Radica Space Invaders > 7800 joystick

[Paranoid]

I've got a new one sealed in the box I bought from GameCrazy for $5. They made sense to mod at that price. I'm just not sure if I want to make this one a 7800 stick or a 5200 PMP stick.

 

At $20, you would be better off to do the exact same mod with a used Ms. Pac Man stick by Zakk's Pacific which you can pick up for about $.50 plus $5 s/h from E-bay.

[Prodos8]

Yeah, I've still got a few of these around. Haven't decided what to do with'em but couldn't really pass 'em up for $5 each.

 

@ Paranoid

 

While Che may very well be worm food now, Felix Rodriguez IMO wasn't responsible for his death. I believe the Bolivian army went off half-cocked and executed him for some, unknown to me anyway, reason. He was, after all, an intelligence treasure-trove for the US as such better alive than dead.

[Paranoid]

Heh...

 

Prodos8...

 

As you are probably aware, I am not allowed to talk about political matters here on the forum. But I agree with you.

 

I'd just like to sell T-shirts with this image on them at College Campuses across the nation.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Paranoid

[Prodos8]

Heh...

 

Prodos8...

 

As you are probably aware, I am not allowed to talk about political matters here on the forum. But I agree with you.

 

I'd just like to sell T-shirts with this image on them at College Campuses across the nation.

 

I'd buy one of those T-shirts. After all, Felix Rodriguez is a real American hero.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Prodos8

[Asaki]

Man, whish I would've found this thread two years ago when these were still for sale >_<

 

Sounds like they're a really great joystick. Would be even nicer if they had three buttons in a row for MAME play or something.

[Prodos8]

Man, whish I would've found this thread two years ago when these were still for sale >_<

 

Sounds like they're a really great joystick. Would be even nicer if they had three buttons in a row for MAME play or something.

YGPM!

[atarian63]

Am I the only one who likes the Space Invaders joystick?  I think Space Invaders, Phoenix, and Colony 7 are pretty good.  I didn't play Qix enough to comment on it, but from what I tried, it didn't seem that bad.  Now the Konami stick... that's a whole 'nother story...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No. I like the games too. It gets about equal time as Pole Position and Galaga on the Ms. Pacman Stick. I cannot bring myself to cannibalize it. I will have to buy extra's to do that with.

 

I think that a lot of the people that don't like the radica stick's games didn't play them much in the Arcade as Kids. I could be wrong here, as some of the posters are in their late 30's like me, but I think the games are fairly close to original as you can get without turning your TV on its side and sticking it in a cabinet with cigarette burns on the controls.

Same here I thought they were pretty good

[Paranoid]

Eh...

 

Might be that I am JUST hitting my late 30s, so most of the titles on the Radica were before my glory days and of the generation in Jr. High right before me.

 

I associate titles like Asteroids and Space Invaders with guys with shoulder length feathered hair and the faint smell of cigarette smoke and weed about them and B.O.C. logos on their Peechee folders.

[NinjaWarrior]

This Space Invaders Joystick is great for Space Invaders 7800

[AtariLeaf]

Just picked up one of those Radica SI units this past week.

Is anyone still offering the modding service to turn this into a 7800 stick?

[Paranoid]

Dude... the 7800 conversion is dead-simple easy. The 5200 conversion is a lot more tricky, but I even managed to do THAT one, too...

 

And my 8th grade instructor had to make all the matheletes in class finish my final project in Electronics Class, so he could pass me. If I can do it, you can too.

[AtariLeaf]

Dude... the 7800 conversion is dead-simple easy. The 5200 conversion is a lot more tricky, but I even managed to do THAT one, too...

 

And my 8th grade instructor had to make all the matheletes in class finish my final project in Electronics Class, so he could pass me. If I can do it, you can too.

 

Not for someone as technically inept as me. Trust me, I'd screw it up. I need a professional (ok, an enthusiast) to do it for me.

[+5-11under]

Off topic perhaps, but are the games on this thing faster than they should be, or am I just getting old (or both?).

 

Thanks,

5-11under

[jaybird3rd]

Dude... the 7800 conversion is dead-simple easy. The 5200 conversion is a lot more tricky, but I even managed to do THAT one, too...

 

And my 8th grade instructor had to make all the matheletes in class finish my final project in Electronics Class, so he could pass me. If I can do it, you can too.

Not for someone as technically inept as me. Trust me, I'd screw it up. I need a professional (ok, an enthusiast) to do it for me.

If you still need to have your RSI stick modded for the 7800, I can help you out. PM me if you're interested.

[jaybird3rd]

Off topic perhaps, but are the games on this thing faster than they should be, or am I just getting old (or both?).

I didn't play any of them long enough to notice if they were faster than the originals. The most frustrating thing to me about these units (and this applies to most other TV-game controllers as well) is that the hardware they used was easily capable of much better renditions of these classic games. The slipshod versions of the games on these controllers always felt about 70% finished, lacking any of the polish or refinement that could have made them decent ports of the originals. To see what a garden-variety NOAC chipset can really do in the hands of great programmers, for example, get a hold of one of the Jakks Pacific Atari 13-in-1 paddles (if you can still find them).

 

The surprisingly good joystick mechanism that Radica came up with for the RSI stick really is the best thing about it, which is why I consider the 7800 modification as an upgrade: it lets you use the joystick with a much better set of games.

[Breakpack]

Wish someone had a set to sell...........

[suaiden]

Wish someone had a set to sell...........

 

Looks like Game Express is selling them for 14.99. http://www.gameexpress.com/product_detail....PC=745938740641

[jaybird3rd]

Okay, it's time to sweep the dust off of this thread! I've made an interesting discovery about the Radica Space Invaders joysticks that I wanted to share.

 

I recently acquired a Radica Gamester arcade joystick controller for the XBox. I first learned of this joystick a few years ago, and I finally decided to get one because I wanted to see how closely it resembled the RSI internally. In particular, I wanted to see if the joystick assembly was the same in the two units, and if Radica made any changes to it in the XBox version that might improve the responsiveness of the diagonals (this issue was brought to my attention by another AtariAge member who recently bought an RSI set from me and wanted to know if the diagonals could be fixed).

 

When I received the controller, I opened it up immediately, and I discovered that the hardware inside is indeed almost identical to that of the RSI. I didn't see any significant differences between the two joystick assemblies, so it seems that it was only intended to be a four-way joystick in all its variations. I'd like to start another thread about the diagonals issue because I still want to find a solution for the other member, if possible. But, while I wasn't able to learn anything new about the joystick, I did notice something interesting about the action buttons:

 

 

As I've mentioned before in this thread, I've always felt that the buttons in the RSI were a little too soft (or too "loose," if you prefer). Like the joystick, the buttons used in the XBox controller are the same as those in the RSI, but in the XBox version, Radica also clipped small microswitches into the base of each of the buttons! Interestingly, these microswitches are not actually connected to anything; the joystick wiring is still attached to the rubber dome switch, which is sandwiched between the button and the microswitch. The microswitches are there merely to improve the tactile feedback, but this simple change seems to work pretty well: it makes the buttons more firm and adds a reassuring "click." They're still not quite as smooth as "arcade authentic" buttons would be, since the rubber dome switch is still in there, but they're much better than they were before and more on par with the excellent quality of the joystick itself.

 

It looks as if Radica simply left out the extra microswitches in the cheaper RSI, and surely enough, they fit perfectly into the RSI button assemblies:

 

 

 

These are snap action microswitches, approximately 19.5mm (L) x 6.5mm (W) x 9mm (H), not including the actuator button. They also have a small foam pad added to the top of the switch, which is the same height as the button. This is the closest and most reasonably-priced match that I've been able to find so far, but I haven't tried them myself yet so I can't confirm that they will fit (I'll post an update on this later). Just the same, I thought it might be interesting to bring this potential upgrade idea to the attention of other RSI owners, in case they'd like to upgrade their own joysticks in this way. If you find a suitable set of switches, all you have to do to perform the upgrade is to snap them in place; you don't have to solder any wires or remove the button assemblies from the joystick.

 

(Mea culpa: Unfortunately, some of those who bought a set of RSI joysticks from me might have to rearrange the wires in their joysticks first: in the first few joysticks that I modified for the 7800, when I was still experimenting with the process, I used the empty groove in the button assemblies as a convenient place to route the wires, and I sometimes secured them in place with a dab of hot glue. Now that I know what those grooves were for, I regret doing this, and I also regret that I didn't know about this upgrade sooner because I would have loved to include it in all of the joysticks that I worked on.)

[gdement]

Interesting discovery! Thanks for posting that - I still have a bunch of these joysticks I bought a long time ago, but have only modified a couple. I also didn't like the feel of the buttons, so this is interesting.

Edited May 18, 2010 by gdement

[atari_envy]

+1

 

I love my RSI stick. My complaints (as you mentioned) are the feel of the buttons and the diagonal issue. So any updates would be appreciated.

[caver]

What's wrong with the diagonals? What do you guys mean unresponsive? You can never trigger a diagonal? only with great finesse? Maybe it just takes some getting used to?

 

Did you find a solution jaybird (I didn't see the "other" thread you said you were going to discuss it in, please point me there if you did indeed start it)?

 

CAVer

[Rex Dart]

I've got a new one sealed in the box I bought from GameCrazy for $5. They made sense to mod at that price. I'm just not sure if I want to make this one a 7800 stick or a 5200 PMP stick.

 

At $20, you would be better off to do the exact same mod with a used Ms. Pac Man stick by Zakk's Pacific which you can pick up for about $.50 plus $5 s/h from E-bay.

 

 

Am I missing something, or are these Ms Pac Man sticks for lefties only? Am I looking at the wrong model?

 

 

By the way, this thread could honestly be called "Connecting Bare Wires > 7800 joystick". Took me 20 years to find a worse controller than my Quickshot megadrive pad, but 7800 official joystick, there you are.

[Lord Helmet]

What's wrong with the diagonals? What do you guys mean unresponsive? You can never trigger a diagonal? only with great finesse? Maybe it just takes some getting used to?

 

 

I've never had an issue with diagonals. The buttons are a bit mushy, but the stick is really responsive in my experience.

 

 

 

 

Am I missing something, or are these Ms Pac Man sticks for lefties only? Am I looking at the wrong model?

 

 

 

How would a joystick be for lefties only?

Edited October 6, 2010 by Lord Helmet

[Rex Dart]

Eh, you know what I mean. It's designed so that you'd hold the stick with your right hand and hit the buttons with your left. Counter-intuitive for most people who didn't grow up playing funky old arcade cabinets before the "stick on the left, buttons on the right" standardization.

[jaybird3rd]

What's wrong with the diagonals? What do you guys mean unresponsive? You can never trigger a diagonal? only with great finesse? Maybe it just takes some getting used to?

 

Did you find a solution jaybird (I didn't see the "other" thread you said you were going to discuss it in, please point me there if you did indeed start it)?

 

CAVer

Some users reported having difficulty with the RSI joysticks (particularly with Robotron, as I recall) because the engagement zone for the diagonals is narrower than on a true eight-direction arcade joystick. On an eight-direction stick, the diagonals have their own switches, but in four-direction joysticks, you have to make contact with two directions simultaneously. This means that you have to hit the diagonals much more precisely, or that you have to rotate the joysticks a bit to "find" the diagonal. This website does a good job of explaining how arcade joysticks and joystick restrictors work.

 

I don't recall having much of a problem with this, and the diagonals in the RSI sticks work fine for my purposes, but I was going to look into a replacement restrictor or some other modification to the RSI sticks to make the diagonals more responsive. I never actually started the other thread; I began working on my Aquarius multi-cart project around the same time, and that's kept me very busy ever since.

 

As for the microswitch modification that I mentioned in my previous post: I did get a batch of the switches I linked to, and they're almost suitable for the RSI, but the button on the top of the switch is a little taller than the ones in the XBox controller. This means that the microswitch closes before the rubber dome switch, which can be confusing to people who don't know what's going on: it feels like the switch closed, but it didn't, because the rubber dome switch is the one that's actually connected to the 7800. I suppose I could wire up the microswitch instead, but I didn't try this. I'll revisit the project at some point, after I have the multi-cart finished.