Happ Competition Joystick Issue

[malkie13]

Finally got around to rebuilding the control panel on my Neo, and I'm super happy with it except for one tiny, but /very/ aggravating issue.

I put in new Happ Competition Joysticks, and while playing (ESPECIALLY fighting games), they feel... I dunno, sloppy. They feel like the actuator (the square plastic bit that actually hits the switches) has to travel too far before pressing the button.

Now, as a "Maybe I'm just nuts" test, I looked at the old joysticks and the gap between the actuator and the switches is notably smaller. (Unfortunately, the old Joys are in piss poor shape and the parts aren't swappable with the new ones, post is a different diameter, etc). I took some thick tape (similar to duct tape) and put two layers around the edges of the actuator, and the response is MUCH better. Problem is that this is a very slapdash fix, and I've already had the tape slip off and peg down a switch.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same sort of thing, and what they did to fix it. I'd even consider swapping out the joysticks, but from what I've read on the forums, everyone has their own favorites and I think that just might lead to a lot of money eating guinea pigging.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

My next idea is likely to be getting some thin plastic and gluing it to the actuators, but I'm open to what others think.

Thanks

Joe

 

[SNKorSWM]

Is the actuator still slanted square shaped? If so, try a wide rubber band with a small diameter around the square plastic.

 

[XxHennersXx]

Yeah the new HAPP competition sticks suck ass.

History Lesson:

the competition sticks are designed by iL over in Europe. It is their "iL Eurostick". iL licensed it to HAPP for a few years, after that contract expired SUZO teamed with HAPP and Suzo cloned it (poorly).

So the current HAPP comp sticks are, not exaggerating, Chinese clone of the original HAPP Competition sticks.

The HAPP competition buttons are the same.

Get some iL Eurosticks, Lizardlick has'em for 10 bucks each. Best American style microswitch based joysticks.

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=141741&highlight=8-Way+Eurojoystick << there ya go

 

[malkie13]

XxHennersXx: Thanks for that link, good to get some info on the things.

I got my joys from Bob Roberts a while ago, actually, and they've got the white actuators, so I'm wondering if they are older stock from before they started knocking them off. For the $20 or so plus shipping, though, I may pick up a pair of sticks from Lizardlick and see which I prefer (it's not like it's a pain to change them out). I'm also going to try using thin plastic to widen the actuators to shorten the dead space some and see how that goes.

I'd thought of doing what SNKorSWM had suggested, but couldn't find any suitable rubber bands. I also worry that the texture of a rubber band would catch, which is what happened with the tape trick. It worked pretty well for a bit, until the tape started to move and gummed up the works a bit.

 

[ratson]

Maybe this can help,different tape is used and it is a very clear instruction video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QytcbzZmXaI&feature=related
I also think that the Sanwa jlw um 8 will fit your control panel.That's the ones i put in but like you said,everyone has it's own preference.I just bought em cause they fit and happen to like them.

 

[crujones4life]

Did you try bending the little metal pieces on the cherry switches out closer to the stick (only bend past where the metal hits the switch) so that they are not so far away from the stick, effectively shortening the throw.

 

[malkie13]

crujones4life: The competition joysticks don't use that style of microswitch, they just have the little red button like in the video Ratson linked.

 

[Fett]

Right, Suzo-HAPP sticks are garbage. If I were to replace mine I'd just use Japanese Sanwa sticks with bat tops.
As for putting all that paper, tape, and shit in your stick (like in that youtube video) I think that's more for SF tournament sticks, not cabs. I'd hate to be disassembling/reassembling my stick every few months because that shit is getting funky inside. They DO make smaller/larger gates to change the sensitivity.

 

[crujones4life]

oops, sorry

 

[XxHennersXx]

Right, Suzo-HAPP sticks are garbage. If I were to replace mine I'd just use Japanese Sanwa sticks with bat tops.
As for putting all that paper, tape, and shit in your stick (like in that youtube video) I think that's more for SF tournament sticks, not cabs. I'd hate to be disassembling/reassembling my stick every few months because that shit is getting funky inside. They DO make smaller/larger gates to change the sensitivity.

it's a pain to putJPN sticks into a wooden control panel. You have to use a router and shit....

 

[SSS]

it's a pain to putJPN sticks into a wooden control panel. You have to use a router and shit....

yeah.. that would suck except the US neo cabs have metal control panels. All you need to do is drill some holes in the mounting plate for the joystick so it fits the standard mounting studs.

 

[XxHennersXx]

yeah.. that would suck except the US neo cabs have metal control panels. All you need to do is drill some holes in the mounting plate for the joystick so it fits the standard mounting studs.

unless he has a converted cab.

 

[SNKorSWM]

If the cab is converted and the pcb has joystick ports, maybe it's easier to just use the Seimitsu stick on an AES controller.

 

[Hewitson]

it's a pain to putJPN sticks into a wooden control panel. You have to use a router and shit....

For the Seimitsu you do, the Sanwa is at quite a nice height if mounted underneath a 1/3" sheet of wood.

 

[chris1]

From just reading the starting post(I'm pressed for time today)

I've had to flip the actuator before to make comps work better and or add washers to the stem at the bottom to get the actuator higher on the stem..

I had these in my Tekken 3 cab and after not being after to jump in a diagnal way I took two Leaf type switchs and installed them on two of the sides of the sticks opposite of each other..So it was two leaf switches(lil metal bar type) on one side and two no leaf switches opposite of each other..I did this to both sticks in the cab and it worked great..
Hated those sticks though,but too cheap to buy others at the time.

 

[BobbyPeru]

I just got rid of my comps and replaced them with the iL equivalents.

I was going to use some electrical tape on the actuator and add some slips of paper into the switches, but I figured at that point, I might as well just get better sticks.

 

[chris1]

Awesome Sig..

 

[schmosef]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to the scene. Got my first MVS cab just last week. Always wanted to own a Neo Geo and now I do.

I had a problem with one of my joysticks that I was able to fix (by shaving some flashing off one side of the actuator) but it caused me to do a bunch of research on arcade joysticks and now I'd like to replace mine with IL Eurosticks.

Since I'm new to the scene, I'm not sure who the suppliers are. Lizard Lick, which I've seen recommended, seems to be down. Paradise Arcade Shop seems to be the only current supplier.

Does anyone know of others? I was kind of hoping to find one in Canada. I keep getting burned on customs and brokerage fees. Any advice?

 

[Mendel]

Maybe you could ask from the shopkeeper of this place if he has the stuff you want? http://www.canadianjoysticks.com/contact-us/

 

[schmosef]

Thanks, I've sent them an inquiry via their contact us page.

About the thread resurrection... as a newb, I don't have rights to post new threads. I can only post replies to existing threads. This thread seemed like a good place to post my question.

I've seen several other forums overrun with spam so I actually think it's a good thing that the mods here want me to prove I'm a human and not a troll before I get full rights.

 

[schmosef]

I've heard back from Canadian Joysticks and they don't have a supplier for IL, nor do they know of anyone else in Canada who does. I'm going to keep them in mind when I decide to upgrade my buttons though. Thanks for letting me know about them, Mendel.

Anyone else know of a source for IL sticks other than Paradise Arcade Shop? Even a place in the US near the Niagara Falls area would be fine. I go to New York State a few times a year for shopping, etc.

 

[Hitokiri]

Why don't you buy from Paradise Arcade Shop? do they give bad service or something?

 

[Kid Panda]

Why don't you buy from Paradise Arcade Shop? do they give bad service or something?

They may not ship to Canada.

 

[schmosef]

Why don't you buy from Paradise Arcade Shop? do they give bad service or something?

On the contrary, I've only heard good things about them. I just keep getting burned on customs and especially customs brokerage fees. Nothing to do with Paradise Arcade Shop. It looks like I'll be ordering from them anyway.

 

[bustedstr8]

See if you can find some joystick smugglers who can smuggle them in on mooseback.