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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: TheHare on October 13, 2012, 06:16:34 am

Title: How can I tell if my original, unused Wico joystick is 4-way or 8-way?
Post by: TheHare on October 13, 2012, 06:16:34 am

Way back when I was a kid in 1982, I purchased a joystick from the Wico warehouse located in South Gate, California.  I lived in the same city so I rode my bike there and told the receptionist that I wanted to make a control panel to play Pac-Man on my Atari 800 computer.  She sold me the joystick, a few pushbuttons, and handed me a thick product catalog, but I never built the panel.  The stick has been in storage for almost 3 decades! 

Well, now that I am 43 I think I am ready to build my MAME cabinet.  Hehehhehe.

Is there an easy way to determine if my Wico leaf-switch joystick is 4-way?  If it's an 8-way, how can I convert it to 4-way?

Thanks for any help.

Title: Re: How can I tell if my original, unused Wico joystick is 4-way or 8-way?
Post by: CheffoJeffo on October 13, 2012, 09:18:58 am

What colour is the base ?

Title: Re: How can I tell if my original, unused Wico joystick is 4-way or 8-way?
Post by: BobA on October 13, 2012, 09:22:34 am

Pics of Wico 4 way.   Note the shape of the restrictor hole in base.

Title: Re: How can I tell if my original, unused Wico joystick is 4-way or 8-way?
Post by: Well Fed Games on October 13, 2012, 09:50:31 am

Heh, that is the coolest source of parts ever!

Title: Re: How can I tell if my original, unused Wico joystick is 4-way or 8-way?
Post by: TheHare on October 14, 2012, 12:42:27 am

The restrictor is a circle and the base is black, not grey.  I guess my stick is an 8-way.  Can I just replace the base/restrictor if I can one?