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Making a U360 into a top fire!

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Kremmit:


--- Quote from: LeedsFan on January 03, 2008, 01:35:26 pm ---This would move the magnet down about 2 mm. Shouldn't affect how the unit works at all.
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Since the sensors on the PCB below the magnet measure the strength of the magnetic field, I think moving the magnet 2mm would have quite a profound effect.  I'm pretty sure you can't move, drill, or otherwise modify the magnet in any way.

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What would work, is to give up on the idea of wires altogether, just as Wico, Happ, and other top-fire arcade sticks have done.  You need a plunger in that hollow shaft instead.  Now, in other topfires, the plunger just pokes out the bottom and hits a switch; not an option here, due to that pesky magnet again. 

So what you need is a plunger that stops just above the magnet when it's pushed all the way down, and rests a few mm above when it's not being pushed.  Two vertical slots are cut in the bottom of the shaft, 180 degrees apart.  The slots are the same length as the plunger's travel distance.  Attach a cross-member to the bottom of the plunger, that protrudes out of the slots.  A pair of disc-shaped contacts are attached to the shaft between the magnet and the cross-member.  These discs must be mounted so that they can rotate freely around the shaft, and have a soft spring holding them apart.  Wires soldered to the discs can be tied off to the frame of the joystick assembly, with enough slack to allow free movement of the handle and a suitable strain relief to prevent damage due to constant flexing.

I can see it in my head, but I'm not up to the illustration right now.  Hopefully my explanation is clear enough.

Cornchip:

   Has there ever been a 'quality' set of hi-res closeups done for this stick? I searched the threads a little and came up short. I wish I had one to look at in my hands. The top fire might be more of a possibility than the earlier suggestion of the LED Balltop conversion.


 Cornchip.

RandyT:


--- Quote from: whammoed on January 03, 2008, 01:23:31 pm ---
--- Quote from: whammoed on January 03, 2008, 12:50:22 pm ---Screw audio jack into end of stick.  Use right angle audio cable:

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I think slikstik was the first to do it.

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They were the first to offer a product based on the idea, but the idea was presented to them by one of the "old timers" on this board.  A search of the archives shows that SS's original intention for those was rotation restriction until they were turned on to this idea.


--- Quote ---Also: Don't put the button on top.  Top fire sucks.  Put the button on the "side/front" of the balltop.

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While that might be good specifically for the games using the button, would it not also be more cumbersome for the games that didn't use it?  My thoughts are that it would be, but I'd be interested in hearing opinions on the subject.

RandyT

whammoed:


--- Quote from: RandyT on January 05, 2008, 11:42:33 am ---
While that might be good specifically for the games using the button, would it not also be more cumbersome for the games that didn't use it?  My thoughts are that it would be, but I'd be interested in hearing opinions on the subject.

RandyT

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My opinion may already be obvious since i'm the one that suggested it...but I would think it would be much less cumbersome for the games that don't use it if it were mounted on the side/front.  I suppose it may depend on the way you hold the joystick.  I tend to hold a balltop joystick with my hand resting somewhat on the top.  It would be much easier to orient the stick with a button on the side such that i'm not touching the button at all.  I would think using a small/low profile button might make it a non issue anyway.  With top fire, you are left trying to fire with your thumb (ugh) or holding the stick in an awkward way so you can use one of your first two fingers.  There is a reason the tron cocktail stick has the button on the front of the stick.
Or you could use a touch sensor and have a small metal insert in the ball top. (firing this way may not be good for arcade games though?)

(Randy... do you have a link for the thread where the audio jack was discussed originally...I can't find it and would like to link to it when this topic comes up.)

Popcorrin:


--- Quote from: whammoed on January 03, 2008, 12:50:22 pm ---Screw audio jack into end of stick.  Use right angle audio cable:



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I mentioned this before and I was thinking that a person could mount the magnet to the bottom of the audio jack.  You would first have to get taller brackets for mounting the pcb, not sure if this would throw the calibration of the stick way out of whack.  Maybe Andy could comment on the feasibility of this.

I always wanted to make a U360 or 49 way with an led lit handle.  A couple of months ago I altered a 49 way joystick to use a super shaft with the plan of getting one of slikstik's illuminated handles.  Then all that crap happened with slikstik so I held off on purchasing the shafts.  
 

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