Itsy bitsy teeny weenie inputs

[Jess Ragan]

I'm thinking about building my own little arcade cabinet. I've already turned a wooden box into a housing for the cabinet, and I've got a small Android tablet that will fit into it. The big problem is finding a controller that will fit inside the front of the housing. I've got several options, including...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Acxico-Joystick-Switch-Momentary-Fixing/dp/B083XY33VD/

 

This cute little number. It costs thirteen dollars but looks like it would work pretty well when coupled with a handful of small buttons and an encoder. It would take some drilling, but worse than that, it would be expensive... thirty five dollars for the stick, the buttons, and the encoder. Size may also be an issue for the cabinet I'm building. In addition to all that, I don't know how it feels, and won't know until I buy it and test it for myself.

 

https://www.amazon.com/10x10x9mm-Momentary-Square-Tactile-Switch/dp/B00E6QM2F0/

 

These are both tiny and cheap, which I like. Unfortunately, they're so small that they're difficult to solder to without melting the whole joystick. Buttons and an encoder would be a necessary added expense.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Joystick-Functions-Compatible-Nintendo/dp/B0C1S94MD4/

 

This is tempting! It's a Chinese micro joystick with all the buttons, and an encoder is unnecessary as all that tech is built into the stick. On the down side, I can't test it to see how it feels, and Amazon reviews suggest that it's barely satisfactory as a joystick (although I can't imagine it being worse than the Namco Museum arcade cabinet from MyArcade). Also, I'd need to shave a few millimeters off the sides to make it work with my current set up.

 

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I could also harvest a hat switch from an old analog PC joystick, but I don't know how well that would work as a long-term solution.

 

If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear 'em! Because man, I am low on options, particularly cheap ones.