Which Spinner to Buy?

[grahamallan2e]

I am currently looking at the Oscar Vortex vs. the Slikstik Tornado spinner with a USB encoder.

Price is not my issue - it is performance.  I was convinced the tornado was best until I read the forums on the slikstik site and many people see to have a problem getting the spinner to perform well on Arkanoid - even after adjusting sensitivity and the like in MAME.

I also have the space to accommodate the Vortex but I like everything about the tornado best if it were not for those posts with problems.

I have read the retroblast review but it basically says they both perfrom well.

Any experience to offer from this group?

Thanks in advance.

[Thenasty]

you want something cheaper and works well w/Arkanoid and its a serial port too.
Check this thread, maybe you can make your own.

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=17522

So you can hook up your Trackball to PS2 and this spinner to the Serial Port.

[REBIRTH]

I have been using an Oscar spinner, the Model 3 PRO - for a year and love the thing.  The Vortex looks like a newer version of my Model 3 Pro (bigger encoder wheel than the Model 3).  Anyway, the thing feels solid, have been spinning it for a year without 1 problem.  The people at Oscar Controls are also very helpful - I contacted them a few times in the beginning and always got a quick and helpful answer

[NoOne=NBA=]

Both spinners are going to be very similar.

The performance issues with Arkanoid are related to the difference between the original Arkanoid spinners, and the variety of other spinners available.
Games such as Arkanoid use a spinner that acts more like a paddle controller than a true spinner.
This is because the original spinners were designed to be "weightless".
Games like Tempest, Tron, etc... all used weighted spinners to allow them longer spin times.

The spinners made by Oscar and SlikStik are all the weighted type because "most" people want that type of spinner.
It is alot easier to play Arkanoid with a weighted spinner, than to play Tempest with an unweighted one, so the manufacturers are merely going where the money is.

The three biggest differences between Oscar's spinners and the Tornado are spin time, cost and footprint.
The Tornado uses less room under the CP by having a cylindrical weight on the shaft rather than a large encoder wheel, costs more, and has a longer spin time because it rides on bearings, rather than bushings.

I personally went with the Oscar DOT spinner because I wanted the Up/Down functionality it has, but don't think I would have been disappointed with the Vortex or Tornado on games that don't require the Up/Down.

Knob shape is probably the biggest area I would caution you to spend some time deliberating.
I personally hate playing games that have the "hat" shaped spinner (like Tempest), but there are others who love that style knob.

[Minwah]

I personally hate playing games that have the "hat" shaped spinner (like Tempest), but there are others who love that style knob.

I love it

I think in this case the deciding factor is whether you want a (not neccessarily arcade authentic) long spin time or not.  If so: Tornado....

[SirPoonga]

Kevsteele hasn't responded yet

Here's a video review of the spinners
www.retroblast.com