Advice on USB competition pro joystick

[Dedale]

Hello everyone,

I see this product on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com.be/-/nl/Speed...A3Q3FYJVX702M2

It is a USB joystick inspired by old competition pro joystick from the 8 bit era. I would like to use it with FS-UAE and if possible even with VICE, on an emulated C64.

My question to you is , is it easy to use ? I plug and voila! Detected and usable as is ? I use Xubuntu 22.04 Linux and i am a rather casual user of computers. I can copy/paste commands in a terminal, install programs and install an OS via a USB thumb. That kind of easy things. Does anyone has experience or insight to offer ? The product looks rather cheap and neat.

[Jope]

Yes, it is easy to use. USB class compliant.

[Dedale]

Thank you.


(I am still listening)

[Korodny]

Yes, it is easy to use. Unfortunately, it's also cheap crap.

The cages for the micro switches under the fire buttons are slightly to big - the switches tended to fall out of the cage in the first production run(s). The manufacturer first fixed that by stuffing plastic waste between the button and the cage, later they came up with the 'fix' of using a soldering iron to melt the cage and some of the switch's housing into an ugly mess that can never be separated again.

In later production runs, lots of people complained about breaking cables - i.e. the joystick cable had visible damage around the area where it enters the joystick, and the stick stopped working.

Most production runs have a very cheap USB chip, which only reports the stick's status to the host computer about ten times per second. While some people claim to never notice this, a lot of people (including myself) do notice that sometimes joystick movements get "lost" during fast-paced action games. The very last production run did not have this problem - they used a different USB chip - but it was also 10 bucks more expensive, IIRC. I think these later ones (initially) cost close to 30 bucks. I don't know which production run the one you linked to belongs to.

I'd stay clear of the Competition Pro remake.

I have not tested it personally yet, but the heavily Comperition-Pro-inspired AracdeR comes highly recommended. It is using genuine Arcade parts (NonName, but Sanwa compatible). I think USB connectivity (it comes with a 9-Pin connector as standard) requires just buying a different cable, but make sure to confirm that with your dealer of choice.

[SkulleateR]

Originally Posted by Korodny

I have not tested it personally yet, but the heavily Comperition-Pro-inspired AracdeR comes highly recommended. It is using genuine Arcade parts (NonName, but Sanwa compatible). I think USB connectivity (it comes with a 9-Pin connector as standard) requires just buying a different cable, but make sure to confirm that with your dealer of choice.

I´m personally disappointed with the ArcadeR ... the cable is VERY cheap, I had two of them broken inside, the Stick itself is very loose, you don´t have a clear "click" point. I would not recommend this one.

Well you can of course pimp it with some extras to make it better/your own/whatever, but I would buy the (new version) of the Competition Pro anytime (the old version was indeed crap, high input lag etc.) ...

//EDIT : oh, and you will need a DB9 -> USB Adapter to use the ArcadeR on PC/USB, you cannot only change the cable