radiohead Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 3/8/2024 at 9:01 PM, radiohead said: So here we are a few weeks later and I have the EXACT same problem as before as I had with my a previous set of new CX30+... a shaky, jitter on one of the paddles. I would say the paddles have less than 2 hours of actual use. They are stored inside an storage box with a lid with my other game controllers, so no dust and they're not being knocked about or dropped. When plugging in with the 5 pins on top, the problem paddle is the right controller - which like the last pair of controllers, felt just slightly looser than the more stiff left controller. Maybe it's a production issue with the stock that Amazon sells? I sprayed Deoxit Contact Cleaner on the metal stem and worked it in since the potentiometer inside seems completely encased in plastic. Well, it made the jitter go away, but only temporarily. The jitter is back and the contact cleaner now has made the spin far more slippery. Anybody else experience jittery-ness in a new set of CX30+... bought from Amazon... on the east coast of the U.S.? Could it be Stella or the 2600-datop? I have no real Atari hardware to test it out on. I'm about ready to give up on all this. Ugh! 2 hours ago, fiudr said: So the issue with the resolution of the paddle movements being limited on the 1600+...Is this an issue with the new paddles they're selling, or the Atari 2600+ system itself? I'm considering buying a set of their paddles just to use with my Retron77 (using the community firmware and OG cable adapter for the paddles) and Stella on my PC. Are the new paddles themselves capable of performing as well as the original paddles, and it's the 2600+hardware/firmware at fault? I bought 2 sets of the new paddles for use on my PC & Raspberry Pi running Stella and using the 2600-daptor. Both sets had developed jitter fairly quickly. I returned them both to Amazon and thoughly cleaned a set of OG paddles bought from a retro game store. The OG paddles have been jitter-free and have smooth motion for nearly 2 months now. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 The new paddles produced for the 2600+ work just like the old paddles on a PAL 7800 console. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiudr Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 (edited) Sounds like with all things these days there's some QC issues, and if you get a good set of paddles they're great and work like the originals, but you might get a set that has issues. But it sounds like if you get a good set, they should give the same resolution as the originals if used with an original Atari or through an emulator or Retron77. Edited April 23 by fiudr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaNZ Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Sorry if this has been answered (I did scan quickly) but I just got a 2600+ with paddles - overall very happy with them BUT the second paddle doesn't work in Breakout for some odd reason. It works fine in Video Olympics. What could cause this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaNZ Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 On 4/24/2024 at 4:38 PM, MantaNZ said: Sorry if this has been answered (I did scan quickly) but I just got a 2600+ with paddles - overall very happy with them BUT the second paddle doesn't work in Breakout for some odd reason. It works fine in Video Olympics. What could cause this? Sorry @Ben from Plaion but would you perhaps be able to answer this for me? perhaps it was overlooked during testing? It only affects the team games in breakout where two players can play at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroguy Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 The Paddles have been a sore point of the 2600+ experience. I don't like using the paddles on the 2600+ or even on real hardware at all. The lack of resolution on the 2600+ and reliability problems leave a lot to be desired. One of my Paddles developed a blind spot which means when playing some games you can't place the player in some positions. So I opened up the Paddles and swapped the potentiometers between player-1 and player-2. This made single player games usable again. However, now the Paddle has developed significant jitter that seems to get worse as time progresses. The potentiometers seem to be sealed and I haven't tried to disassemble this, but I don't feel I should be doing this with such a relatively new product. At some point I'll get frustrated enough to attempt to source replacement potentiometers or maybe I'll get lucky a find an original used set at a reasonable price or just build my own. Just to finish on a positive note, I am extremely happy with the 2600+, it's rekindled gaming for me in a very good way and I'm having a lot of fun tinkering, collecting and gaming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stamos Mullet Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 13 hours ago, astroguy said: The Paddles have been a sore point of the 2600+ experience. I don't like using the paddles on the 2600+ or even on real hardware at all. The lack of resolution on the 2600+ and reliability problems leave a lot to be desired. One of my Paddles developed a blind spot which means when playing some games you can't place the player in some positions. So I opened up the Paddles and swapped the potentiometers between player-1 and player-2. This made single player games usable again. However, now the Paddle has developed significant jitter that seems to get worse as time progresses. The potentiometers seem to be sealed and I haven't tried to disassemble this, but I don't feel I should be doing this with such a relatively new product. At some point I'll get frustrated enough to attempt to source replacement potentiometers or maybe I'll get lucky a find an original used set at a reasonable price or just build my own. Just to finish on a positive note, I am extremely happy with the 2600+, it's rekindled gaming for me in a very good way and I'm having a lot of fun tinkering, collecting and gaming. Paddle resolution is something that is being worked on. From what I've heard, the chip on the controllers board is update-able, so it's possible. No timetable on release for that though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Why would new paddles develop jitter? I know on the old ones it was the grease in the pot deteriorated, or got dirty, and would cause jitter, but it seems brand new paddles shouldn't suffer for years. Is the grease poorer quality? I couldn't see them collecting dirt or grime being new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroguy Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 5 hours ago, Video said: Why would new paddles develop jitter? it's a good question and hard to answer without more investigation into the potentiometers. The potentiometers are sealed and barely used, so it's not obvious. It's also possible I was dealt a lemon, but true durability can only be measured by the community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerminousCoot Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 On 4/2/2024 at 1:49 PM, VerminousCoot said: It's been 28 days since I opened the support ticket with Atari about my jittery CX30+ paddles and sent them the same video I posted here, no updates yet other than "We wanted to inform you that we are actively working on the issue you've shared with us. It's taking more time than usual, but please rest assured that we will share an update as soon as I receive it from our team." Another month and radio silence from Atari. I bumped the support ticket and they left me on read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Are there games that will autodetect paddles and joysticks? For a single player game like my Easter for 7800 I would like to autodetect anything connected to any port and use it automatically. Has this been done in some games before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 5 hours ago, karri said: Are there games that will autodetect paddles and joysticks? Yup. AFAIK Astroblast is the only original 2600 game which does that. And some modern homebrews are doing the same. Also the Harmony cart detects and support joysticks, paddles and driving controllers. 5 hours ago, karri said: For a single player game like my Easter for 7800 I would like to autodetect anything connected to any port and use it automatically. Has this been done in some games before? This might work for some controllers, but most likely not for all. Also the game has to be programmed to make use of a certain controller. Not many games support multiple controller types. And if they do, then mostly variants of the same type (e.g. joysticks having extra buttons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Thanks! This helps a lot. I believe that paddles may work better with solitaire games than a joystick. So I plan to add paddles shortly. I would also like to use either paddle from the two paddles on the cable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 If you programmed a game, you could have it detect an action. Like boot a game and have "press fire to start" then when you press fire, it could detect wether you pressed fire on a joystick, which is fire, or on a paddle, which I believe their fire is actually joystick left or right. I'd see this as doable. Actually, iirc, the pot on a paddle is always on right? Maybe just detect pot or no pot for paddle or joystick when the system boots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TampaBay Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Video said: Actually, iirc, the pot on a paddle is always on right? Maybe just detect pot or no pot for paddle or joystick when the system boots? Interesting that you just mentioned this, because I was trying to see if I could get my paddles working in Batocera the other day in Super Breakout. The left paddle fire button moved the Breakout "paddle" left, and the right paddle fire button moved the Breakout "paddle" right. I wasn't able to get the spinners to do anything, but I only tried for a couple of minutes. Edited April 28 by TampaBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroguy Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I took apart the CX-30+ Paddles again to have a closer look. I've found that that shaft has significant wobble from the potentiometers. If I wobble the shaft without applying rotation I see paddle movement. All the slop in movement seems to translate into a significant amount of jitter when playing and doesn't give me much confidence in long-term reliability. I don't see an easy fix other than trying to source new parts, which will be non-trivial as you need a slotted drive shaft of sufficient length and the part needs nice smooth motion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerminousCoot Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 I picked up a set of used CX30 paddles from a local game store for $20CAD and they are way better than my defective CX30+ set that Atari doesn't want to take back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 Oh, that sux. Sounds like a tolerance issue, like the shaft should be the same size as the hole and shouldn't wobble, the originals don't, and at least my new ones don't either, well haven't taken them apart, but the knob doesn't wobble on the controller base. Could be a qc issue. I'm pretty sure they had to have that pot specifically custom made, at least I wasn't previously aware of an equivalent prior to the new cx30+, short of trying to refresh an original set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorxs Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 Has anyone seen improvement with paddle games like Kaboom! with the latest r3 firmware yet? I still don't feel like the paddles are very responsive and are jittery. Curious if others feel the same, or perhaps this is an issue with the new CX30+ paddles? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad5200 Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 3 hours ago, yorxs said: Has anyone seen improvement with paddle games like Kaboom! with the latest r3 firmware yet? I still don't feel like the paddles are very responsive and are jittery. Curious if others feel the same, or perhaps this is an issue with the new CX30+ paddles? No change. Same as original firmware that came with 2600+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dionoid Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 On 5/24/2024 at 10:39 PM, yorxs said: Has anyone seen improvement with paddle games like Kaboom! with the latest r3 firmware yet? I still don't feel like the paddles are very responsive and are jittery. Curious if others feel the same, or perhaps this is an issue with the new CX30+ paddles? I've updated to the latest r3 firmware, but - like you described - my (original) paddles also feel jittery and not very responsive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maztr_0n Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 On 11/23/2023 at 2:22 PM, MittyOz said: Wondering what everyone thinks of the Paddles. I'm pretty happy with them. They're a bit stiff, but hopefully this will improve over time. The build quality is amazing, they seem exactly the same physically as my original paddles (though they work much better, my old ones have a bit of jiggle/drift). They're also the item that appears to just have sold out online, you can't get them anywhere. Very glad I pre-ordered just for those. Which games are you playing with your paddles, how are you finding them? keeping in mind i have never used a paddle controller, let alone one on real hardware but so far. I really like it, the button does feel, idk how to describe it, a little spongy sounding/feeling at times, for awhile i was a bit dismissive of the prospect of playing much with it, especially since i'm the only real games player in the house. But night driver never felt better! I only have the 4 in 1 cart so i'm not sure i have anything else for paddles. I know Warlords is good but Warlords without at least one another person is just not the same i imagine, Video Olympics aka Pong is cool, but i dont like how the only real 1 player version of it is one where your paddle is tiny! And it is a bit tricky on telling where the center is to be percise in driving. Would be cool to see new driving controllers someday though, perhaps with 2 buttons as to be a new one with some implied 7800 compatibility, but the paddle is great enough! tons of fun seem to be on the menu! btw i have tried canyon bomber but idk i think its a RTFM game as i am confused as to what i am, what i'm doing and how i'm supposed to do what i done did need to done do, it seems fun but as of now i just... i am not sure what to do so i will agree that it is good but i wont know why yet. breakout is awesome tho! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrChickenz Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 On 4/22/2024 at 4:50 PM, radiohead said: I bought 2 sets of the new paddles for use on my PC & Raspberry Pi running Stella and using the 2600-daptor. Both sets had developed jitter fairly quickly. I returned them both to Amazon and thoughly cleaned a set of OG paddles bought from a retro game store. The OG paddles have been jitter-free and have smooth motion for nearly 2 months now. My new CX30+ paddles also developed jitter. One of my posts I mentioned how I cleaned original paddle sets.And how I used a Spray & Stay Gel Lubricant for (electronics) on the potentiometer. I stated that it only works on original paddles, that’s not correct I just used it on my new CX30+ paddles and it works great! I can now play Super Breakout with my new CX30+ paddles! Note: Super Breakout still has a course feel but it’s definitely playable for me now with the New CX30 + paddles! This I believe eliminates jitter. I believe the potentiometer needs an Electronic Gel Lubricant to eliminate jitter! For me this works! I’m not saying you should have to do this for a new set of paddles. But for me it’s no problem. It’s just 2 screws to remove from the back of the paddle controller and one nut to access the shaft to the potentiometer. Unlike the original set of paddles the potentiometer is riveted closed. All I did was use Spray & Stay Gel Lubricant where I drew a yellow line in the picture 3 times to be sure it went down to the potentiometer. Spray turn back and forth repeat two more times. No more jitter! Try at your own risk! I’m just saying it worked for me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrChickenz Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 The New CX30+ paddles on Super Breakout Game Select 5. Before and After Gel Spray. IMG_0577.mov IMG_0690.mov 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrChickenz Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong. Please and Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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