Question on Spinners

[pincky]

I am ready to by my spinner!
I've tried searching but I'm not sure if this been asked

Ultimarc's updated spintrak

Or GGG TurboTwist 2

Better of the 2?




If i went spintrak I was thinking USB, Knob  & flyweight

TurboTwist 2 was gonna go with USB, TokenTop Premium Spinner

Your opinions would be great!

Thanks!

Vince

[Ginsu Victim]

Spintrak.
(Because someone around here's gotta write a review!)

[georgemcfly]

Perhaps my poor self who didn't play many arcade games is just ignorant. Or maybe I'm too young. But are there many games that require a spinner? Any of them worth playing?

[shmokes]

Arkanoid, Tempest, Tron and maybe a couple dozen others.  Additionally, for those who don't have steering wheels, spinners make a fun substitute for racing games like Super Off Road.  They can also be used for paddle games (pong-type), the best of which is probably Warlords (which uses up to 4 at a time -- expensive, but cool!).  There are probably a dozen or so paddle games you can use it with.

[miles2912]

They are not cheap but if one of your favorite games used a spinner then they are well worth it.  My cab would not be complete with out tempest.

[jholman76]

I know I'm going to get grilled for saying it, but for someone like me who didnt really grow up playing spinner games, I find the hard drive bearing/mouse hacked spinner works fine for what I need. plays well with steering wheel games too.

It cost nothing since I work in an IT dept that is constantly throwing away old equipment (HDD's and ball mice). I found the maxtor extra thin desktop Hard drives (they ALL went bad early) from Dell GX260's work the best since the bearing goes all the way through.

But if you dont have the time or ambition, I'm sure the others are good alternatives. I'm a SF2/MKII guy anyway so I'll use the spinner about once a month. I guess it feels better to make something rather than buy it, even if it is technically not as good as the bought item.

Good luck.

[krisbee]

I love my turbo twist.  Small enough that it was a breeze to install...  hardware and setup just worked straight out of the box.  I recommend highly!

[Ginsu Victim]

I know I'm going to get grilled for saying it, but for someone like me who didnt really grow up playing spinner games, I find the hard drive bearing/mouse hacked spinner works fine for what I need. plays well with steering wheel games too.

My laser mouse spinner hack works great for me. I see no reason to buy one if you can make a good one.

[georgemcfly]

where can I get info on how to hack a mouse?

[EwJ]

where can I get info on how to hack a mouse?

You're a slacker mcfly, just like your old man.  Check the WIKI
hack
hack_pdf

[fjl]

Spintrak.
(Because someone around here's gotta write a review!)

I would like a review myself but honestly I'm sure everyone would preffer a comparizon review.

[jholman76]

Update on my post, the bearing I found that was the best was from a Maxtor Fireball 3. It is a thinner style desktop hard drive. My experiences with them are horrid. they all go bad way early. good for me though because they have some good bearings for spinners.

http://www.siaceperu.com/allsolutions/images/maxtor.jpg

[Clones]

I have the GG spinner and I was not sure how to adjust it to make it less sensitive?

[Ginsu Victim]

Hit TAB in MAME and adjust it in the analog controls settings

[Ummon]

Perhaps my poor self who didn't play many arcade games is just ignorant. Or maybe I'm too young. But are there many games that require a spinner? Any of them worth playing?

Too young, or grew up impoverished. Tempest is legend.

[shmokes]

My cab doesn't have a spinner.  I'd actually like two so I could use them in games like Off-Road.  Previously I thought that I might be able to fit a SlikStik Tornado spinner in my panel because of it's slick 2"x2" footprint.  But now that Randy and Andy have their button-hole spinners, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I get one (or two).  My only problem now is that the panel I would put them in (to compliment top-fire joysticks) is already verging on too crowded.  And I really hates me a cluttered control panel.

[DaddyLongLegs]

The turbo twist fits in the same sized hole your pushbuttons do. That's such an awesome feature in itself. Plus the thing is great quality.

[Blanka]

Wow!, the new Spintrak from Andy is button-fit too!
Looks cool
Still do not like the knobs that much. Looking for an even cleaner look, just a ribbed black anodized cylinder or something like that.
Like this:

But then black and without visible screw

[Shoegazer]

I'm also verging on buying a new spinner to upgrade from my Tornado (great for its time, but resolution is just too low).  I really like the steering wheel option on the TT2s, so I may get one of those - but the problem there is the fact that the steering wheel isn't tall enough to clear the space next to my U360 joystick, which is about 3" to the right and stands 3" high or so. 

Choices, choices.

If only there were a steering wheel option that could somehow pivot 45 degrees towards the player (using something like a gear mechanism to translate wheel turns into spinner turns, along with a brace to hold it firm).  That way you wouldn't need a 45 degree mounting block sticking up from your panel, so when you detatched the wheel, you'd just have a flat-mount spinner.  Now THAT would be cool.  You'd have a great rig for playing spinner games as well as games like Sprint and Super Off-Road..

Shoegazer

[Ummon]

Wow!, the new Spintrak from Andy is button-fit too!
Looks cool
Still do not like the knobs that much. Looking for an even cleaner look, just a ribbed black anodized cylinder or something like that.
Like this:

But then black and without visible screw

Cleaner? Older and blocky to me. I love the SS-type tops and GGG's token top.

[clhug]

Hit TAB in MAME and adjust it in the analog controls settings

Do the Windows Mouse speed settings in Control Panel have any affect on Mame, and if so, how does that balance with the settings within Mame?

[u_rebelscum]

Do the Windows Mouse speed settings in Control Panel have any affect on Mame, and if so, how does that balance with the settings within Mame?

No.  Usually.

A very few mice adjust sensitivity in firmware.  Mame sees sensitivity/speed/enhancement/accelaration if calculated in the mouse/TB/spinner.  Mame does not see changes in driver (software) stuff in windows XP or Vista.  Whether the control panel settings change the firmware depends on the mouse and the driver.