Ben from Plaion Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Got a couple of prototypes made to play around with. Two wireless CX40+ Joysticks, one identical to CX40+ internally save for an internal battery and no wire and the other with internals redesigned to have microswitches instead of the elastomer pads. Both are great. The wireless CX40+ really is super convenient for obvious reasons and the microswitched control is quite something - precise, clicky but not totally alien to the feel of the regular CX40+ (throw distance similar, same shape and elastomer fire button) This is not an announcement of anything being released, I'm just showing a bit of behind the scenes activity which usually comes to nothing. 14 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetmanUK Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) Nice. Thank you for sharing this, even if they never see the light of day, it's a fun peek behind the curtain. I probably wouldn't bother with a wireless controller personally, but the microswitched one would be very cool. Edited March 15 by JetmanUK 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane857 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I would buy it. apparently Atari were thinking of releasing these...back in the day. From what I have read, They scrapped it because they shared the same frequencies as baby monitors etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 The microswitch idea is cool. Reminds me of the old competition pro! Not so much a wireless guy, but cool nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 (edited) 19 minutes ago, hizzy said: The microswitch idea is cool. Reminds me of the old competition pro! Not so much a wireless guy, but cool nonetheless. Exactly competition pro lol! Wireless after experiencing it is complete no brainer. You leave it where you last sat - at your desk or on the couch, makes you pick it up again rather then the birds nest of wires near your machine. Edited March 15 by Ben from Plaion 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Ben from Plaion said: Exactly competition pro lol! Wireless after experiencing it is complete no brainer. You leave it where you last sat - at your desk or on the couch, makes you pick it up again rather then the birds nest of wires near your machine. Maybe I should get with the times and try wireless. It would be nice to get away from the birds nest. The competition pro was relaunched in recent years. I never tried the new one but I'm a fan of the old. There are many fan made micro switch joysticks. Yours has a nice form factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Ben from Plaion said: Exactly competition pro lol! Wireless after experiencing it is complete no brainer. You leave it where you last sat - at your desk or on the couch, makes you pick it up again rather then the birds nest of wires near your machine. ...except when you leave it somewhere, for too long, and then the battery is dead when you want to play. Then you have a wireless brick, for 2-8 hours while it charges. Then what happens when the battery no longer takes a charge...is the battery available as a replaceable spare part...or is it then just a permanent wireless brick. It's a double-edged sword with wireless...there are pros and cons. If I have to plug a cable into it to charge...then hard pass. If it has a "drop on" dock...then maybe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean_1970 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I’d do wireless if it had wired backup - like how you can plug in your PlayStation controller if need be. Not sure what that would look like - USB-C port on the stick connected to a USB-C - DB9 cable? Microswitched CX40 sounds like a no-brainer. I picked up some old stick, no company, just said “Sure Shot” on it and it’s microswitched and auto-centres and is pretty cool. Button mechanism is pretty much ass, but works - I wish it had any kind of conventional mechanism 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane857 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 On 3/15/2024 at 6:54 PM, Ben from Plaion said: Got a couple of prototypes made to play around with. Two wireless CX40+ Joysticks, one identical to CX40+ internally save for an internal battery and no wire and the other with internals redesigned to have microswitches instead of the elastomer pads. Both are great. The wireless CX40+ really is super convenient for obvious reasons and the microswitched control is quite something - precise, clicky but not totally alien to the feel of the regular CX40+ (throw distance similar, same shape and elastomer fire button) This is not an announcement of anything being released, I'm just showing a bit of behind the scenes activity which usually comes to nothing. The microswitched version would also be cool. If somehow 2600/7800 games that use the control switches. difficulty left right/game select/reset switches could be mapped to the buttons? 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 22 hours ago, doubledown said: ...except when you leave it somewhere, for too long, and then the battery is dead when you want to play. Then you have a wireless brick, for 2-8 hours while it charges. Then what happens when the battery no longer takes a charge...is the battery available as a replaceable spare part...or is it then just a permanent wireless brick. It's a double-edged sword with wireless...there are pros and cons. If I have to plug a cable into it to charge...then hard pass. If it has a "drop on" dock...then maybe. Username checks out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 It is very cool to see new things being developed...or at least prototyped at this phase. I personally have never had any issues with original (assuming functional) CX-40s, I've been using them for more than 40+ years now, and still use one to this day occasionally. I haven't yet had a chance to try out the CX40+...still new in the box...I'm sure I'll open it at some point. I am certain a microswitch variant would be greatly appreciated by those who adore their "clicky" joysticks. So long as the microswitches require a reasonably low operating force, I'm sure it would be a hit, and a big seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I don't know if Ben or anyone here has used the Best Electronics CX 40 but I find that to be the best compromise between microswitches and the dome type. I would buy a microswitch CX40 from Atari in a heartbeat. The Atari CX 40 form factor is great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 27 minutes ago, hizzy said: I don't know if Ben or anyone here has used the Best Electronics CX 40 but I find that to be the best compromise between microswitches and the dome type. I would buy a microswitch CX40 from Atari in a heartbeat. The Atari CX 40 form factor is great. I kept reading about these Best Electronics joysticks, as far as I understood it they made replacement parts that had improved on the original design. They are also interchangable with the original. I wanted one but couldnt actually find one to buy on their site. Quite the brutalist design that site. I kind of knew from the early days of making the CX40+ that internals would be markedly different to the original. I concentrated on ensuring it was as close to the original in feel but perhaps a tiny bit lighter / nicer in the hand. It would be cool to engineer a CX40+ with microswitches, its a very nice feeling. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetmanUK Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Back in the day I used a CX-40 and a PowerPlay Cruiser, my two favourites of all joysticks. The Cruiser was fully microswitched so it had the edge with regards to responsiveness, but I just like the hand feel of the CX-40. I think add microswitches and take a notch off the bottom of the top corners like the Trooper and it's perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 42 minutes ago, hizzy said: I don't know if Ben or anyone here has used the Best Electronics CX 40 but I find that to be the best compromise between microswitches and the dome type. 💯 agree. I ordered a pair when they first came out and liked them so much, that I ordered another pair. They work well, have a nice silicone boot, and a seven foot cord. If you prefer CX-40, I would recommend this joystick. I also like the CX-10s and have a couple pair in my collection. @Ben from Plaion if Atari were to make/sell joysticks with micro switches, I’d definitely buy them. 17 minutes ago, Ben from Plaion said: I wanted one but couldnt actually find one to buy on their site. Quite the brutalist design that site. You can read about them here. In all honesty, it’s best to contact them by phone and ask for their Lifetime Gold CX40 with lifetime silicone boot and handle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANJIMMY Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) On 3/16/2024 at 1:01 AM, hizzy said: Maybe I should get with the times and try wireless. It would be nice to get away from the birds nest. The competition pro was relaunched in recent years. I never tried the new one but I'm a fan of the old. There are many fan made micro switch joysticks. Yours has a nice form factor. The rereleased Competition Pro were ok but not great. They had those little triangle buttons from later versions, I put button B for 7800 games on, by the little resistor mod. Actually there exist many many different versions of the Competition Pro and I like only one model. If you want a new kind of Comp Pro like joystick, the ArcadeR joystick from the picture works well, the micro switches feel like arcade style. Anyway, a new joystick from Plaion/Atari should support A/B buttons for 7800 games 😊 Edited March 18 by DEANJIMMY 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mockduck Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 3/15/2024 at 4:56 PM, shane857 said: I would buy it. apparently Atari were thinking of releasing these...back in the day. From what I have read, They scrapped it because they shared the same frequencies as baby monitors etc. Just FYI these were in fact released, they work pretty well given the time they were released. Used radio frequency. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+x=usr(1536) Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 @Ben from Plaion: If you can get your hands on them, I'll recommend the CommodoreKazz Version 3 CX-40 replacement PCBs. I've got them in a half-dozen CX-40s, and they really work well. He used to sell them on eBay, but they've disappeared from both there and his website - hence why I say, "if you can get your hands on them'. Here's a photo of the V1.5 and V3.0 PCBs; note the larger microswitches on the V3 model. Really nicely-made; perhaps it might be worth contacting him to see if there are any plans for a new run. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 24 minutes ago, Mockduck said: Just FYI these were in fact released, they work pretty well given the time they were released. Used radio frequency. I use mine every now and then. They have been known to make an appearance during our game nights. Our friends get a kick out of them. Btw, another company (GameMate 2) also made them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane857 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 4 hours ago, sramirez2008 said: I use mine every now and then. They have been known to make an appearance during our game nights. Our friends get a kick out of them. Btw, another company (GameMate 2) also made them. How responsive are they using them now? I suppose using them back in the day...there would have been a lot more things interfering with the radio frequency? 🤔 Have you tried them on the 2600+? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 1 hour ago, shane857 said: How responsive are they using them now? They’re fine, just big & bulky. I have not tried them with the 2600+. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stamos Mullet Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 In my humble, untested with these particular joysticks opinion - I love me some Microswitch joystick. I have authentic Sanwa JLF's In my Arcade 1up Retropie conversion cabs, and they are fantastic. That being said, I don't know that you can really get a proper microswitch stick with the right amount of throw into a CX40 sized case and have it feel right. To me, Microswitch style sticks are made for the abuse of a standup cabinet, and the hand holding the case could get real crampy trying to manage that much throw in a handheld. Unless it's a really tight stick throw, which would be fairly stiff. Not a big fan of that. microswitch sticks that are too tight with the spring and switches is a lot of work on middle aged flab claws. But still... cool. I like it. When I was 14 I would've spent all my paperboy money on that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Meh, leaf joystick ftw. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudografx Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 I'd definitely buy those micro-switched wireless CX-40s, and the transparent shell looks cool. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GcMcM Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 3/18/2024 at 10:34 AM, Ben from Plaion said: I kept reading about these Best Electronics joysticks, as far as I understood it they made replacement parts that had improved on the original design. They are also interchangable with the original. I wanted one but couldnt actually find one to buy on their site. Quite the brutalist design that site. I kind of knew from the early days of making the CX40+ that internals would be markedly different to the original. I concentrated on ensuring it was as close to the original in feel but perhaps a tiny bit lighter / nicer in the hand. It would be cool to engineer a CX40+ with microswitches, its a very nice feeling. I just rebuilt my failing CX40 with a Best Electronics kit that includes their gold PCB and new plastic handle. Joystick feels great now and solved my intermittent down direction failures. I also struggled with the Best Electronics website so I found it on Ebay for just a few dollars more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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