How does Ultimarc E-stik rotate?

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jdjuggler:
Hey now.. I'm just trying to learn here... Just reading what was on Andy's site. But, I respect everyone's input, that's why I'm here.
One more quick question, now that I understand the parts involved.
When you rotate the switch plate to a 45 degree position, does the top fascia plate turn with it?

1UP:

--- Quote ---When you rotate the switch plate to a 45 degree position, does the top fascia plate turn with it?
--- End quote ---

In a word, no. This should explain things better:

Here are the parts. There's the stick and top mounting assembly, the mounting nut and a rubber washer, and the switch plate (with switches and 4-8 way restrictor mounted.) Now the rubber grommet is obviously there for something, and that's to provide friction to keep the mounting assembly from rotating on the panel.

Here we can see the two studs underneath the top mounting plate. These would fit into...

Two similar sized notches in the sides of your mounting hole. Since the studs fit into the notches, the top mounting plate lies flat on the control panel. If your mounting plate is "floating" above the panel, you've done it wrong.

Here you can see the basic parts fitted together, as if they were mounted on a 3/4" panel. The arrow shows the groove that runs around the base of the mounting shaft. This is where the switch plate is mounted. The groove allows the switch plate to travel 45 degrees around the mounting shaft, which should be stationary when mounted to the CP.

Here are the various modes possible with the E-stick. Normally, you have the restrictor positioned in 8-way mode, and the switch plate is not rotated. The second photo shows 4-way mode, with the restrictor rotated 90 degrees, blocking the diagonals. The third photo shows 4-way diagonal mode, where the restrictor is still rotated as in the second photo, but now the switch plate is also rotated 45 degrees, causing the stick to act as a rotated 4-way. Note that the top mounting plate is still in the same postion at all times.

Now, the more I think about it, I don't think Smittydc's idea is all that bad, but I would want something more "automatic" to help locate the proper rotated joystick postion. You could easily modify the normal mounting notches by making another set in the lexan, offset by 45 degrees, then rounding off the piece of plastic between the two. This would ensure that the stick would not rotate more than 45 degrees before clicking into place on the other side of the rounded divider! This method has the added advantage that the mount doesn't rely strictly on the friction of a partially-tightened nut to prevent the stick from rotating accidentally. The only problem I could see is that the top mounting plate would eventually wear a circle into the surface of the lexan, which might not look all that pretty to the more picky among us (like me!)

Hope this clears up all the confusion! (No confusion here though, I knew what you were all asking, but it's hard to explain unless you have the stick to play with! ;) )

Smittydc:
Good job explaining it 1up! Pictures definitely help.

I still like my method better :) if only because you don't have to dig under the panel -- but then, I only play qbert once in a while anyway, which is why I don't worry about wearing a hole in the CP overlay.

Also, thanks for the e-stick spring post a few days ago -- I need to change those. By the time I get near the house Time Pilot high score my hands are killing me.

jdjuggler:
1UP - Thanks, this is great information. The pictures were invaluable to understanding how the stick works. And, I think many of us would like the ability to rotate the stick to a 45 degree angle from the top... All of these comments will give us some great ideas toward figuring out a "nice" way of rotating this stick... I think I'll be ordering one soon.
Thanks

mcleanjoel:
I know the Happ Universal looks the same but can anyone verify that it has the same functionality as the E-Stick for rotating the switchplate 45 degrees?

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