

[OSCAR]

That depends a lot on your game of choice...

I tore down an Arkanoid spinner (cocktail) and rebuilt it with higher quality parts than the original.  When finished it was the best control I've *ever* used for Arkanoid.  Here's a few pics of my rebuild:



http://www.oscarcontrols.com/ebay/ark-spinner2.jpg
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/ebay/ark-spinner3.jpg
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/ebay/ark-spinner4.jpg
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/ebay/ark-spinner5.jpg



If you are an Arkanoid nut, then that is what you want to do.  If you primarily play the "free spinning" games and occasionally play a Breakout/Arkanoid game, then a Tempest style spinner will probably suit you better for a MAME cab.  They are a bit more versatile than the gear set style spinner.


 

[spidermonkey]

Well, its not really a question of which spinner is the best because  both spinners are designed for  specific types of games. For instance a weighted free spinning optical spinner does not feel right playing Arkanoid because its weighted and a bit harder to stop quickly and precisely which is needed for Breakout style games. The Taito/Romstar geared spinners feel great for Arkanoid and other paddle games because thats what they were designed for but don't feel right for games like Tempest or Tron. Both types are equally good if they're being used for games that they were intended to be used for. There's also the pot based spinner which was used on many 70s' games. These were frequently used for early breakout/Pong type games.Out of all three types of spinners I would say that the pot based spinners are probably the worse candidate for a MAME cab because they turn from lock to lock kinda like a steering wheel. They only spin so far in either direction and then stop so they would not work well at all for games like Tempest. They're pretty much worthless for any type of game other then the one they were intended for. So unless there's a particular paddle game that you absolutely love and you know that the game originally used a pot based spinner I wouldn't recommend putting a pot based spinner on your cab just because they are so limited (literally) to the number of games that they'll work well with. If I had to pick a "best" spinner I would have to go with a weighted Tempest style spinner as my first choice since it is the most versitile followed by a geared Arkanoid type and lastly a pot based  type. Although if all I had was a pot based spinner I don't think I would even bother putting it on my cab because I'm not terribly amused by the old old 70s' Pong style games that call for this type of spinner.
Hope this clears up some of the differences for you.

[RayB]

Thanks spidermonkey, but maybe I should re-word my query:

What's worse, playing Tempest with an Arkanoid spinner, or playing Arkanoid with a Tempest Spinner?  

See, I'm only gonna have 1 spinner on my CP and I'm trying to figure out if there are more games where the Tempest style is more suitable, or are there more games where the Arkanoid is more suitable.

Cameltry, Puzz Loop, Forgotten Worlds, for example... I can't remember what kinds those games originally used.

:-) RB

[spidermonkey]

RayB, Like Oscar said, a Tempest style spinner would probably be the best choice since it is more versitile for all spinner games. I personally think its much easier to play Arkanoid with a Tempest style spinner then it is playing Tempest with an Arkanoid style spinner. Most people use Tempest style spinners in their cabs incl. myself. I do however have a geared Arkanoid spinner which will be going onto my second cab since I already have a Tempest style on my first.

[Xiaou2]

 I agree with all that is said here.

 However... I did want to add the idea, that is very possible,... where as you can have both styles built into a single mechanism.

 You could have a free spinning design - but with a gear attached to the main shaft near the top.  Then youd have an engaugable/dis-engaugable gear that is next to it...  youd use a slider of some sort from above to lock it in place when you wanted to play breakout games... and release it when playing free spin games.