STC Joysticks from Wico

[mcleanjoel]

Has anyone tried either the Universal or Fire Button STC joysticks that Wico has for sale?

[mcleanjoel]

Has anyone tried either the Universal or Fire Button STC joysticks that Wico has for sale?

Anyone??

[OSCAR]

Below is an incomplete rough draft of my review of the WICO STC Universal (SUZO 500).  Please forgive any typos and incomplete sentences that don't seem to make sense.  I haven't finished the review with my final conclusions (not sure if I ever will get back to it) because I've been so busy lately, but here it is...

Rough draft review



A whole bunch of other pics.

[elfman12]

Below is an incomplete rough draft of my review of the WICO STC Universal (SUZO 500).  Please forgive any typos and incomplete sentences that don't seem to make sense.  I haven't finished the review with my final conclusions (not sure if I ever will get back to it) because I've been so busy lately, but here it is...

Thanks for the review - btw, how does one rotate the plates? I'd love to have a system to be able to rotate without getting under the panel.

[OSCAR]

Thanks for the review - btw, how does one rotate the plates? I'd love to have a system to be able to rotate without getting under the panel.

The plate rotates by turning the large, red octagon-shaped restrictor plate.  There are (4) zinc plated screws on the underside that are visible in the picture.  These screws hold the lock pawls in place, but they also tighten up the restrictor plate.  If you leave these screws just a bit loose, then you can turn the restrictor by hand without messing with the screws.

It would be a real trick to turn these without access to the underside of the control panel.

[Grasshopper]

A lot of fighting games in UK arcades use the Suzo 500 joystick. They have a really nice crisp feel especially in 8 way mode. Once you get used to them they provide more accurate gameplay than the Happ sticks. However the Happ sticks look better.

[paigeoliver]

Af far as the 3-way and 5-way actions. There are a few games that would benefit from an strange number of directions.

Like Kangaroo, which is a s6-way game. Up, down, left, right, up left, and up right. Down left, and down right are not proper moves, so it would be kind of cool if they were blocked.

Of course this joystick doesn't seem to have 6-way action anyway, and plus Kangaroo would have been better off as a 4-way game with a dedicated jump button.

[JoyMonkey]

I really like these sticks. I've used Happ Ultimates and Supers in the past, which did the job. But when I was a kid every arcade in town (yes, both of them) used this type of joystick.
I'd never seen the 'bat-top' joysticks until I got the Happ sticks, which took a little getting used to.

The restrictor plate works well, you do need access to the underside of your control panel to switch it though.

Be aware that these sticks are intended for use in a sheet metal panel, you cannot adjust the shaft length for a wooden panel like the Happ sticks. I'm sure you could get them into a wood panel somehow (probably have to counter-sink it 1/2" or so) but it'd be a pain in the ass.

[AndyWarne]

I am wondering if I should offer these Suzo sticks on our Ultimarc site. We have a good relationship with Suzo and the only reason I have not taken them is that I personally don't like the feel of them at all. But that's probably not a very good reason...
Andy

[Grasshopper]

I am wondering if I should offer these Suzo sticks on our Ultimarc site. We have a good relationship with Suzo and the only reason I have not taken them is that I personally don't like the feel of them at all. But that's probably not a very good reason...
Andy

That's weird. I remember that you said in an old email (about two years ago) that the Suzo 500 was the best joystick you could buy. In fact I bought one on your recommendation!

I guess people's opinions on joysticks change over time. I know mine have.

Personally I really like the feel of the 500, it feels a bit like the T-Stik only smoother. However I don't like the look of the handle and because it's tapered you can't easily fit a dust washer.

Would it be uneconomic to commission Suzo to fit an alternative handle I wonder?

JoyMonkey is right that they are intended to be mounted on a metal panel. However they actually look better on a wooden panel IMHO.

[JODY]

I've got a few of the STC top fire joysticks but haven't tried them out hooked up.  They have a shorter travel than the Happs Competitions and Perfect 360s which I have hooked up and used.

[AndyWarne]

Grasshopper,

You have me banged to rights guv, a fair cop but society is to blame...
Yes I do remember buying a couple of them a few years ago and thought they had great build quality and was impressed with the 4-8 way plate as this was the first stick I had seen with this feature. But when I fitted them to a panel the small travel put me off them a bit.
But that might be because I was brought up on Space Invaders / Pacman etc sticks which were always generally shagged out and had masses of travel because they were just about falling apart rather than by design!

[snowbird]

Jody,

Where did you get the top fire button joystick?  I have can find a source for it in the US.  Wico has it in their catalog, but they never have it in stock.

[JoyMonkey]

Jody,

Where did you get the top fire button joystick?  I have can find a source for it in the US.  Wico has it in their catalog, but they never have it in stock.

I ordered two of the fire button joysticks a couple of weeks ago and received them after about 5 days (which is pretty quick for Wico). They were both shipped from different locations (their NH and IL warehouses), which would have me beleive they're pretty low in stock.

If you call Wico ask for the sales manager for your region; my one's usually pretty helpful, I know the people at the 1-800 number usually suck.

[snowbird]

I ordered one over a month ago from Wico and it has been back-ordered ever since.  Every time I call, they said that a shipment is coming "this Monday"; but the top fire button stick never comes in.  I am about to give up on it.
Maybe Andy from Ultimarc should carry it and I will buy from him!

Anyway, how do you compare the Suzo top fire button stick to the Happs top fire button stick?  I read that the Happs' stick is based on the Super, so it has soft and wide swing.  I have the Suzo regular 2/4/8 way stick and like its tighter swing.

How deep does the Suzo extend below the cabinet?  Does it have the same dimension as the regular 2/4/8 joystick?

[JoyMonkey]

Here's a couple of quick photo's comparing it to a Suzo 500/Wico STC stick.  The ball-top extends approx. 2" under your control panel, because of the position of the extra micro-switch the fire-button-top extends 3" under your CP.
I haven't had a chance to try the fire-tops out yet, but they seem to be of the same build as the Suzo500's.

[JODY]

Jody,

Where did you get the top fire button joystick?  I have can find a source for it in the US.  Wico has it in their catalog, but they never have it in stock.

I got swamped and hadn't got to read the msg board for awhile...

Anyway, I bought 4 of them from Wico several months ago.  Maybe I cleaned them out...

[snowbird]

Thanks a lot for the picture put up by Joymonkey!!!

I can now finish building my control panel while I grow old and wait for my top fire button joystick from Wico  

If anyone out there know of an alternate source in the US for the STC top fire button joystick, please let me know.

I mounted my STC 500 sticks on a 3/4" wood panel and they look great!  As noted earlier on this forum, the STC 500 joysticks are designed for metal panel mounting, but they can be mounted on wood panel fairly easily:
- Drill a 1 3/4" hole 1/4" to 1/2" deep from the bottom of the panel with a Forstner bit (be careful not to drill through the panel).
- Drill a second concentric hole 1" or 1 1/8" diameter through the panel.
- Those 2 holes should create perfect a cavity for you to mount the STC 500 from the bottom (you have to remove the handle).