jojo@astroatc.UUCP (Jon Wesener) (03/03/88)
After deciding to get a joystick, I found that there are many to choose
from, but without pictures or descriptions, names are just meaningless.
Does anybody have a favorite brand/type of joystick they'd recommend?
thanx in advance,
--j
--
jon wesener
... {seismo | harvard | ihnp4} ! {uwvax | cs.wisc.edu} ! astroatc!jojo
"The devil will find work for idle hands to do..."cs178abu@sdcc8.ucsd.EDU (John Schultz) (03/07/88)
>Does anybody have a favorite brand/type of joystick they'd recommend? >jon wesener El cheapo (what I use): Kraft, @ $7-10, they work great. Mas dinero: Basically *any* Wico. Pick the design you like best. Those suckers are beefy! (steel main shaft, real micro-switches...) John
lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) (03/23/88)
In article <882@astroatc.UUCP>, jojo@astroatc.UUCP (Jon Wesener) writes: > After deciding to get a joystick, I found that there are many to choose > from, but without pictures or descriptions, names are just meaningless. > Does anybody have a favorite brand/type of joystick they'd recommend? > I am also in the market for a new joystick. Why am I looking for a new one? Why doesn't my current joystick provide me with many soul-satisfying hours of Romulan/Martian/Evil-Gooey-Looking_Things_From-Hell bashing? I'll tell you why. SLOPPY DESIGN. Several years ago (when I was a true computer neophyte) I purchased a VIC-20 (wince!). At that time I found what appeared to be a truly revolutionary joystick. It had suction-cup feet!! Gee-whiz! That was neat! Imagine... one hand for the joystick, and one on the keyboard. I was going to be king of the galaxy in a little less than 14 minutes. It was not meant to be. I must appologize, I don't recall the brand name (it is now collecting dust in my parents basement), but if I describe it, somebody else may be able to supply the name. It was black, and one of the first ones with the molded fighter-pilot grip, with a thumb trigger (big red sculpted button) and a base trigger (same button). The base came fitted with the standard foam pads, but it also came with four suction-cups that could be inter- changed with the foam. I have seen it in stores recently (otherwise this warning would be useless) and, according to my dealer, is quite popular. Now, the guts of my beef. After using it extensively for about 3 weeks, my fighter-plane lost the ability to turn left. (oh-oh! flame-out on engine number 2) This was NOT a feature of the software. After careful inspection I discovered how they worked and why mine didn't. This particular model has a little plastic ring (inside) at the sticks base. When the stick rocks around, the ring depresses at most two of the four quadrature (correct terminology?) switches which are placed around it. It was easy to see that after very little use, the ring (I reiterate PLASTIC!) was fated to fracture. Since the ring was a literal ring, supported by 4 spokes emanating from the base of the stick, such a fracture was fatal. (No pressure could be applied to the side with the fracture as the ring just flopped around). I tried glue and also splints, but it kept breaking somewhere new. Some day I may build a steel ring for that sucker, but til then the moral of the story is... 1) Stay away from whatever brand that was. 2) Inspect the mechanism before buying any other brand. (I've found most stores will let you look inside a demo stick.) +||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||+ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Witty quote coming soon to this space. | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | |\ |\ -------------+-. | | | || || |__ o | |_ | | | _ || || | |/|/| | | | | | | |_| X_/__/_ _____| | | | |__| | |___ Jeff Smith | | |\ |\ Visual Edge Software | | || || Montreal, Quebec | | |/ |/ | | | | ....sun!decwrl!decvax!watmath!musocs!vedge!lurch | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | I'm not sure who's opinions these are..... | | | | .... I hear voices... | | ...calling... | | telling me what to say. | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ +||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||+
hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com (Harv Laser) (04/12/88)
Try a WICO brand "Command Control" joystick. They're built like the
proverbial brick shithouse. I've been using a couple of them for nearly
5 years now, first with my C64s and then with Amigas. VERY solid
construction throughout. The handle is BIG and there's a fire button
at its top as well as another on the base and the buttons are switch-
selectable. They provide a nice long cord too so you can sit back and
relax while you're blasting them aliens :-)
WICO has, I believe, a lower (budget?) line of sticks. Avoid those.
Stick to the Command Control bunch - they're all red and black colored.
Like the man from your childhood says "It costs a little more but it
does SO MUCH more!"
disclaimer: I don't work for [blah blah etc. etc.]
Harv Laser, Sysop, The People/Link AmigaZone. Plink: CBM*HARV
UUCP: {ihnp4!scgvaxd!cadovax, rutgers!marque}!gryphon!pnet02!hrlaser
INET: hrlaser@pnet02.cts.compage@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) (04/14/88)
For a real good time, throw away the joystick and play Marble Madness with a Joyboard. Talk about an aerobic workout! :-) ..Bob (no, never tried it. Anyone got a joyboard for sale? I'll buy it.) -- Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept. page@swan.ulowell.edu ulowell!page
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (04/16/88)
From article <6212@swan.ulowell.edu>, by page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page): > For a real good time, throw away the joystick and play Marble Madness > with a Joyboard. Talk about an aerobic workout! :-) > > ..Bob (no, never tried it. Anyone got a joyboard for sale? I'll buy it.) Well I've got one, but it's not for sale. For a while there I think I had every Amiga ever made. Amiga 1000 Amiga 500 Amiga 2000 Amiga Joysticks Amiga Joyboard Have I missed anything? I got both the joysticks and the Joyboard from people that bought them years ago for their Atari 2600 game machines. So if you're looking to expand your collection of Amigas, try getting your friends and neighbors to dig through their attics and basements. PS Anyone remember the line in the Developer's Conference Notes? I think it was RJ that said "We were making joysticks, and had this idea for a really great peripherial to plug onto the end of them." -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 540 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 UUCP Addresses: {ihnp4,ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne ihnp4!utah-cs!esunix!blgardne usna!esunix!blgardne "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
michael@stb.UUCP (Michael) (05/02/88)
As long as we're on the subject of joysticks, Does anyone know how to read the Vectrex joystick? (4 buttons and analog joystick in one package) The buttons are on the standard up/down/left/right lines, but I can't get the pots (joystick itself) read. (Its not on the normal pot lines) Michael -- : Michael Gersten uunet.uu.net!ucla-an.ANES\ : ihnp4!hermix!ucla-an!denwa!stb!michael : sdcsvax!crash!gryphon!denwa!stb!michael : "This signature is too tame; anyone got some gasoline? "