What kind of joystick did I just buy?

[jcroach]

Ok, so I've been trying to find a good deal on eBay for a 4-way wico leaf joystick for a couple of months now.

[NoOne=NBA=]

It's a standard Atari logo stick.
They used them on Gauntlet, amongst other games.
It's an 8-way leafswitch stick.

I never really liked them much, but having the Atari logo on the joystick ball would be nice for a 2600 cabinet.

[CheffoJeffo]

I saw them and wondered the same thing.

Same seller had a couple of P360 bases on Wico sticks ... I lowballed a bid and was (not surprisingly) beaten out. In retrospect, I should probably have bid a little more, but I've hit my budgetary limit for the month and it is only the 4th. 

I have bought from the seller before and he is a good guy ... maybe shoot him an e-mail and see if he can tell you.

Cheers.

[paigeoliver]

There is also a 4-way version of that stick as well, used in Pacmania.

Stick will either work great, or be trashed and pretty much unfixable. It is a great stick, but overengineered and it has a few real direct wear items.

[88mph]

Yeah, Atari also used that joystick on Rolling Thunder, and I believe Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.. I like the atari logo on the top.  Hmm, maybe the Rolling Thunder joystick was a 4 way version..?

Right now I'm in the process of restoring an old Gauntlet machine.  I want to get it as close to original as possible, so I picked up a nice set of those joysticks on rgvam a while back.  They had seen little use, but were quite dirty.  Right now I have taken a few of them apart for a cleaning/lube job.  The joystick shaft is connected to a white plastic ball via a roll pin.  This ball sits in a pocket, allowing limited motion.  The only way to disassemble the sticks is through use of a roll pin punch, taking out the ball roll pin and the roll pin on the bottom of the shaft (the pins are of different sizes).  My sticks happen to be in pretty good shape, so I'm going to clean them and then hit them with a dab of white lithium grease and reassemble. 

A little while ago there was a guy selling a NOS ball for the internals of this joystick on Ebay.  Not sure if he will be selling more of them.. I considered purchasing some plastic balls from McMaster to machine some new ones, but the part has so many holes/features in it that I decided that it wasn't worth the effort. 

Like Paige said, they're good sticks when they are working right.  I'm hoping mine will last for the remainder of the time I have this Gauntlet.. It gets a fair amount of play in my house, but nothing like the abuse it would have seen back in the 80s..

Have fun,

88mph

[jcroach]

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I was hoping for a 4-way, but it sounds like this is most likely an 8-way.  Once I get it I'll clean it up and see how it works.  I might try to trade it in the "Buy Sell Trade" forum for a Wico 4-way if I don't like it.

Thanks!

[Quarters]

I won the P360s and 4 of the Wicos. 

Sorry. I got greedy. Thanks for making sure I payed top dollar. 

Do send an email to the seller. He sent me a msg saying he had a few more available...  I have also dealt with him before. Good transactions.

Quarters

[jcroach]

Thanks for making sure I payed top dollar.

[Dire Radiant]

Hmmm. A couple of those would be nice for my Atari theme cab

[jcroach]

Hmmm. A couple of those would be nice for my Atari theme cab

It looks pretty cool from the pictures I've seen on the web, with the atari logo on top of the "ball".

If you've got an extra Wico 4-way leaf joystick laying around I'll trade you.

[GGKoul]

Thanks for making sure I payed top dollar.

[CheffoJeffo]

I won the P360s and 4 of the Wicos. 

Sorry. I got greedy. Thanks for making sure I payed top dollar. 
Quarters

No worries ... I maxed out at $11 or $12 ... didn't have plans for them, but thought they would look cool in my joystick box (and have won other items from same seller with lowball bids, so figured WTH).

Cheers.

[Lilwolf]

If the joystick is dead.  take the stick out and see if it fits any other bases.

I would buy a dead set if I could put them on some supers.

[Quarters]

My max bid on the other 2 wico sticks ending today is $15.50. I just bid on those to give me a better chance of getting the 4 I wanted. I will still happily take them at that price but I will not mind losing them either.

[BUCKETHEAD]

NICE COUCH !

I wonder how much that went for on ebay ?