Atomarcade.net Encoder

[ckenney11]

http://www.atomarcade.net

Just ran across this on Ebay and searched the forums and found a single post in the Hardware reviews asking if anyone has heard of or used this encoder.  No one replied and am not sure how often everyone checks that forum.  Anyways I was wondering if anyone has used this or now of any down sides.  It looks like a pretty complete encoder that will handle Joysticks, buttons and trackball with one USB cable.  Anybody know anything about this?

[TOK]

Wouldn't even consider buying an encoder that I had to solder solder 32+ wires or screw connectors on. Way too much hassle for the $10 savings over the IPAC (not even taking Ultimarcs awesome support into account).

[divemaster127]

I agree i would never use one i had to solder, way to much work
dm

[DrumAnBass]

I can't imagine whoever created this encoder is not on this board...?? Wouldn't they have done a little marketing research and found this place...??  Bizarre!

But certainly seems like the "established" encoders would be less risky, especially since both RandyT from Groovy Game Gear and Andy from Ultimarc are such frequent contributers here.

[mccoy178]

I noticed that it does have trackball or spinner support on the board also.

[CheffoJeffo]

Looks like a nifty enough unit at a pretty attractive price (US$30) for what it purports to deliver (perhaps TOK missed that it includes a 2-axis optical encoder).

Having said that, I would want to see a Tiger-Heli review before considering the purchase ... look at what happened with the TOKN encoders.

Cheers.

[Xam]

I can't imagine whoever created this encoder is not on this board...?? Wouldn't they have done a little marketing research and found this place...??  Bizarre!

But certainly seems like the "established" encoders would be less risky, especially since both RandyT from Groovy Game Gear and Andy from Ultimarc are such frequent contributers here.

Agreed! What better place to pimp your product than here? It was one of the first places I found when I started researching MAME. You basically have to try to miss this place.

While I have not used Ultimarc products, I have dealt with GGG a few times... Randy has been very helpful with any questions I may have before ordering. I have also seen Andy from Ultimarc respond to readers questions. This to me is worth much more than the few bucks saved buying  an unknown product.

Xam

[ckenney11]

I agree i would never use one i had to solder, way to much work
dm

Well, soldering isn't a problem.  I went to school for Electronic Engineering so soldering isn't that much work for me to handle.  Plus I have access to header pins that I can solder on once and be done with it.  But I do agree that it is odd that the person who is selling this isn't on the board though.  Would Tiger-Heli be willing to do a review?

[BobA]

It would be good if Atomarcade sent an encoder to one of the known reviewers if they want to gain credibility in this forum.

[Xam]

It would be good if Atomarcade sent an encoder to one of the known reviewers if they want to gain credibility in this forum.

Yuppers...but alas! We have not heard from the maker on these boards.

Xam

[LPZ]

Arrgh....I have bought one of these encoders and they work great.....I watched this thread for awhile and can't believe that you guys are kinda bashing this product......Believe me, I have a Hagstrom KE-72, and this thing is reliable as it....I will post pics and a review tomorrow.

LPZ

[RandyT]

Arrgh....I have bought one of these encoders and they work great.....I watched this thread for awhile and can't believe that you guys are kinda bashing this product......Believe me, I have a Hagstrom KE-72, and this thing is reliable as it....I will post pics and a review tomorrow.

LPZ

Not a bash, just something to look for. 

Seeing that the encoder is USB Keyboard based, you may find a limitation on the number of keys that can be pressed at once.  For a one player setup, this wouldn't be a big deal.  A couple people playing a fighting game, however, could be a different story.

I don't have one of these to test, so I don't have a clue if there is an issue there.  But since you do, you can test for it and make it part of your review, as it can be a pretty important thing to know.

RandyT

[screaming]

How is that different than any ubs interface on any other encoder?

[Xam]

Arrgh....I have bought one of these encoders and they work great.....I watched this thread for awhile and can't believe that you guys are kinda bashing this product......Believe me, I have a Hagstrom KE-72, and this thing is reliable as it....I will post pics and a review tomorrow.

LPZ

Not bashing...just lack of knowledge on our part...and lack of speaking on the part of its creator. It could be a perfectly fine product. We also mentioned the lack of its creator on this board...while it is certainly not necessary to make a good product it would help to sell it.

Xam

[ckenney11]

Arrgh....I have bought one of these encoders and they work great.....I watched this thread for awhile and can't believe that you guys are kinda bashing this product......Believe me, I have a Hagstrom KE-72, and this thing is reliable as it....I will post pics and a review tomorrow.

LPZ

I actually got in contact with Ray, the creator of this product and he said that this product is fairly new and that he didn't know about this message board.  He is actually going to send me one of these to do a review on.  He would love to get his product out here for everyone else to see.  I will be doing a review on this also.  Glad to hear that someone has used this and it worked great for them.  I should be getting the controller sometime next week and hopefully get the review out sometime the week after.  Thanks for everyones input! 

[wildatom]

These encoders seem to be the best deal out there. I can't vouch for those people out there who can't soilder. I've used almost 10 of these in the machines I've built and sold and I plan on using them again and again. Just wish I'd get a discount by now.

     The biggest reason I like these is because they have the trackball built into the board, which other encoders you have to buy and extra mod or just plain pay more. Also shipping was super fast everytime I ordered! 

[c-face]

I own this product and it works great,
I wish this guy would have stayed in business because I have other applications for the board.
If anyone has any leads on this guy I would love to hear them.