@wazwuz, my golden crown arrived. I’m using a 309mj with gersung a3s. Everything’s in perfect order: grommets, springs fit the encasing perfectly. Actuators and shaft do provide a different feel to the stick. I’ll be stuck experimenting with the setup options, but so far the first one I’m testing (1mm spring, 35g grommet, largest actuator and shafr) already feels much better than the stock parts.
And I love the way the dust cover looks on an MJ:
Hello friends. Not sure if this is common knowledge but I recently discovered the existence of the Crown 309-Helpme version 3 so I ended up getting one directly from the man himself, along with a bunch of other Korean levers.
https://i.imgur.com/AXd64FG.jpg
From what he told me, the v1 used Gersung switches and the v2 had Panasonic switches, but apparently those have been discontinued from what I’ve read here. I was able to get a v2 from him though. The v3 is back to using Gersung switches but I noticed something interesting about this lever.
If you look at the picture above, you can see it has a specified “up” direction (the red “U” on the top). Interestingly this lever appears to be Kaze modded. All of the switches appear to be A3s but the up switch is a V1623A3, whereas the other three are V0323A3s.
https://i.imgur.com/IEPvCby.jpg
I actually ended up giving away all of the levers pictured above so I can’t say too much, but I played around with the v3 a little before I gave it to my friend. I’d say it felt quite similar to the v2 despite the Gersung switches. The actuation, throw and dead zone all felt more or less the same and nothing felt particularly revolutionary but it was a great lever regardless. The purple handles are especially pretty.
I know mine had V1623A2 as the up switch instead. I have Panasonic switches from a 307 so if I want V2-like results, I can just swap them then.
Also Kaze’s 309 mods at IST has all V1623A3 switches and a seemingly smaller actuator.
I got a 309-Helpme from IST recently and I believe all four switches were V0323A3. Are the levers labelled “Kaze lever” on IST mods of the 309?
Well I got my Helpme lever from Evo because Paradise Arcade Shop got some units. It was a flat plate but I brought my normal 309 collar so there is that.
IST added the Kaze modded 309 recently so yes. All thanks to Google Translate. http://istmall.co.kr/shop/goods/goods_view.php?goodsno=9992477&category=028
Thanks for the heads up on the 3 different versions of the help me lever, did you feel any difference in the 3 different versions like did one lever felt looser to do wavedash/backdash. I purchased one not long ago and it’s been good but then I saw the purple versions at EVO and as thinking if it was the same lever but just a different colour, do you know where to get the 3 different versions from?
This is the one I purchased not long ago https://gyazo.com/1411ebadd33822e4ee6893acd3e9912c https://gyazo.com/d5e641a33981c98e3832fb26960d326b I don’t know what version it is lol
SDL-301-DX Infiltration lever is available at Makestick. Snagged one after read impression, review and a particularly interesting video on YouTube showing the characteristic of the lever. I believe it was done by Hibal. From that video I get impression that it’s an interesting hybrid of Japanese and Korean levers rolled into one. I’ve been able do go KBDs and wavedashes (with reckless abandon 
) reliably on Sanwa levers before switching to Korean levers but hated everything else about Sanwa levers, particularly circular motions. I feel that the Infiltration lever, from Hibal’s Youtube demonstration, was able to marry that Sanwa characteristic of accurate diagonals and smoothness of execution characteristics of Korean levers. And after that pleasant experience using 309MJ and how Crown approaches grommet stiffness in their levers, I feel that they’ll be providing the same experience with the Infiltration lever as well.
Only problem is, I have to gut my KI TE2 stick for sure now, and have to spend even more on new PCBs (EZMOD+UFB), stock PCB on the KI stick is stubbornly XB1 compatible only.
@ewok the dust cover will look even better if you put it on top 
. Can’t wait to get my golden crown as well! Very interested in the tons of feedback that’s headed our way.
Mod PM’d. Enjoy your ban.
I gotten in contact with PAS and they confirmed that Samducksa messed up the gates and sent two square/circle gates instead of one of each , a circle & square/circle gate. I was really hoping that the octogate felt more like the reg octogate like from sanwa or siemitsu or even Krowl
i think i goofed up my crown lever some how,
i was modding my TE and everything was working perfectly before i sealed it back up. then realized i forgot to put the bezel on, so i had to disconnect and reconnect, then realized i forgot to replug the harness. now everything is back together, buttons work, but the stick does not. i double checked the harness connections, microswitch connections and pcb connections and they look ok. so now im kind of scratching my head
does anyone have any ideas?
Did you make sure the correct wire colors were lined up on the harness connection? I know I’ve made that mistake before by plugging it in backwards.
yeah i double checked that, that was the first thing i thought was wrong. i connected a sanwa lever and that is not working either. i reconnected the pcb connection on the board and still nothing.
i probably should take this to another board. its probably not my lever.
edit:
fixed im an idiot, switch wasn’t set to dp
@LLLLLFiVEL5L Did they mention how they are going to handle this? Or if they will do something about it at all?
Damn ya it’s a completely different feel compared to seimitsu/sanwa. Before I switches over to korean levers I was using a seitmitsu ls-58-01 with square gate and short throw. The throw on that thing was lol
@sinonick Ben from pas emailed me yesterday and they’re going to send the circle gates to everyone that ordered the sdl-301 when they get them in stock from supplier.
I finally managed to find Panasonic switches for my 309 MJ. I found a seller selling the old version of the Seimitsu LS 32 and bought it, then took the switches out and put them in my MJ. I am very happy with the results. My MJ came with Gersung GSM V1623A3 switches and being my first Korean stick ever i found it extremely “mushy”. My first mod was to get a Sanwa conversion shaft from paradise arcade and that made a gigantic difference. The lever that comes stock with crown sticks are way to heavy for the grommets they use. Changing it to a Sanwa bat top made it feel extremely springy. My second mod was trying the 60A shore grommet they sell in focus attack for the 303 and 307, but I found using this grommet made the stick feel mushy again, like wazwuz said the 309 grommet is a different size, so it won’t work properly. My third mod was trying the new omrons for the new LS 32 (focus attack sent them by mistake when I ordered the panasonics) with the bent leafs. These do not work at all with the MJ and when I tried to KBD my characters actually went forward. Just completely unplayable. That brings me to today and I think with these panasonic switches I’m done modding this stick. MAYBE I could try a 35 shore grommet if they ever sell it separately. But I am very happy with it.
Final parts:
309 MJ
PA crown to sanwa shaft
Sanwa bat top
Panasonic AM5 switches
PA OBS MX blue buttons
Brook UFB
Of all these, surprisingly the PA crown to sanwa shaft and bat top made the biggest difference. The weight difference makes the tension night and day. The Gersung’s are actually pretty good, I just prefer the Panasonics.
Question to anyone with the Infiltration lever in hand: what’s the cheapest PS4 fight stick that can fit that lever in? I figured that at the cost of getting the EZMOD+UFB combo shipped in to my side of the world, it’s so much closer in price of buying a new PS4 stick and swapping the Infiltration lever in. Around 180 dollars altogether to ship (cheapest shipping option, balloons to 215 dollars total on the next shipping option up) it over to Malaysia from Arcadeshock, and that pretty close to the price of a good fight stick brand new. Will need to be PS4 and PC compatible though. Suggestions and insights are most appreciated.
P/S: was initially entertaining the notion of padhacking the spare Hori Fighting Commander 4 I had lying around into a defunct KI XB1 stick, but the amount of scraping and soldering that HFC4 up totally scared me away.
Hey, that’s pretty much my experience, I have a few comments though. Those panasonic switches are not the panasonics crown used in the 309, those end in 69N. I have the switches you are using and although they’re identical in other respects, they are very soft and don’t provide much feedback or force for return to neutral. I totally agree with you on the bent lever omrons, I hated them too as they were the most inconsistent switches i’ve tried on the 309. About the conversion shaft, i’m never ever going back to the regular crown shaft/battop, it’s way to heavy! The conversion shaft makes the lever much more like a taeyoung fanta, only with an awesome and superfast silicone instead of rubber.
I strongly suggest getting the proper panasonic switches and the 35g grommet, the lever becomes VERY fast/springy. I have had the best results by far with this setup and it’s the most consistent.
What’s left to try is the golden crown kit grommets and the A3 switches (they’re on the way here).
As for the golden crown kit, can someone give an opinion on the weight of the shaft/actuator (very heavy) compared to the crown conversion shaft + sanwa battop (very light)?
how does it affect the feel of the lever?
I haven’t noticed much difference in weight between stock crown shaft/top and golden crown + sanwa bat top. The latter might be a tad bit lighter.
Side note: the grainy feel of the sanwa battop is much more grippy and pleasant to the touch than crown top.