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edge:
:notworthy: (David)

A 720 controller would be incredible.  Thanks for all your work on these repros.
Kremmit:
That's awesome news on the 720.  If it's possible, you might make the pivot balls, especially the upper one, the first part you produce on that.  I believe the upper ball is used on most (all?) other Atari logo-top joys, including Gauntlet, Xybots (twist-to-turn), and the Road Runner and I, Robot Hall-Effect sticks. 

They also are made of a soft nylon compound, and they wear out.  Most Atari logo-top joys out there play like crap these cays, because they are desperately in need of new pivot balls.  Last time I saw NOS Ataro logo-tops on ebay, they went for serious bank, and the premium price was because of this.  You could probably sell quite a few of those, and help restore a lot of Atari games in the process.

If you haven't got a line on an NOS pivot ball already, I have ONE.  Holler if you want to borrow it for casting.
MaximRecoil:

--- Quote from: Daviea on January 08, 2007, 06:01:17 pm ---
SPO joystick - I need to SEE one of these up close before I can comment.

--- End quote ---
An SPO joystick is a standard Nintendo joystick with a few modifications, which is why I think it would be more practical to make a "conversion kit" for a regular Nintendo joystick, rather than reproduce the whole thing (standard Nintendo joysticks are common as dirt).



The main 3 parts of such a kit would be (1) a new shaft which is longer than a standard Nintendo joystick shaft and has a threaded part on the bottom which is smaller in diameter than the rest of the shaft, to accept the brass "bell", (2) the brass "bell" itself, (3) and the stamped steel L-shaped bracket which holds the 5th microswitch, and is secured to the side of the joystick base with 2 screws. Anyone converting a regular Nintendo joystick would of course have to drill the holes themselves in the side of the base to screw on the L-bracket. The only other part is a small allen-type set screw that keeps the brass "bell" screwed on tight to the bottom of the joystick shaft.

I realize you'd need an actual SPO joystick to look at before even thinking about such a project, but I figured the picture would at least give you a better idea of what I am talking about.

 
u_rebelscum:

--- Quote from: Kremmit on January 09, 2007, 01:09:36 am ---That's awesome news on the 720.  If it's possible, you might make the pivot balls, especially the upper one, the first part you produce on that.  I believe the upper ball is used on most (all?) other Atari logo-top joys, including Gauntlet, Xybots (twist-to-turn), and the Road Runner and I, Robot Hall-Effect sticks. 

They also are made of a soft nylon compound, and they wear out.  Most Atari logo-top joys out there play like crap these cays, because they are desperately in need of new pivot balls.  Last time I saw NOS Ataro logo-tops on ebay, they went for serious bank, and the premium price was because of this.  You could probably sell quite a few of those, and help restore a lot of Atari games in the process.

--- End quote ---

I totally agree.  Seems to me the pivot ball was designed to wear down (vs the black joystick case wearing down).  With all five of my atari sticks I have that use it (shifter (hi/low), cyberball (2, 8way), roadrunner (hall effect), 720), I have exactly one pivot ball not in bad shape.  It's still NOS, actually, since I don't want it used until I have more backups.  :angel:  Until now, it's been :banghead:

To paraphrase kemmit, "If [you need] I have ONE [NOS pivot ball].  Holler if you want to borrow it for casting."   (If you need any other parts except for a working 720 sensor board :cry:, I can help, too.)

Another issue caused by all the worn pivot balls is the shape of the joystick cases out there.  If the pivot ball gets badly worn (rough), the case also wears down.  Especially after the ball get so worn the metal pin holding the ball sticks out. :o  Two of my five joystick case tops are like this, and I'll need to replace them when I replace the pivot balls, or I won't be able to tell that there's a new ball in there.  Luckily, the case top part is also common between all these joysticks, so if you make a few extras of this part too, you might find a nice niche market for them (although not nearly as big as the pivot ball).

Good luck!
Daviea:
Maxim, thanks for the pic of the SPO joystick.  I can tell from that pic alone that the repro would not only be possible, but it would also be very easy to do.  It would super easy to release as a retrofit kit, as well.

As for the 720 controller, I'm going to run off a few hundred spares of both the pivot ball and the upper/lower housings.  These parts (well, the upper housing and pivot ball anyway) are used across many different joystick types that Atari made, so I planned on stocking up not only to sell as individual parts but to also supply the additional reproduction projects I've got brewing.  Additionally, I plan to run off spare lower balls, pivot arms, encoder discs and centering discs.  Once I'm done with a few more of these projects, there won't be a lack of parts available any longer.

I'm probably going to go with delrin for the pivot ball, as opposed to nylon 6/12.  I believe the wear properties of delrin exceed those of nylon in a situation like this.  The only concern I have is that the delrin may be too hard which could potentially cause some binding.  Then again, my first impression is that this would be a definite upgrade to the original.  I'll think it over some more before I make my final decision on the subject.  Either way, I *need* a NOS pivot ball as well as NOS upper/lower housing components before I can move any further on those parts.  Speaking of which, I'm tossing around the idea of reproducing the upper and lower housing components out of aluminum and then hard black anodizing them.  I know this will bring up production cost somewhat, but the parts sure would look sweet!  Not to mention the obvious durability gains.  Any comments on the subject?

Unless I hear otherwise sometime soon, I'm going to take you guys up on the NOS parts as well as the complete (or mostly complete) 720 controller.  I'll reciprocate by handing over a few spare repro parts in return.

Thanks guys.

David Adams
RAM Controls
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