Posted by Zapper on 2, 2001 at 11:49 PM:
In Reply to: wico leaf joysticks 4/8 or both ways posted by telengard on 2, 2001 at 7:24 PM:
: I bought 2 of these new. I thought they were 8 ways
: and they definetly play like 4 ways. I'd like to
: adjust them if possible to be 8 ways. The only things
: I can see to tinker with are:
: The plastic actuator that goes over the spring and
: under the clip thingie. It is the same diameter
: most of the length of it except for a small portion
: which is a little smaller in diameter. The pictures
: that came with the joy show it being placed in
: smaller end first. I tried it the other way and it
: seems even worse.
: There was a metal washer "trapped" inside of the
: large housing itself. I doesn't fit through any of
: the sides so I assume it needs to be used. I have
: been lining it up and placing the shaft through it.
: The picture also shows how to adjust the leaf
: switches. However I can't make heads or tails of
: the pictures. Maybe this would help with the stiff
: ness too. These joysticks are *really* stiff.
: Any info on these joysticks would be very helpful.
: PS My cab page is:
: http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~bsturk/mame.html
The stiff grommets (the rubber pivot part) are most likely your problem. The older Wico joysticks from the '80s had softer grommets which make a huge difference in my opinion. Ebay usually has auctions for replacement Robotron grommets or you could buy an old Atari 2600 Wico Command Control joystick and use the grommet from that. The true 4-way Wicos usually were gray instead of black and had diamond cutout so you couldn't hit diagonals.
Happy Joysticking!