The non-Sanwa versions have their sticks mounted differently, since it’s not a JLF in there.
There’s no need to remove the top art to remove the stick on the non-Sanwa editions of the Exaprize stick.
Got my Exaprize USB stick last week, and did a bit of modding. I don’t really know why I bought this stick; the price wasn’t bad, and I’m a fan of compact sticks. Problem is, I don’t use Sanwa buttons, nor do I use the AstroP1 layout either. Anyhow, the stick is compact to the point that there isn’t much that can be done.
Exterior stuff:
- Had a spare yellow Sanwa snap-in, so the buttons got rearranged to match the Xbox360 button colors
- Removed the stupid stock rubber-foam pads, and put in my own (with holes for easy access to the case screws)
Interior:
- As usual, I hate squishy rubber-dome-contact buttons. It’s especially bad on the Exaprize; they feel INCREDIBLY cheap. So I soldered in some micro-tact switches, and had to glue some sheet-plastic under the plastic buttons to attain the appropriate depth to reach the switches properly.
For those who are curious about the size, here’s a comparison with other more-easily-obtainable retail compact sticks (clockwise from top-left: Intec Combat stick, Exar Exaprize USB Sanwa edition, Mad Catz SE [custom top-panel], Hori Fighting Stick VX [custom top-panel])
I know I won’t use this stick much at all, but there’s a couple of minor parts that I’ll swap in down the line, if I still feel like it:
- bat-top (the extra height on the improperly mounted JLF won’t be as noticeable)
- octo-gate
- Seimitsu buttons
^Intec stick mod, damn now ive seen it all :D, awesome, i was curious about the size too, looks so tiny in photos. May I ask what’s a good place to order this from the US? I don’t feel like going through proxy services…
That’s a good question. I’d say you’d be VERY lucky to find a place in North America to order this from… I got my shipped from Japan.
So I opened up my Exaprize USB Sanwa again today to do a bit of work on it. Somehow decided to peel off the front sticker to expose the metal panel. Thought some people might want to know how the JLF is mounted.
With the JLF body still in place; inside and outside pictures:
And another one from the inside after the JLF has been removed:
As everyone knows, as it is, the JLF sits too high: the exposed shaft is a sliver over 28mm (so about 4mm above the standard 24mm).
Also, I double-checked the clearance of the JLF shaft on the inside: there’s a notch over 2mm of free space between the bottom of the shaft and the casing’s bottom.
Which means you can put just about 2mm worth of spacers to lower the JLF to be closer to standard mounting height. Closer, but not perfect.
Which then begs the question: is it worth it? Maybe not.
Am I still going to do it? Hell yeah.
I didn’t realize there is still talk about this stick.
For the non Sanwa edition of this stick, it’s soooo much work just to get a standard style arcade stick lever in it that it’s not really worth the time and effort into, I only went as far as reusing the gate/mounting plate and modifying a JLF’s assembly to get mine up to the standard but in the end, due to the stick’s size, I ripped the dual mod/pad hack out for another stick.
How the case is design, it fits anything with ample room thanks to it’s height but the dimensions leave it purely a table stick because for me, anything smaller than a SE stick won’t play well in my lap.
As for the artwork, I eventually ripped it off to test my template from scratch(which fits) but not it’s just an empty case with the daughter board collecting dust…maybe one of these days, I’ll take a drill bit and drill for holes so it fits an universal mounting plate and just put PS360+ or something in it.
Hahaha. I only recently got this stick (about 2 months ago), and I’m weighing my options about what I can do with it.
It is a little on the small and light side, but doesn’t feel too bad when it’s on my lap, so I’m trying to see what I can do to make it my portable-stick.
It might not be really worth all the work in the end, but hey, I’m also one of the few people who went out of their way to mod an Intec Combat Stick, so anything is fair game to me. 
has anyone tried using the JLF link on this yet? i was hoping it would do something about it’s size of the shaft and all.
Wouldn’t change anything.
The Link was designed to be exactly the same size as a regular JLF shaft. Since the regular JLF shaft is too long/tall for the Exaprize’s stock mounting, the Link would give you the exact same results.
Not to say putting in a Link would be detrimental; it would make the entire Exaprize stick super-portable.
I should be getting my Link back from phreakazoid sometime next week, I’ll give it a shot. But then again, I’ve also put in some extensive other mods into my Exaprize.
alright freedom! I would appreciate the insight :]
Anyways, finally put together the last mods for my Exaprize.<br><br>I must say, I don’t think ANYONE else would’ve put this kind of effort/time/money into an Exar stick; most people would say it’s just not worth the trouble.<br>After this, I’m pretty confident that I could say that I have the most modded Exaprize stick in the world.<br><br>Since the stock JLF was mounted too high and directly to the top-plate, I changed to to mount it to the plastic housing. Also put in about 2mm of washers so that the JLF is mounted lower than the stock Exaprize.<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_jlfplate_mount1.jpg”><br><br>I also got a custom stainless steel panel cut from a local metal-cutting company; laugh all you want about the Straight-6 layout, but I play more comfortably with that layout with the way I press the Roundhouse (I often use the knuckle of my pinky).<br>Left to right is the stock panel, a tester panel cut from ABS plastic, and my final custom stainless steel panel.<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_panels.jpg”><br><br>After cutting a matching plexi panel in 1/16" thickness, you can see that the JLF mounting height is PERFECT at 24mm (the unmarked part of the ruler before the 0-mark is 4mm):<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_jlf_height.jpg”><br><br>I threw in an X360 Brawlstick PCB with a ChImpSMD; this is probably the closest I’ll ever get to super-wiring:<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_pcb2.jpg”><br><br>My empty case. I made a custom mounting panel for the PCBs using 1/16" plexi. Soldered in pin headers for the secondary-PCB. Put in a micro-USB jack (in the top-right of the pictures) for detachable cables.<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_innards1.jpg”><br><br>Here it is completely populated:<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_innards2.jpg”><br><br>Main front panel. You can see the custom art and plexi.<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_front.jpg”><br><br>And a picture of the micro-USB jack so that my cable is removable:<br><img src=“http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/tidalwav/joysticks/Exaprize/exar_top-1.jpg”><br><br>Parts list:<br>- Exar Exaprize USB joystick Sanwa Edition<br>- Mad Catz Brawlstick Xbox360 PCB<br>- ChImp SMD<br>- micro-USB jack<br>- custom stainless steel top panel<br>- matching 1/16" plexi<br>- 6x Seimitsu PS-14-K 30mm smoke snap-ins<br>- JLF<br>- black-powder-coated Link shaft<br>- Sanwa black bat-top<br>- Mad Catz arrow dustwasher<br>
Sorry for reviving this Freedom, but could you give me a step by step on how you got the stick leveled like above? I’m thinking about keeping the default plate though.
I don’t know how much broken down do you need this mod to be.
Measure out new mount holes
drill and counter sunk the holes
Mount the JLF on a mount plate and use 2mm with of spacers (washers or something)
Wow, has it been that long since I completed my Exaprize mod?
But yes, exactly as @Darksakul said:
- Measure for holes in the right spot
- Drill holes
- Countersink holes
- Insert bolts/screws your choice
- Use washers to lower stick
- Secure stick using appropriate nuts.
Note that, if you’re NOT using a plexi like I did, you’ll have to drop the JLF an extra ~1.6mm (1/16"). However, if you do that, I believe the bottom of the JLF shaft grinds quite intensely against the inside of the casing (probably don’t close properly, not sure).
You also could drill out a hole in the bottom panel to allow space for the JLF shaft to move with out grinding.
It also give you easy access if you ever want to swap ball tops
Apologizes guys, I’ve never done a mod before haha. though I think I’ll get friend to help me with it.
Kinda going off-topic to more generic situations, but I’ve always hated the whole “hole-in-the-bottom” thing. Always made it feel more vulnerable to random crap (mostly dust) going in there and interfering with things like joystick movement and the like.
Sorry for the necro but I have a question about this stick. What buttons do you hold while inserting the USB to put it in PC mode?
Sorry for the necro but I have a question about this stick. What buttons do you hold while inserting the USB to put it in PC mode?
EDIT:
Nevermind. I found the info here. (start + select)
Please use the edit button instead of double posting.