Some questions for Ultimarc Ultrastik 360 owners

[GaryMcT]

I'm just about ready to place an order. for a couple U360s for a Mame cab with a 3/4" MDF control panel.  I've read every review I can find, but I still would like some advice.

I like the ball-top style (I'm mostly a classic game guy).  How have people preferred the optional long shaft over the standard length one (especially on a 3/4" MDF control panel)?  I haven't yet figured out what kind of routing I'm going to need to do on the bottom of the control panel for the joystick.

I expect that I should at the very least get the circular and 4/8-way restrictor pack (to be used as an 8-way restrictor) since most folks seem to like the circular restrictor.  There's a chance that I'll want the 8-way there since I'm a crusty old classic game guy.   How do people feel about the octagonal restrictor pack?  Is it worth trying?  I can't say that I've ever used a joystick with that kind of restrictor (or didn't know it.)

Should I get the joystick mounting kit, especially in the case of a 3/4" MDF control panel?  I'm planning on going out and getting a forstner bit, etc, tomorrow so that I can start hacking on test wood to figure out what I'm doing.  I have a couple of controls from a friend that I can start mounting as a test before I get the Ultrastick and some new buttons.

I'm definitely ordering the hard (used to be medium) springs.  Seems like most people prefer those.

Thanks for any advice!
Gary

[Encryptor]

If you're going to recess your joysticks in the cp this is a great way to do it. It takes a little time to make the templates but you'll have them if you want to make another cp in the future.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=51235.0


Encryptor

[mlalena]

I top mounted my U360s on 3/4" MDF so that I wouldn't need the longer shafts. Even then, the sticks are a bit shorter then my top mounted Happ Comps (P3 & 4). I probably should have used Sanwa for P3 & 4 so that the sticks & bats would match.

I use the bat tops & circular restrictor which sometimes isn't as good as a 8-way, but it is fine for me.

You really do need the stiffer springs. I ordered them with the sticks because everyone else seemed to think they were necessary and I didn't want to pay extra shipping later just for springs. For the most part I thought everyone was just being difficult and the soft springs would be fine. I was wrong. With the soft springs it seems like a strong wind would move the stick. It is unlike any other stick I have used. I'm glad I ordered the stiffer springs.

The top of the U360 is sheet metal so it is basically flat except for the holes in the metal. I'm not done with the CPO yet, but I will eventually need to countersink the flat head screws I am using, and then fill in (bondo) all of the holes before adding the overlay. Bottom mounting would eliminate the need for this bondo step, but then you must have the longer shafts. Like I said, the shafts are already about 1/2" shorter than Happ Comps to begin with. You can't lose another 3/4".

I don't know anything about a joystick mounting kit. Mounting the U360's couldn't have been easier. For bottom mount, just drill out the hole for the stick, and then screw the mount into the bottom of the control panel. For top mount, router out a rectangle the size of the top plate, then jigsaw a big hole to make room for the circuit board and the bottom of the stick and then screw into the top of the control panel. There are 8 holes on the top in the sheet metal. Just pick 4 of them and use a wood screw or a screw + nut like I used.

[Endaar]

I'll say upfront I'm not a huge fan of the U360s, although I do have one on my (still unfinished) panel. I haven't tried the circular restrictor, but I have used the octagonal one. I much preferred the feel of the stick with that restrictor, but it severely limited analog throw to the point where I felt the joystick was nearly-useless in analog mode. Since the whole reason for having a U360 is its flexibility, I took the restrictor off and left it with its full throw.

You will want the hard spring and probably the longer shaft, but shouldn't need to do any routing on the bottom of the panel. The mouting kit seems unnecessary as well.

Endaar

[Bender]

I'll say upfront I'm not a huge fan of the U360s, although I do have one on my (still unfinished) panel. I haven't tried the circular restrictor, but I have used the octagonal one. I much preferred the feel of the stick with that restrictor, but it severely limited analog throw to the point where I felt the joystick was nearly-useless in analog mode. Since the whole reason for having a U360 is its flexibility, I took the restrictor off and left it with its full throw.

You will want the hard spring and probably the longer shaft, but shouldn't need to do any routing on the bottom of the panel. The mouting kit seems unnecessary as well.

Endaar

Did you let the 360 know there was a restrictor installed?
I use the circular restrictor and there is check box in the ultramap software so it shortens the analog area to work with the restrictor I get the full range in analog with the restrictor, also I change the mame joystick settings to 0 for deadzone because the 360 maps already have one built in the map, and set the saturation to 100 and that will help get the full range in analog as well

It took a little getting used to but now I love the circular restrictor, I haven't tried the octagonal one yet but, I am curious

[Endaar]

Did you let the 360 know there was a restrictor installed?

Yep. The software didn't have an option for the octagonal, and using the setting for the circular restrictor, you could not hit the corners of the screen. It's apparently possible to more finely adjust the restriction via an INI file to allow the corners to be reached, but doing so would further reduce the physical range over which the analog functions. The stick doesn't lose any precision per se, but the throw becomes so short as to make it more difficult to finely control it's analog position. What I think would have worked for me would be an octagonal plate that doesn't affect the throw as significantly.

I'm probably doing a poor job of explaining. Don't get me wrong, the stick does a lot of things well and are certainly loved by most who have them. It's just not for me.

Endaar

[GaryMcT]

Does it do Sinistar well with the circular restrictor?  I'm more interested in that than the fully analog games.

Thanks!

[Bender]

I'm not a Sinistar expert but I remember it working just fine
I'll test it out again more thoroughly for you later and post back

[Franco B]

I did a U360 etc top mounting guide [here] if it helps.

[GaryMcT]

I'm not a Sinistar expert but I remember it working just fine
I'll test it out again more thoroughly for you later and post back

That would be great!  Thanks a lot!

[GaryMcT]

I did a U360 etc top mounting guide [here] if it helps.

Very nice!  I'll be using this today as a guide on some test wood and test joysticks.

You and Bender not only build the nicest stuff, you are also both insanely helpful.

[Bender]

Thanks,   ^^

 I checked out sinistar and it works great with the circular restrictor, you might have to play with the analog settings in mame for that game to get the exact feel you want, I put the auto centering to 0 and the sensitivity to 50

[Hogie1418]

Thanks,   ^^

 I checked out sinistar and it works great with the circular restrictor, you might have to play with the analog settings in mame for that game to get the exact feel you want, I put the auto centering to 0 and the sensitivity to 50

Are you doing this under the tab settings or in the ini. File itself?

[severdhed]

i bought the bat tops, with medium springs, longer shafts, and octagonal restrictors.

i immediately installed everything, but just couldnt handle the feel of the octagonal restrictor.  i just didnt like the way it prevented any kind of smooth movement, plus the throw seemed way too short.

so i bottom mounted them in a 3/4" panel with the long shafts and no restrictor...but the throw was just too long that way.  I ended up going back to the regular shafts and medium springs.  the throw feels perfect now, although they are just slighly shorter than i would have preferred...i think i'll end up top mounting them to get the length back.

[Bender]

Thanks,   ^^

 I checked out sinistar and it works great with the circular restrictor, you might have to play with the analog settings in mame for that game to get the exact feel you want, I put the auto centering to 0 and the sensitivity to 50

Are you doing this under the tab settings or in the ini. File itself?

Tab settings so you can do each game individually (seems like all the analog games need different tweeks)