Old 9 pin joysticks for 8-bit computers are surprisingly expensive

Josey Wales said:
As far as i remember the Quickshot II Turbo was the first ever micro switched stick.

Top ten sticks, as i said Zipstick was the best, not as rigid as the Competition Pro.

https://retromash.com/2015/04/10/top-ten-joysticks/
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Before I even clicked on the link, I thought of the Clear Competition Pro. My best friend owned one and it was legendary even if most of it was the look it felt so 'right' (although maybe he just got lucky). I did own four of those sticks and a few others not on that list.
 
I've got the modern USB clear Competition Pro, and it's way better than the C64 Maxi stick in feel and responsiveness.

However that list of joysticks is missing TheArcade by Suzo, which is sort of like a single button Comp Pro. I had two of those. Expensive, but very reliable and responsive, and basically identical to the short travel arcade sticks found on Jamma cabs back then.
 
Pretty sure I had a load of parts left at my mums house, loads of broken ones might one day make a good one right…..no because it was always the same but that broke lol.
Konix speedking was my favourite but I tried them all back on my old Amiga.
 
Ravenger said:
I've got the modern USB clear Competition Pro, and it's way better than the C64 Maxi stick in feel and responsiveness.

However that list of joysticks is missing TheArcade by Suzo, which is sort of like a single button Comp Pro. I had two of those. Expensive, but very reliable and responsive, and basically identical to the short travel arcade sticks found on Jamma cabs back then.
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Yea, I don't think it's a definitive list in anyway but feels more like a 'who's who's' of the most popular models with a UK-bias.

I only have the most recent black Competition Pro USB and it just doesn't quite feel the same, some of it is certainly the plastic and texture, although it's a lovely recreation.
 
KompuKare said:
CRT getting scares too? In the end, weren't Sony's Trinitron tubes behind NEC/Mitsubishi's DiamondTron or even LG's Flatron?
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Sony had the Patent for aperture grille CRTs until 1996, then others were able to use the tech. Trinitron was a Sony trademark, so they made their own names up.
 
I dont like the idea of new usb sticks. Original 9 pin Zipstick with adapter is the way to go.
Adapter for my tank mouse should be arriving in the next few days from Canada
 
Timber said:
Yea, I don't think it's a definitive list in anyway but feels more like a 'who's who's' of the most popular models with a UK-bias.

I only have the most recent black Competition Pro USB and it just doesn't quite feel the same, some of it is certainly the plastic and texture, although it's a lovely recreation.
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I prefer the original 9 pin Comp Pro I got off ebay. The leaf switch fire buttons are much more pleasant to push than the microswitched ones of the USB sticks.
 
Did anyone get an ArcadeR in the end? I've just been looking at them but mostly sold out everywhere (neon green)
 
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Zipstick was my favourite 9 pin joystick. I have the Competition Pro USB for retrogaming on emulators, but it does seem to suffer from lag, also some of the firebuttons' clips tend to fail - and it appears to sag.
 
Stripedcat said:
Zipstick was my favourite 9 pin joystick. I have the Competition Pro USB for retrogaming on emulators, but it does seem to suffer from lag, also some of the firebuttons' clips tend to fail - and it appears to sag.
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It amazes me that a joystick made in 1987 that sold for around £12 still beats out some of todays latest and most expensive sticks.
I still use mine from time to time with WinUAE using the USB adapter. Works great.

Is this to do with the demise of UK manufacturing and everything being made on mass for as cheap as possible in China? Many things today seem to be of worse quality than they were in the early 90s.
 
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Josey Wales said:
As far as i remember the Quickshot II Turbo was the first ever micro switched stick.

Top ten sticks, as i said Zipstick was the best, not as rigid as the Competition Pro.

https://retromash.com/2015/04/10/top-ten-joysticks/
Click to expand...
Ah this list brings back some memories. From that list I personally had:

Quickshot
Quickshot II Turbo (although I don't recall it being red so perhaps it was a different model)
Competition Pro
Competition Pro Transparent
Zip Stick

Another one I had, but not on the list, was the Commodore joystick:

Official Commodore Joystick - Peripheral - Computing History

An official joystick manufactured by Commodore for use with their various systems.An official joystick manufactured by Commodore for use with their various systems. No specific consoles are mention...
www.computinghistory.org.uk
 
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Guest2 said:
It amazes me that a joystick made in 1987 that sold for around £12 still beats out some of todays latest and most expensive sticks.
I still use mine from time to time with WinUAE using the USB adapter. Works great.

Is this to do with the demise of UK manufacturing and everything being made on mass for as cheap as possible in China? Many things today seem to be of worse quality than they were in the early 90s.
Click to expand...

I worked in computer shops back in the 80's and the quality of sticks did vary. At the bottom of the pile for reliability were the Atari and Quickshot sticks. The Atari's were so prone to breakage that Atari sold a repair kit! The Quickshots were popular with kids because they were cheap, had suckers to stick on a desk or table, and had autofire. However they had really terrible cheap leaf springs and contacts which fractured after a relatively short time. Playing Decathlon with its vigorous joystick waggling also hastened the demise of many Quickshots, they just couldn't take the punishment.

Top of the list for quality were microswitched sticks like the konix, Arcade by Suzo and Competition pro. Those never broke.
 
slinxy said:
try buying a quickshot marvick, the one with the microswitches... I almost fainted when I saw the price of them on ebay..
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Happy memories of those. Think I've still got a couple in storage, 9 pin, NES and SNES (that was an abomination that never should have been created)
 
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