Nice! I was just thinking about this yesterday because you hinted at it a few weeks ago. I really like the concept, and am glad I have waited to go optical.
Ya know, I don’t understand how some people lose their shit when the FLASH1 comes back, but had no interest in the Spark after a lot of positive feedback. It’s not like anyone knew that the FLASH was going into production until recently. Not to mention HAPP + Optical 
christ the pain I had to go through to get my P360 working properly. I’m not here to shit on the FLASH, it might be perfectly fine, I just don’t understand why those same people didn’t loose their shit over the Spark.
I guess dust and shaft covers go a long way.
I’ve put together a few more to try and keep up with the PM flood, and I’ve got one piece left for testing.
gogo! Lets get this out to the public!
I’d like to see how it would work in a wireless setup.
Well the proper operation at lower voltage definitely makes it more suited, but you’d still want some sort of cut off switch so it could be turned off and not draw current when not in operation. It also wouldn’t work with an AXISdapter and would need a Leo to work properly.
Do you need any more testers Marcus?
Yup, got one spot left if you want it.
I don’t think I’m quite qualified for beta-testing this thing (even though I do work in quality assurance), but I do need to add that I am quite excited about this.
I was originally thinking of buying a Spark for one of my sticks, but then the fact that it only ran at 5V means that it wouldn’t work with other consoles supported by the MC Cthulhu (the stick in question had an ImpV2+MCC+4716). I’d definitely be interested in one of these new SparkCEs, when they’re available, for PS2/GC/Wii use.
Most def do!
Using a leo makes sense. 2 of the wireless sticks I build do have on/off switches to make sure there’s no accidental power on, so that wouldn’t be much of a problem (finding a discreet looking switch on the other hand, different story) I’d consider swapping out the JLW I have in that case now if the new version of teh spark works out (really digging the OG one I have in the BSS case)
I should also mention it consumes way less power the Spark or Flash. Its dependant on the sensitivity setting, but the ‘default’ sensitivity they ship with is right at 20mA.
Is there any way to backport that 2.5V sparkCE capability to the original Sparks? I’ve got them in both of my TEs and would love to play ps2/psx games with them!
Im sorry but there’s not in any way that I’d feel comfortable describing for someone to do, and I think it would also have problems working on a number of PCBs using the lower voltages with that chip.
First three have gone out to Legendary Gokou, Butteroj, and Juya_Joe. Im waiting for info before sending the other two out to Robokrikit and gharling.
The main things I’m concerned with are of course the new features; the sensitivity adjustment, operation at PSX/PS2 voltages especially when using an MC Cthulhu or Kitty (because of the slight additional voltage drop from the diodes), and operation with the BrawlStick pcb and PS360 because of their weirdness with 5v logic signals.
Installation is the exact same as a normal Spark; let me know if you have any questions there but Im sure all of yall are old hands at that stuff.
If you remove the power cable, you can use a multimeter set for checking resistance on the OUTSIDE two pins of the three pin connector. The center pin is the power, but the ones on either side can be checked for resistance to get an idea of the sensitivity. They should arrive with a resistance between 60-70ohms. Adjusting the trimpot, you should be able to adjust it anywhere from about 17ohms to 113ohms. More resistance=Less sensitivity. It takes a LOT of turns to move it a significant amount, so you should be able to dial it in to any sensitivity you want with great accuracy. The pot does not ‘stop’! If you get all of the way to one of the far ends, you can keep turning it but the resistance wont change. There’s no reason you’d really want to; at most sensitive, a direction may activate without barely moving the stick at all, and diagonals will be frequent even if unintentional. In my testing, it would get flaky around 25-30 ohms, so try to keep it above that. At least sensitive, you may be able to move the stick all of the way to the restrictor and not have the direction activate. I’d highly recommend you start with the default 65-ish ohms sensitivity and dial it in to where you want a few turns at a time.
As always, any feedback good is bad is very appreciated. I figure I’ll probably start bugging y’al in about a month for details and see whether you want to keep it or return it.
Damn, I feel kinda stupid for getting the SPARK now as it’s nowhere near my shmupping needs. This one sounds pretty cool though.
Installed into brawlstick… no issues… plug and play with no issues like before
re-installed into dual modded V.S with chimp smd
I marked a spot so I knew how many full rotations I was at…
Spark at install came reading around 62.7 ohms
on my spark each rotation brought the ohms down by 3
I stopped at 44 ohms. response was very quick and if I let go of stick back to neutral it did not trigger unintentional inputs…
Toodles I did notice that the sensetivity was a little more responsive moving the stick from neutral to right than it was from neutral to left… I need to figure a better way of measuring the throw before engage but it did seem more throw was needed going from neutral to left… can I adjust this anyway physically without disturbing the oppisite direction?
Wish I saw this earlier, guess I was too busy preparing for Final Round.
If you ever need another tester I’ll help. If not, I’ll def be buying one when released. I have a spark in one of my multi-system sticks but cant play on PS2 with it.
Will the SparkCE replace the original Spark or exist beside as a kind of premium (and assumedly more expensive) version?
Im not sure of the details yet, but I do have a ton of Spark pcbs to go through; they will likely both be available until the Spark boards are cleared out.