Slik Stik - Any Word

[Tiger-Heli]

Telling customers that product x was faulty and as a result delayed shipping is a very good way to get in trouble legally. Even though the intention wasn't bad towards product x, it could still be viewed as a slanderous comment. They are treading on very thin ice.
That said, everyone in the world knows that Andy's products are top notch and of the highest quality around. To blame an Ipac on your own stupidity is...well....just stupid.

Agreed - This may be taken the wrong way, but I've been on the scene for a long time - five years, 10 years -

There have been some defective I-PAC's or at least MiniPacs over the years.  Andy mentioned a bad batch of chips at one point in that time.  He also either sent out replacement boards at no charge or sent out replacement chips in a timely manner if they were user replaceable.  I can't remember any problems with the boards since at least 3 or 4 years ago, maybe longer.

If Andy is saying there is no current problem with the I-PACs, I trust that a lot more than Christian saying that is the holdup on the panels.

XtraSmiley - Good to know the Ultimarc Rotary board now ships with the proper chip for MAME - I saw the thread were the newer chips were evaluated, but never saw that they got incorporated into production.

Just my 2 cents.

[Icer]

Chris,

Any updated regarding your order?  I understand you are in Canada so I can see it atking awhile, but is the tracking showing any progress?

[btp2k2]

No the details are good.  Can you post a picture of the damage?  We might be able to help fix it.

Also, Andy from Ultimarc is very cool and quickly sent me an updated Rotary chip when SS sent the older version that doesn't work well in MAME.  From England it only took me about a week to get it.

Thanks for the good service Andy!

Yeah, there is no doubt Andy is the bees knees. I ordered parts from SS the same day I ordered a minipac from Andy. I got the Minipac in about 5 days. The SS parts, despite being in the same country, came 2 weeks later.

[wauger]

Unfortunately I didn't read this thread before I posted my order. So now, here I am, out almost $800 bucks with no product to show for it. I thought I would post my saga:

08-August-2007
-Emailed SS with a product question regarding the Quad panel. Received response from Paul at SS same day.

18-August-2007
-Had problems ordering the CO2 CP via the web. Sent a question with my experience, and received a response from Paul same day.
Paul was very cordial and responsive. In fact, when I figured out what the ordering problem was (browser related) he seemed
very sincere and apologetic regarding my ordering issues. He promised to report the browser issue to the web developers.
-We resolved the ordering issue and my order was placed at 6:00PM CDT on Aug-18.

04-September-2007
-Sent an inquiry email asking when the expected manufacture and delivery time would be, as the web site stated between 2-5 weeks.
Received a response from Paul (same day) stating that it would be another 2-3 weeks before my CP shipped. Accept this answer as it
has only been two weeks since my order.

27-September-2007
-Now 5 weeks since my order was placed, I sent an email asking for the status. Paul responded (same day) stating that their prouduction
has been delayed "quite a bit" due to a supplier backorder of trackballs. Paul quoted another 2-4 weeks for production delivery. Once again,
being the charitable person I am, I gave the benefit to SS and decided to wait for further communication.

19-October-2007
-Sent a professional, yet direct email providing a summary of my order experience and to ask what the current status was. No response received.

05-November-2007
-Sent a VERY direct email giving them an ultimatem: They have one week to respond with a sufficient status update for my product or I will
demand a FULL REFUND and report them to the BBB. Still waiting response...

06-November-2007
-Found a order inquiry number (973-447-0951) and called, received an automated operator rejecting my call because CallerID is blocked.
-Called back from a standard land-line. Received machine. Left a message with order number and my dissatisfaction. No response as of yet.

[FrizzleFried]

...this thread was up to 5 pages for me...it's down to 4 now.  Posts are being deleted?

[ahofle]

I think you're confusing it with the CRT vs LCD thread. 

[shardian]

...this thread was up to 5 pages for me...it's down to 4 now.  Posts are being deleted?

Mods are taking an active role in keeping the peace lately instead of just post helling threads. I've noticed the post deleting several times now and have no problem with it.

Kudos to hard working mods.

[Icer]

Probably not the right place to ask, but here it goes.

Since the likely hood of me getting my cabinet and CP from SS are unlikely at this point.


What are people's recommendations for other suppliers?

How hard is it to build your own CP?

Thanks again for all the information and advice!

[Icer]

Anyone thought about a road trip to NJ?


Maybe face to face they might have answers, but more likely they would just have me arrested.

And I am in no way shape or form suggesting any violence, just to make that clear.

[Donkey_Kong]

Probably not the right place to ask, but here it goes.

Since the likely hood of me getting my cabinet and CP from SS are unlikely at this point.


What are people's recommendations for other suppliers?

How hard is it to build your own CP?

Thanks again for all the information and advice!

Welcome to the addictive insanity here.
If you can run a skill saw, drill, & glue bottle...you can build a control panel. If you can run a screw driver...you can wire up a control panel.

Most people order sticks and buttons and keyboard encoders from either of these two trusted manufacturers...
www.ultimarc.com
www.groovygamegear.com

Then local to the board and possibly closer to you geographically are these suppliers that carry supplies from the above manufacturers, as well as others....
Ponyboy
Divemaster

Other local Forum Vendors and used gear...
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,2.0.html

For a complete step by step A-Z "How To" on an upright Arcade Cabinet, get John St Clair's
Project Arcade, The Book

Artwork: Control Panel Overlays's etc...
http://www.mamemarquees.com/

My wife also does custom carved side art
http://nicecarvings.com/home.html

Still want a ready made CP? No prob man...BYOAC has it all. 
Kaytrims Kustom's
Timoes Mini's

Sorry for this post turning into a big ole production, I have undoubtedly forgotten some key sources, and hopefully they will be posted by others.

[Tiger-Heli]

What are people's recommendations for other suppliers?

Several were posted earlier in this thread.

[DrBunsen]

Since the likely hood of me getting my cabinet and CP from SS are unlikely at this point.

Well, I don't know that you wouldn't eventually get it, but don't interpret that to mean that I'm recommending that you be willing to wait 7+ months for it to arrive like I did for mine.

Slikstik is made up of nice enough people when you contact them, and I really like my panel (slight damage aside), but something worrisome is certainly going on.


Bunsen

[Icer]

I agree that they are nice people WHEN you can get a hold of them, but I have called and left message after message.  The phone just rings and rings with no one picking up at all hours of the day, and they have not answered an e-mail for almost three weeks, this after telling me that my stuff should be ready in about 10 days.

I still hope that I do get my CP; that is what I really do want, but their lack of caring for their customers is ridiculous.

[demaximis]

Another newbie to the forum with a SlikStik story.  Before seeing this thread, and after reading reviews on Retroblast, I purchased a Tornado spinner from SS via Ebay.  I paid immediately, and received positive feedback immediately.  This was on 10/26.  According to the SS website, they are supposed to send parts "within 2-5 business days" of the date the order was placed.  That would have been no later than last Friday, 11/2.

Last week, I sent SS an email from my Ebay account, asking for a status update on shipping.  SS did not respond.

Today, I sent an email from my work account (I am an attorney), asking for an update with shipping information in the next 24 hours before I begin the process of cancelling the order and filing for a chargeback.  I have no doubt that I'll get my money back if I so choose (Amex understands its obligation to its customers).  I would really prefer to have a quality piece of equipment, shipped to me in a reasonable timeframe.

On a side note, for those seeking redress from their credit card companies in the form of a chargeback, under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you must request a chargeback IN WRITING at the address on your credit card bill within 60 days of the date of the STATEMENT the charge appears on, not the date of the actual charge.  This is a very meaningful distinction, and one your credit card company may gloss over in an attempt to prevent a chargeback.

I will post again upon resolution (which will be soon).

Demaximis

BTW - I too can recommend Jack from ArcadesRfun.  I ordered a blank CP from him, and he has been nothing but professional, friendly, and responsive.  If his work is as good as his customer service (and I have no reason to believe it is not), he's invaluable to guys like me who have little time/skill to work with the wood, and want a quality piece for their homes.

[FrizzleFried]

...and I would highly recommend visiting groovygamegear.com to purchase your spinner.

[btp2k2]

If you can run a skill saw, drill, & glue bottle...you can build a control panel. If you can run a screw driver...you can wire up a control panel.

You know, not to sound like a cheesy infomercial or something.....but seriously...I was amazed at how easy it is to make your own panel. When I made my first, I didn't have any wood working skills at all....I hadn't touched a saw or drill since middle school wood shop.

Really, you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to making a CP

[chrismcd]

Chris,

Any updated regarding your order?  I understand you are in Canada so I can see it atking awhile, but is the tracking showing any progress?

Got My Panel Today And I was surprised that it was packed so Nice... Here are a couple of pictures of it




Just have to find Time to play now....


Chris

[DrWho]

Congtratulations Chris!!!!

This gives us hope!  It looks awesome!

What was the total time?  From order to recieving?

[chrismcd]

Congtratulations Chris!!!!

This gives us hope!  It looks awesome!

What was the total time?  From order to recieving?

Thanks..  The order was placed on July 2/07 and they shipped it Nov 2/07 So 4 months Total...

[DrWho]

nah... I can't have that.  Need this before christmas.

6 weeks is reasonable.  4 months is not.

[shardian]

And it's a damn shame they go thru the effort of flush mounting the trackball, THEN INCORPORATE THE MOUNT INTO THE ARTWORK!!!

[mushmouth]

And it's a damn shame they go thru the effort of flush mounting the trackball, THEN INCORPORATE THE MOUNT INTO THE ARTWORK!!!

And dust covers on top of the panel...

4 months??? My god... That's horrific. When you're waiting for arcade parts, 4 months is like a year of regular time.

[FrizzleFried]

And it's a damn shame they go thru the effort of flush mounting the trackball, THEN INCORPORATE THE MOUNT INTO THE ARTWORK!!!

I was thinking the same thing...

The entire purpose of flush mounting is to COVER the plate.

[NoOne=NBA=]

And it's a damn shame they go thru the effort of flush mounting the trackball, THEN INCORPORATE THE MOUNT INTO THE ARTWORK!!!

My thoughts exactly.

And I would second, third, or fourth the suggestion to order your spinner, or whatever else you need, from Groovy Game Gear.

[scottp]

That is not flush mounted, it may appear that way in the picture, but the trackball plate is on top of the wood. 

The flush mounted designs we did had no shine around the trackball plate for that particular design.  Plus, I don't think he even offered flush mounting 4 months ago. 

Scott

www.mamemarquees.com

[Singapura]

The only reason I would buy something ready made would be if it had something I couldn't do myself. In this case it would be flushmounting and covering the trackball and button plates, because it needs specialised equipment. If you take that out then the panel is nothing but a plank of wood with holes in it. And it took 4 months to make that? Slik Stik is loosing their rep fast, which is a shame because that's what keeps companies like this in business.

[DrBunsen]

That is not flush mounted, it may appear that way in the picture, but the trackball plate is on top of the wood. 

The flush mounted designs we did had no shine around the trackball plate for that particular design.  Plus, I don't think he even offered flush mounting 4 months ago. 

Scott

www.mamemarquees.com

I don't know exactly when they first started offering the flush-mount trackball, but I noticed it on June 13th, which is when I inquired about changing my order to include the flush-mounted trackball instead of the one with the exposed mounting plate.  I was kinda worried that maybe the overlay wouldn't match, but that wasn't an issue.  {Later edit} Hmmm... It wasn't until just tonight that I noticed that they didn't put any "glow" around the trackball like they did around every other control, or like they did around the square trackball mounting plate (had I gone with that instead of the flush-mount).  Now that I've noticed that it's kind of a glaring omission that will tick me off more and more over time.

I'm including pics of my CP, which also highlight the damage to the overlay.  Scott (or anyone else for that matter), any advice on how to best repair it?  And, since they didn't bother to put the "glow" around the trackball, what's the possibility of getting an overlay through you that does, or is it even worth the hassle for me to try to replace it?


Bunsen

[scottp]

If you PM me I can possibly help. 

There were very few flush mount overlays sold to slikstik, yours may be the only one in that style...  I don't want to get into details here but in the last couple of months we sold to them it was crazy, did not here from them in weeks then they would need 10 overnight, then I would not here from them in 5 weeks, then they needed 15 yesterday.   I wish we would have put a glow around it, but given the timeline that they gave me that was all I could do. 

[Xiaou2]

Get someone who is a decent artist to paint it.

For a temp fix,  some markers or black & blue paint.

[DrBunsen]

I wish we would have put a glow around it, but given the timeline that they gave me that was all I could do. 

Ack!  Hopefully I didn't make it sound like it was your fault!  I feel that the ultimate responsibility for the design work lies with Slikstik.  (Though I do have to admit I admire your willingness to try to shoulder some of the blame.)  I'm in no way looking for you to try to make up for any of Slikstik's shortcomings, but I sure do appreciate your willingness to give advice!


Bunsen

[shardian]

In your pic it looks like the art piece is still there, kind of like when you slice your finger and the skin is still hanging on by a thread. You should be able to put a tiny drop of glue on there and press the art back down.

[DrBunsen]

In your pic it looks like the art piece is still there, kind of like when you slice your finger and the skin is still hanging on by a thread. You should be able to put a tiny drop of glue on there and press the art back down.

Yeah, it's there and I figure that that's what needs to happen.

My worry is if there's a kind of glue that would work best (e.g. that doesn't act as a solvent on the material of the overlay).  And it would be nice if there were some way to seal it into place so that it won't get easily knocked out again, and which would fill in the gaps around the edges.  Like, maybe clear fingernail polish or something.  But, again, I worry about the solvent issue.

I figure that so long as I don't do anything to it the options are still rather open.  So I'm just gathering info before I attempt to do as effective a repair as possible.


Bunsen

[shardian]

Super glue would be fine. Even Elmers glue would probably work fine. Just use a very, very small amount.

[KevSteele]

Water-thin super glue would work great - a tiny bit to lock the flap down, then a small droplet to fill in the cut.

[RandyT]

Be careful with the super glue.  I have used a handful of different varieties and some will leave a white residue.  If you use the wrong stuff, you might end up with a white spot where your white spot is.

Be sure to try it on a piece of scrap material to see how it dries before leaving  a drop on the surface of your panel. 

RandyT

[KevSteele]

Be careful with the super glue.  I have used a handful of different varieties and some will leave a white residue.  If you use the wrong stuff, you might end up with a white spot where your white spot is.

Be sure to try it on a piece of scrap material to see how it dries before leaving  a drop on the surface of your panel. 

RandyT

You'll get a white residue if you put too much in - it hazes. When I've used it for pinball repairs, filling in chips on inserts. You want to use water-clear superglue, put in a tiny, tiny amount, and let it dry (you can add multiple layers this way). The end result is an acrylic-like clear seal.

[DrWho]

Been trying to call slikstik every day now for a week.  No answer.

[FrizzleFried]

Been trying to call slikstik every day now for a week.  No answer.

...not to place an order I hope?

[shardian]

Well I've done an email test, I wonder if they would answer a "new number" phone test.

[FrizzleFried]

Answering machine for me...