Tutorial: HAPP Heavy Duty 8-way / UltraStik 360 Modification

[whynotpizza]

Hi all,

This thread is a complete tutorial on how to modify the HAPP Heavy Duty 8-Way Flight Stick using the internals from the Ultimarc UltraStik 360. I was inspired by genesim in his original post, so a special thanks to him for the initial idea.

Controls Required:
  HAPP 8-way Heavy Duty Flight Stick  (HAPP Controls)
  Ultimarc UltraStik 360 (Ultimarc)

Tools Required:
  Drill (with Metal 3/16" drill bit)
  Screw Driver (Small-to-Medium Sized Regular and Phillips)
  Miniature Screw Driver (Regular)
  Wrench (Various Sizes)
  Vise
  Sand Paper (for metal)
  Ruler
  Pencil
  Sharp Exacto (or Utility) Knife
  Cool beer (to help celebrate when complete)

Materials Required: (total cost ~ $5 bucks!)
  QTY 4 #10-32 Machine Screws (1 1/2" length each) with Hex Head
  QTY 4 #10-32 Hex Nuts with threaded Nylon Stopper
  QTY 4 #10-32 Machine Screws (1/2" length each) with Phillips or Regular Head
  QTY 4 Nylon Spacers (1/2" Length, OD <= 1/2")
  QTY 1-4 Thin Metal or Nylon Washers

Total Time: 2-4 hours, depending on how particular you are

The end result is a heavy duty flight stick with flexibility to run in both digital and analog mode; a true multipurpose flight control.

Overall depth measurements between the original HAPP 8-way and the HAPP U360 is pretty close. 1/4" additional depth is needed within the control panel to handle the additional depth of the U360 internals.

HAPP Orig: 4 1/2" depth
HAPP U360: 4 3/4" depth

BEFORE	AFTER

OK, here are the steps for the mod:

STEP 1: Disassemble HAPP 8-way Control

(1A) Remove all four microswitches using screwdriver as shown

(1B) Remove Switch Actuator (white-square thing-a-ma-bob) using miniature screwdriver (be careful not to cut your finger as I did)

(1C) Remove HAPP plastic base plate using phillips screwdriver

(1D) Disconnect HAPP Rubber Grommet using an appropriate wrench and screwdriver


STEP 2: Disassemble U360 Control

(2A) Remove Center Shaft and Plate by unscrewing plate and removing center components

NOTE the picture shown contains the heavier duty spring and a longer center shaft used for a BAT control knob. Obviously if you purchase a

U360 with the intention of pulling apart for conversion with a HAPP 8-way, you only need to purchase the stock/vanilla U360 control.

(2B) Remove Control Board using screw driver as shown; Make sure to save little round spacers and screws for later re-assemble.


STEP 3: Drill 4 New Holes in U360 Control (Plate and Base)

(3A) Measure 4 new holes as shown using pencil (Dimensions are square 1 3/4" x 1 3/4")

(3B) Drill 4 new holes in the plate using 3/16" drill bit and clean new holes using sand paper; This is best done using a vise to hold when drilling.

(3C) Re-Assemble Plate and Base

(3D) Drill Plate/Base Combination and Clean; Use vise to hold unit when drilling

NOTE: Make sure to drill holes slightly larger than 3/16". This will help allow enough movement to compensate for hole alignment issues.


STEP 4: Re-Assemble

(4A) Re-Assemble HAPP plate onto the four brass shafts using 1/2" machine screws as shown

(4B) Attach U360 plate and base to HAPP control using assembly parts (1/2" plastic spacer, 1 1/2" Machine Screws, Hex Nuts)

NOTE: Make sure to hand-tighten at this step as you may need to adjust using spacers to properly align center shaft.

(4C) Adjust center shaft using spacers (if required)

Check the center shaft and see if it is aligned vertical. If not, simply disconnect one or more of the corners, add appropriate spacer(s) and re-assemble. Check vertical to make sure perfectly aligned. The idea here is to make sure the center shaft (which will contain the magnet on the end) is perfectly vertical with respect to the control sensor when the board is attached.


STEP 5: Attach Magnet and Control Board Assembly

(5A) Attach Magnet to the center shaft

(5B) Attach Control Board Assembly to the final HAPP U360 base.

Make sure to put plastic spacers between the control board and the mounting brackets. This will ensure proper spacing between the sensor and the magnet. When mounting is complete, move stick side to side and make sure magnet properly rotates around the control board sensor.


That's it.

Crack open that beer you've been saving, kick back and admire your work.

 


  David

[whynotpizza]

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[whynotpizza]

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[whynotpizza]

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[whynotpizza]

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[Ummon]

You mean Ultimarc U360. Much cleaner design you have there.

[abzman2000]

very informative! I may do this when I have the funds for both joysticks

[geocab]

When I build my panel, I want to have a flight stick for Tron, but wanted it to also be good for analog games like Afterburner, Space Harrier, etc.  I was hoping Ultimarc would come out with a flight stick that was versatile like the U360, so this mod seems to be exactly what I'm looking for!

Does it matter which of the HD flight sticks you choose?  Trigger only, 1 fire button, 2 fire button, etc.

[whynotpizza]

Glad someone saw my post.

Took a looong time to put this together, so it'll be nice to see someone benefit from the information!

In terms of options on the Happ ... I say go for the 2 buttons. Price difference is negligible IMHO, and the second thumb button adds additional potential options when playing games. Price difference between the no-button and the 2-button is ~$11. Worh it to have flexibility.

So, I'd say get the Trigger + 2 Fire Thumb Buttons from Happ for the mod.

I am in the process of putting my new cab together (which includes this recent mod, and can't wait to play TRON on it.   For my control panel, I plan to mount this mod Happ-U360 from underneath 3/4" MDF. This allowed me to "bevel" using a 45 degree router a circular cut hole for the stick. Looks very suite! Let me know if anyone wants more info on the final view/details.

  David

[geocab]

Of course we want final view and details.  Whenever you're done, more pics please.  And I'd love to hear your opinion on how your mod feels when installed on your control panel with Tron and a couple of analog games. 

[genesim]

First of all, Hello everyone.   It has been a while but I have been doing other things and not arcading as  much as before.

But that is going to change really soon because I took apart my arcade in hopes of cutting it down to make it more Evel Knievel wife friendly style! 

At any rate I do appreciate the credit and I also appreciate the work done on this thread.   It is all a pain in the ass for sure.

Now a few questions.   While both of us have essentially done the same thing I fail to see an improvement of the design?

We can drill holes different ways and use different spacers etc, the problem that I see is the problem that I originally had.

The THROW of the shaft.    Hence me using a smaller magnet for the bottom.   Without it, I find that the analog placement is limiting unless you artificially achieve this through the software.

But that doesn't change the obvious, a shorter throw is less detection.   If I had all the money in the world, I would simply cut the top restrictor and solve the problem that way.

As it stands I filed my mod under "good enough", because it plays games incredibly well.   

[whynotpizza]

One additional step which I did to resolve the "throw" issue (which I didn't update in the original thread) was to use an exacto knife (very carefully) to cut away precise pieces of the inside edge on the rubber grommet. This allows for the stick to move in a larger range of motion (up/down/left/right and diagonals). This took some time to get right, since you don't want to shave off too much of the grommet. In my case, I cut a bit, and put it back together and plugged it in to test -- did this several times to get it right. The end result is a perfect range of motion with the grommet acting as the stopper on the edges of the motion on the stick.

NOTE: Since the Happ does not completely disassemble to make this step easier, so you need to work the exacto cuts with the steel plate and grommet put together. This makes it trickier to cut, but still doable if you are careful.

The other thing I did (not related to the mod) is to mount the stick underneath 3/4" MDF. This took some careful planning with my new fancy router. I had to cut perfect holes in the MDF as well as the LEXAN which covers the surface of the control panel. Both the MDF and Lexan were bevel cut using the router, and lined up perfectly to give a clean edge.

Take a look at the final pictures.

I also put 2 LED's inside the blue casing of the stick (which light up great)!

In the end, the cost for this thing was well over $200, but certainly a nice to have on my cabinet when playing Discs of Tron, After Burner or any other game you can think of with a solid flight stick. Beauty of this is the switch from analog to digital -- any configuration I want can be programming using the engine of the U360.

 

  David

[genesim]

Hey now that is really cool!

So how much did you take out?   Does this make the original magnet work great??!!!  The smaller magnet gives me like 90%...but a little more would not be bad at all.  I didn't have the balls to do it, but I welcome your input and thank you for taking it further.

Yeah Happs didn't make it fun at all.   STUPID DESIGN.

[Bender]

the happs do come completely apart

it's just a little hard


Great work you two, kinda makes my mod obostlete except for a dedicated Tron Machine, or people who must have the true restriction

I'm going for this solution when I make My full size cab
maybe we can get encryptor to produce a restrictor for this that works perfectly with the U360
also here is a map I made for the Tron for the U360

Obviously just remove the .txt

EDIT: Doesn't seem like you can download the map, anyone know how to post this?

[genesim]

What would it cost me to get that restrictor!   This makes me want to take that S.O.B. apart right now!!!   

Please let me know how I can get a copy...who has it...what ransom!

The bottom part is not a problem, the restrictor is the only thing holding this idea back!   My peanut butter...your chocolate(or whoever's it is).

[whynotpizza]

Checkout this restrictor replacement thread.
  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=86520.0

Although, I am not sure why the need to have this restrictor (other than to change the orientation of the square hole.

It would be better if there was some sort of octagonal (8 sided) plate, as opposed to another 4-way oriented ina different position. Remember, the whole point of having the U360 engine is to allow for maximum configurations (analog, digital, 4-way, 8-way, etc). The 4-way plate (oriented like shown in the replacement thread) actually limits the capability of the throw and makes the stick more singular purpose in design. IMHO the 4-way plate (original from HAPP) allows for a better all around set of configurations on the stick.

  David

[genesim]

Ahhh...but the grommet is a rubber restrictor that allows give?   I was wondering how much, but I thought that was the idea of Tron to be a 4-way and an 8-way if pushed hard enough.

[genesim]

One more thing, you said you cut it...but did you keep it a square?    Did you end up shaving all sides including the corner?

[whynotpizza]

The original HAPP grommet is quite stiff and not much give. When I shaved off the edges my goal was to provide additional 4-way like motion, so the full analog could be achieved. In retrospect, I should have considered making the cuts in such a way to round the square edges -- to make it feel more octagonal. I think the original grommet is fine and can be cut to give the full range of motion just fine.

Ideally, I think an 8sided (octagonal) grommet would be best... but sadly this does not exist and I am not sure if the rubber-gommet-maker's of the world can produce such a limited variety for our use.

[genesim]

So what about this...using the Tron restrictor that Encryptor has that provides give...only put it in the Square configuration?   You think this is worth a shot?

[whynotpizza]

> using the Tron restrictor that Encryptor

Might be worth trying, although this depends on the physical properties of the restrictor what that the end goal is to achieve. The HAPP restrictor is stiff, yet works nicely. Having not seen the other restrictor, it is hard to comment. But if I speculate this new restrictor is softer and allows for an easier "stop" of the stick on the outsides of the throw, maybe this might be a good thing to try. Although, it really needs to be Octagonal (as opposed to square) ... but then again, maybe you can cut (more easily) the restrictor from Encryptor to make it round. Still, the best answer is a newly manufactured 8-sided (octagonal) restrictor -- something which does not exist at the moment.

With all that said, I still think the Happ rstrictor works well for all around game play (IMHO) ... but would be willing to try the Encryptor is someone would send me one. 

[genesim]

I am convinced..I will let you know.   Don't mind being the little guinae pig!

[Bender]

[quote author=genesim link=topic=86734.msg965188#msg965188 date=1240962622}
So what about this...using the Tron restrictor that Encryptor has that provides give...only put it in the Square configuration?   You think this is worth a shot?
[/quote]

What do you mean? cut it?
you can't put it the other way  cause it's square you can only rotate it 90 not the 45 you referring to

I was thinking of a round one but really like the octagonal idea
I think I could make one out of some hard matterial the see if encryptor could cast some in the same material he used for the tron ones

[genesim]

Oh snap..you are right!   Oh well, I will try it anyway in the 4 way config.

[zallax]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I recently replaced my U360's for ServoStik's.  Since I had a TRON flight stick and a spare U360, I decided to try this mod out.  This mod works fantastic.  I am very happy with the results.  My mod was a little different because I already had an octagonal restrictor on, but it still works as advertised.

It really works well as a mouse.  My TRON stick buttons were already mapped to emulate mouse buttons so this makes administration easier.

I can't wait to get my control panel back in order so that I can test it in TRON with a specialized UltraMap to simulate the hard corners so light cycle control isn't nuts.  Star Wars may be interesting as well in analog mode.

Kudos to the OP! 

[Arroyo]

Huge thanks for the write up, just completed mine and it’s working great!


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