hey ed, i send you a pm
Random question but do you put resistors on the analog sticks as Virtua Fighter 5 actually takes analog input?
I don’t even wire up the analog sticks. Maybe I’m not following your question.
I tried the VF5 demo with my stick and it seems fine, but again, maybe I’m not sure what you are asking :).
Just wanted to let you all know, I got in both sizes of screw in sanwa buttons and it’s not a problem to use them at all. They just cost a bit more. I’ll make up a design that has the three top buttons (Back, Guide, Start) as the smaller ones.
I’ll try to get it added to the website this weekend. I’ll post again when it is there. I’m guess the cost will be about $15 extra to go all sanwa buttons.
How do you mount the JLF on your sticks?
Black #8 carriage bolts. In 3/4" wood, I route out .425 from the bottom leaving .325 inches, or about 5/16". 8.255mm
Thanks Sugar
Just wanted to share some pictures of some I’ve done over the last month. I’m trying to catch up on Christmas orders, so I’ll add more pictures when I can.
Those are some nice looking sticks! Is your plastic held down by the buttons and the bolts?
Thanks for the kind words.
I don’t actually use any plastic. That is the printed artwork, it’s actually a vinyl sticker.
Quick recap on the artwork material.
Overlays are printed by a professional arcade restoration print shop. Our overlays are covered with Polycarbinate laminate, also used for bullet proof glass! which offers a very tough, scratch resistant and textured surfaces.
why are the sanwa sticks not bottom mounted? (the screws look ugly and must feel awkward on the hands)
I actually don’t feel them at all, but I don’t have huge hands either.
I’m not sure how you would bottom mount them when 80 percent of the wood is good, you would be screwing into about 1/4" or less of wood. I could hide them for the ones that have overlays using flat head screws instead, but that’s a pain if you ever need to change joysticks.
Maybe I’m not understanding what you mean by bottom mount?
I have a stick that has big ugly carriage bolts on top (way larger than these), and they do not irritate, even after a long period of play.
I thought by his description he did bottom mount his sticks, but they are secured by carriage bolts that come in from the top.
What material is this? http://aiabgames.com/xbox/4.jpg It looks very very clean.
Ed: I obviously wasn’t looking very hard at the sticks. however, this looks a lot like it has a layer of plexi or lexan over it: http://aiabgames.com/xbox/10.jpg
I looked at the pics. Neat sticks, but I’m really surprised that people are opting for the A,B,RB as the top row instead of the bottom row. It seems so odd to me.
you can route out so there is only 9 mms total from the top of the panel, and use small screws to keep the mounting plate in place correctly. (i did this for my mame machine)
used 3/4" mdf, just need to route out enough so that including mounting plate there is 9 mm (mounting plate & wood)
puts it at perfect arcade height (shaft length)
also i highly suggest mounting the back/start/mode buttons on the back of the stick, it honestly makes it look ugly. That will also save you room and have the ability to make your sticks smaller.
Also a suggestion for american sticks… but the screws under the plexi so you can cover them with the art. Cosmetically they just look horrible.
I’m not trying to bash on your work, just giving my opinions.
It’s ok, really. Opinions are just that :). These are mine.
I don’t use plexi of any kind, so “hiding” the screws isn’t an option.
I use to hide the screws when I used formica on everything, problem is, it’s too hard to change sticks if you have/want too.
Certain people like the style of my sticks, at least everyone that has purchased one. It’s a taste thing I guess. The bolts really don’t bother me at all. I never seem to hit them with my hands.
Same goes with the buttons on top, I don’t think they are ugly either, and they don’t get in the way of anything. I don’t want to make my sticks smaller, that’s the point. I want something that feels sturdy/solid when playing it. Not saying other designs don’t feel like that, but I do like how mine feels.
Lastly, the bottom mount. I won’t do that. I’ve seen companies mount sticks like that on their controls panels. I’ve also repaired a few of those control panels. Taking those screws in and our a few times will leave you without much grip. I make my sticks to last a long time, and bolting completely through is the only way to be sure, that even after changing joysticks 10 times, it’s still gonna work. Plus, .35 inches doesn’t seem like a lot. Even a 1/2" screw will go through the top. Tell you what though, I will try one just to see and beat the hell out of and see how it holds up. Then I’ll remove the stick 4 or 5 times, beat it up some more. If lasts my tests, I can start doing it that :). You have to understand my side here as a business. Offereing a 1 year warranty is pretty good I think, when you make your control panel you don’t have to worry about these things. If yours just happens to break or something, you can fix it. If a customers stick breaks because I didn’t choose the best, and strongest way to mount the sticks, that comes out of my pocket (for shipping and time spent) to fix it. Plus I feel bad that they have to send it back to me for repairs.
My answers may sound dumb to you, but they don’t in my head :). I’ve been building arcade systems from about 10 years now, so I have a lot of experience of what works for me. Doesn’t mean it works for you, and doesn’t mean everyone has to like the “look” of the sticks. There are plenty of people out there making sticks, I’m not offended at all if my sticks are “ugly” to some :).
I really do appreciate your comments though.
I’ll be the first to admit, I am new to any of the Japanese parts. I’m learing as I go, but the feedback I have gotten from customers that do own a stick with a Sanwa stick seem to really lke how they feel. That’s what I am going on.
With that design, how many millimeters of shaft length do you have from the top of the control surface?
A few people have chosen it that way. Building sticks for so long, it actually makes sense to me. Typically you build a stick 1,2,3 then 4,5,6 on the bottom.
Withat said, on both the xbox and 360, the A and B buttons are the most used button (Menu select-A go back a scree-B, etc). Many of the arcade games map the A button as button 1 and B as button 2. It just made sense to me that A,B be the first 2 buttons. It makes navigating menus, and the dashboard much easier. That’s my reasoning anyway :).
I would have to measure, I can do that tomorrow.
The are both the same material I listed above. It’s basically a vinyl sticker with some kind of laminate on them. I don’t actually do any of my own printing, it’s done by a professional Arcade Restoration print shop.
I promise, I don’t use plexi or lexan :).
It’s always better to have the start/home/whatever buttons on the side or back. The top of a stick should have the 6 regular buttons, the stick, and nothing else for you to accidentally press. If you’re set on having start etc on the top, it really shouldn’t be only an inch and a half directly behind the stick.
I’d also recommend using countersunk flathead screws to mount the stick so that you’ll be able to cover them with the vinyl, which would be good for both looks and comfort.
Also, Capcom games generally default to having X-Y-L for jab-strong-fierce and A-B-R for short-forward-roundhouse, so you might wanna make that the default for your Street Fighter button scheme too.