u360 long shaft

[stephenp1983]

I have the longer shaft offered by ultimarc, but does anyone know if there are any alternatives that would offer an even longer shaft?  I am mounting my u360 underneath a 3/4 inch mdf control panel and its still kind of short.  This is on a bartop that has already been put together, so I really don't have the ability to route underneath the cp.

[Ummon]

Officer, huh? I have mine, with the longer shaft, under 3/4" top and there's a good inch and a quarter of shaft between the panel and the ball top. I'm used to the height of P360s, but this ain't bad. I guess Franco could make you one - or look locally for machine shops.

[Necro]

There's these guys that keep e-mailing me about longer shafts...I might be able to hook you up there. 


(Seriously, most likely a custom job.)

[Franco B]

Sorry I missed your PM stephenp1983, i've been a bit bogged down with PMs and I missed your message.

I may possibly get time to make you a pair this weekend. What is the overall length you are after?

[stephenp1983]

It ok franco I figured you were pretty busy.  I wanted maybe an 1/2 inch to full inch more than the long shaft.  I will look on the ultimarc site today and get the exact dimension.  I appreciate everyones post

[stephenp1983]

Franco I sent you a pm.

[AndyWarne]

Dont forget that this will affect gameplay as the travel will be larger and the feel will be different if the pivot-point is located a long way down from the top of the panel... just something to bear in mind.
Andy

[stephenp1983]

I didn't realize that, thanks for posting this andy.

[mrclean]

I'm also in the same boat as i have my u360's on 3/4 wood, and they sit very low too low for me but then again i have the "stock" ones. Although they look like Nintendo Joy's that's really how low they sit, I know it's a matter of opinion but i might also be interested in having it match my wico joystick height that I'm used to on my Gun.Smoke machine but that's on metal so it obviously sits alot taller. Id also possibly be interested in having a custom made sticks from franco, but andy says it's going to effect game play, but is it drastic? With my wico stick my hand is always on the joystick where as the u360 sits so low that it sometimes rests on the panel. See pics below

While i don't mind buying this from franco / having someone make them, I was curious if Andy was going to make "Extra long" for wood panels, possibly with a hollow center for an led in the ball top. Some people can fit into S,M,L Shirts and some people need the XXL ones haha

Just out of curiosity Franco how much would 2x custom made shafts for the u360's be ? I would probably want it between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch longer then the stock shaft to best match my wico

[Ummon]

mrclean, think of it like using a screw driver. The longer it is, the greater torque you get, as well as greater travel. It's not going to affect the sensor array because the portion below the pivot point is the same. Hell, you can do an ad hoc mock-up on a surface by holding onto various length screw drivers like you would a joystick and see how they 'lever' around.

[Franco B]

The length of a screw driver doesn't increase the amount of torque you can apply, its the diameter of the handle. You are correct in a sense though as longer screwdrivers tend to have a larger diameter handle but its not always the case. A screw driver with a longer shaft may enable you to get in a position where you can apply more torque though.

A joystick is essentially a lever. The longer the ball/bat top as away from the elbow joint etc, the less force will be required to actuate the switches. You could counter this by using a stronger spring. An increased shaft length from the pivot to the ball/bat top will also increase the throw (length of horizontal movement required to actuate the switch). The longer the shaft, the greater the throw.

[mrclean]

pm sent

[DaveStall]

The length of a screw driver doesn't increase the amount of torque you can apply, its the diameter of the handle.

Really??  It's been about 20 years since my last college level physics class, but T = F x L, where L is length (F = force).  If you are using a screwdriver to remove a screw, then perhaps the length doesn't matter.  If you are using it as a lever, then the length certainly determines how much torque you can exert on an object.  I would submit that the act of moving a joystick is more of a levering action.

Dave

[Franco B]

Ah I see, I was talking about the normal use of a screw driver. I didn't think he was talking about using it as a lever. In that case Ummon was right in what he said.

[stephenp1983]

I'd still be interested in these jsut to give them a try, so if you get a chance to make them just pm me and I'll send you whatever paypal amount is needed.

[Ummon]

No, Franco was sorta right, in that I kind of implied the use of a screw driver in turning, but quickly banked into travel, and then went into the rest. Seems mrclean got the message, though.

[DaveStall]

This is well beside the point I suppose, but why would you want to turn the joystick like a screwdriver?  This would just be turning the joystick around the central axis which does not translate into any motion at all, it just spins the magnetic actuator.  If you are talking about a circular move (like in a fighting game), then you are not spinning the joystick like a screwdriver, you are moving it like a lever in several directions in rapid succession.  I'm sure the length adjustments we are talking about here are irrelevant, but you will be putting more torque on the workings of the stick in this case the longer the shaft is.

Dave

[Ummon]

Just two similar ideas related to handle lenght, Dave. As implied by Franco, I should've compared prying with joystick travel.