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Ram Controls?

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Xiaou2:


 Daviea,

 Really man.. I seriously doubt anyone would care about what wire is in thier yoke.

 When I worked in the arcades,  the Atari game  "Road Riot"  was always breaking
its internal wires.   They were too thin and snapped after all the constant
abuses.   Finally, I ripped them all out, and rewired with some thick gauge
wire.  Never had to fix it again.

 I think durrability is much more important than an exact replica.   If there
is a feature that is known to wear and break..  people would be much
happier knowing that thier New controller had been equipped with a
better longer lasting part.

 The gears for example, were known to break.  People would rahter have
gears made of materials that were stronger.. less prone to crackage.


 Thanks for your efforts


tranq:

Yeah, the whole replica thing turns me off - especially as it generally means higher cost:  for example, a certain online company that charges $600 dollars for a yoke...a valid market price, perhaps, but sheesh.  I just want something that's decent looking and durable.

Daviea:

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the input.  I agree that durability is a very important factor.  This is why many of the components are upgraded to tougher materials and/or manufacturing processes.

The wire is 50/50 a matter of keeping the project "pure" and a matter of functionality.  The larger OD cable was simply too large to fit through the steering shaft without binding up, particularly with three cables being required.  The smaller OD wire was too weak, IMHO, to withstand normal use.  The original OD wire really is perfect from all standpoints.  It fits quite well without binding and it's strong enough to withstand normal (and abusive) use.  So, aside from being a purist at heart, I do have a legitimate reason for wanting to stick with the original size cabling.  The custom wire I'm having manufactured is far superior to the original wiring, anyhow.  Being picky about the color of the cable was an attempt at humor, btw.  I am not aware of there being any issues specifically with the original wiring in the SW yoke, with regard to durability.  I worked on the repair end of the arcade industry for a very long time and I had dozens, if not several hundred SW machines pass through the shop.  I never once found a yoke problem that consisted of wire failure.  It was almost always the gears, pots or the cherry switches.  If you have information to the contrary, please advise.

As for the gears, the 14-tooth is notorious for failure.  No argument there.  This is one area where my purist beliefs were set aside.  I opted for an "upgraded" 14 tooth gear which should not suffer the same design flaw.  I believe that my version will last much longer than the original.

Speaking on the subject of price, I have seen used SW yokes sell for as little at $50, as much as $400.  I don't know who's selling a yoke for $600, but that seems rather extreme.  My original price point was anticipated to be at or near $200.  Maybe this price is a little steep, but I'm producing a quality replica for arcade collectors who want to outfit their machines with a superior, though nearly identical in appearance/function, controller.  I agree that "replica" generally means higher cost, but I believe my anticipated price is fair with all things considered.  Although many of the design changes I've made have increased the production cost, there's no indication that I will need to raise my original price estimate.

Thanks for all the constructive criticism.  I'm going to further consider everything you guys brought up.

David Adams
RAM Controls

Donkey_Kong:

Baaahhh  :hissy:

You didn't even mention the 720 stick. Not that it compares to the priority compared to the SW yoke...I just want to hear ya say "720" Thats all  :-[

CheffoJeffo:

David ... thanks for taking the time to post and, more importantly, for taking the time with your projects for RAM Controls.

Man do I wish I had a Major Havoc project, if only to justify the purchase of one of your gorgeous controllers!

And thanks for not straying too far from the purer path.

 :cheers:

Cheers.

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