Example:
Oh, so to find the engage then you need to do a before compression and after, and then subtract after from before. But this is just the switch. To find the engage of the stick, you need to take the radius of the actuator, add it to the distance because the actuator to the pin plunger, then add both of those to the engage of the switch.
Hard to get the actual “before” number accurately, I feel that having a stable reference and using the final number adds less variability. Also, my goal there was to compare the microswitches themselves, as I have both levers equipped with Kowal actuators. Suffice to say that both the JLF Omrons and the H’s Matsushidas click at the same depression point. The difference in switch placement has to be the culprit in the short throw octo-gate problem I described.
Stock actuator measurements are as follows:
Hayabusa upper section (narrow part that hits the gate) O.D.: .429", widest point of cone: .620"
JLF upper section: .423", widest point of cone: .619"
The angle of the conical areas makes it difficult to get a good measurement of the cone section that actually engages the switches using calipers.
Thanks for the heads up. I had a feeling he was the arrogant, pompous asshole of this forum, just by what he said to me and his recent posts from checking his profile. It’s ok though, this forum has a nice block feature.
On to what matters. What I am about to say it completely subjective and completely based on feel not actual data or statistics, but this might help someone who is not looking for a soft stick: I finally got my hands on a hayabusa and I just flat out don’t like it, my instincts were right and so were those who said, but I found out to late. I see a few saying how the throw is larger than sanwa and thats true, but I haven’t seen anyone complain about how much softer/lighter the spring and switches are, because that’s my experience. When it first arrived and when I unpacked it to feel it uninstalled, my first thoughts were “this feels odd”. when I installed it and moved the joy with full grip, it literally felt like moving a wet noodle, I have no control over it. I can literally shake my case and the stick would move and inputs would show on screen. So I am not sure, if this was just mine and this is one of those inconsistencies that habichi mentioned or this was the intended feel for the stick. Overall my opinion about this stick is, in terms of feel, this is not like sanwa JLF, its more of the lighter version. If I were to put it on slagcoins chart, it would be something like : engage distance; very far, throw distance; Long, tension; very light : durability ; high.
I am definitely gonna consider the JLW as those who recommended it or the LS-40. I also have a new found respect of the feel of the JLF.
Lastly, thanks for the measurements, moon/camacho and for providing great info and that it will help those in the future to make a better purchase decision than I did.
One thing I’ll say about the JLW now that mine has arrived is that it is a big, giant, monster of a stick. I have some stuff to figure out if I want to get it mounted. It feels great, but out of the four I have (JLF, LS-56, Hayabusa, and JLW) it is easily the biggest. This information is out there, I’m sure you can find exact dimensions of it, but I just wanted to mention it to you.
The Paradise Small Universal Plate helps in a lot of cases.
http://i.imgur.com/Blm5oDc.gif
Interesting. My problem seems to be the footprint of the thing, with the closest end to me (when installed) needing to be right where my PCB is. But $7 is pretty cheap and I’ll probably need one of those plates eventually, so I’ll pick one up soon. Anyways, I’m derailing the bejesus out of this thread, sorry. I may follow up on this whole thing in the Ask and Answer one with some pictures eventually.
edit: repetitive repeating. Don’t nap and then post, guys.
JLW is about the same size as a Hayabusa or LS-40. Not too much bigger. If you can fit those you should be able to fit it.
I’ve got the Soul Calibur V TE. The Hayabusa fits pretty snugly after I cut one of those little plastic cylinders out because it was in the way of the 5-pin, but the .187 prongs on the JLW are too big for the space I’ve got. Even before it’s wired up it’s a good way from being able to fit.
Yeah the prongs can make wiring up a bit more of a pain than using a PCB based solution like Hayabusa or LS-40-01.
Yeah, I took another look at it today at work (I’m a valuable asset to any staff). I think I would need to remove the PCB from the TE, cut out some of the plastic forming the square right there where the joystick sits, and then drill new holes (?) to put the PCB somewhere else. It’s a little outside the scope of what I feel confident doing at my current level, plus I have no real cutting tools.
But my other, more on-topic work project seems to have been more successful. My Hayabusa was still snagging a little bit sometimes in one or sometimes two directions (which would move around). It only happened with my Kowal actuator, so today I was able to sand down the lip of the wider, flared area of it to make it more of a slope instead of a straight dropoff, and it’s working out great so far. Hayabusa is still a bit JLF-y for me, but with a 2lb spring and that actuator working correctly I like it a lot more.
I’ll be using it until my replacement LS-56 comes in, at least.
Man I got a Kowal in today without reading this thread in depth. I was hoping to put it and a 2lb spring on my Hayabusa as I think I need a shorter throw and/or faster return to neutral as I’ve been addicted to airdashers lately.
I also wish I could mod the Kuros with some cherry blues. I’m not a fan of these Gamerfingers so far, although I can’t really pin down what exactly it is that I like about the Kuros more than the Gamerfingers. The Kuros definitely look better…
The kowal will work if you sand or cut the top of the lower cylinder down.
Yep, it really wasn’t too hard to get it to work, once I figured out that’s what was causing the issue. Some Hayabusas apparently don’t have an issue with them at all, but if you just look really closely at the stock actuator vs a Kowal you can see the difference in the angle on the wider part. Just try and replicate that angle a little with your sandpaper and you should have no problems. Trust me, I’m powerfully stupid and will find a way to make almost any mistake possible, so if I can do it you should be fine.
Hmm ok. I’m having trouble figuring out what exactly I need to sand it down to… like what it should look like? They angles look pretty similar to me.
I have the 2lb spring in there right now with the stock actuator and it’s really stiff, can’t decide if I like it or not. I guess I’ll try the kowal without modding first…
I’ll take some pictures when I take this thing apart again and maybe you guys can describe what you mean?
It seems to fit without any filing. and feels -so- much better than with the stock actuator. if it didn’t fit would I be able to tell right away?
i’m playing against the CPU and am not noticing any obvious issues yet.
hmm, every once in awhile I can feel some kind of extra resistance/rubbing. is this what you’re referring to?
Like a little hitch occasionally? That’s what I was experiencing with it. If you look at the wider part of the actuator, do you see how it’s all one level? Like the drop-off point for it is a 90 degree angle? (I’m at work, so I can’t take pictures of an actuator to help.) Well, the widest point is what’s catching on the gate, because it’s level like that instead of having a really slight cone/slope shape the way the Hayabusa actuator does. You need to sand that edge down a little. It’s a really small difference, but that slight little bit that it sticks out compared to the stock Hayabusa is what caused that for me.
Aha! I see what you mean, at first I thought it was the metal part towards the pivot that was catching, but it’s hitting the gate like you said. Now I get what I have to do.
I was looking around on PAS and saw there are tons of different sizes and springs. What are you guys personally using? And are you using any switch/lever mod?
I haven’t really wanted to rip off this tape on the switch contacts so I don’t know if theyre quick disconnects or if this is something I’d need to desolder
I was just using a 2lb JLF spring in it. Nothing too fancy. I’ve thought about ordering some 3, 4, and 5lb springs from PAS though, since I play with a battop and that seems to offset the heavier tension somewhat.
So this seems to be a logical place to ask. I’m looking at picking up the PS4/3 Hori RAP4. Being used to the JLF for years at this point but wanting a tighter stick (I currently use an old Eightarch /w an octagon restrictor and heavy spring) Am I better off just getting used to the Hayabusa’s different restrictor or will the JLW fit the bill? (I have no preference for company I’ve just been cheap about it.)