So, I´m back with an update.... FINALLY! ;) I went from the Ultimarc Mag-stik Plus to the Ultrastic 360 (In the picture above). There is a very big difference between these two joysticks as they connect very differently to your computer. The Mag-stik uses standard spade connectors and all directions of the stick has to be wired to a joystick interface like the Ultimarc Mini-Pac. These interfaces are used to fool your computer into believing that you´ve attached a keyboard.
This is the lower part of the Ultrastic 360. It has its own interface card on board. This way I can connect up to 8 buttons and let each joystick program these. It also uses a non-contac magnet instead of physically pushing connectors to give orders to the computer. The joysticks I received was waaaaay to soft for my liking. Also the ball-top handle was to short for my hands. I had to order harder springs, new handles and also two plastic restrictors (The clear plastic with jagged edges in the above pic) to restrict the movement of the joystick. I have to say that it was a bit of a hassle to change the parts.
Here you see the control panel so far. I´ve attached the joysticks via Rasmus Koenigs superb invisible joystick bracket that has been glued to the backside of the CP. It was just for me to put each joystick on the brackets and fasten them with shims and nuts. I´ve also drilled holes for screws for fastening the CP to the cabinet. They´ve been counter sinked so that they´re flush with the artwok, but still available if any crisis should occur.
But there is one thing that is bugging me. The lower 1-player action button collides with the left 1-player button. This is a real problem!! I might have to switch to shorter buttons on the player-1 button. This is not a design flaw, bu rather me fu.... up the original drawings... Note to self. 1. Next time I´ll fit the cabinet to the CP and not the other way around. 2. MDF-CP FTW!! Alu is not an option for future projects!
Thanks for reading, and do not hesitate to mail me with any question you might have!
Cheers!
Bjorn
