Are you sure the one on the right is a 309? Based on how the bottom is set up it looks like a 307 to me.
flipped it around and it didnt work, i guess it is the 307⌠i thought it was the 309⌠too many sticks to remember them all. thank for the help guys, at least itâll work with one of my sticks
My Golden Crown kit arrived and I immediately put aside my exam studies and spent several hours trying out all of the different combinations. Thanks very much @wazwuz! Here are my thoughts, in the order I tested the parts.
Shafts
Not gonna lie, I didnât try all three of them. I knew from the get-go that I wanted to use the largest shaft for the shortest throw so I put it in straight away. The throw was perfect, exactly what I was after. I did feel that the lever handle is higher up than it was before though. Upon measuring, the golden shafts seem to be 3-4mm longer than the stock shaft. Not sure if this was intended and it did feel a bit strange but Iâm not sure if I dislike this just yet. I got used to it pretty quickly, in all fairness. I also wouldâve liked to see a hollow shaft to allow a LED passthrough but this is pretty niche and probably difficult to manufacture.
Dust Washers
I felt obliged to mention that despite using the largest shaft, the middle sized dust washer fit more snugly than the larger one did.
Actuators
I tried the largest actuator first, but together with the large shaft, this was a mistake. I wasnât able to return to neutral at all since I had literally no dead zone and I was getting heaps of held inputs instead of multiple different inputs. Switching to the middle sized actuator remedied this, but surprisingly, I actually liked the smallest actuator the most. It seems to be a good combination with the large shaft, especially because I tend to hit/ride the collar when I make fast inputs. No complaints with any of these though, they all felt and looked great.
Springs
I tried both of the springs but I honestly couldnât feel a difference and I wasnât quite sure what they were for. They didnât seem to affect the tension at all from what I could tell, so I looked back at some othersâ posts and saw people claimed it reduced grommet wobble. I ended up throwing in the heavy spring based on this but it felt very inconsequential. I want to say it may not be worth including in the retail version since springs donât seem to be nearly as much of a factor in Korean sticks as they are with Japanese sticks, but some people might be after them. I also saw several positive responses when you said you were including them in the pack, so maybe itâs just me.
Grommets
I tried all of the grommets bar the red one because I couldnât get it on the spring base. No real loss though because the blue one already felt way too stiff for me. I spent quite some time switching back and forth between the green and clear ones and I couldnât really settle on either one. I found myself wishing for a middle ground between the two and I actually ended up going back to the stock grommet because I wasnât comfortable with any of the offered tension levels. This was quite unfortunate because the hollowed out corners on the Golden Crown grommets made the tension in the corners consistent with the other directions, and I really liked this. Quite probably the saddest discovery of the night.
Switch Support
Similar to the springs, I didnât really feel a difference with or without this. I suppose itâs there to prevent switch wobble which is always a good thing, so I added it in for what itâs worth. Even if it doesnât make a difference, itâs a nice looking accessory! Not sure how much of this is placebo but it felt like the click of the switches was more audible with the support plate installed, which probably means theyâre more responsive or something. Probably for the better. Also for the record, I think the included screws were too long so I ended up using the stock screws again.
Hereâs my initial thoughts on the Golden Crown. For reference, I using a 309helpme jms.
The smallest shaft and actuator is a big improvement over stock. I donât feel like Iâm constantly banging into the gate, anymore. I have an issue with missing down in my quarter-circle motion on the 1p side, compared to my Myoungshin, but I should be able to work that out with a little practice.
I like the green grommet and the blue grommet, which doesnât surprise me. The red grommet is still too stiff for me, and the clear is still too light.
The heavier spring is a very nice change. The tension feels more constant near the center position, rather than sharply increasing as the lever moves towards the gate.
Overall, I really like this setup, but Iâm a little torn between the blue and green grommet. I prefer the feel of the blue grommet, but my execution is a little better with the green grommet.
I still need to give the other two shafts and actuators a try, but it will probably be the weekend before I get to tinker again. I have a 309mj set up with V0323A3 switches that would benefit from a larger actuator.
https://i.imgur.com/gQJ6V4j.jpg
Crown CWL-309MJ silicone grommets and two Sanwa battops. Grommet hardness in the scale of 35 and 55.
Infiltration lever arriving on Friday or Saturday. Good thing is, the Infiltration Crown SDL-401-DX lever comes with the 45 hardness scale grommet, which completes the range (309MJ has stock 25 hardness.).
35 grommet mirrors the 309 HelpMe, and good news that the Infiltration lever takes the same grommets as 309MJ, means that I have the whole range I need (25 stock 309MJ , 35 white, 45 stock Infiltration, 55 red). Although I probably wonât be using the 55 with how I hated the Taeyoung grommet stiffness.
Makestick has them, yup theyâre silicone. I guess I have the entire range (25 stock from the 309MJ, 35 white, 45 from Infiltration, 55 red). Pretty happy with where the 309MJ stands in terms of execution, and with the Infil lever, I guess Iâll only go downwards from stock 45, from past experience with stiffer grommets.
Iâve been rapid-firing purchasing from them since theyâve proven themselves with the shipping quickness. The only things I would ever want to find now are the mythical AM5 switches. (without buying a full lever to swipe them from.) Once I got those, Iâm probably done.
@stringfellow can you please tell me, if that 55A grommet is thinner than the other three? also, do you know which lever the 55A was originally in?
@sinonick visually, theyâre the same thickness. I cant say the same for the grommet inside the Infiltration lever as it havenât arrive yet.
The grommet hardness chart you sketched up is not correct.
There is no red 55A .
55A grommet is an old model from the 307 line, itâs compatible with 303/307/309 , itâs thinner than the revised grommets for 309 and SDL301 , btw color is white, not red.
There were no red grommets for 309MJ neither.
The red grommet Makestick sent you is the new 45shoreA grommet, exclusive to SDL301 release.
On IST (equivalent to makestiock but only for Korea) they stopped a while ago selling the 307 grommet of 60A hardness and recently the 55A one as well, listing only the new 45A for maximum hardness grommet for Crown 303/307/309/SDL301.
309MJ grommet ( white/translucent, 25A hardness) and 309Helpme & 309M grommet ( same color, 35A hardness) are both thicker than the 307 grommets as the design has been revised for the 309 line.
SDL301 reprises the same revised design for the 45A part , except the color, opaque red.
It would have seemed logical for the 45A part to be the âstockâ grommet, since it is the grommet Infiltration uses himself (as it was designed for him on purposeâŚ) , but Crown decided to use an older model from the 309 line, the mily colored 35A grommet, to be the stock ânormalâ part for the SDL301DX.
According to Crown, SDL301 grommet option chart is as follows :
*35A is stock and considered ânormal tensionâ (identical except spool to 309Helpme&M) .
*25A is considered âsoftâ for SDL301( same remark as above).
*45A is the âhardâ grommet for SDL301 , but is what Infiltration uses in person at least at the time when the lever was released , as he wasnât satisfied with what was available in terms of elastomer stiffness according to the designer (either too soft or too stiff, hence the new hardness â45Aâ ).Compatible with 303/307/309 also.
Makestick often makes mistakes with orders, so a mislabeling isnât something new with them.
Itâs possible their stocks got mixed up (again) as on the original korean version of the site ( http://istmall.co.kr/shop/goods/goods_view.php?goodsno=9992395&category=020 ) , the options for spare grommetsto use on 303/307/309/301 are 25,35,45A while on the international makestick website we have instead 25,35,55A hardness grommets.
Good news for you guys, the red 45A grommet is the fresh new model and you already have it.
Good to know. I just bought it out of curiosity, see if it can tolerate stiffer grommet than the one stock on the 309MJ.
So in my case, I have a duplicate 45A, the red grommet in that picture and the one inside the Infil lever, right?
Since the confusion stems from mounting 45A with 309MJ bushings and selling them as â55Aâ , Iâd tend to say the grommets in the photo you posted are: translucent/white part on the right = 35A, stock for SDL301DX and 309Helpme (since you ordered a 35A) and the red one on the left = 45A but with a 309type bushing.
SDL301DX bushing is a thick turned white part, not the black injection molded 309 part.
Thank you so much for your time making this review.
I will look into shorter screw for MJ309 for the next batch.
if You like between Green and Blue grommets, how about using Green + 1mm spring (thicker one) or blue + 0.6mm spring, or simply use the grommets only without spring.
thank you for your time. Green is middle soft and Red is middle hard tension, this two is the most preferable tension in Golden Fanta.
Alright, stick gurus, Iâm in need of some guidance. I wanna throw my name in the Kr Stick hat, but coming from a poopy setup. By poopy, I mean Iâm currently on a Q1 that has the standard JP mounting setup. My friend has an Etokki with a Fanta, but in order to do that with my Q1, Iâd have to drill a 35mm hole and pull a mounting plate from a Crown 309, I believe Iâve read from researching. That, or just go with a 309mj or fk (which Iâm not sure what the difference between the two models are).
I saw someone in here a few pages back with what looked to be a Gold Fanta on their HRAP with no drilling. Did he pull a 309 mounting plate? Iâm looking to move away from gates and obtain a lever with a shorter throw. Is there any particular reason for Crown over Fanta and vice versa? I heard the first versions of the crowns had machining issues. Is that still the case? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks guys (and gals?).
309FJ has no collar and a 35g grommet, 309MJ has âchoppedâ collar and 25g grommet. I consider the 309FJ to be a massive failure, its diagonals are so narrow it is borderline useless.
edit
My perfect setup is this:
309MJ + 35g grommet or 309HelpMe
Panasonic AM51630C69N switches
Crown conversion shaft + Sanwa plastic battop
The main reason people choose crown is availability and compatibility. The crowns are easier to get than the fantas. The 309MJ can be installed into regular japanese mount fightsticks without drilling, provided it doesnât have a 9mm plexi panel that would need the plate to lay flush on the plexi.
I had no machining issues with the crown levers me or friends have bought. One exception is, the 35g grommet on the 309FJ was not perfectly symmetrical, as a result one direction was harder to hit than the rest, I rotated the grommet to bring that side on the âupâ direction of the lever.
I hadnât considered these options, Iâll definitely try them out tonight. I also just realised I left out the most important piece of information: I used the parts with the Crown 309-Helpme version 2.
I just check the screw for Golden Crown, and it is fine. the tips of the screw is a bit protruding, but this is not a problem. if you not sure about this, you can use the stock screw.
My Golden Crown should be showing up today. Excited to start trying out different configurations.
Do you guys have a game plan when attempting to mix and match all this stuff? Seems like their are a lot of combinations.
I usually skip to medium grommet stiffness then move higher. With actuators and shafts I start with the smallest actuator then gradually move up in size. After I try all the actuators I move on to the next size up shaft.
currently messing with a stick that has a standard plexi on top of a metal plate, started with a jlf but after using a fanta for years i cant get used to it. wondering, since it is a metal plate and i dont have the proper tools, could i use the infiltration lever without altering the plate at all? or is the small bump on the center top of the joy stick going to cause issues?