Spring loaded joystick?

[Captain Bingo]

Hi,
  Hope this is the right place to ask this.  Does anyone have an idea on how to emulate the spring loaded joysticks that operated a couple of my favorite games?  Specifically Quarterback (John Elway version, too) and World Series Baseball by Cinematronics.  I know the spring was there to allow you to be selective on the power of the throw/bat, whatever.  If i play now with a regular joystick, it's all or nothing.  Thanks in advance for any help.  I love this forum!

[Minwah]

I'm not sure the exact joystick you mean, but I suspect you really need some kind of analog joystick to play those games properly...

[Captain Bingo]

Thanks for your reply...btw your FE rocks!!  The joystick was pulled back, and then when let go it would spring forward.  Regardless, where does one get an analog joystick?  I have a Slikstik Co2 on order and can't remember if it comes with an analog stick.  It has an IPAC-56, so it should be no big deal to add one, ya think?

Thanks again!

[NoOne=NBA=]

Your best bet is ebay for the stick, and Dave's AKI for the interface.
Those sticks come up all the time if you search for "control panel".

I can't remember Dave's exact web address, but do a search for AKI, and you'll find it.

[Captain Bingo]

Thanks I found it here...

http://dave.bit2000.com/aki.html

Now to just keep my eye out on ebay....

do you think any regular controls would work in the mean time?

[NoOne=NBA=]

You might be able to play them with a flightstick style analog joystick for the time being.
You might also put up a "want to buy" post in the buy/sell/trade forum.
Someone may be sitting on a few that they never hooked up.

[Kremmit]

do you think any regular controls would work in the mean time?

I guess you could use a regular PC analog stick.  Just calibrate it wrong. 

Lemme 'splain:  Pretend you're simulating a spring-loaded "flicker" stick that you pull back towards you and then let it go.  When you calibrate your PC stick, and the calibration utility asks you to center the stick, you hold it halfway between center and full down.  When it asks for the upper left, you hold it all the way to the left, but at dead center height.  Upper right = all the way right at dead center height.  Lower left = lower left, and lower right = lower right.  Now the software believes your stick only moves from the bottom up to the centerline.  This way, when you pull the stick back, and let it go, the springs in the stick pull it back to center, only the software reads center as the top of it's arc of travel.  The springs aren't as strong as in the flicker sticks, but it's as close as you're probably going to get.  I suppose you could remove the the PC stick's outer handle, and modify the inner shaft to be about the same height as the original flicker stick.  That would put a lot less weight against the springs, might make it feel a little closer.

I've never done this, but it seems like it ought to work.  If you try it, let us know how it comes out for you!

[paigeoliver]

I have two of those analog spring loaded flicker sticks in good shape and working. $20 each.

Nothing else will work for those games, you just can't move a normal analog stick through it's range in 1/20th of a second.

[Captain Bingo]

Thanks for your input.  As always this board is superfriendly and I've already learned so much.

paigeoliver -  I PM'ed you regarding your available sticks.  Thanks.

[jajohnso34]

I have two of those analog spring loaded flicker sticks in good shape and working. $20 each.

Do you still have any of these World Series Baseball Cinematronics controls?  I would really like one of those for my machine.

[mark shaker]

If you want new sticks: I bet the spring loaded joysticks for "Skins" would work. There is a guy on e-bay who bought all of Midway's spare parts. He was selling them a couple months ago.

   - Mark