WTB: Sanwa Flash

meus · December 4, 2009, 1:28am

Beast i have score another optical joystick. when i have in hand to u want to get of me. this time it will be reserve for u. coming off this stick.

beastSPL · December 4, 2009, 2:38pm

I’m looking forward to it meus! Good looking out!! I really wanted one from a DC unit… Just because lol

Ikagi-chan · December 4, 2009, 9:15pm

I’m amazed how much discussion this thread brought up. And now I can finally contribute! :bgrin:

Thanks to zeetes, I got my hands on an ASCII Optical Joystick. Mine was ripped from an ASCII stick whose exact name slips my mind, but it was a programmable joystick for the PlayStation 1. In any case, it’s working just chipper with my Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 SA PCB. I’ve yet to encounter any problems that were reported such as directions randomly not working or whatnot.

Anyways, Kyle, beastSPL, if you ever want to migrate that ASCII Optical to another stick housing, just gimme a PM and I can give you wiring instructions for the stick itself. It was kind of a pain to figure it out and I’m surprised no one put it up on SRK anywhere. :xeye:

Still, good luck to you Ketchy Kech; don’t forget, lemme know if you get offered more than 1! I’m still looking for a Sanwa FLASH1. :tup:

jdm714 · December 4, 2009, 9:41pm

I made picture for wiring ASCII Optical Joystick.
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=7877246&postcount=1608

Yours is the same Ikagi-chan?

Ikagi-chan · December 5, 2009, 5:17am

Yessir it is! :tup:

I oriented mine differently though. I had it so that the directional and voltage wires face the opposite direction the buttons are located though. No matter, it’s all the same regardless.

Ketchy_Kech · December 6, 2009, 11:58am

“haven’t bumped in a awhile” bump

beastSPL · December 8, 2009, 7:38pm

Bump yo!

Kyle · December 10, 2009, 9:48am

K, so I’ve been playing on the stick since last night. The Start and Select buttons don’t work on the PCB. Don’t know if I’m keeping it because I didn’t want to swap the PCB. I’ve been using it on the PC by using the extra two buttons as Start/Select.

Observations:

I like the silence. It’s very nice.
The shaft height is killing me. Can I swap a shorter one from another stick? It’s about half an inch taller than the Namco and LS-56.
It needs a square gate and harder spring. These should be non-issues.

Ketchy_Kech · December 10, 2009, 10:07am

see, you wouldn’t have these problems if you stood true the the Sanwa Flash! it would feel right at home with all the great optical good’ness XD!! hehe, awesome though. Is there an apparent difference in directional input aka do you find things harder to execute, more fluid motions, ease in overall inputs?

Ikagi-chan · December 10, 2009, 10:34am

The silence is quite nice, I agree. My ASCII Optical is doing just dandy sitting in my Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 SA.
I believe you could swap out the shaft for a shorter one from maybe a Hori stick, but honestly, it’d probably be MUCH better for you to just take the ASCII Optical out of the ASCII stick and put it in a different stick. This will address the shaft height issue since ASCII’s joysticks were built to-spec of the Sanwa JLF. The problems you have with the height of the joystick come from the fact that the joystick is mounted literally right on the panel which raises the shaft uncomfortably high. It shouldn’t be too hard to transfer it to another stick. jdm714 posted a wiring diagram a few posts up and it’s mounted the same way as a Sanwa JLF so go for broke!
I agree on the square gate bit. I personally thought that a JLF spring had more than sufficient tension, but that’s just me. Right now though I’m sporting an LS-32 spring in mine. Next time I buy parts off of AkihabaraShop, I’ll have to try some other springs.

Ketchy Kech, I’ll be another person to point out once more that the ASCII Optical Joystick is built to the same specs as the Sanwa JLHS-8Y FLASH 1. Everything about both optical mechanisms pertaining to gameplay are the exact same period. They have the same deadzone, engage distance, and throw. I understand you’re looking for a FLASH 1, but I don’t see what’s the harm in buying an ASCII Optical first. It’s cheaper and easier to find and will hold you over very well until you finally hunt down a FLASH 1. And besides, I don’t see the harm in having another optical joystick as a spare, you know?

I felt that there wasn’t a major difference transitioning from a microswitch joystick to an optical joystick. Really, the only thing different is that you don’t feel the tension from the microswitches which, for me, doesn’t have any impact at all since I smash my joystick into the gate anyway.

jdm714 · December 10, 2009, 10:56am

Anyone trust me to send an Optical Joystick or Arcade Stick with Optical Joystick?
Send to me so I can try it out for feel; I pay for borrow and pay shipping.
Then I send back.
Laugh.

Or would I have to fly to one of you guys to try?

Ketchy_Kech · December 10, 2009, 11:15am

Ikagi-chan:

The silence is quite nice, I agree. My ASCII Optical is doing just dandy sitting in my Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 SA.

I believe you could swap out the shaft for a shorter one from maybe a Hori stick, but honestly, it’d probably be MUCH better for you to just take the ASCII Optical out of the ASCII stick and put it in a different stick. This will address the shaft height issue since ASCII’s joysticks were built to-spec of the Sanwa JLF. The problems you have with the height of the joystick come from the fact that the joystick is mounted literally right on the panel which raises the shaft uncomfortably high. It shouldn’t be too hard to transfer it to another stick. jdm714 posted a wiring diagram a few posts up and it’s mounted the same way as a Sanwa JLF so go for broke!

I agree on the square gate bit. I personally thought that a JLF spring had more than sufficient tension, but that’s just me. Right now though I’m sporting an LS-32 spring in mine. Next time I buy parts off of AkihabaraShop, I’ll have to try some other springs.

Ketchy Kech, I’ll be another person to point out once more that the ASCII Optical Joystick is built to the same specs as the Sanwa JLHS-8Y FLASH 1. Everything about both optical mechanisms pertaining to gameplay are the exact same period. They have the same deadzone, engage distance, and throw. I understand you’re looking for a FLASH 1, but I don’t see what’s the harm in buying an ASCII Optical first. It’s cheaper and easier to find and will hold you over very well until you finally hunt down a FLASH 1. And besides, I don’t see the harm in having another optical joystick as a spare, you know?

I felt that there wasn’t a major difference transitioning from a microswitch joystick to an optical joystick. Really, the only thing different is that you don’t feel the tension from the microswitches which, for me, doesn’t have any impact at all since I smash my joystick into the gate anyway.

  Well I don't know, Kyle complains of a difference in shaft height, that would already make it different then a JLF in that regard. I agree with the deadzone, throw, etc issues, since thats all the same, but I was more-so poking fun at Kyle and why he should get a flash! Im sure the difference is minimal, call me a brand-name whore (like those people that won't buy non-brand name clothes) but ima hunt it down till the end!! but yeah i see your point, perhaps i will just get it try it sometime, though money is tight for the moment because of my custom in the works ;]~

Ikagi-chan · December 10, 2009, 11:36am

Haha. Quite honestly though, I’d be willing to send you over my ASCII Optical Joystick if only it didn’t end in my Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 SA being out of commission for a while. It’s kind of hard to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo without one, you know? :lol:

However, jdm714, if you like the Sanwa JLF, I don’t think you’d find anything wrong at all with an optical joystick. They feel essentially the same, only more quiet and much more durable in the long run. And, if it turns out you don’t like it, optical joysticks tend to have a very good resell rate which almost always ends with you getting profit back.

The shaft height complaint that Kyle has is more of an issue with, once more, how the joystick is mounted as I said in my other post. To explain this, take a Hori Real Arcade Pro series stick or any other stick that accepts a Sanwa JLF. Now, most sticks either have the mounting area for the joystick recessed a little or have a mounting bracket that juts out a little. The purpose of the recess and the mounting bracket is to “space” the JLF such that the base of the joystick isn’t mounted directly on to the metal panel itself. This space provides the little bit of depth necessary to mount the JLF to the standard mounting height. This mounting height is what you, the player perceive; it’s the length of the joystick that actually juts out.

In some ASCII sticks however, the shaft height appears to be much longer since the ASCII sticks don’t have a recessed area or a mounting bracket underneath the control panel to mount the joystick. The ASCII joysticks are pressed up and literally mounted onto the panel itself which makes it such that the whole height of the shaft sticks up out of the panel. The height of the shafts on a Sanwa JLF and that of an ASCII joystick are the exact same if you put them side by side. You perceive the latter to be “taller” since the method ASCII mounted their joysticks made it that way.

In short, they’re the same, no need to fret. You can drop an ASCII Optical Joystick (after you add on a Sanwa mounting plate of course) into any commercially available stick or custom arcade stick that accepts a JLF just fine and it will mount at the proper height. No worries at all my friend. The only thing you’d really want to change is the gate, but ASCII’s octagonal gate isn’t something to scoff at though. It’s an EXTREMELY well constructed gate, and is actually better than Sanwa’s octagonal gate since ASCII’s gate actually has perfectly spaced throws that makes it so that all directions can be hit evenly, unlike Sanwa’s which for reasons unknown obstructs certain diagonals from registering reliably 100% of the time (the fudge factor is actually not that huge though).

Ketchy_Kech · December 10, 2009, 1:17pm

Ikagi-chan:

Haha. Quite honestly though, I’d be willing to send you over my ASCII Optical Joystick if only it didn’t end in my Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 SA being out of commission for a while. It’s kind of hard to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo without one, you know? :lol:

However, jdm714, if you like the Sanwa JLF, I don’t think you’d find anything wrong at all with an optical joystick. They feel essentially the same, only more quiet and much more durable in the long run. And, if it turns out you don’t like it, optical joysticks tend to have a very good resell rate which almost always ends with you getting profit back.

The shaft height complaint that Kyle has is more of an issue with, once more, how the joystick is mounted as I said in my other post. To explain this, take a Hori Real Arcade Pro series stick or any other stick that accepts a Sanwa JLF. Now, most sticks either have the mounting area for the joystick recessed a little or have a mounting bracket that juts out a little. The purpose of the recess and the mounting bracket is to “space” the JLF such that the base of the joystick isn’t mounted directly on to the metal panel itself. This space provides the little bit of depth necessary to mount the JLF to the standard mounting height. This mounting height is what you, the player perceive; it’s the length of the joystick that actually juts out.

In some ASCII sticks however, the shaft height appears to be much longer since the ASCII sticks don’t have a recessed area or a mounting bracket underneath the control panel to mount the joystick. The ASCII joysticks are pressed up and literally mounted onto the panel itself which makes it such that the whole height of the shaft sticks up out of the panel. The height of the shafts on a Sanwa JLF and that of an ASCII joystick are the exact same if you put them side by side. You perceive the latter to be “taller” since the method ASCII mounted their joysticks made it that way.

In short, they’re the same, no need to fret. You can drop an ASCII Optical Joystick (after you add on a Sanwa mounting plate of course) into any commercially available stick or custom arcade stick that accepts a JLF just fine and it will mount at the proper height. No worries at all my friend. The only thing you’d really want to change is the gate, but ASCII’s octagonal gate isn’t something to scoff at though. It’s an EXTREMELY well constructed gate, and is actually better than Sanwa’s octagonal gate since ASCII’s gate actually has perfectly spaced throws that makes it so that all directions can be hit evenly, unlike Sanwa’s which for reasons unknown obstructs certain diagonals from registering reliably 100% of the time (the fudge factor is actually not that huge though).

Point taken, and makes perfect sense! According to the information you have provided I have derived the following.

That I should:
1.) Get an ASCII Clone; until you get the flash’ness
2.) a JLF mounting plate and it’ll be just like any JLF, height-wise.
3.) Switch to a square gate if you prefer that, but the octo is well constructed (i’ll always love square :razzy:)

You are a step closer to bringing me to the darkside…i’ll hold back for the time being…cries…WTB Sanwa Flash!!!

networkingyuppy · December 10, 2009, 1:25pm

You sound very enthusiastic about getting the Sanwa Flash.
If I recall, Paik4Life had made a thread that made comparisons between both Ascii Optical and Flash joysticks. They are extremely similar when it comes to movement, but it’s the way that it’s designed.

jdm714 · December 10, 2009, 1:30pm

Ikagi-chan, you bought the ASCII Optical Joystick from zeetes.
zeetes got it from a PlayStation ASCII Arcade Stick.

It was the ASCII Stick 3 Ultimate.
That programmable one.

I should have you know this.
Shaft of ASCII Optical for Dreamcast is not same for ASCII Optical for PlayStation.

The Dreamcast one is shorter.
Shorter in length from the top half than Sanwa JLF.
The bottom half of ASCII Shaft is same length as Sanwa JLF.

When I say half, I mean where the Shaft changes diameter.

Ikagi-chan · December 10, 2009, 1:41pm

Oh, hey! That’s actually really useful info jdm714. I didn’t know that. I was under the impression that the shaft heights on all ASCII sticks were the same based on the pictures and information Paik4Life once posted in the “ASCII Optical vs. Sanwa Flash” thread. However, I could’ve sworn that the difference in height was marginal by only a few millimeters or something. I might be recalling false information though. So basically, what you’re saying is:

PlayStation ASCII joysticks have shafts the length of a Sanwa JLF’s shaft
Dreamcast ASCII joysticks are shorter and have to be replaced if you wish to move them to another stick

In case anyone’s curious, you can replace every single part from an ASCII Optical with parts from a Sanwa JLF aside from the base (the black plastic part which the restrictor piece snaps onto). You can replace:

Shaft
Bearing/Pivot
Metal deflection ring
Spring holder
Spring
Actuator
E-clip
Restrictor piece

beastSPL · December 10, 2009, 3:48pm

Man I can’t wait for you meus to get that other optical in from that DC stick… That wait is crazy !!

brighenne · December 11, 2009, 12:57am

How much are you guys selling the ASCII joysticks for? I might have the chance to pick up a couple.

eczangief · December 11, 2009, 1:32am

Are you sure it’s the shaft height that’s different and not the mounting height?

I know for a fact that the PS1 ASCII programmable stick has it mounted very high on account of a thin panel. If you’re right, then they must not have changed the mounting style, and just shortened the shaft to fix the height in the later versions. :\

That would mean the PS1 Ascii optical I have is the optimum one. Not that it matters, you can just swap the stick. :nunchuck: