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Suzo Inductive Joystick Switchable 4/8 way mod
Level42:
There isn't a downside apart from it being (a little) more complicated to realise. You would need to bring the pot to the underside of your CP and make a knob on the other side to be able to control it without opening the stick. But this all is also true for the switch.
And it's all very do-able of course.
I don't really see how 8 way joysticks differ from eachother. If you would use a "normal" 8 way stick, you also always have the same feeling. What games are you talking about ? I've tried several 8 way games now and they work like a dream....
At least I think I'm the first one who actualy has got this working, instead of just talking about it...
Grasshopper:
--- Quote from: Level42 on May 25, 2006, 06:41:15 pm ---I don't really see how 8 way joysticks differ from eachother. If you would use a "normal" 8 way stick, you also always have the same feeling. What games are you talking about ? I've tried several 8 way games now and they work like a dream....
--- End quote ---
If you look at the joystick reviews on the Retroblast site you'll see that some 8 way sticks favour the diagonals more than others. This issue often comes up in the Happ Super vs Competition threads.
http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/joysticks/Joystick%20Roundup.pdf
--- Quote from: Level42 on May 25, 2006, 06:41:15 pm ---At least I think I'm the first one who actualy has got this working, instead of just talking about it...
--- End quote ---
Unfortunately, for some of us, progress is hampered by a tedious thing called "real life". :cry:
Level42:
OK, I see. I'm fine with the set-up I found and it works perfect for me in all the 8-way games I've tried (and I've tried quite a few by now).
I hope I've helped (or even inspired) some other people who may want to do this as well with the info I gave in my first posting, what everyone does with it is their choice. The solution I found is the simplest you can think of. And works fine.
Why didn't Retroblast ever test the Suzo Inductives by the way ? I think they deserve it (not that it will change my opinion) because they're special enough. And the fact that they are no longer produced is not a reason not to test them, the Williams is also out of production.
As mentioned, it took me about half a year before I could find a couple of hours to experiment with this, so I know about real life :D
Next step is that I want to let a relay do the work instead of a switch. There are a couple of advantages when you use a relay:
1) I want to use a momentary (regular arcade button) to switch between 4 and 8 way. This is possible to realise with a relay.
2) because of the multiple relay contacts it's possible to switch over both sticks at the same time
3) also because of the multiple contacts it's possible to make a LED indication for what mode is chosen. Maybe it would be nice to use an Electric ICE button and a two colour LED to indicate the mode.
4) when (and if) there will be a solution to automaticaly switch per software, it's easy to change over to that.
As soon as I find some more spare hours.....I'll build it and let you all know
bishmasterb:
If I'm understanding this correctly, the pot can be adjusted to increase or decrease the size of the diagnals, essentially letting you create your own restrictor plate.
How about mounting the pot on the control panel with a knob that lets you set it during play? 4-way games like Pac Man get set all the way to one side, 8-way games all the way to the other. Games that are in between (Tron) could be custom set to somewhere in the middle.
Level42:
Well, I haven't found out the differences between settings around the 8 way position. But I haven't tried it a lot I must admit. But of course, what you say can be done too (I already suggested that earlier on this forum).
You can't use the original pot however, since it's a "trimmer" type, that is normaly set with a small screwdriver. You need to find a 100 Ohm pot that can be mounted on a panel and a knob of course.Then wire it to the joystick as the original pot was. Very simple.
As I said, the full 8 way (=shorting, around 0 Ohm resistance) works fine in the 8 way games. However, the full 4 way setting is making it almost impossible to hit any direction at all. This setting simply can't be used in the real world. But you could find a good setting for 4 way and make a marking near the nob to indicate it.
I chose the switch variant because I hope there will be an automatic software solution in the future.