dreamGEAR arcade fighter micro thoughts?!?

Tech Talk
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So I just bought it for $hitz & giggles dirt cheap, also for my little cousins that come over to play ps3. I couldn’t find any reviews besides customer reviews on Amazon & one on YouTube. If you have a PS3 slim then you have to use a USB-hub, even a $3 hub will work supposedly (EDIT: I didn’t need it for my PS3 slim). If I get really bored then I might be tempted to mod it however, it’s gonna be difficult due to the size. Any thoughts, rants, etc. besides it being insanely tiny, LOL? Has rubber/silicone dome switches instead of springs under each button.

**EDIT: Post purchase after thoughts…**This thing’s VERY tiny! Not even sure 18mm Sanwa buttons will fit. However, surprisingly the buttons feel rather responsive to the point I’m content w/them. It’s the joystick I’m not happy w/due to a huge deadzone (it’s similar a T6 stick)! Not sure what will fit in there since the joystick base plate’s ~1.50" - 1.75" in length/width & depth at about ~1.25". Which joystick(s) will fit?!?

Soldering to the PCB shouldn’t be an issue from the looks of things. For some weird reason, the company’s website says it doesn’t work w/a PS3 slim unless you use a USB hub however I had no issues whatsoever (perhaps their website’s outdated). Overall, even if I can’t fit another joystick in there, I’m happy about the purchase (for my little cousins that come over & also it’ll give me another joystick to use when I’m bored) although I’m hoping I can fit another joystick in there. Customer service’s piss poor due to NEVER receiving an email response to my USB-hub question. I had to figure it out AFTER I received the product. BTW, MSRP’s $25 but you can easily find it for much less on eBay if you look…

PS3 version:

Wii version:

Specs:

  • Dimensions: 6.4" x 3.2" x 4.7"
  • Weight: 1.3-pounds (I think this is the shipping weight w/the retail package, LOL)
  • Rubber or silicone dome switches/pushbuttons
  • Microswitches used in joystick
  • USB-cable length: 12-feet
  • Programmable turbo function
  • LED indicators for power, turbo, player # (PS3) & macro (Wii)
    *May require USB-hub if used w/PS3 slim but I didn’t need it on my PS3 slim

More info & pics here:

Arcade Fighter Micro for PS3 - Sony Playstation® 3 & PS3 SLIM - Shop By Platform - dreamGEAR - Get into the game with the latest GEAR

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I can’t say I really care for the angle of the buttons. Rubber cups? So does that thing use a gigantic PCB with the contacts under each button?

3

Does it even use microswitches for the stick?

BTW those are not rubber “cups”. They are rubber or silicone dome switches.

I wonder if you could fit the plungers from 24mm buttons in there.

TBH though, you’d be cooler if you built them a tiny LS-33 stick (or even using a knockoff JLF like I saw on Paradise Arcade shop) inside a project box.

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Ahhh! The Wii’s button layout isn’t logical! WHY IS R ABOVE L?! AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! MY OCD!!!

5

Here’s a video showing the internals…but it’s so blurry, can’t really make out anything other a ginourmous PCB & possibly microswitches for the stick?!? Ya, I’m assuming there are contacts under each rubber/silicone dome.

[media=youtube]ZmanraLkMDk[/media]

From the blurry video, I think it does uses microswitches of some sort for the stick. I was just using the same description one reviewer on Amazon described the dome switches as. The guy I’m buying from lives 1-hour away so it should be here within 1-day as soon as he ships & I’ll open it ASAP to see if a 24mm plunger fits in there since I’ve got an extra 24mm Seimitsu button. As much as I’d like to build them something along those lines, I got this stick for dirty cheap. So cheap that if he sold it to me for less, I’d be robbing him, LOL! Let’s just say it barely covered shipping, haha!

LOL!

6

Use some electrical tape on the actuator to decrease the deadzone similar to how you would do it on a JLF Ultimate mod.

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Good idea! I completely forgot about that, thx! I read the DIY for the JLF ultimate mod but that was a long time ago. Do you have a link? I’m assuming just wrap electrical tape around the actuator & that’s it?

8

Added more pics of the internals.

9

Kinda unrelated but would the PS mini Hori stick be similar in design to these sticks?

Looks neat but just as annoying the FS3 and FSV3 is, I doubt the payoff is worth it. 500 JPY from Yahoo Auctions Japan.

10

LS-33 or JLF could fit, if you remove the mount plate and your willing to have screw heads appear on the top panel.

[EDIT] And maybe some dremeling of plastic.

11

Only 500 yen?!? Is that before or after shipping? That looks wider than the dreamGEAR micro but still cool nonetheless! If you get it, post some internal pics!

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I might if I’m curious.
500 JPY as buy it now
700 JPY Proxy/middleman fee
10% of item won/cost for YHJ fee
1000 JPY local shipping(or less, should be less than 800 yen IMO)
2000 JPY air mail to Canada.
Probably it end up costing me under $50 to get that thing. Then I’ll get my buddy who does mods to gut out the PCB or something. I lost the auction for the Hyper Stick Pro Otomedius Gorgeous ver. so I’ll see if I want a third stick(I hate small arcade sticks but this one is small enough to consider, “neat”).

13

Wow, ~$50 after it’s all said & done?!? I can’t justify that but that’s just me.

14

I just bought one of these for $10. Not sure why the picture above has the R above L, mine is perfectly normal…

15

My though are:

The $50 dollar Rule should apply.
If the stick is worth less than $50, there is a reason why. Usually it isn’t worth the purchase.

Save up the money and get a real stick from somewhere else.

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I bought the PS3 version so my little cousins can play since my other sticks are way too big for their little hands. Besides, it only cost me around $15 when I bought it off of eBay (brand new). I saw it last week at Fry’s for $20.

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Also, mine is for the Wii. Hard to justify spending too much on a joystick for the Wii… The only great fighter is Brawl, which is made for the GCN controllers (White with extra-long cords FTW). I couldn’t get in to Tatsunoko v Capcom

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Updated 1st post with internal pics.

19

It looks like the VLX is going to eat that poor Dreamgear stick for breakfast

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Na…they’re BFF’s, bwhahaha!