Ultimarc U360 slop anyone else?

[gatordad]

I had some slop on one of my U360's so I replaced the springs with the stiff ones.
Slop is still there, what causes this?
The other stick is nice and tight when it returns to center but one of them has slop ( slight movement ) when in the center position, any ideas?
Love the sticks but this is frustrating.

[Ginsu Victim]

There's a tiny bit of wiggle room at center, but nothing that has ever caused any issues for me. If it creates any problems, you could always increase your dead zone.

[gatordad]

I disassembled it and just below the pivotball there is a thin washer.
Mine is bent slightly in a convex type of fashion.
Are these supposed to be straight or slightly bent?
Anyone who has one handy could check I would appreciate it.

[Franco B]

It should definitely should be straight. I'm not sure how you managed to bend yours as there should be no forces acting upon the washer to bend it. Are you sure you have reassembled it correctly?

[Todd H]

Got one of mine in today and installed the stiff spring, longer handle, and circular restrictor. Mine has zero slop and is nice and tight.

And the washer definitely shouldn't be bent.

[gatordad]

It should definitely should be straight. I'm not sure how you managed to bend yours as there should be no forces acting upon the washer to bend it. Are you sure you have reassembled it correctly?

I have no idea..... but I will be sure to ask my two son's 

[isucamper]

At one point, I bent the e-ring on one of my sticks to the point where it wasn't tight at all.  It wouldn't shake loose but it would come right off if you pulled it.  I noticed this caused the stick to feel real loose.

I replaced it with a similiarish looking e-ring (found at Menards) and it tightened right up.  These sticks are great... but man, they aint simple.  It's like tuning a car engine sometimes, there's so many things to tweak to get it just right for your tastes.   

[mrserv0n]

It should definitely should be straight. I'm not sure how you managed to bend yours as there should be no forces acting upon the washer to bend it. Are you sure you have reassembled it correctly?

I have no idea..... but I will be sure to ask my two son's 

ROFL!! 

[AndyWarne]

The washer needs to be completely flat.
Let me know if you need any replacement parts sent out: andy@ultimarc.com

[gatordad]

The washer needs to be completely flat.
Let me know if you need any replacement parts sent out: andy@ultimarc.com

WOW!
Customer service on Christmas Day
+1 for Andy
Thanks and e-mail sent

[emerica]

just disassembled mine to see and my washer is bent as well. I recently took mine out b/c the stick would get stuck at times to the left or right. Must be that washer.

[Ummon]

Here are some videos I just made (no pause on my camera, I guess) that shows the inherent 'play' in the U360:






This third one is just showing the aftermarket spring:

[gatordad]

Cool Vid's

I wouldn't complain about the amount of movement that you showed in the first clip.
Mine is significantly more than that, I took apart my other stick and the washer is not bent so it looks like I have found the culprit.

Oh..... and both of my son's denied everything.

[Ginsu Victim]

Ummon's been on about the play in the stick for a while. It's not enough to bother me.

I can't believe he made videos.... 

[Ummon]

Ummon's been on about the play in the stick for a while. It's not enough to bother me.

I can't believe he made videos.... 

Hahah. After messing with Headkaze's mamejoymap utility, I've been thinking of making another vid to show how it can stick in a particular direction. The utility has a box in the lower right that shows the real-time movement of the stick, and unlike the Ultimarc utility, this one loops over when the direction is constant, thereby showing the continued direction of the stick. Like I said, it's not an issue if the large inner box  is all 'center', though it is an issue in analog mode, and maybe people aren't really using it enough for that to have noticed.

Note: it seems one has to put the stick in analog mode to be able to use custom mame maps, but the default mappings in mame appear not to use the inner box, because the behavior is the same in both utilities' real-time features if the inner box is mapped a set of directions. One or two directions will stick.