So there was this report: http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2012/sep/21/sanwas-prototype-magnetic-joystick-offers-infinite-life-cycle-and-analog-inputs/
They said they had no plans to put it into production.
Then I was browsing the Sanwa Denshi product page and saw this:
http://sanwa-d.co.jp/product/index.html#JLM
According to Google Translate, looks like the thing might come into fruition after all? I wonder if it’ll use standard JLF gates and if it is analog only(read: expensive as fuck)?
There seems to be a growing demand for “silent” joysticks, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually bring these to market. I don’t know the technical details for this, but I’m assuming that it’ll last longer than optical sensors (Rollie Flash/Toodles’ Spark). Feel free to correct me if I’m potentially wrong on this someone. Conservative estimates, I expect them to drop for probably $50-75 US range. That puts it in the range of the current JLF “silent” model.
Assuming that it’s a drop-in replacement, that I don’t have to fiddle with another connector for the power like I do for optical joysticks, and it performs as well (if not better) as the optical joysticks, consider me sold. While $75 is pricey, it’s completely worth it if you have roommate/s who complain about noise.
Plus it’s analog, so Smash Bros.
Sounds like the ultimarc ultrastik. My favorite modern stick.
i’m confused, didn’t sanwa stop producing the original Flash 1 because it meant less sales on replacement micro switch joysticks over time? whats the dealio?
That sounds like pure speculation.
I would wager that it was purely costs. If there’s no “demand” for such a product, then there’s no need to keep producing it. Keeping in mind that before the “fightstick” craze set off by SF4, “quality” joysticks using real arcade parts just weren’t in the mainstream. So pretty much the only people buying up Sanwa joysticks/replacements were arcade owners (i.e. people who make money and purchasing decisions).
Background info on Optical joysticks. They use LED lights. These LED lights are always in the “On” position. This generally means that the shelf life of these optical boards is less than their microswitch counter-parts. In a home joystick where it’s not plugged in all the time, it’s actually not a bad thing. In an arcade cab where some of these machines run 24/7 though? It’s like constantly spinning a joystick around, so to speak. So it’s A) more expensive to purchase, B) doesn’t last as long, C) needs replacing more often.
So imagine if you run an arcade (pre-fightstick craze) with purchasing decisions, and you’ll have your answer as to why and where demand is for such a product.
This is interesting… wondering what the pricing is going to be if the silent JLF is already 60
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a189/gumbyslide/GillResurrection2.png
I found this article about the “JLM” from sgcafe. Below are a few excerpts:
“Sanwa Denshi (三和電子) calls this prototype a “small-type magnetic-sensor lever” (小型磁気レバー), and according to Nozomi Sato from Sanwa Denshi’s sales department, this is the first time (here at Tokyo Game Show 2012) that they’ve ever shown off the prototype to anyone.”
"Kunio Saito, the engineer at Sanwa Denshi’s technical department who created this prototype, said that it’s several times more durable than existing levers; as the magnetic-sensor stick is not mechanical in nature, there is virtually zero wear-and-tear to worry about. “Infinite life cycle” were the words, in English, that sales rep Sato used.
Not only that, but the prototype lever allows for analog inputs by default. In that regard, you could say that although the magnetic-sensor lever’s outward appearance might resemble that of a joystick, in terms of usability the prototype would essentially work like a bigger and sturdier version of the analog sticks found on our console controllers.
How much bigger? I wasn’t able to measure the stick’s “throw distance” (how far the lever can be pushed in one direction, from the neutral position), but a rough estimate would be about close to twice that of the Sanwa Denshi JLF lever that’s equipped in nearly all of today’s quality console fight sticks. Note, however, that a gate was not attached to the prototype; a square-bounding gate is usually attached to the JLF lever in fight sticks."
Full article: http://sgcafe.com/2012/09/sanwa-denshis-small-type-magnetic-sensor-lever-prototype-on-display-at-tokyo-game-show-video/
The article is from 2012. Safe to say that Sanwa probably moved on from this. Also, it looks like a bad knockoff of the magnetic Hall effect Ultrastik from Ultimarc. It’s $60 for a analog/digital Hall effect stick, but that includes a mappable PCB useable on PC out of the box (with inputs for 8 buttons, or on annoy other system if you add a board. Either way it’s still mappable and is built on a JLW to boot.
It was seen at TGS again this year. It’s a prototype so I would expect it to look much different once in production (if it ever makes it that far).
Yeah the prototype was just to show off the stick and how it worked. They show it off every year. I think eventually this thing will come out, and probably sooner than later since I recall some pretty in depth stuff being shown. Hopefully you can dial in dead zone to max engage, so that you can install custom gates to adjust throw.
Really, all these sticks would be good for at the moment is Smash. There is no other reason to use one.
I’ve dealt with magnetic, non-contact switches in the past in Rane mixer units for turtables. With analogue, they’re great as theyre unaffected by dust/impurities in the switch meaning no “crackle” when it’s operated. Very heavy duty and very reliable. These switches and faders have been on the DJ scene for almost a decade to my knowledge, so wouldn’t surprise me if Sanwa were further into the JLM idea than they’re letting on.
You could use a magnetic Hall effect stick other than analog. If you plug the Ultrastik into a PC you can remap the sensitivity and fine tune the digital emulation mode. Personally, I think it works better than anything else once you’ve mapped it to your preferences. You can make the stick engage anywhere, make the point of actuation as close to neutral (or as far) as you like. The Ultrastik PCB interprets and sends the digital signal at the pre-assigned actuation point. The throw is the same as a stock JLW, but that’s not a problem for me since I love the JLW. Hopefully, the JLM will work the same way, though I still think it’ll be inferior since it’s based off of the JLF. I’ll buy one if it ever comes out.
Here’s the official SANWA advert for the said JLM stick:
T suffix means no mouting plate , runs on 5V and looks quite bulky .
All I could get from the japanese text is:
“magnetic sensor analog joystick”
“features : contact-less analog”
“Compared to conventional switches, electrical life is dramatically improved” (third sentence marked by a bold square)
Angle of the lever is max 20° (not sure for that one, I guess it’s max angle of lever when pushed in corner, but who knows what the restrictor looks like if ever there is one…)
PHR-5(JST) = connector
JLM-AP-H = harness
If anyone could help translate more…
Snip. I’m tired. LOL.
[quote="xpulse;8885577"
Background info on Optical joysticks. They use LED lights. These LED lights are always in the “On” position. This generally means that the shelf life of these optical boards is less than their microswitch counter-parts. In a home joystick where it’s not plugged in all the time, it’s actually not a bad thing. In an arcade cab where some of these machines run 24/7 though? It’s like constantly spinning a joystick around, so to speak. So it’s A) more expensive to purchase, B) doesn’t last as long, C) needs replacing more often.
.[/quote]
LEDs can be ranged from 20,000 - 100,000.00 lifetime hours… So 24/7 annually is 8,760hrs, at its avg worst: 2.28yrs, avg best: 11.4yrs
Sanwa JLSF uSw rated 500K-5M actuations…
So w/o any moving parts for the led and photodiode compared to four uSW.'s being actuated and physically having to engage and spring back… Which one do you think will fail betwern 0 - 11.4yrs?
IIRC Paradisearcadeshop has/is releasing an optical stick you can map your own actuation pts too. So each one is cusyomized to you. Makes me think why someone hasn’t used an arcade trackball setup 
or even a mouse itself
If you’re talking about the proto (seen on iplaywinner news site) that arcadeupgrades dot com is producing for PA, it really looks like a magnetic type of sensor to me, not an optical one. I don’t see any markings for IR leds nor phototransistors neither.
Look at the actuator, it appears to be a small magnet or a small ferrite fixed on the end of the shaft, plus the bore in the middle of the PCB seems to feature concentric copper loops that would be a coil printed on the PCB , coil that would see a current induced in it from magnetic flux variations when you move the magnetic shaft attachment over it.