Author Topic: Perfect 360 Joystick Opto Adapter - any good (Read 4192 times)

Civilan · « **on:** April 21, 2003, 05:20:37 pm »

Hi,

I came across this item http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=3219322544&rd=1 on eBay and did a quick search here to find out more about it and came up empty.

Anyone know anything about this device? Does it work? Is the interface the same as the Perfect 360 Joystick? Could you convert a Super to a Perfect 360?

I could have asked the vendor but I figured I get a less bias response from here.

Thanks,
Civilan.

rampy · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2003, 08:53:05 pm »

Well... they look pretty good to me and I'd jump on them at a reasonable price point... except that birdtales has bid on them...

There's kinda an unwritten rule (oops i wrote it) about trying to refrain from bidding up an item a fellow byoac regular is bidding on =P

*shrug*
rampy

OSCAR · « **Reply #2 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:03:00 pm »

I have never used those switch replacement modules myself, but a friend of mine who has been a coin-op tech for 20+ years (and whose opinion I respect greatly!) told me that those old style P360 modules were temperamental at best. He told me to steer clear of them because he has had far too much trouble with them in the past, FWIW.

Then again, he is pretty picky when it comes to joysticks, so maybe they are okay...

Birdtales · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:07:02 pm »

If they suck it's a good thing I only bid $50.00 on them huh?

Civilan · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:11:22 pm »

Since I don't have any joysticks yet I'll let birdtales get this one. I hope he gets them and can tell me and the rest of us all about them.

And how's a new guy supposed to know about the unwritten rule and what ebay id the regulars here use? I rely on you guys too much to piss you off.

later.
Civilan.

OSCAR · « **Reply #5 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:12:57 pm »

Perhaps. I'm curious, though, is the auction for 1 or 3? It doesn't specify exactly how many you are bidding on, and I'm always leary of that kind of thing when they don't spell it out exactly and you have to guess what you are getting just by a picture...

rampy · « **Reply #6 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:27:13 pm »

Heh... btw I was mostly joking... don't take anything I say too seriously... good luck with your project btw...

I'd be curious to see how well these work (and how many adapters are in the auction) -> good luck bird tales

rampy

Quote from: Civilan on April 21, 2003, 09:11:22 pm

Since I don't have any joysticks yet I'll let birdtales get this one. I hope he gets them and can tell me and the rest of us all about them.

And how's a new guy supposed to know about the unwritten rule and what ebay id the regulars here use? I rely on you guys too much to piss you off.

later.
Civilan.

OSCAR · « **Reply #7 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:31:10 pm »

Quote from: rampy on April 21, 2003, 09:27:13 pm

Heh... btw I was mostly joking... don't take anything I say too seriously... good luck with your project btw...

I'd be curious to see how well these work (and how many adapters are in the auction) -> good luck bird tales

rampy

Heh, I shouldn't say stuff like that about the auction, but I'm always skeptical. I've seen too many auctions for "a Joust PCB that was working when pulled 3 yrs ago, but I have no way to test it so it's being sold as-is" when you can plainly see in the pic that the board has been scavenged and half the roms are missing.

Birdtales · « **Reply #8 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:37:55 pm »

Quote from: OSCAR on April 21, 2003, 09:12:57 pm

Perhaps. I'm curious, though, is the auction for 1 or 3? It doesn't specify exactly how many you are bidding on, and I'm always leary of that kind of thing when they don't spell it out exactly and you have to guess what you are getting just by a picture...

I emailed the guy and asked that same question. He hasn't answered.

If it is 3 and I do win if you want Oscar I'll send you one so you can toss it into your stick review mix. The other two should be going on my soon to be Neo Geo/JAMMA/Gun 25" cab.

OSCAR · « **Reply #9 on:** April 21, 2003, 09:40:18 pm »

Quote from: Birdtales on April 21, 2003, 09:37:55 pm

I emailed the guy and asked that same question. He hasn't answered. If it is 3 and I do win if you want Oscar I'll send you one so you can toss it into your stick review mix. The other two should be going on my soon to be Neo Geo/JAMMA/Gun 25" cab.

Fantastic, I'll take you up on that! Let us know how it goes.

Birdtales · « **Reply #10 on:** April 22, 2003, 11:34:24 am »

It looks like they will only work on Wico Leaf joys without more adapters. (See link to old Wico catalog). I'm pretty sure I still have a couple of old ones with busted switches I can use.

http://www.wicothesource.com/391.html

Birdtales · « **Reply #11 on:** April 22, 2003, 07:38:38 pm »

There are three in this auction, he emailed me today...

Civilan · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2003, 09:07:28 am »

Birdtales: Now that you have won the auction please gives us a mini review of their performance once you get them.

Thanks,
Civilan

rampy · « **Reply #13 on:** April 30, 2003, 12:36:00 pm »

*bump* Hey BT, you get these badboys yet?

Rampy

Birdtales · « **Reply #14 on:** April 30, 2003, 12:38:47 pm »

Nope still waiting, they do have to go Coast to Coast. I will be getting Kelsey's address once they are here and send the third one to him. Not sure what good it would do to review them however as I'm thinking you can't buy them anywhere anyway?

Birdtales · « **Reply #15 on:** April 30, 2003, 04:41:40 pm »

OK they came today. I'll PM Kelsey and get the show on the road.

OSCAR · « **Reply #16 on:** May 10, 2003, 04:31:16 pm »

Quick update...

I have received the P360 module from Birdtales. However, I haven't been able to make it work correctly yet. According to the enclosed instructions, there is supposed to be a bushing included that wasn't. See the front page of the instruction sheet.

I've tried using the joystick with the standard 8-way actuator that comes on the Wico, but it gives funky results. When I move the joystick in one direction, it keeps registering that direction until a I move the joystick in a different direction. And I can't make it register "Left" at all. It seems like the optics aren't aligned properly with the actuator. The module is designed to be a direct replacement for the leaf switches.

Side-by-side

Module sitting on leaf switches

Leaf switches removed and module installaed

CthulhuLuke · « **Reply #17 on:** May 10, 2003, 07:21:40 pm »

Hey oscar, couldn't you test all of the light sensors by doing a multimeter test aka: placing the positive prode on the left positive screw in, and the negative on the black, then having a 5v somewhere coming in, and just put something black in there to see if it's changing at all, because if it is working, shouldn't it send a shorted signal for the time its working *just like normal joystick pcbs or microswitches*. Or do I have my logic off somewhat....
-Luke

OSCAR · « **Reply #18 on:** May 10, 2003, 07:31:45 pm »

I have no doubt that the sensors are operating, it just seems that they don't like the stock actuator on the Wico. Because the joystick is moving (except left), that tells me that it is working. I think the only reason it isn't moving left is because the module could be slightly off-center and not allowing it to register. Personally, I don't care for how the circuit board for the module is placed. The circuit board actually contacts the leaf switch holder before you can snap the module down in place. A very slight interference, and if it wasn't someone else's, I would just force it down and hope it didn't break something.

I'll check the opto's anyway, though, just to be sure.

Grasshopper · « **Reply #19 on:** May 10, 2003, 08:35:00 pm »

Did Birdtales forget to send you the replacement actuator or did he simply not receive any actuators with his modules? If it is the latter then I can measure the actuators that came with a couple of very similar looking Perfect 360 modules that I bought ages ago but have never actually used. The only visible difference is that mine are fitted with screw connectors.

From memory they came with two actuators each - one for 4 way operation and one for 8 way. The actuators are significantly wider than the standard Wico ones. However you should be able to wrap tape around the Wico actuators to make them wider.

Unfortunately I can't measure them immediately as they're somewhere in the attic so I haven't got immediate access to them. Give me a couple of days.

OSCAR · « **Reply #20 on:** May 11, 2003, 09:59:25 pm »

Quote from: Grasshopper on May 10, 2003, 08:35:00 pm

Did Birdtales forget to send you the replacement actuator or did he simply not receive any actuators with his modules? If it is the latter then I can measure the actuators that came with a couple of very similar looking Perfect 360 modules that I bought ages ago but have never actually used. The only visible difference is that mine are fitted with screw connectors.

From memory they came with two actuators each - one for 4 way operation and one for 8 way. The actuators are significantly wider than the standard Wico ones. However you should be able to wrap tape around the Wico actuators to make them wider.

Unfortunately I can't measure them immediately as they're somewhere in the attic so I haven't got immediate access to them. Give me a couple of days.

I'm pretty sure Birdtales just forwarded me what he received. He PM'ed me today and said that he was on vaca, so he would get back with me when he returned.

I'm going to try the Happ P360 actuator on the Wico and see if that works better because it is quite a bit wider than the standard Wico actuator. I'm sure the problem lies with the actuator, too.

Grasshopper · « **Reply #21 on:** May 29, 2003, 03:23:56 pm »

Hi Oscar, I'm just wondering whether you ever managed to get the Perfect 360 conversion kit working. I've measured the bushings that came with my kit and the diameters are as follows:

8-way 14mm
4-way 18mm

My kit is a slightly different design to the one shown in the photo. It fitted with screw connectors instead of spade connectors.

OSCAR · « **Reply #22 on:** May 29, 2003, 07:22:16 pm »

No luck with it yet, but I haven't had the chance to get back to it yet, either. Thanks for the sizes on the actuators, I'll see what I can scrounge up here and see if I have a match.

Birdtales · « **Reply #23 on:** June 04, 2003, 05:51:08 pm »

I forgot all about this thread sorry. I looked at the other two adapters I won in that auction and neither one came with the "black bushing" I never managed to try them at all as my new cabinet with the wico's in it is not complete enough to use. Guess you get what you pay for.

Civilan · « **Reply #24 on:** June 04, 2003, 08:06:48 pm »

Wow. This tread keeps surfacing every few weeks. lol.

I for one have all the information I need about these adapters. Thanks for all the input thus far.

Cheers,
Civilan

Birdtales · « **Reply #25 on:** June 04, 2003, 08:16:48 pm »

Quote from: Civilan on June 04, 2003, 08:06:48 pm

Wow. This tread keeps surfacing every few weeks. lol.

I for one have all the information I need about these adapters. Thanks for all the input thus far.

Cheers,
Civilan

Hey you started it.

Grasshopper · « **Reply #26 on:** June 05, 2003, 02:02:48 pm »

Quote from: Birdtales on June 04, 2003, 05:51:08 pm

I forgot all about this thread sorry. I looked at the other two adapters I won in that auction and neither one came with the "black bushing"

That shouldn't be a problem. The bushing doesn't actually come into contact with anything and therefore it should be ok to widen the standard white Wico bushing with some tape.


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