Increasing dead zone possibility

[Cyntalan]

I recently rebuilt my old MAS to be 360/PS3 compatible, swapping in a new Happ comp stick. One thing I gotta say that I’m thoroughly disappointed about my finished work is that I really don’t like the stick. I have issues with how non-existent the dead zone is on it. I find it incredibly difficult to not end up in a diagonal because of how small the dead zone is on it. I currently have two possibilities up my sleeve for remedying my problem: I can either buy a router and replace the stick w/ a Sanwa/Seimitsu (and thus having a nicer stick in the process), or I can (guessing here) try sanding down the actuator in the Happ. My question is how likely am I going to do such a task correctly? Will it even be possible, or will it just end up ruining the stick?

Also are there any other suggestions regarding this? I’ve heard that the iL version of the same stick has a smaller actuator, but I’m not so sure of how much of an impact it’s going to make.

[System_1]

I was browsing the thread and sorry I can’t add anything to help.

Cyntalan, everything I need to know to make my MAS stick PS3/360 compatible I coudl find the info to do that in the stickies, but I was wondering what did you do?

Thanks

[Monte]

you’re too beefy pat, that’s why the heavy spring is there so that when you move the stick you mean to move it in that direction. lay off the forearm curls for a month. also if you put in a sanwa or semitsu the spring might be so soft that you end up ripping the stick right out of the case because of your gdlk strength! :wow:

[DominoLogic]

sanding the actuator would technically work. if you decide to do that i would keep a spare though because its kinda hard to reverse the process if you dont like it.

i actually have a somewhat related problem except i want to decrease the dead zone. i sanded down an actuator on a stick because the surface was uneven, but the dead zone is too big so i need to add something. people say electrical tape works, but the surface is kinda sticky and i dont want a sticky feeling…stick.

i would just get an iL actuator. its the easiest and safest option.

[Cyntalan]

sanding the actuator would technically work. if you decide to do that i would keep a spare though because its kinda hard to reverse the process if you dont like it.

i actually have a somewhat related problem except i want to decrease the dead zone. i sanded down an actuator on a stick because the surface was uneven, but the dead zone is too big so i need to add something. people say electrical tape works, but the surface is kinda sticky and i dont want a sticky feeling…stick.

i would just get an iL actuator. its the easiest and safest option.

That’s the main thing I was afraid of. Is the iL actuator really that much different? If so, can I buy just the actuator anywhere or do I need to buy the whole stick?

[Chromium]

Hi CYntalan,
funny thing…it sounds like we got the same problem…but in opposite direction!
I got a sanwa JLF and am not happy with it cus it feels too loose (excessive dead zone).
I am thinking of getting a HApp Comp for the extra stiffness/lesser joystick movement.

I was brought up on the SF2 arcade cabinets (in australia) and only remember using stiffer sticks (but they were always ball top…which itself doesnt make complete sense). What are you used to and why?

Hi there, I had the same problem, I felt my TE JLF joystick too “loose” for my tastes, until I saw and modded it this way : [media=youtube]QytcbzZmXaI[/media] thanks to AkihabaraShop.

Unfortunately, the duck tape became useless after a couple of hours of play, I replaced it with electronic thermal jacket (sorry, dunno the exact word in english for the jacket which shrinks when warmed), and after several trials to find the best tickness, that’s really efficient now. :lovin:
Don’t forget to add a stronger spring, otherwise the dead zone will be difficult to reach.

[DominoLogic]

That’s the main thing I was afraid of. Is the iL actuator really that much different? If so, can I buy just the actuator anywhere or do I need to buy the whole stick?

well in theory a smaller actuator means larger dead zone, so it should do something.

i found this from the “Happ/iL FAQ” thread, hope it helps:

Competition: The Competition, originally known as the EuroJoystick, is widely considered to be the best Happ stick for fighers that is currently in production. It comes in a multiple colors, has a medium spring , and uses a square actuator to hit the microswitches ( picture of base). If you prefer the harder feel of a Super or p360, then you can replace the medium spring with a heavy one that can be purchased from many retailers including Lizard Lick. The Competition was previously produced for Happ by Industrias Lorenzo, a Spanish firm generally known as IL. Happ has recently taken over production from IL and just as they ruined the p360, they are going to ruin the Comp. Their blunders in this case are improper placing of microswitches and a ** too large, black actuator. **These flaws make the stick seem almost as if it has a square gate installed on one side and an octagonal gate on the other. However unlike the Perfect 360, the can be fixed easily by sanding down the exterior of the microswitches (the white casing, not the red button thing) and by replacing the too large black actuator with the white/clearish looking smaller one that was made by IL. This modification appears to get the nice, circular feeling back. The IL Eurojoysticks use to have a much more “square” feeling than the Happ Competitions that even sanding down the microswitches would not get rid of according to tl613. Now IL sells them with a better version (comparison pic of the Happ switches and the new IL ones thanks to Chad. The old switches can be seen in the pics of the Eurostick on the lizardlick website) of the model of Cherry microswitches Happ uses (the ones with the red activation tabs and .187 inch quick disconnector things) and they feel better.
UPDATE
On the Competition manufacturing flaws, Happ use to simply distribute them, iL manufactured them. Now Happ has their own factory in China producing inferior Competition joysticks. However there is a solution! Chad from LizardLickPonyboy/Rollie Electronics now stock IL parts so you can buy slightly better ( at least more so than the Chinese Happs), SQUARER (not good) Competition joysticks from them. Chad/IL now sells them with a better version of the Cherry Microswitches that Happ uses with .187 inch tabs.

it seems that your issue might be due to the happ actuator being too big?

that electric thermal jacket thing sounds interesting, time to do some research

[wdejong]

well in theory a smaller actuator means larger dead zone, so it should do something.

i found this from the “Happ/iL FAQ” thread, hope it helps:

it seems that your issue might be due to the happ actuator being too big?

that electric thermal jacket thing sounds interesting, time to do some research

I think he’s referring to heat-shrink tubing.

[Chromium]

I think he’s referring to heat-shrink tubing.

Definitely, that’s what I used and wanted to mean, thanks for the exact word. :tup: