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Rotary joysticks...

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1UP:
If anyone wants to have a go at converting an existing joystick to rotary, I've found some 12 position switches that might fit the bill at http://www.mouser.com/catalog/catalogusd/638/1671.pdf which are cheaper than Happ sells them.  Happ does sell the mounting arm for the switch for $0.75 if you search for part # 96-1011-00.

RandyT:

One thing to watch for when looking for a rotary switch, is full 360 degree operation.  Many will have a "stop" which will not allow you to "rollover" from position 12 to position 1 and vice-versa. 

RandyT

1UP:
Ah, good point. These probably not many industrial applications that would require continuous 360 movement.  I wonder if it would be possible to remove the stop and have it work.

I was looking into this because I'm working on adding rotation to my Comps, but looks like I'll just be stealing the hardware from my Happs mechanical sticks.  My main concern was to not mess with the existing restrictor arrangement, so a smaller rotary shaft was in order.  Looking thru Mouser, I didn't find any with a smaller shaft, but I found these and thought they might be useful for any DIYers.  :)

As far as hacking existing sticks for rotary, one concern is that all the rotary switches seem to have 1/4" shafts.  The e-ring groove on the bottom of all Happ shafts is darn close to 1/4" in diameter, so drilling a hole into the bottom of the shaft would likely result in the paper-thin metal snapping off either instantly or during use.  The solution I've come up with is to drill a smaller hole and tap it for a machine screw, then attach a short piece of metal rod to the end of the shaft using a screw and loctite.  The extension has the 1/4" hole for the rotary switch, and a hole for a set screw in the side to hold the switch in place.

Dazz:
Ok, so I am getting ready to re-do my control panel and would like to finally get rotarys added. 

So, what's the consensus on rotary joys now?  Mechanical or optical?

isucamper:

--- Quote from: Dazz on May 23, 2009, 04:57:15 pm ---Ok, so I am getting ready to re-do my control panel and would like to finally get rotarys added. 

So, what's the consensus on rotary joys now?  Mechanical or optical?

--- End quote ---

If you want to play mechanical rotary games, you've got full software support for them now in the most recent version of MAME.

However, after getting to know my Happ Rotary sticks a little better, I believe they are suffering from the same oversensitivity that many people are complaining about with new Happ Competition sticks. 

I didn't really notice until I tried Midnight Resistance (the only side scrolling rotary game), but it is far too easy too engage the microswitches on the sticks.  You'll be running to the right and accidentally start ducking.  Quite annoying.  If you barely move the stick in any direction, a switch gets pressed.  This happens on both my Happ rotary sticks.

It's not nearly as noticable on the vertical scrolling shooters, but now that I know it's happening, I'm wondering how I can fix it.     

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