Good all round Joystick choice

RichT

Have started to use my arcade joystick setup for the first time.
Its a zippy stick which I believe is a clone of the seimitsu ls-32.

I've got a MAME install playing a variety of games, shoot'em'ups, fighting, all sorts of things.

Now its been a while since i used a real arcade joystick in an actual arcade but first impressions using the Zippy is that the dead zones are larger than I would like. It seems as though there is quite a bit of travel from the centre position until the micro-switches are activated.

So options are buy a new joystick with smaller dead zones that i can fit back into my arcade control panel . Or i could try a bodge fix and increase the size of the actuator on the Zippy which should have the effect of reducing the dead zone travel distance.

So anyone else tried either of these options?
If so what joystick did you replace the zippy with or what did you use to increase the size of the actuator?

Thanks

REK607

Seimitsu stick can be what you are looking for. Check their actuators, maybe you can fix your zippy stick to act in the same way. I cod buy two sanwas and they are very good too, but it has definitely a bigger deadzone if you compare it to Seimitsu and they are a bit more expensive.

WeirdH

@RichT I have Sanwas with thicker actuators and they are super snappy. If different sized actuators are available for your stick, that would be the first thing to try out. At the very least it's cheaper than buying a whole new stick.

Clyde

Some time ago, I started an Open Joystick Talk where I posted some test results of Ultimarc's Mag Stik Plus and the Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK. Maybe it's interesting for you.

I have two Mag Stik Plus' built into my DYI upright cabinet and I like them very much, especially for their short dead zone and overall throw. I also bought two Sanwa JLW-UM-8 for future use, because they have a stronger spring and replacable microswitches that are not soldered like in other Sanwa models.

RichT

Thanks for the replies and words of wisdom.
To begin with I am attempting to the cost effective option of modifying the actuator in the Zippy but am yet to find a pipe, washer, nozzle, tube that is the correct dimension. Still looking.

If that doesn't work I will invest in a new stick.

I did read about the Magstick and that sparked my interest the most have also been considering the Japanese options. I guess its a case f finding a stick that will work well with Street Fighter and also is responsive in vertical scrolling shoot-em-ups, 1942.

Will update this once I have had some success.