| Main > Main Forum |
| Ram Controls? |
| << < (5/19) > >> |
| tranq:
And whilst it's good to continually think of new stuff, it's good to keep effort in a few things at a time. (I just get spent thinking about new stuff, and don't get a whole lot done. Good thing no one's paying me, etc.) |
| Xiaou2:
--- Quote from: Daviea on January 07, 2007, 01:15:48 pm ---I never thought about repro'ing the shifters or wheels. I have a few wheels for Hard Drivin' packed away in storage. I'll take a look at them when I have the time to dig 'em out. If they're complete, it shouldn't take me long to figure out if I can repro them. From memory, I don't recall anything too special about their construction so I could probably repro them. The only concern I could imagine is construction of the actual steering wheel. That may be an issue, but I won't know for sure until I have a sample in hand and research the subject. As for the shifters, I'm fairly certain that I don't have any of them in my possession, so I'll need to pick up a couple before I can comment. You think there would really be a market for these? Honestly, I've never been much for the driving games, so I never bothered looking into them. David Adams RAM Controls --- End quote --- Heya David, I did a small it of research on wheels and shifters... There seems to be only one comparable product that looks "decent" for Racing games: From a Japanese source.. which doesnt seem to be very friendly to order from.. as well as most likely high shipping cost. The prices are a high too.. But worse than that.. Its uncertain how durrable they are. (oh, and I prefer a balltop :) ) There is also a cheaper Shifter solution from ActLabs.. however, thier products are known for high failure rates, and poor characteristics of feel and control. Thier customer support is also Awefull. Seems that there are only 4 choices for Racing equipment: 1) Cheap flimbsy poor control/feel Mass manufactured PC stuff. 2) Expensive, unknown quality, unknown seller reputation, etc... 3) Build Your Own (May be tricky, unknown lastability, need tools..etc.) 4) Pre-Existing Arcade hardware from Happs (All pre-existing arcade equipment is junk. Poor lastability, high costs, poor feel and control) I Believe its a good untapped market if prices can be brought to reasonable levels. The current arcade stuff is just pure garbage. The PC stuff in unacceptable, and wont hold up to hard and fast play. Atari Really nailed the perfect driving controls. Great feel, control, feedback, and durrability. The biggest problems with these, is thier weight, and probably costs. The shifter housing is a heavy, thick metal beast. Maybe it could be made of alternate materials (hardened aluminum?) or in a different form. |
| KonkeyKong:
Love what you're doing for the hobby, awesome stuff! :cheers: Wondering if you'll be selling the Star Wars yoke gears separately, and if so any thoughts on what a full set of 4 would cost? |
| Havok:
I see you updated your site - thanks for keeping us in the loop. |
| Daviea:
Well, I've been one busy guy today. I've managed to get quite a bit done, though I've been stuck on the phone for the better part of the day. First thing, I was able to source the optical device needed for the 720 controller. What's that mean? The project is going from a holding pattern and being put right back into production mode. Now, I'm going to need at least one complete NOS controller and, hopefully, a selection of NOS parts as well. This isn't too critical since I've got a bunch of offers of help, so I'm good. Next, the SW yoke. I just got off the horn with the casting company I'm utilizing for the handles and it looks lke I'll have a prototype (first article) set on Friday, possibly next Monday. If all is well, this will put me near 90-95% complete for this project. This one is very close to being complete. I'm pretty excited about this project. It's been my pet project for some time now and I'm glad to see it coming to a close. As for the gears, yes I will make them available separately. I don't have any pricing structure setup for the individual components just yet, but I'll have one ready sometime soon. SPO joystick - I need to SEE one of these up close before I can comment. Frontline/Tin Star/ Wild Western controller - This one too. I need to see one of these before I can really say anything about it. Atari Hard Drivin' Shifter and Steering wheel. I dug up my paperwork on the parts in question. The shifter would be an easy repro project, overall. The steering wheel may be somewhat difficult due to the large MOTOR used in the controller. However, I think I can come up with something close if not dead-on. I'll put these controllers on the backburner while I finish up all the current controller projects. I'm going to seriously look into reproducing both of these items. Thanks everyone. Ok, back to work. David Adams RAM Controls |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |