Euromax Arcade Joystick

Crash

Response 3/5

Feel 3/5

Look 3/5

Overall 3/5

Nick Roberts 3/5

IT'S A STICK-UP Whatever happened to the days of all joysticks being a small base with a stick in the middle and a fire button that never worked? Today they look more like something from the control panel of an F-16 and get bigger and sillier all the while. Nick Roberts and Mark Caswell delve into the CRASH joystick bin to discover whether the joystick really is a gamesplayer's best friend... QUICKJOY III Spectravideo £10.95 MARK: I'm not fond of Quickshot joysticks. I owned a Quickshot II many moons ago and that busted within a couple of months. This looks a first glance just like it, but its trendy red body sets it out from the crowd. Again two buttons are present and each gives a solid click with each depression, though one problem is the uncomfortable hand grip. With a fairly long shaft the Quickjoy III works best on a table top, but with my shovel-sized hands I found holding the stick quite easy. A relatively cheap stick that should be given serious consideration. Pro 9000 Euromax £14.95 NICK: This joystick has a classic design that has been copied so many times. The rectangular based with its two fire buttons on the end is comfortable to use both on a table and in the hand. The handle is quite short and has a ball at the top. The two fire buttons are not too good though as they're not microswitched and this lets the stick down. Not bad. QUICKJOY JET FIGHTER Spectravideo £14.95 MARK: Sadly the Jet Fighter costs too much for what it delivers. At first glance the stick is so impressive with its moulded shaft and very solid looking base. But the major problem here is the length of the travel: you have to move the stick so far to get a response that quick movements are near impossible! Diagonals are as elusive, though the fire buttons again answer with a responsive click when pressed. Steer well clear of this one: to quote The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy - it looks like a fish, it moves like a fish, but steers like a cow! QUICKJOY V - SUPERBOARD Spectravideo £19.95 MARK: It looks like this stick contains everything but the kitchen sink!! With six fire buttons (four on the base, two on the shaft), top or base fire button selector and a digital timer (what for, I've no idea) it's a big mutha! On the table is the only practical way to use the Superboard. Travel is fairly short and thus responsive. A tough stick that should up to punishment pretty well, but twenty quid is serious dosh. WICO COMMAND CONTROL Suncom £24.99 NICK: The Command Control has a classic joystick design - a sturdy base with a long stick coming from the centre and fire buttons on both the base and the top of the stick. Unfortunately the size and shape of the base make it very uncomfortable to hold in your hand. A good feature is the inclusion of three interchangeable grips that slide onto the stick to suit all gamesplayers. There are some bad faults though. The grips do not come far enough down the stick, thus leaving a gap at the bottom. This can easily pinch a chunk our of your hand while you're playing, making the baddy who's torturing you on screen seem more realistic! The top fire button is also annoying as it needs a hard push to make it work. SURESHOT COMMAND MODULE Sonmax £17.95 MARK: If you want to know what big means, you should see the Command Module! With two large microswitched buttons you don't need to move your hand far to fire that laser, though I'm not overly fond of the gaudy sticker on the base. Stick travel is short making the Command Module very responsive, and so are the microswitched fire buttons. I'd advise you to wear sunglasses when using this joystick (due to the sticker) but it's a good all rounder. TURBO PEDAL Euromax £24.95 NICK: You've got to be joking! This is so rubbish I couldn't stand using it for more than one game! You put your foot down on the pedal and all you hear is a bang - the sound of the plastic pedal against the plastic base. Eventually you do get some response from it (after a few more bangs). I found that my feet and legs began to ache soon after starting to use the Turbo Pedal, making playing a long racing game an agonising experience. A few suckers on the base wouldn't have gone amiss as the thing keeps sliding away from your foot! ZIPSTICK SUPER PRO Sonmax £13.95 Standard Autofire £14.95 MARK: I'm afraid I'm a bit biased towards this stick, I've owned one of these for four years or so and it's still going strong! The sleek black shape and trendy yellow fire buttons and collar look good, and the stick itself feels 'worn in' even when first used. Button pushes and stick movement are rewarded by solid clicks, and both pixel perfect and wild waggling movements are easily achieved. Check the Super Pro out for yourself, I reckon this and the Cruiser are the two best sticks around. THE ARCADE Euromax £17.95 Standard Turbo £19.95 NICK: With a triangular base, a fire button on the end and a short handle this joystick is very comfortable to use. Euromax claim it's been the best selling joystick for nine years. The turbo version of the stick comes with an autofire and a Pro 9000 type handle to support a fire button. The fire buttons are not too hot though. Using a single leaf switch they need a bit of prodding to get then to work. ULTIMATE RAPID FIRE Euromax £22.95 NICK: This is one BIG joystick! The Ultimate Rapid Fire is probably the closes you're going to get to an arcade stick with its large base and two fire buttons either side the short ball handle. A dial-a-speed rapid fire button sits on the top of the base and can be turned to vary the speed of fire or to turn it off. With this stick being the size it is you can easily rest it on your lap to pay a game but there are also suction cups on the base to secure it to a table top. This is definitely the best of the big sticks and a personal favourite. COMPETITION PRO Dynamics £14.95 MARK: The Competition Pro is another distinctive stick with its red shaft and fire button. The ball shaped handle is comfortable to hold, though table top use is hampered by the lack of suckered feet. The medium travel of the stick makes it responsive, but I find the use of leaf-switches in the fire buttons very silly. Overall a rugged, comfortable stick that should be considered. CRUISER Powerplay £12.99 MARK: Now here's my idea of a perfect stick: the comfortable rounded handle along with the sensibly placed microswitched fire button make this a definite winner. It comes in several colours: blue, black, clear and an eye warping multi-coloured best. All have the innovative "pull and twist" collar ring that adjusts the stick tension. Like the Super Pro the Cruiser's ruggedness is legendary - we CRASH louts have been abusing Cruiser sticks for years without complaint. Unreservedly recommended. QUICKJOY JUNIOR Spectravideo £5.95 MARK: This is a cheap stick, and unfortunately it shows. The fire buttons are placed sensibly enough on the base and under the index finger, but sadly a lot of bashing is needed to gain response. The stick is small so young hands will find it easy to hold, and table top players are well catered for with four strong suckers. With such a short 'stick', response is fairly good, I found diagonals easy to obtain and the Junior is almost silent when the stick is moved (no metal grinding on metal sounds here, matey!) At six quid the Quickjoy Junior is okay as a first buy, but I'd personally save my pennies. SINCLAIR STICK Amstrad Free With Speccy NICK: This is one of the easiest joysticks to break! I've lost count of how many I've destroyed over the years! It responds quite well, although you feel as if you're hitting against plastic all the time instead of a nice micro switch. The main problem is the shape of the base. The rectangular box design has rounded-off corners but can still be very painful if you lean on them. Supplied with all +2, +2A and +3 computers there can't be many people haven't seen one of these sticks. Not the best in the galaxy, but how can you complain when it's free? CHALLENGER REMOTE CONTROL Euromax £29.95 MARK: Let's face it, remote control sticks are a very expensive gimmicks that serve little purpose. Although this one works pretty well there seems to be a slight delay between you pressing the button and on-screen response. The stick is a rather natty grey colour with two fire buttons both on the shaft, though the handle isn't moulded and I found that prolonged use cramped my hand. There are plenty of cheaper 'normal' sticks on the market, and in my opinion the Challenger will only be bought by people interested in gimmicks. SPEEDKING Konix £9.99 Standard £10.99 Autofire NICK: The Speedking is one of the better joysticks when it come to the left/right waggle. You can get very high speeds on sports games using it. The only problem is that it creates a giant strain on the hands and arms. You can't use it vigorously for long, you have to take a break. For normal use the hand moulded stick sits comfortably in your left palm and the position of the fire button on the right is perfect. To my knowledge the Speedking is only available n a version for right handed players, cutting out a large segment of the joystick market. Overall a good stick but playing Daley's Olympic Challenge can be hell! WICO ERGOSTICK Suncom £18.99 NICK: This is a real winner with me. It's similar in size, shape and design to the Konix Speedking but has one important difference: instead of being made from hard plastic, the Ergostick has a rubber covering which makes it much easier on your hands. The rubber also stops the stick slipping and sliding about. The only problem is a knobbly bit on the end, it really begins to hurt after a long playing session! An excellent joystick I would recommend to all byte bandits out there! NAVIGATOR Konix £14.99 MARK: Beam me up Scotty! The Navigator is somewhat akin to a Star Trek phaser. Due to the handle, table top use is impossible (or at least improbable), and prolonged use can lead to hand cramping. The stick is physically very short (no more than an inch or so high) so people with big hands will find holding the handle very difficult. Response is fairly good due to the short travel, but I must say this is none of my least favourite sticks. Right, there you have it: the professionals' view of the joystick world. Choose your stick carefully - it can make or break your Speccy gaming fun!

Crash

BATTLEFIELD JOYSTICK Joysticks are your most immediate connection with any game you play - the man-machine interface. The melting joystick makes a nice image for an advertiser who's suggesting that his games can beat anything, but do joysticks in real life really stand up to the beating they receive, are they tough enough for the job, do they move well, are the handles right, will the buttons fire? The CRASH reviewing team settled down for a weekend of joystick bashing on several types and makes, and here we look at the results... There are now many makes of joystick available, and almost as many types as there are makes. Each boasts design innovations so that it is better than all the others - and they come in a range of prices too. We all know that joysticks on arcade machines take a battering, so too do those at home. Do they stand up? We tested 19 joysticks from well known manufacturers to see how they all compared. A joystick must be able to withstand games that require fast and repeated movement, so what better than Ocean's Daley Thompson's Decathlon? We used the Commodore version of the game because it is more violent than the Spectrum! But it isn't only toughness; joysticks must also be capable of fine and positive movement, comfortable to use with sensible fire buttons. Several arcade skill games were used to test four major points for both the stick action and the fire button action. TRAVEL means the maximum movement between opposite poles (e.g. up/down) on the stick, and how far the fire button had to be depressed. On stick action over 1.5 inches was considered to be very long. Oddly, some of the short sticks had longer to travel than the taller sticks. ACTION FORCE means the amount of hand or finger pressure required to keep the stick pressed over or the fire button down. REACTION SPEED indicates how fast contact is made, how quickly the action affects the game, and how well rapid movements can be made (especially rapid fire buttons). RESPONSE/FEEDBACK indicates how positive the stick or fire action feels and whether there is any physical or audible feedback to tell the player that contact has been made. ERGONOMICS how useful is the stick for hand held playing, and how well does it operate on a table top. Is the stick well designed for comfort, ease of fire action and general stability. After preliminary testing, the joysticks all went through ten minutes of the Decathlon to see how long they were likely to stand up to use. During this test, some joysticks broke. Finally, all the sticks have 9 pin D connectors and are Atari compatible on the pin outs. They all need an interface of one sort or another to work with the Spectrum (except the clip-ons). Some offer 2 independent fire actions, but these only work with either a Cambridge interface or the programmable Comcon from Frei Ltd., which was the interface used for this test. Each joystick review is split into two halves; firstly a brief technical breakdown; secondly the review team's report. PRO ACE Supplier: Sumklock Microware, [redacted] Price: £12.95 Lever Action: Strong plastic handle suspended between two plastic bushes. Central copper star acting as self-centering spring and contacting 4 copper rivets Fire Action: Oblong fire button at 12 o'clock operating copper contact switch. Trigger button at tip of stick activates copper plate contact. Ergonomics: Average size easy grip enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table operation. Left and righthanders welcome. Lead: Plastic moulded D connector and retaining grommet. Weak point: Copper contact star can weaken and deform. Soft copper contact surface creates dust and can oxidise if not used over long period. STICK ACTION Travel: long Action force: very hard Reaction speed: slow Response/feedback: very poor and irregular - up/down was not too bad but left/right was terrible, and a lot of slack FIRE ACTION Travel: long on stick button, very long on base button. Action force: medium. Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: poor, no indication or 'feel'; rather rubbery. Ergonomics: the shaped base fits the hand well with a well positioned left or right hand base fire button, but very unstable on a table top, especially with the sticky travel. The long thin stick is quite comfortable to hold. Life expectancy: top fire button pulls out too easily, the copper contacts bend out of shape easily with use, causing erratic response. The general stick response and travel means that the handle will take a beating on hard, fast games. SPECTRUM MECHANICAL Supplier: EEC Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft strengthened by long selftapping screw suspended in rubber mount activates via cam plate four flexible key actuating fingers. Fire Action: None Fixing: integrally moulded clip grips. Main body flexes under use. STICK ACTION Travel: long Action force: heavy. Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: no feedback and generally poor response as casing flexes greatly during play. Ergonomics: This unit clips over the edges of the computer and is made from one piece. This means that together with the stiff stick movement the unit flexes heavily during use, especially with more violent games, and this sometimes renders the key pressed inoperable. The tendency to move away from position during play can also disenable any 8 directional movement. Life expectancy: not very high on fast games, and indeed there may be the slight chance of damaging the computer in a game like the Decathlon. FLIGHTLINK Supplier: Flightlink Control Ltd., [redacted] Price: £10.50 Lever Action: Short Steel short suspended in brass bell bush and compression spring for self-centering action. Plastic bush activates subminiature microswitches. Fire Action: 2 miniature square fire buttons at 6 o'clock. Two independent fire actions in combination with appropriate interface. Ergonomics: No rubber feet. Lever shaped body for handheld operation. Left and right-handers welcome. Lead: D type connector with plastic cover. No grommet Weak point: Lead entry point unprotected. STICK ACTION Travel: long. Action force: very light Reaction speed: fast. Response/feedback: good, positive lock at end of travel for secondary compass points, but tends to slide on primary compass points (left/right/up/down). FIRE ACTION Travel: medium long. Action force: light. Reaction speed: fast - good for rapid fire. Response/feedback: some slack but reasonably firm and positive. Ergonomics: handheld is very good because of small size and light weight but overall a bit pathetic on the table top. The 2 independent fire buttons are in a straight line, which make them a bit awkward for table use, as supporting hand is in the way. Life expectancy: because of fight action and metal construction, stands up to a hard game very well. Life should be quite good. SLIK STIK Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Short rubber mounted steel shaft contacting 4 rigid contact plates in end position. Tough short throw movement. Fire Action: 1 left-hand round fire button at left 10/11 o'clock position in enclosure. No trigger button. Ergonomics: No rubber feet or suction cups. Small well rounded body for handheld operation. Left-handers only Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector and sleeved retaining grommet Weak point: Moulded plastic support wall for contact plates can crack and break off. STICK ACTION Travel: very short Action force: medium Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: quite positive feel and solid end stop with solid clunk. FIRE ACTION Travel: short Action force: medium to hard. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: sort of sticky feel, but solid end stop with loud clunk. Ergonomics: lightweight construction and small size make it good for handheld use and reasonably stable on a table top, the corner position of the fire button is good for right handers, but poor for left handers. Life expectancy: Pretty good because of the short stick, short travel and steel shaft. It feels quite safe even on a hard game. KEMPSTON PRO 5000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £13.50 Lever Action: Strong steel shall suspended in rubber bush. Leaf contact switches actuated by nylon bush. Fire Action: 2 large arcade style round fire buttons actuating leaf contact switches Ergonomics: Average size well rounded enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table top operation. Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Week point: Body flexes under use. STICK ACTION Travel: short Action force: medium Reaction speed: instant Response/feedback: no audible feedback but fairly good response overall. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: very light - good rapid fire. Reaction speed: fast. Response/feedback: good with hard, positive feel Ergonomics: not very good for handheld use with the large base but reasonably steady on a table top. The two large arcade style fire buttons on the base are well placed for left or right-hand use, and the round knob shaped stick is comfortable to hold. The slightly stiffer action of the stick on this version of the 5000 make it slightly more tiring to use on the Decathlon. Life expectancy: Good KEMPSTON PRO 3000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £12.75 Lever Action: Hollow plastic shaft supported in rubber washer actuating 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: 2 trigger buttons (trigger finger and thumb) and one banana shaped fire button at 12'o clock. All fire buttons operate one leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Small rubber feet. Handheld or table top operated. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet Weak point: very weak hollow plastic shaft STICK ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium to hard. Reaction speed: quite fast Response/feedback: slow, very soggy feel and imprecise. FIRE ACTION Travel: base button medium - top and trigger buttons long. Action force: medium Reaction speed: poor Response/feedback: not very positive, soggy feel and no feedback. Ergonomics: similar to PRO 1000 - top fire button badly placed for handheld use. On a table the base button is in the way of second hand holding base fire button which occupies most of the front of the base. Trigger fire is quite well placed. Life expectancy: the hard game proved too much for this joystick, which broke, the stick snapping off at the base, before its ten minutes were up. The somewhat thin hollow plastic stick obviously lowers life expectancy rather drastically if hard games are going to be played with it. KEMPSTON PRO 1000 Supplier: Kempston Micro Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £10.99 Lever Action: Hollow plastic shaft supported in rubber washer actuating 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: Banana shaped red fire button operates leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Handheld or table top operated (rubber feet). Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet Weak point: Very weak hollow plastic shaft STICK ACTION Travel: short. Action force: hard. Reaction speed: medium. Response/feedback: no feedback, rubbery feel to the stick and even on a slow game it felt as though the handle might break at any second FIRE ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium hard and tiring for rapid fire. Reaction speed: slow. Response/feedback: no feedback, again - very rubbery. Ergonomics: seems fine for handheld use at first, but not well designed as centre of gravity is all wrong to be able to operate stick and fire at the same time. Not too bad on a table top, quite stable with supporting hand holding it tightly, but too much resistance for single handed stick operation. Again, the long, curving base fire button gets in the way of the supporting hand. Life expectancy: Joystick was rendered useless after two minutes of Decathlon, because the stick snapped off at the base. Same thin, hollow Construction as the Pro 3000. COMPETITION PRO Supplier: Euromax Electonice Ltd., [redacted] Price: £16.95 Lever Action: Strong steel shaft suspended in rubber bush. 4 industry standard V3 microswitches actuated by plastic bush. Fire Action: 2 large arcade style round fire buttons actuating leaf contact switches. Ergonomics: Average size well rounded enclosure for handheld operation. Rubber feet for table top operation. Plastic moulded 0 type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Body flexes under action STICK ACTION Travel: short, in fact just about right. Action force: light. Reaction speed: instant. Response/feedback: although in most respects identical to the Pro 5000 this stick has audible clicks - generally very good. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: very light - good rapid fire Reaction speed: Fast. Response speed: good, with hard positive feel. Ergonomics: base too large for handheld use, stable on table top with well placed left hand fire buttons on base. Comfortable knob shaped slick. Life expectancy: Good. ATARI Supplier: Atari International, [redacted]. Price: £7.50 Lever Action: Nylon shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Nylon actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Plastic gaiter and deformation of ring creates self-centering force. Fire Action: One round fire button at 10/1 1 o'clock activates dome switch. Ergonomics: Average size square body for hand-held operation Rubber feet for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D typo connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak Point: Actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: short Action Force: light to medium. Reaction: good Response/feedback: no feedback, soggy feel which gets soggier with use and hardens up with disuse. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium. Action Force: light. Reaction Speed: good - very good rapid fire Response/Feedback: very firm feel but no feedback. Ergonomics: the hand-sized square base and light construction are ideal for hand-held use, although the corner placed fire button can be awkward, and isn't very good for left-handers. Life Expectancy: not too long, but reasonable considering price. SUPER JOY Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft with actuator ring activating 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates self centering action. Shaft Supported between lower pivot point and upper shoulder bearing. Fire Action: 3 firing buttons, on lever thumb switch, two on side of enclosure (10 and 2 o'clock). All three activate dome switches. Ergonomics: Slim body suitable for handheld operation. 4 suction cups for table operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: short. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: medium fast. Response/feedback: not very good - a lot of play in the stick and then over travel. FIRE ACTION Travel: short. Action force: light Reaction speed: medium to slow. Response/feedback: no good for rapid fire with top stick button and oddly placed twin fires on either side of the base. Quite a positive click. Ergonomics: quite good for handheld use with slim sides to the base - we found the side buttons hard to use. On the table the narrow base with large suction cups make single handed stick operation hopeless, and the cups tend to give it a soggy feel overall. The long stick travel was found to be too much for the Decathlon and the thin base, even with supporting hand, makes wobble too much in a fast game. Life expectancy: if the unit had actually had good suction cups, it wood have smashed to bits within minutes on the Decathlon - as it was the units base only lasted the ten minutes before coming apart at the base seam with the side buttons sliding inside. It was repairable. FAMOUS REDBALL Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £23 Lever Action: Long and hefty steel shaft supported in elastomeric bearing. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches Fire Action: Thumb activated lever switch activates leaf contact via central tappet and dome head. Round fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates further leaf contact. Ergonomics: Large body with 4 rubber feet designed for table top operation Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Button selector switch for lever or enclosure fire button control. Weak point: Lever suspension allows slight axial movement which can activate fire leaf contact by mistake. STICK ACTION Travel: medium long. Action force: medium Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: no audible feedback, response quite springy. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to contact with over travel. Action force: light Reaction speed: last - good rapid fire from base not bad from stick top Response/feedback: positive response, feels solid on base, less so on stick button. Ergonomics: solid and heavy base make it very stable, but hard to hand hold. The round knob shaped stick is comfortable and very good for single handed use as the top fire button can be disenabled for hand over the top action. The disenabling switch is at the rear of the base. Flexing of the centre steel shaft however, can cause unwanted firing action during direction movement, and is particularly pronounced during fast games. Life expectancy: very good due to solid construction. THREE WAY DELUXE Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £25 Lever Action: Long tough steel shaft suspended in elastomeric bearing support. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches Fire Action: Thumb lever switch activates leaf contact via tappet and dome head. Extra fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates further leaf contact switch. Ergonomics: Moulded D type connector end moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Fire function selector disables body mounted fire button. Three different grips provided, which can be pushed onto steel shaft. Grips have 360 degree rotation. Weak point: Shaft suspension allows slight axial movement which can trigger off fire button inadvertently. STICK ACTION Travel: very long Action force: medium. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: some over travel, otherwise a positive end stop, no audible clicks. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium on stick top and long on base button. Action force: light Reaction speed: fast, good rapid fire from either button. Response/feedback: light clicks, rather soft in feel. Ergonomics: base identical to Famous Red Ball, so not good for handheld use but steady on table top. A base mounted slide switch allows either both or only one fire button to operate. The steel centre shaft has pull off handle which may be replaced with one of two others, so there is a moulded grip handle. This allows a wide range of individual grips and is an unusual feature. Again, like the Famous Red Ball, the flexing centre shaft can cause unwanted fire action during directional movement. On a fast game, the tendency of the handles to twist around the shaft can be disorienting. Life expectancy: stood up very well, and because of solid construction, should have a long life. THE BOSS Supplier: CGL, [redacted] Price: £13 Lever Action: Steel shaft supported in elastomeric bearing. Plastic ball sleeve activates 4 leaf contact switches. Fire Action: Thumb activated lever switch activates leaf contact via tappet and dome head. Ergonomics: Average size body for handheld operation. 4 rubber feet for table top operation. Lever grip can be rotated. Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Weak point: Lever suspension allows slight movement which can activate fire leaf contact by mistake. STICK ACTION Travel: long on over travel Action force: medium. Reaction speed: medium. Response/feedback: no feedback, response a little soft but reasonable. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to contact with over travel. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: fast - good rapid fire. Response/feedback: good positive response, no feedback. Ergonomics: rather heavy, solid construction and large base makes it awkward to hand hold, although a rebated underlie at the front and back do help. Moulded handle grip and top stick fire are reasonable for either hand use or table top, where the weight makes it reasonably stable. The handle twists on the base, which is uncomfortable and disorienting. Life expectancy: quite good as the whole is very solid but the long over travel on the tall stick may put it at risk on regular hard games. VOLTMACE DELTA 3S Supplier: Voltmace Ltd, [redacted] Price: £10.00 Lever Action: Short steel shaft, gimble mechanism operating two small rotary switches, two small tension springs for self-centering action. Fire Action: 3 small fire buttons operating rubber membrane switches. Two independent fire actions in conjunction with appropriate interface. Central green fire button F1, two red buttons for F2. Ergonomics: Calculator style flat enclosure for hand-held operation. No rubber feel for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector, no grommet. Weak Point: Life of Rotary switch contacts may be limited, lead entry point. STICK ACTION Travel: long over-travel but short dead travel. Action Force: exceptionally light. Reaction Speed: instant. Response/Feedback: very good response, not much feedback. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short - more over travel. Action Force: very light. Reaction Speed: very good. Response/Feedback: nice firm end to travel, not much feedback. Ergonomics: above average for hand-held use with light stick travel and fire buttons within easy reach of thumb, ibis features 2 independent fire actions, with fire one using one button, and fire 2 using two for left or right-handed players. Very well laid out and light. It's long base makes it reasonable on the table although it moves in frenzied games. Life Expectancy: quite good because of the steel shaft. It 'feels' safe. SPECTRUM STICK Supplier: Grant Design Ltd., [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic handle suspended by lower pivot point and two upper slide plates with integrally moulded leaf spring for sell-centering. Slide plate cams activate key plungers. Fire Action: None Fixing: Left and right grip arms with stud and wing nuts. Weak point: Plastic arm will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: good. Response/feedback: no audible feedback, but feels positive. Ergonomics: this is a cursor key clip on joystick unit which mechanically depresses the cursor keys. It operates well in 8 directions and is quickly attached to the keyboard, leaving the zero key free for fire action. The short slick moves freely and feels good. Obviously it cannot be handheld and when attached to the computer is very stable! Life expectancy; surprisingly good, considering its light construction but not designed to withstand the onslaught of too many Decathlons. ARCADE PROFESSIONAL Supplier: Euromax Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £28.95 Lever Action: Short and strong steel shaft rotating in ball point bush compressed spring and nylon washer for self-centering action. 4 industry standard V3 lever operated microswitches actuated by nylon bush. Extra plastic end stop bush for 8 or 4 way action. Fire Action: 2 large body-mounted arcade style round fire buttons. Ergonomics: Large arcade style console for two hand operation. Heavy metal base with foam pad for stable table top use. Console top out of GRP with silver flake black high-gloss paint. Lead: Plastic moulded D type connector. Non retaining round grommet. Weak point: None STICK ACTION Travel: medium to long Action force: light. Reaction speed: instant. Response/feedback: good to excellent, very positive. FIRE ACTION Travel: medium to long. Action force: light. Reaction speed: very fast - excellent for rapid fire. Response/feedback: good, solid feel and clunky feedback. Ergonomics: handheld - you've got to be joking! It's huge! the large sized arcade style box makes it excellently stable and it has a low centre of gravity, hardly moves at all. Nice big arcade style fire buttons make life easy. Life expectancy: very good, it feels solid. Everyone felt this was just about the best on a hard game. QUICKSHOT 1 Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd, [redacted] Price: £9.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Plastic actuator ring actuates 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates sell-centering effect. Fire Action: One round fire button at 10/11 o'clock activates dome switch. Lever thumb switch activates dome switch. Ergonomics: Average size well rounded body for hand-held operation. 4 suction pads for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Weak Point: Very weak actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long. Action Force: light to medium. Reaction Speed: good. Response/Feedback: audible click, but it didn't feel very responsive. FIRE ACTION Travel: short Action Force: medium. Reaction Speed: slow. Response/Feedback: audible click with positive feel, but resistance makes for poor rapid fire speeds Ergonomics: the long stick and large base with big suckers makes it poor for hand-held use, but reasonably stable on a table with the suction cups, although they give it a soggy feel. Life expectancy: not very long, showed signs of splitting along base seam, and the base area of the stick was starting to wear where it enters the base. QUICKSHOT 2 Supplier: Spectravideo Ltd., [redacted] Price: £11.95 Lever Action: Plastic shaft supported between pivot point and upper shoulder support. Plastic actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Defamation of ring creates self centering force. Fire Action: Large trigger fire button and lever thumb switch both activating dome switches. Ergonomics: Average size moulded body for handheld operation. 4 suction feet for table top operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and integrally moulded sleeved retaining grommet. Special feature: Rapid fire action increases firing power on single shot games. Provided constant stream of firing signals. Will not work with all interfaces, as it requires non standard 5V supply on the D connector. Weak point: Plastic actuator ring will wear and snap. STICK ACTION Travel: medium long Action force: medium Reaction speed: good Response/feedback: no feedback, overall rather soggy feel to it. FIRE ACTION Travel: very short. Action force: light. Reaction speed: good - reasonable rapid fire. Response/feedback: good, positive feel and audible click. Ergonomics: no good for hand held use with large base and suction cups in the way, although this makes it good on a table. This joystick has a Rapid Fire slide switch, which is badly placed so that the supporting hand tends to knock it on, and it doesn't always work with the Spectrum, causing all sorts of disasters! Top stick and trigger fire buttons are usefully placed. Life expectancy: better than Quickshot 1, medium expectancy - the long stick and travel means it gets rather a battering in fast games, especially with the full hand grip required. TRIGA COMMAND Supplier: Datel Electronics, [redacted] Price: £19.99 (excl. P & P) Lever Action: Nylon shaft supported between pivot point and upper ball support. Nylon actuator ring activates 4 dome switches on pcb. Deformation of ring creates self-centering action. Fire Action: Trigger button forces large copper contact to solid contact post. Ergonomics: Average size square body for handheld operation or with 3 separate suction cups for table operation. Large handgrip with trigger button. Lead: Moulded U type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: Actuator ring and handgrip rotation stoppers will snap. STICK ACTION Travel: very long, although travel to response is short with long over travel. Action force: very light Reaction: very fast. Response/feedback: good response, long travel after contact makes life easy, no audible feedback. FIRE ACTION Travel: short to response, long over travel. Action force: very light. Reaction speed: medium - trigger action tires finger rapidly on fast firing games. Response/feedback: audible click - long travel after contact makes for a tiring fire action. Ergonomics: too large a base for comfortable handheld use, but light action and solid base make it very steady on a table. The large girth stick is comfortable to hold but the trigger fire is awkwardly pieced so that the finger tends to squeeze oh it, and its edges are quite sharp. This stick only has a trigger fire. Life expectancy: The large handle lends to twist too much and this combined with the long over travel makes it feel unsafe on a hard game, as though the stick would break off it survived the ten minutes however. THE ARCADE Supplier: Euromax Electronics Ltd., [redacted] Price: £15.95 Lever Action: Steel shaft supported in tough rubber washer. Plastic dome on shaft activates 4 subminiature lever microswitches. Self-centering with rubber washer and plastic nose for endstop. Fire Action: Single large red fire button activates subminiature microswitch. Light action. Ergonomics: Hand or table operation with 4 rubber feet. Solid feel and operation. Lead: Moulded D type connector and moulded sleeved grommet. Weak point: None. STICK ACTION Travel: very short Action force: hard. Reaction speed: slow and not very delicate. Response/feedback: not very good because of overall stiffness. FIRE ACTION Travel: long Action force: medium Reaction speed: slow - not good for rapid fire. Response/feedback: audible click, but soggy in feel. Ergonomics: quite good to hold, although the smallish, tapered base cause the hand to slip forwards in use. On the table, very stable with quiet games, although moves a bit on the faster ones because of hard action force required. Life expectancy: quite good, seems robust enough. This review does not cover the entire spectrum of joysticks on the market. Below you will find a further list of joysticks which may be reviewed in a later issue - God and the manufacturers of joystick willing. Please ask the suppliers listed in this review where to get hold of their products - not all operate a mail order service. COOKBRIDGE SURESHOT Supplier: Coookbridge Computer Supplies, [redacted]. Price: £15.95 CRACKSHOT Supplier: Jiles Electronics, [redacted]. Price: £7.50 SUPERCHAMP Supplier: Dean Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £12.95 QUICKSHOT 2+2 (modified Quickshot 2 with 2 independent fire actions and no rapid fire action) Supplier: Frel Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £13.95 LS JOYSTICK Supplier: Solidisk Technology Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £9.95 STARFIGHTER Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £13.95 TAC 2 Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £18.95 JOY SENSOR Supplier: Consumer Electronics Ltd., [redacted]. Price: £29.95

Big K

John Conquest

STICKS MAY BREAK... ...Or do their bearings in, but nothing fazes John Conquest. He's got plenty more to fall back on. Look through the computer mag ads and you'll see that there are a lot of people trying to sell you custom joysticks, all convinced that theirs is the real McCoy. "Arcade action", "instant response", "high quality", "professional" - writing joysticks ads looks like a doddle, but what we're concerned with here is the rather more difficult business of actually buying one. Obviously the first consideration is compatibility, whether or not the widget will fit your machine. Virtually all the joysticks currently available are designed to fit Atari video & computer systems and Commodores, though they'll also work on CBS's Colecovision videos (you'll still need a standard controller in the second port to make the games run). Wico supply adaptor leads for Apple and Radio Shack marchines and, like Suncom, for Texas instruments TI 99/4As. A rare exception is Suncom's Strike Commander (£18.95), made specifically for the BBC or Dragon, though Kempston are also planning a BBC stick. VEXED The vexed question of interfaces is one on which you'll need expert, and hopefully disinterested, advice. For Spectrums, the Kempston at £11.50, which will accept any stick, has only one drawback, a single port. For BBc's the Wizard at £14.95 is recommended. The basic rules are not to get joysticks with plugs jury-rigged to fit machines they weren't designed for (they don't work too well) and to avoid anything that needs a program to make it run. A less obvious but vital consideration is the size of your hand. Believe me, that's important. Many of the sticks I tried simply weren't comfortable, but might well suit someone with smaller, or indeed larger, hands and this applies especially to shaped grips. Unfortunately a lot of shops stock a very limited range, usually Quickshot IIs or Point Masters, so for this and many other reasons it's well worth while going to one of the big computer shops and trying your hand at their range. Lion House in London's Tottenham Court Road, for instance, has 17 models ready to be hooked up for demonstration, and the Silica shop in Sidcup reckons to have at least 15 of a possible 26 in stock at any given time. Even if you just try them for feel, you'll notice the differences. Ask yourself realistically how much you're going to use a stick. Price differences are almost entirely down to quality of construction and the cheap ones simply aren't up to a lot of punishment. If you're heavily into 'Decathalon', to take an extreme example, a cheap joystick is going to be a waste of money. With joysticks you get what you pay for with a vengeance, and Atari owners at least should calculate whet her they're really improving on the standard issue sticks. OBVIOUS The most obvious differences between cheap and not so cheap sticks are whether or not they have steel shafts, the grade of plastics (high impact or extruded) used and the general solidity of construction. What you don't see is the guts, which is what really sorts them out. Very few sticks have microswitches (though Kempston are rumoured to be using them in all future models), but the leaf switches found in most vary considerably in quality and the cheap ones have very limited lives. Also hidden inside the casing is the shaft mounting which is another thing that decides whether or not the stick will go on doing what you want it to do. You should also think about the kind of game you usually play. Sticks come in two basic configurations, with the fire button in the handle, either centre fire on the top or trigger fire in the handle itself, or mounted on the base. I'm convinced that handle fire is a major contribution to fire control. Most of the sticks with handle fire have a base button as well, which can be a nuisance when hand holding, and some base mountings are available in either left or right hand versions or already have both, either as separate buttons or as a bar across the width of the base. Most of the sticks mentioned were tested with Activision's Atari computer version of River Raid.It requires precise manoeuvre, reliable and responsive speed control and pinpoint fire - in other words it uses everything that a joystick ought to offer. The cheapest sticks around are Acorn at £13 a pair (soon to go up to £19), which are so terrible that nobody seems to stock them. The Pinnacle at £7.95 is admired more for its price than for the quality of its 8-way movement and handle and base fire buttons, but if you really want to spend the minimum, this is the one. For £9.95 you can get Spectravision's Quickshot I with centre handle fire and sucker feet, which, for rather more, is a standard Spectrum interface offering. Like its big brother (below) its shaped handle makes hand size critical. Easy to use, though because of the shaft mounting rather loose, it's as fragile as it looks and would last about five minutes in an arcade. Its leaf switches have a poor reputation. Alternatively there's Suncom's Slik Stik, the cheapest half way reasonable stick, which has a ball grip, a left hand side base fire button and is a nice hand size. Solidly made, it's the kind of thing Atari ought to be offering as standard. First in over the £10 mark is the very basic Kempston 1000 (£10.99) which has little over the Slik Stik except a base fire bar, workable from left or right. The handle suggests that it might best be controlled with the thumb. It's followed at £11.95 by the Quickshot II which is identical to the junior version already dealt with except that it has 'auto rapid fire' via a trigger in the handle, its main selling point. LOOSE FEEL The Triga Command (£12.99) has a very similar loose feel, again due to the shaft mounting, and looks very plasticky. It has a trigger tire only (and suctions cup feet) and comes in £19.99 versions for Spectrum and BBC. The handles design however is excellent with a diamond cross-cut pistol grip that is very satisfying. The much solider Kempston 3000 with handle centre, trigger and base fire bar buttons is El 2.75. At £12.95 you can choose between the Point Master, very similar to the Quickshot II but slightly less robust, and Sumlock's all-British Pro-Ace which resembles the Kempstons in its solid high-impact plastic construction and fire bar (plus centre fire in the handle), but which I found sluggish and awkwardly shaped. On the other hand, Sumlock back up the quality of their leaf switches with a two year warranty, so it should be pretty reliable in the long term. The top of the range Kempston 5000 (£13.50) is, again, a very solid piece of work with a ball grip on a short, tapered steel shaft and both left and right hand base fire buttons. It feels a bit stiff but I'm told that it wears in well. The next Suncom, the £13.95 Starfighter (also available in a ritzier version for Apple computers at a very ritzy £39.96) is a very nice hand size with excellent manoeuvre and speed control. It has a left hand base fire button and a stubby unshaped plastic handle that I found far too short, but that's me. Wico, like Suncom and American firm, make their first entry at £14.95 with The Boss, a muscular brute that I found very heavy to use, aggravating my advanced case of video wrist, but very positive. However as the hand grip is shaped for a much smaller hand than mine, it's virtually unusable in my glove size. The Arcade at £15.95 is the cheapest stick that one can get really enthusiastic about. Dutch made, with very superior microswitches, it's extremely positive and responsive, a real pleasure to use. This is an excellent device and highly recommended - not just by me but by Lion House where it's a big favourite. STEEL SHAFT Back to Suncom at £18,95 with the TAC which has a ball handle, steel shaft, nonslip feet and left and right hand side base fire buttons. A nice size for hand holding but, despite the amazing manoeuvre control, I find the shaft too short, the fire buttons need very firm instruction and the game (River Raid) seemed much speedier than with other sticks. The legendary Le Stick at £19.95 boasts unique mercury switches, but they're a mixed blessing. While it's ideal for one-handed use and suits games like Decathalon superbly, firing jogs the switches so that it has a tendency to jump about when you start shooting. Le Stick is if anything too responsive and so hard to control, making it a real wrist killer. QUALITY Jumping to £24.95 we have another Wico, the Red Ball a quality number with a longer steel shaft, a good size ball handle with built in fire button, plus another on the base, and all the control one expects from Wico widgets. However at this price I'd spring another £3 to get the £27.95 Wico Three Way. This is my personal favourite of all the sticks I tried and, for my money, the top of the range. It has a very long steel shaft, which means a far better 'throw', and three different clip-on handles, though in practice I only use one, the slim tapered job. The Three Way has a centre fire button in the handle and another on the base, but it offers a unique switching feature which enables one to cut off the base button, extremely useful if, like me, you like holding the stick in one hand and working it with the other. With other dual fire sticks it's very easy to find your fingers working both fire buttons, which may not be what you want. For River Raid at any rate the Three Way is the primp stick for control, fire accuracy, delicacy of manoeuvre, speed control and overall feel and response. TOUGH BABY From the same stable as The Arcade comes the Professional Mark at £28.95, which looks rather like it had been ripped off the front of an arcade machine. This is one tough baby and though I can't help wondering exactly what 'Professional' means in this context, if anything deserves the name this does. I imagine some of you must at some time have put your noses into a video arcade. If so, you'll know exactly what to expect from this one, The joker in the joystick pack is Suncom's Joy Sensor which looks rather like an upmarket version of Intellivision's control pad. I can't make it work and though I've heard rumours of people who have mastered it and love it. I've never actually met one of them. All it gives me is vicious oversteer. At £29.95 this seems like a real gamble, but maybe I'm missing something. MOVE BLIP All joysticks do pretty much the same thing, move a little blip round a TV screen. So how come there's a £20+ difference between the cheapest and the most expensive? Well, it depends on whether they're being made to a price or to a standard. I am not a racist... but. The tell-tale on the cheap sticks is the 'Made in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea' and there's no getting away from the fact that they're not in the same class as the American and Dutch made sticks. The trick is to find one that suits both your hand and your pocket, which is why you need access to a wide range. However even the big shops have no consensus view; Lion House are big Wico fans, plugging the price range with the Pinnacle and The Arcade, while Silica Shop prefer the Suncom Slik Stik and Starfighter with the Quickshot as back up. To me the ideal stick would be a cross between the Triga (handle design), The Arcade (micro switches) and Wico Three Way (everything else), in the real world three sticks seem to me to stand out as value for money and they are: 1. Suncom Slik Stik - £9.95 2. The Arcade - £15.95. 3. Wico Three Way - £27.95

ABOVE: the Spectravision 2.

Both Spectras.

LEFT: Suncom Slik Stik. RIGHT: the Joy-Sensor vicious oversteer.

The Professional.

The WICO range - with the 3-Way top of the list.

The lot.