Toodles, I just want to confirm this. These take 5V in and use the exact same pinout as a standard JLF right? The reason I ask is because I’m thinking about revsharing my New Astro City and it would be a huge boost to me to not have to worry about a joystick going bad, but the connector orientation for the Sega cabinets is connector pointed north, which is of course different than the TE which a lot of your products seem to be designed for (I’m not blaming you for that. the TE is a wonderful product.) Basically, am I going to have to hack my Sega harnesses to correct any directional issues, or are these plug and go? (I already have +5V coming off of my Sega harnesses)
Received this sucker and got it installed today (thanks bro). Review:
OH HELL YES.
My typical execution problem exists on P1 where things like Ryu’s srk, FADC, U1 is somewhat a reliability problem and a P1 normal to super cancel. The most difficult combo to pull (on P1) seems to be Gouken’s tatsu, FADC, U1 setup. With the flash replacement, these combos are now very doable to the point where I’ll call P1 reliable enough for me to use them (at least locally). The Ascii DC stick was sold to an SRK member and I really missed that stick – I now have roughly the same feeling again.
Much thanks to Toodles for getting this out, I’m very pleased with its performance.
Hrm. Not sure there’s any reason they would improve your execution, could just be placebo.
No reason why it should improve his performance.
But may not be placebo.
May be the ONE.
Do not let love short circuit.
Does anyone know if the short actuator on the Namco stick work with this???
For anyone who was watching or was/is at EVO. The Sticks for Joy stick we raffled off, yeah it uses one of these.
It won’t. Not because it’s short but because it’s white. Get a (probably more than one in case of screw-ups) JLF actuator and grind/cut/bite it down to size so that it matches up with the Namco one and you should be fine.
Just installed mine and works perfectly. I am gonna take Blinds advice and try a slightly stiffer spring but I am really liking the feel of it. Its so quiet now too!
Was unsure how it was gonna feel with octogate but after a few Yoga bnb’s and IAT it feels perfect… I am not gonna say it improved execution, but the bnb’s were really rolling out easy… easier than usual.
super easy to install on my Chun TE (ps3) took longer opening it than it did to solder the one wire lol.
Thanks Toodles, and it was great hangin with you at EVO!
Im back, and I’ve received it. I’ll have the replacement out asap; Im grabbing one of the ones that has been in my cabinet for about two to three weeks now without problems, just to be completely certain. Would it help if I threw in some stickers?
It does take +5v (which can be tapped right at the Jamma loom or cab power supply directly), and the five pin pinout is identical to the JLF; as long as you install it with the five pins pointing in the same direction the older microswitch board was pointing, you’re golden, no matter what direction that is. Put them in pins pointing north as well and you’re done.
With that said, for what you’re describing, I dont know if the Spark would be a good fit. Microswitches die from people using them, so they’re rated in clicks. If a cab sits unused, not that big a deal, no wear. The Sparks use IR LEDs, and it isn’t movement that would cause them to wear out, but LED life. In an on-location cabinet, it’ll be on for 8+ hours a day, and the LEDs in the Spark will be on as well. Whether the cabinet is in use or not, you’re wearing on the Spark. I dont have any MTBF numbers for the LEDs in the Spark unfortunately, but LEDs do wear out, and this is currently about 3-4 times more expensive than a replacement TP-MA board.
If the arcade cabinet is going to be under HEAVY, constant play, sure, Spark it up. If the cabinet is intended for elitists like fighting game players, sure, go for it. But for a general cabinet in a normal setting where 1 cumulative hour of play a day is a good day, then 3 TP-MAs would be the same cost or cheaper over the long haul.
Glad to hear it, keep at it, tell your friends 
Good call, a white actuator would probably make it freak out entirely.
Likewise, and thanks for looking at it so quick. Keep at it and let me know if anything comes up, good or bad.
Thank you once again Toodles! Had my spark fully installed and working, in my stick, from my hotel room at the Rio, not more than 30 minutes after I got it. So far everything is functioning perfectly, love my new stick!
Thank you for all your hard work, well worth the wait!
Wow, this thing is awesome! Got my Spark from my friend just fine (thanks Joe!) on Monday and installed it in no time. After I installed one in my bro vash’s stick, I could not wait for my friend to get back from Evo with mine. To the naysayers about the execution stuffs, you’d have to feel it to know for sure - some things just feel more precise in the ways I like. Now, I’m going to try the “silent” button mod (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpgq4zEbRpg) and see how that goes. Optical button switches up next Toodles?
I think Im gonna stay away from projects that require me to get plastic molds made for a while
Got my SPARK from EVO installed today, works amazing! Thanks Toodles, gonna order another one soon for my VLX.
Hey Toodles, can you tell me where on the Kitty board I would attach/solder the Spark harness to?? I know you told me at Evo, but as you can imagine… it’s been a very loooonng weekend.
Thanks
If you’re using the RJ45 jack, screw it into the screw terminal along with the red wire going to the main TE board (the very bottom screw terminal).
If you’re just using USB only, screw it down into the screw terminal that the outgoing USB’s red wire goes (5th from the top)
Did you get your phone back? Someone texted me saying they found it and wanted to know if I knew how to find you.
What if I’m using both??
Pm’d about phone…
If you have an RJ45 jack on your stick at all, use the screw terminal along with the red wire going to the main TE board (the very bottom screw terminal).
Thanks for the info. XD Now, it is time to get a JLF with a spark for my namco!!!
First sentence.
You mean FLASH 1, not SPARK 1.