Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question

Thanks again
I emailed him to see if he could sell the stuff without the CP.
How can you tell they are 8 way sticks? And Wicos?
Where did you get the leaf buttons at?
larry
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Thanks
I bought the control panel. I think it was a good deal considering what
NOS WICO joysticks cost.
He wanted 10.00 to ship either way so I just had him ship it
together.....30.00 for everything.
There is 4 leaf style buttons too...
I'll wait and see how all this stuff works and decide if I still need
some more buttons.
Is there something that wears out with the WICO sticks or should they
be good no matter what?
Thanks again
LArry
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

The parts that wear on a wico stick are the grommets and the leafs. The
leafs are easily the longest lasting and can be cleaned with a contact
burnisher or fine grit andpaper or even a nail file/emory board. The
grommets, if bad will be rotted or torn or just really weak.
Replacement grommets are available from a variety of sellers. I have
been told tornadoterrysdot on ebay sells the grommets for $7.50 each.
The ones listed as NOS Robotron grommets are a rip off at $44.95 for a
pair. They're the same grommets any way you slice it. The only
difference between a standard wico 8 way and the ones used in Robotron
is the taller 4" handle. You can use the standard wico sticks but they
will be decidedly shorter and just won't feel right. The taller stick
makes a difference in both look and feel. Finding red balltop 4"
handles is the challenge in this. You can find other colors such as the
orange ones on eBay now but if you want red, you have to keep a
lookout. You can also try posting a message here as WTB and see if you
get anyone willing to sell them to you. You can also do a search on
eBay for robotron stick or wico stick and try to pick up a pair there.

Sadly, there are no repro 4" sticks available to my knowledge. If I am
wrong and someone knows where to get them, please point me in the right
direction! There was one person that used to do repro 4" sticks but he
closed up shop about a year ago or so. I have a set of his repros and
they are awesome with stainless steel shafts and a perfect red ball
with no seam. He also did translucent versions which looked really nice
on the MW with translucent buttons. Anyways, that's no longer an option
unless you are lucky enough to find a set. They ran about $32.50 for a
pair when they were being made.

About the orange 4" sticks that are on eBay now. Those are universal
replacements that can be used as 3.5" or 4" sticks. The problem you
will run into if you get a set of those is the thicker part of the
shaft is not as long as the regular 4" only stick so you will need a
nylon spacer to bring them up another 1/2". It shouldn't be too hard to
find but you need to be aware they will not just drop in as is and work
without the spacer. You can ask the seller if they have the spacer.
They may. Otherwise you'll need to get some.

That should be all of the pitfalls, etc on building the original
Robotron sticks. It can take some time and be difficult and expensive
to get everything together but in the long run you'll be thankful you
did it. Nothing really plays Robotron better than the original sticks.
At least not for me. When I switched from the repro happ competition
sticks to the Wicos my scores went up noticably from the very first
game I played.

Erik
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Erik,

Have you ever tried a P360 stick with robotron? I have heard some
people say they are good especially since they are modeled after a Wico
leaf stick. Just curious since I will probably be buying some to play
with and for possible future projects.
*they are expensive though*
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

I have and they are probably the closest thing to a wico feel you can
get. They seem just a little bit tighter than the wicos to me but that
could be because of the stick being new and not broken in or because of
the spring & washer that's part of the P360 design. I really don't
know. Some people say they have a slight clicking that turned out to be
the spring end griding on the washer. I didn't notice it, just a
tighter feel than my Wicos. The original 4" sticks will even fit the
P360 bases. Before Happ bought perfect 360, they used to make addon
adapters for wico sticks as well as happ supers and ultimates that
would replace the leafs or microswitches with P360 optics. I actually
have a set of the Wico P360 leaf replacements I got NOS from a seller
in Canada about a year ago but I don't see a huge difference from the
original leafs. Maybe a tad more responsive? Nothing concrete or as
drastic as the difference between a wico and any of the other current
joysticks. My take is that nothing beats the original rebuilt wico with
a new grommet but the P360 comes close to being as good.
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

No, you won't need those. Those are the bases that the stick goes into
along with the grommet. Those are just shells which you just bought
along with the rest of the guts of the stick. More than likely the
sticks will be shorter. The 3.5" Wico stick had to have been the most
used joystick in the 80's and anything with a metal panel would have
used that length.

The stick that is pictured in your other link is a replacement for
Sinistar and is not the correct one. Arcadeshop also happens to be out
of stock on those red ones too. When you get your panel, you'll see
what kind of sticks you need. They'll be identical except a 1/2"
longer. By moving the sticks around when you get the panel, you should
be able to tell if you need new grommets. If it feels loose or sloppy
then you most likely need them. You can take the stick apart and check
to see if they're ripped too. You might want to make note of how
everything goes back together by taking pictures or making a drawing
just so you know how to get it back together. It's easy and you should
be able to see once you have them in hand.
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Thanks again so much.
I should have the panel in a couple days and I will go from there....
I do have another question though.
If the Robotron panels were originally wood and thicker than a metal
panel than wouldn't the shorter stick in a metal panel be in the same
place and have about the same feel?
About how far should the bottom of the ball be from the top of the
control panel to get the right feel for Robotron???
I hate to ask so many questions but I want to get this as close to
original as I can.....
Thanks
Larry
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Hi Larry, No Problem. I understand wanting to get it right and am happy
to answer your questions.

The Phoenix Arcade control panel is Metal but uses embedded standoffs
to give the same mounting depth and look as the original wood control
panels. If you were mounting the joystick directly to the metal panel
(You'll see what I mean when you have both of your panels in front of
you) you could use the 3.5" stick but with the standoffs embedded in
the MW Panel it's just like using the wood ones.

Erik
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Won't mine be the same as these if I get the longer sticks?
I already have the panel coming with the sticks.
Now I don't know what to do!
Larry
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Hi Larry, yes. Yours would be the same after you get the longer sticks.
Sorry to confuse you. It's just not often you see a set. It's one of
those timing things.
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question 

Ok Thanks
Hopefully I can find a set of sticks that won't cost too terribly much.
Larry
 >> Stay informed about: Multi Williams Buttons/joysticks question