Will a standard Happ button fit in a Sanwa button hole?

[Timstuff]

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I'm thinking about customizing a Hori Fighting Stick 3 with a bat-top Sanwa joystick and some better buttons. The thing is, I read that Sanwa buttons use a 30mm mounting hole, which translates to about 1 3/16", while a standard Happ button uses a 1 1/8" hole. The reason I'm asking about this, is that I would really like to use concave buttons in my HFS3, since that's what I'm used to. I know that many fighting purists will swear that the only way to play is with a ball top joystick and convex buttons, but my personal opinion is that it's all about preference, and bat top joysticks and concave buttons are what I grew up with.

Another thing that may be a bit of a bother is that the Happ buttons have a longer shaft than the Sanwa style buttons, and I'm not sure how much space I'll have inside that little HFS3 box. The ultimate solution would be to simply open the bugger up and test fit some buttons I already have, but it's always nice to know if a road is a dead end before you drive down it, especially since test fitting the buttons will require de-soldering the PCB from the buttons. The main thing though, is knowing wether the buttons will fit. We're only talking about a difference of 1/16 of an inch, but if that's enough to keep the button from mounting sturdily I'll have to start getting creative, or (grudgingly) learn to use convex buttons.

[Kajoq]

Theres no way HAPP buttons are going to fit in a FS3, they're way too deep.

Get some sanwas for it... It wont be long before you never want to touch Concave HAPPs ever again.

Also, be warned a Sanwa + bat top is a completely different feel than a HAPP bat top.

[Timstuff]

I've been told that a Sanwa + bat top has a much shorter throw than a Happ, which I'm prepared to adjust to since that's supposedly more responsive. However, the way I see it, going from a Happ Competition to a Sanwa + bat top + octogonal gate is like going from driving an automatic to a stick, while going from a Happ to a Sanwa + ball top + square gate is like switching which side of the road you drive on. That's way more adjustment than I'm willing to go through, so I think I'll stick with the bat top and octo gate for now, even if I prefer the "rugged" feeling long throw of my good ol' Happ Competitions (which is likely because long throw sticks are more initially accommodating for klutzes like me, LOL).

Also, I kind of figured out after some long thought today that I'll probably be shooting myself in the foot if I wanted to use Happ buttons on the HFS3. The pros all swear by convex buttons (the whole "bat vs. ball top" debate aside), so I should probably get used to using them if I want to be any good at fighting games. If I really do get that used to convex buttons, I can always toss some Happ competition convex buttons into my cab at some point in the future for consistency I 'spose.

[Timstuff]

Hmm... I've been crunching some numbers, and I'm actually starting to think that maybe it'd make more sense just to build my own arcade stick from the ground up, and use a cheap wired PS3 controller for a PCB (I say wired, because I want easy PC compatibility). It may actually end up being cheaper, and it'll probably meet my personal needs a lot better than just modding a Hori stick. I mean, do I really want to spend $30 on a Sanwa stick, octo gate, and bat top, when what I really want is a $10 IL Competition?

The Hori stick does look good for modding if you're into Japanese style controls, but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to part with the Competition sticks in favor of Sanwa ones. I'll probably go ahead and give convex buttons a try, but they'll likely be of Happ-make since I'd be using a wooden panel, and Sanwa buttons are only for metal panels.