So I own both a HRAP 3 and HRAP 3-SA, but I noticed that the shaft length for the HRAP 3-SA is significantly shorter than the HRAP 3. I opened up the stick and noticed that the HRAP 3-SA had a different mounting plate than the HRAP 3 and I was wondering what kind of mounting plate I would need for my HRAP 3 to match the HRAP 3-SA. I’d prefer a shorter shaft since I can get more control out of it, and it also seems like the TE stick has the same length shaft as the 3-SA, but I know the mounting plate is much different.
Uh… (Catching breath since that question has been asked a lot already)…
The generic, mass market HRAP 3 was engineered differently from the HRAP SA/SE lines to be cheaper to build and also take advantage of the fact that most people don’t bother to change the JLF that ships with it. This and the fact that the HRAP 3 ships with crummy pushbuttons is the reason why the list price price for the HRAP 3 is $30 less than the HRAP SA/SE joysticks.
The JLF has wings on the sides of the plastic base that allow it to be screwed in without a dedicated flat plate into the HRAP 3. However, on the higher-line SA/SE and the Mad Catz TE’s you need the flat plate screwed onto the top of the JLF to fit into and screw onto the faceplates of those sticks – that’s because they’re universal mounts meaning you can install Seimitsu LS-series joysticks into them.
The LS-joysticks are not meant to be installed in the HRAP 3 line although they technically can be. Only the LS-56-01 will install cleanly and have the proper shaft height above the HRAP 3 faceplate. For the other LS-joysticks, you have to install flat mounting plates onto the top of them (similar to the JLF-T-P1 plate used for the SA/SE and TE’s). The problem with those LS-mounts is that the LS shafts will be too low/not high enough above the HRAP 3 faceplate. Shaft extenders and replacements are available from Europe and Korea to take care of that problem…
(Shaft extenders from Korea are much cheaper… They screw onto the existing shaft and are only $5 + shipping. The longer shaft solutions from Europe cost $25-$30 since they are a complete replacement for the existing JLF/LS shafts.)
(Shaft extenders for the JLF ARE compatible with the LS-shafts since the screw threads are identical; the identical threading is why Sanwa and Seimitsu balltops are interchangeable. The extenders fit in between the balltop and the natural screwpoint for the balltop. For LS-joysticks that come with their shaft covers, getting the thicker, black-painted extender for the JLF is the best choice. For the LS-32-01, there are two choices – get the LS-32 extender if you have a “naked” shaft, OR buy the black-painted JLF extender if you you’ve customized JLF shaft covers to fit onto your LS-32.)
Now with the universal mounts (SA/SE and TE’s), you have to use a Seimitus SS Mount plate to install the LS-32-01 and LS-40-01. This brings the base of those LS joysticks closer to the underside of the HRAP SA/SE/Mad Catz TE faceplates so that the shaft length above the faceplate is adequate. Half the LS-joysticks have shorter shafts than the JLF shaft so that’s why SS Mounts are used to bring closer to the faceplate underside…
The JLF shaft difference between the HRAP 3 and SA/SE models is relatively minor and doesn’t bug most people. When you have more than a centimeter difference in height or the shaft is ultra-short, that’s when it starts to matter to most people.
Past productions models of the HRAP’s (some HRAP 1’s and most if not all HRAP 2’s) had universal joystick mounts in addition to the limited production SA/SE’s. Obviously, that changed with the HRAP 3 and could also be a result of the relationship Hori has with Sanwa.
Hey thanks for the response.
So what I’m getting from this is that in order to shorten the shaft length of a JLF (amount of shaft from the faceplate up) I would have to buy a SS mount plate?
You could do that… but why bother?
I don’t even think the JLF SS Mount Plate would fit in an HRAP 3!! The HRAP 3 mount wasn’t really meant for any joystick but the JLF without a mounting plate.
No, if you’re just going to “lower the shaft” you can use spacers to do this…
Just unscrew the JLF and add washers or nylon spacers between the JLF’s wings and the mount holes it screws into. Might want to look into getting larger diameter spacers/washers and attaching them with double stick tape on top of the JLF wing holes. This might stabilize the JLF better. Sometimes those small washers “bunch up” or even get dented when piled on for spacing/securing the flat mounts and SS mounts. The situation could be made worse with a naked JLF (no mount screwed on).
Most people don’t bother. The difference in height really isn’t that obvious to most. It’s an issue when you try install anything BUT a JLF in the HRAP 3’s!