RetroGameBoyz Atari 5200 joystick

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  Soooooo, by the end of today I should be able to say....

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by - Ω -

[intellicolecovisonary]

Arnold Dingfelder Horshack  for President! https://highlandcountypress.com/Content/Opinions/Opinion/Article/Arnold-Dingfelder-Horshack-for-president-/4/22/55687

Edited November 13, 2021 by intellicolecovisonary

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Hope the post office is still open by the time I get home from work.  I got an interesting set of messages.  It looks like it went out for delivery, but they took it back.

 

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Guess what?  😁

[TrekMD]

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On 10/25/2021 at 4:56 AM, TrekMD said:

Those look nice.  Waiting to see them on your joystick once it arrives.

As promised...

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Okay, now that I've had time to play with it, it's time for a mini review.  I really like this joystick, having the keypad, joystick and buttons all in one decent sized box that does not kill your thumbs, like the side buttons on the 5200 joystick is awesome.  The self-centering stick is also a welcome plus. This is a nice clean and sharp looking unit that was well worth the investment.  Sadly though, I'm not yet used to using a digital stick.  If I were to make any suggestion, it would be that if there is an analog joystick available that fits in the same space as the current joystick, I'd offer it as an upgrade.

[intellicolecovisonary]

Since I improved my RetroBoys 5200 joystick by replacing the exsisting Blee joystick with an authentic Sanwa JLF it has become my everyday driver for digital control games. I have gotten further on every game I've tried and I am getting much higher scores now. IMO it would be wise for Mike at Retrogameboys to charge an additional $10-20 and install a Sanwa JLF like Edladdin does on all his builds. Quote from Ed Kelly himself: "I agree...  the knockoffs have not been impressive compared with the real Sanwa.  We turned our back on the cheapo replacements very early in the game". Ed is getting close to releasing his Super 52 analog joystick. As of 11/2/2021: "We're making progress again on that unit after a very long pause due to COVID.  My engineer is 82 years old and refused to meet with me until vaccines were invented and we all had them, and in the meantime he sold his house and moved into an RV full time.  I was finally able to sit down with him last month and look at the final tweaks we need to go into production. Fingers crossed"! The one thing that I would like improved on the RetroGameBoys joystick is a little more area for your palm to rest so it isn't sitting right on the outside edge. I'm considering adding an oak frame around it to enlarge the surface for my hand to rest.

Edited November 16, 2021 by intellicolecovisonary

[intellicolecovisonary]

Update 6 hours later: My Retrogameboyz joystick clips securely into this oak enclosure I built. I now have space to comfortably rest my palm and wrist. What an incredible improvement!

Edited November 16, 2021 by intellicolecovisonary

[CrossBow]

I really like all these controller offerings but the man...the space needed for them is getting to be as much as the consoles require?! I really liked gaming with my Curt Vendel controller I have for the 7800. But still find it a bit too big to find a dedicated easy to get to space for it. So...it is back in the box it came from and I use the Brat controller for 7800/2600 stuff now. For the 5200, as I have an entire rolling Atari cart for that system alone, I pretty much stick to the stock controllers since I can keep them in the storage compartment in the back of the console...you know like it was designed for :)

 

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In my case my thumb can no longer handle using the fire button on the stock stick, so that is out.  I really love my analog flight stick, but it requires a Y-cable and an original stick too, which like you said... takes up a lot of room.  The new stick is all in one, so my old arthritic hands can use it and I'm planning for a downsizing in the foreseeable future, so it should be "doable" space-wise too.