Happ's Perfect 360 -- Feels VERY stiff?

[sofakng]

Well, today I got my Happ's P360 that was backordered for several weeks.  I'm still waiting for on my control panel overlay so I can't hookup the joystick yet but just assembling it and holding it in my hand it feels VERY stiff -- completely different from the Super joystick.

Is this normal?  I'm not well versed at all on joysticks and I remember seeing that some people put a "heavy spring" into their Happ's competition joysticks.  Perhaps that is what they use in the P360's?

Is this a good thing?  Is there any way I make it feel more loose?

[TalkingOctopus]

I got my P360s over a year ago along with some Supers.  The P360s were not any stiffer than the Supers and I did not think they were too stiff.  That does not sound normal to me.

[sirwoogie]

I have P360's, supers, rotary (based on super), and topfire (also based on super); I can say for sure the p360 is stiffer than them all. I don't mind as I like a little more resistance in a stick. If you're just freehanding it, you won't get a good feel for it's travel and resistance until you have it mounted. I thought the same thing when I first got it, and mounting it makes all the difference. Get some scrap and test it out. On a 3/4 wood panel, be sure to route out about 1/4 on the underside for proper stick length. But, preference will dictate the depth more than anything.

[ChoboPants]

I just recieved my p360 last night and I have to say that it was VERY stiff. Not just stiff, the range of movement was blocked by the plastic base. Without the e-clip on the range of movement was fine and the joystick felt amazing. I know I put in the pieces properly a bunch of times and it was the same each time. Possibly remove one of the pieces or arrange them differently?

[sofakng]

Chocobo:  I didn't notice how loose the joystick felt without the e-ring, but I did notice the lack of range when everything was put together.  I still really don't like how stiff everything is.  Do you know if the spring could be replaced with a looser one?

Also, anybody know the answer to Chocobo's question?  I'm wondering as well.

[TalkingOctopus]

Ignore my previous post.  Everywhere I have looked, including the Retroblast review, have said the P360s are stiff.  I am not much of a joystick connoisseur so the stiff joysticks were not as noticeable to me.  

As for changing the spring, swap the P360 spring for the Super spring.  I remembered that OSCAR did this about a year ago and posted the results. He said:

An interesting tidbit...

I recently changed out the spring on the Player2 P360 stick in my cabinet with the lighter Super spring to test the difference between the springs.  Shortly after I changed out the spring, I had a few "fighter" fans (MvsC, MvsSF) over for a night of gameplaying, but I didn't say anything about the difference between the joysticks.

After a few rounds, guys were fighting over who got to use the P2 side (interesting because many people feel at a disadvantage playing in the more unaccustomed P2 position)...  Apparently they really preferred the feel of the lighter spring in the P360 for fighters and when I mentioned what the difference was between the sticks, they made me change out the spring in the P1 stick too because it was "unfair".  Heh...  

Quote from this thread: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6294;start=msg65647#msg65647

Oscar actually has posted a lot of useful stuff about the P360 on the forum.  You may want to do a search with his user name and "P360."

[sofakng]

Hmmm, I can't seem to find anything specicially on this...

Do you know if he has a tutorial or anything like that?  I don't see any on his website.

[2600]

It's possible that some of the P360's feel "very stiff" because of the sleeve length.  A few people have mentioned that they received the wrong size metal sleeve 5/8 inch instead of the 1/2 inch. Wouldn't this compress the spring a bit more and make it "stiffer", or at least a pain to put the e-ring on.

Check your sleeve length and do a sanity check and make sure you have it assembled correctly, a few people put the pivot busing on incorrectly.

Let us know what you find.

[ChoboPants]

Thanks...yeah the joystick has an unplayable range of motion right now. I will check the sleeve length when I get home. It's not just the spring, the stick is hitting the plastic circle that it goes through on the bottom of the base. I'll try to take some pictures tonight to show you.

[sofakng]

Chocobo, I know what you mean.  Mine feels the exact same way.  I'll also try to take some pictures and we can compare to see if they are both the same...

2600, I'll check the metal sleeve.  I'll post my results back here.

TalkingOctopus, Oscar replied to my e-mail this morning about how he changed his springs.  Apparantely all that is involved is taking the screws off the p360 and then simply swapping springs.  I can't wait to try it tonight

My only concern is that the p360's becoming less acurate because of the looser spring...

[sofakng]

Hmmm!

I've checked the size and they did in fact send me the 5/8" sleeve.  They are sending me the correct parts.

They also said I was second person today to call for this problem.  Did somebody else from this forum call them about this?  =)

[NoOne=NBA=]

My only concern is that the p360's becoming less acurate because of the looser spring...

This shouldn't be an issue unless the spring moves the stick from center for some reason.
As long as the spring is approximately the same diameter, and length, you should be fine.
All the position sensing, and thus the accuracy, is done optically.
Spring strength shouldn't have any effect on this.

[ChoboPants]

sofakng...did you say something special cause after talking to about 6 people they gave me an RMA number and I have to send it back and wait for a new one

I kept telling them that my friend called just yesterday about his and they are sending him the correct part now but they wouldn't listen. It better have the right length sleeve this time  .

Also...does anyone know anything SOLID about wiring this to a dreamcast. I have a MAS stick and everyone just says "wire it to the +5v coming in from the DC" but my multimeter definitely says only +3.5 volts are coming in and after hooking it up there is no connection on the DC.

[TalkingOctopus]

sofakng...did you say something special cause after talking to about 6 people they gave me an RMA number and I have to send it back and wait for a new one

I kept telling them that my friend called just yesterday about his and they are sending him the correct part now but they wouldn't listen. It better have the right length sleeve this time  .

Also...does anyone know anything SOLID about wiring this to a dreamcast. I have a MAS stick and everyone just says "wire it to the +5v coming in from the DC" but my multimeter definitely says only +3.5 volts are coming in and after hooking it up there is no connection on the DC.

I have a Happ P360 hooked up to a dreamcast.  Use the blue wire coming out of the controller cord as a 5 v source.  You can use the same ground that you use for everything else.

[sofakng]

sofakng...did you say something special cause after talking to about 6 people they gave me an RMA number and I have to send it back and wait for a new one

Hmmm, I didn't really say anything special.  When I first called they transfer me to customer service, then they transfered me to sales department (??).

The lady I spoke with a spanish accent (sp) and didn't give me a hard time about it.  I did speak (a few weeks ago when the p360's were sold out) with my regional sales associate.  I'm not sure if he pulled any strings but he sure was helpful.

*shrug*

You might want to contact your regional sales associate as well.  Who knows, it might be helpful =)