Optical and other 8-way joystick ?

[Matt Berry]

Just when I thought I was actually getting my control panel figured out, I run into another wall. I did some more research into 8-way joysticks and found a couple of recomendations for the optical P360 from Happ. I bought the supers for my current project but most people now perfer different styles. Economics aside what is the best 8-way joystick out there (Doesn't have to do 4-way as I plan on having a dedicated 4-way) Are the optical joysticks better then the microswitch ones? Who makes the best joystick?

[subzero23]

Personally I think the 8-way Competition joysticks from happs are
Supers feel nice but when I really paid attention and did some testing at the school arcade I really felt the difference.

[Matt Berry]

My last panel had the competition joysticks in them and for my new one I was trying something different and bought the supers. After that I saw everybody raving over the T-sticks, opticals and who knows what else. So I continue my  never ending quest to aquire arcade parts untill I have the holy grail of a control panel  

[paigeoliver]

There is no BEST.

I own, have owned, and have used TONS and TONS of 8-way sticks. Here are my favorites and least favorites.

Favorites (in order).

Microswitch and spring based Wico clones with long handles and Happ heavy spring upgrade (very hard to find these sticks, and you have to upgrade the spring yourself). I have one pair.

Microswitch based classic Wicos, the "Microleaf" ones.

Classic leaf switch Wicos.

Monroe leaf joy.

Happ supers.


Least favorites.

Happ ultimate
Happ Competition

Middle of the road.

Most asian joysticks.

[subzero23]

paige can you explain your views on why you dislike the competition? I realize that they aren't quality made for feel, but for life....but are Supers better than them for 8way play such as fighting games where diagonals are needed?

[paigeoliver]

Both ultimate and competition have larger diagonal areas than primary areas. And (whichever one doesn't have the shiny handle) also will bounce back and forth hitting an extra switch or 3 when released.

So basically they are junk.

Supers are pretty much EVEN as far as corners and primary areas. And they usually don't have the bounce around problem. Supers were also the joystick that came with most capcom games anyway.

[subzero23]

Being that Supers are so popular why haven't they been colorized yet??

[spiffyshoes]

I haven

[subzero23]

How noticeable is the difference in competition with the heavy spring? And WHAT does the difference do?

[NoOne=NBA=]

I like Wico's for games that you don't want to feel the corners (Robotron, Time Pilot, etc...).

I like T-stiks for the ones that you DO want to feel the corners on (Crazy Climber, etc...).

I really don't like the Happs sticks because of their long throw and "twanginess".
As mentioned above, when you release them from one direction quickly, they will go back and forth several times between that direction, and the opposite one.

[Matt Berry]

paigeoliver have you also tried out the T-sticks or j-sticks. This weekend I actually got to play around with the supers and they are definetely better then the ultimates I had. The reason I ask is most people Like the T-stick better then the supers. Right now I'm keeping an eye out for some of the other joysticks you listed, but I don't have a good source for them yet besides watching E-bay.

[Grasshopper]

Being that Supers are so popular why haven't they been colorized yet??

They are actually available in various colours but you have to get them directly from the manufacturer (Industrias Lorenzo). It's weird that Happ only stock them in black.

One joystick that hasn't been mentioned is the Suzo 500. It looks a bit weird (the handle is a cross between a bat and a ball) but it has a very nice crisp feel with a short throw.

Can someone tell me whether Happ's heavy springs can be fitted to the Supers as well as the Competitions?

[spiffyshoes]

Matt:  For the 8-way Wico's try www.thepinballshop.com
I ordered 4 NOS Black Ball Top 8-Way Wico joysticks from him for $17 each including shipping.  He also had some 4-way Wico's too.

You can get some optical adapters for them off of ebay from this guy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6131432776&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I can't wate to try mine out when they get here.

[Matt Berry]

Were there any games that actually came with the Microswitch and spring based Wico clones with long handles, or were they an after market add on? How long are the handles on these?

[shmokes]

By the way, I was just checking out SlikStik's website (thinking of new joystick handles for my Christmas present) and noticed something potentially very cool.

You can apparently pick up Perfect 360 optical joysticks for a mere $39 in the parts store.  That's about $10 cheaper than it costs if you buy it directly from Happ.  For the same price the sticks cost at Happ you can get them from SlikStik with the cool new custom aluminum balltops  in various colors.