bfollowell Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I've seen pictures and reviews everywhere, but now that I want to consider buying one, I can't seem to find anything anywhere. It's just that I can't recall the name or the manufacturer. It's a new joystick that's being manufactured. It comes in many different colors. It has two buttons, one of either side for left or right-handed use, though I'm pretty sure it's a regular single-button stick electronically and the buttons are wired in parallel. I think it may be coming out of Europe and I thought Exxos' was selling them through his store for a while, but I don't see them now. I'd know it immediately if I saw it, but not having a name or a manufacturer really hinders searches. Any ideas? Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 ArcadeR https://retroradionics.co.uk/#!/ArcadeR-9-pin-ATARI-standard-Joystick/p/168982750/category=0 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 Arrgghhh, ArcadeR, that's right. I would've never remembered myself, but that's definitely it. Thank you for jogging my old 8-bit memory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) nice stuff and did you see the keyboard membranes? $8.00 to $12.00 dollars... wonders if they would add Atari types to the line up since they clearly have sourced them very inexpensively ! double layer membranes with separators are $8.00 retail triple layer membranes with separators are $12.00 retail NICE Sticks and Nice membranes! Edited January 21, 2021 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foft Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I have two of these joysticks, they are great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 15 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: nice stuff and did you see the keyboard membranes? $8.00 to $12.00 dollars... wonders if they would add Atari types to the line up since they clearly have sourced them very inexpensively ! Maybe ask them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 @_The Doctor__, we already have new mylars for many Atari keyboards and I don't think we need another source. The problem with Atari vs Sinclair is, that Atari used couple different suppliers of keyboards vs one for Sinclair. The price difference comes from low volume vs high volume production. I also learned recently that new mylar is not always necessary, it's possible to fix XE keyboard by changing values of couple resistors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible kid Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) In arcade sticks you can change an insert to make it either 4-way(diamond) or 8-way(square), or 8-way(octogon). I am guessing these are 8-way(square) type of set up? Edited January 22, 2021 by invisible kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 12 minutes ago, invisible kid said: In arcade sticks you can change an insert to make it either 4-way(diamond) or 8-way(square), or 8-way(octogon). I am guessing these are 8-way(square) type of set up? They come with a round gate for a more retro feel but are compatible with all sanwa parts so if you want an octo or square gate you can. I doubled the spring tension on mine to 2lb and I added a bigger actuator for a shorter throw, they feel just perfect (for me) now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 There is also a 3rd button socket if you want to fit another button and a simple mod to make these compatible with the Joy 2B+ hacks that @ascrnet is compiling on github. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 This site is confusing. Owner appears to be serbian, it has a uk domain name and the prices are in dollars??? Given the shipping costs I'm guessing he's european and shipping from there and has chosen a UK domain name because the speccy is a UK machine, but why price in dollars? I'm not saying there's anything underhanded going on, just confused why price is in dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 My ArcadeR arrived from China. I preordered it in January 2020 and I got it in August or September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almerian Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 27 minutes ago, Preppie said: This site is confusing. Owner appears to be serbian, it has a uk domain name and the prices are in dollars??? Given the shipping costs I'm guessing he's european and shipping from there and has chosen a UK domain name because the speccy is a UK machine, but why price in dollars? I'm not saying there's anything underhanded going on, just confused why price is in dollars. The production is in China and shipping is from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 6 minutes ago, Almerian said: The production is in China and shipping is from there. Which adds to the confusion. Similar size/weight items I've bought from china have been less than $1 postage but this site is charging $10 to post that stick. I guess Chinese companies get gov subsidies (shipping is impossibly cheap) but outside buisnesses have to pay full. I'll take another guess and say the Chinese manufacturer wants to be paid in dollars so it's better for retroradionics to get paid in dollars so they don't need to convert £ to $ to pay their manufacturer, and instead pass on that cost to the customer. If I wait a while those sticks will probably make their way to ebay from a chinese seller for $10+50c postage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Djordi lives in China, he's Serbian I think. His website is .co.uk because he sells mainly to the Spectrum scene and they are mostly Brits. At the moment everything ships from China but he is in the process of setting up local USA and UK distribution to cut the very long delivery times. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Yeah, I used to have good luck with shipping from China, but everything has slowed to a crawl pretty much worldwide now. I'm waiting on a replacement SysCheck from tf_hh from Germany right now. Tracking is showing it left Germany on November 25, and that's as far as the tracking goes! My wife and I are super anxious to get back to Shenzhen soon to visit our grandson. If things don't get better soon, we may lose it! Weekly video chats via WeChat for over a year with no real visits just isn't cutting it anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 16 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: Djordi lives in China, he's Serbian I think. His website is .co.uk because he sells mainly to the Spectrum scene and they are mostly Brits. At the moment everything ships from China but he is in the process of setting up local USA and UK distribution to cut the very long delivery times. I think the bottom line is that even though the website looks wonky and stuff comes from China, that these are legit products and it's ok to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, orpheuswaking said: I think the bottom line is that even though the website looks wonky and stuff comes from China, that these are legit products and it's ok to order. Yes If it makes anyone feel a bit more comfortable, I am going to be the USA shipper, there is a box of 85 joysticks on its way to me right now. At the moment he is still shipping from China but you will eventually order from a .co.uk, pay to a Chinese paypal account, then a Serbian in China will tell a Brit in America (me) about it and I will ship you a joystick to your USA/Canada address. What's the worst that could happen?! ? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 My only real issue is I don't want to pay $35 for a stick and find out it's faulty and throw it in the bin because I'm not gonna return it to China. If these were on amazon I'd have one ordered by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 4 minutes ago, Preppie said: My only real issue is I don't want to pay $35 for a stick and find out it's faulty and throw it in the bin because I'm not gonna return it to China. If these were on amazon I'd have one ordered by now. Well, I've not seen a single bad review of it anywhere. It seems to be of high quality design and manufacture, so it's highly doubtful you'll receive a faulty one. I've only seen a couple of video reviews, but I've seen plenty of other reviews around, so do your research. The key point is, you're probably not going to find it from a cheap Chinese knock-off manufacturer anytime soon as you suggested earlier and, even if you did, that kind of flies in the face of you being concerned about receiving a faulty one. Likewise, you're probably not going to find it on Amazon, U.S. or U.K. anytime soon. I'm getting ready to order one myself soon even though I know it will probably be a long wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 13 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: Yes If it makes anyone feel a bit more comfortable, I am going to be the USA shipper, there is a box of 85 joysticks on its way to me right now. At the moment he is still shipping from China but you will eventually order from a .co.uk, pay to a Chinese paypal account, then a Serbian in China will tell a Brit in America (me) about it and I will ship you a joystick to your USA/Canada address. What's the worst that could happen?! ? Can you sell to another Brit in the USA? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 3 hours ago, Mr Robot said: I doubled the spring tension on mine to 2lb and I added a bigger actuator for a shorter throw, they feel just perfect (for me) now. Are you going to make a write up about it on your website? Where you got that spring? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 20 minutes ago, Preppie said: My only real issue is I don't want to pay $35 for a stick and find out it's faulty and throw it in the bin because I'm not gonna return it to China. He's good about faults, people with the occasional incorrect part or crimp that fell off a wire are reporting it and he's just shipping them a replacement part. He's well known and well liked in the Spectrum scene, he's just one guy, occasionally gets a buddy in to help and he makes all these things himself. The ArcadeR is his first surprise hit product, the $25 price tag is pretty unbeatable for a quality Sanwa knockoff stick and buttons in an injection moulded case with a custom PCB. There is a case on Thingiverse which is almost the same as the ArcadeR case https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3661259 so you could make your own if you like. 14 minutes ago, orpheuswaking said: Can you sell to another Brit in the USA? I think we can go one more level deep before a wormhole opens and swallows us all whole! 14 minutes ago, ZuluGula said: Are you going to make a write up about it on your website? Where you got that spring? I could do I suppose. It's pretty trivial, these sticks are designed to be modded by the users. There's a C clip on the end of the joystick shaft, just remove that and the spring and actuator can be replaced, then put the C clip back on and put the stick back together, takes about 10 minutes. I got my parts from Focus Attack they are knockoff Sanwa JLF's so any of the parts for that stick will work. You could even upgrade all the parts in the ArcadeR with genuine parts if you really wanted to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 21 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: I could do I suppose. It's pretty trivial, these sticks are designed to be modded by the users. There's a C clip on the end of the joystick shaft, just remove that and the spring and actuator can be replaced, then put the C clip back on and put the stick back together, takes about 10 minutes. I got my parts from Focus Attack they are knockoff Sanwa JLF's so any of the parts for that stick will work. You could even upgrade all the parts in the ArcadeR with genuine parts if you really wanted to. Well now I know how to get custom purple buttons/knob.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 I think an all black one with a single red button would look the biz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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