Sticky Button on Dreamcast Arcade Stick

Hi guys,

I just picked up a used Agetec Dreamcast Arcade Stick that has some "sticky" buttons. When you press down on the corners instead of in the center, they have a tendency not to return to the up position. Is this normal? Or is there a simple solution?

Thanks in advance,

Throw any 30mm sanwa snap in or semitsu screw-in for replacements and you should be golden.

Hey Dub,

How's it going?

Do I need to get a particular kind (they're only about 3/4" deep)? Any suggestions of where to get the buttons?

I opened up the stick and noticed that there was some "goo" (for lack of a better word) holding the plugs onto the pins at the bottom of the buttons (I guess because the pins are a pretty loose fit in the connectors). Anyway, not sure what it is--it still feels flexible, almost like caulking. Any ideas? Epoxy maybe?

brumma said:

Hey Dub,

How's it going?

Do I need to get a particular kind (they're only about 3/4" deep)? Any suggestions of where to get the buttons?

I opened up the stick and noticed that there was some "goo" (for lack of a better word) holding the plugs onto the pins at the bottom of the buttons (I guess because the pins are a pretty loose fit in the connectors). Anyway, not sure what it is--it still feels flexible, almost like caulking. Any ideas? Epoxy maybe?

Click to expand...

You will just have to cut and rewire, pushbuttons don't have a specific +/- connection, just as long as one is on each pin.

http://www.himuragames.com/home.php is the best place to get buttons IMO. Rod has really stepped it up on getting orders out fast too. Any 30mm button will work, snap in sanwas would be my choice. I have an Agetec stick modded with all 30mm sanwas as well as a sanwa stick.

dubdubdub said:

You will just have to cut and rewire, no big deal because pushbuttons don't have a specific +/- connection, just as long as one is on each pin.

Click to expand...

I don't even think that'll be necessary, will it? The "goo" just peels off and was holding the female connector to the underside of the button assembly. The connector is definitely reuseable--no damage at all. Do the Sanwas hook up differently? What color did you use? Why'd you replace the stick?

-brumma

brumma said:

I don't even think that'll be necessary, will it? The "goo" just peels off and was holding the female connector to the underside of the button assembly. The connector is definitely reuseable--no damage at all. Do the Sanwas hook up differently? What color did you use? Why'd you replace the stick?

-brumma

Click to expand...

It's your call. If the connectors fit then you are good, if not you will have to rewire.

The Sanwa sticks are better esp. for fighting games, mostly because of the 8-way restrictor plate you can use. Though fitting the stick might take a little bit more work than swapping the buttons.

Aha. I see what you meant now. The sanwas use different pins than the standard Agetec ones. Did you just solder directly to the pin?

Probably wont bother replacing the stick--too much bother.

I'm hoping to use this with an Atomiswave--what are you using yours with?

You should take out the plunger and clean the entire plunger and base area, if you know how to do that. That should solve the sticky problems.

I would recommend AkihabaraShop.com over anyone else. Per aka TheRealNeoGeo is by far the most reliable source of all things Japanese especially the ENTIRE Sanwa and Seimitsu catalogues. People tend to shy away from him because of the way he does orders every 2 weeks, but he has the best customer service bar none.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend Rod as of late. He's a great guy and does a great service selling parts from the US, but his reliability has definitely gone down. He will make it up to you in one form or another but I would rather just get the things I want, when I want them, at a good price. If you do order from him, e-mail him FIRST! That's how you should do business with him according to his policy. Most new customers end up just using his cart/checkout tools and then get angry when they don't hear from him. It does say to e-mail first but it's not apparent with the shopping cart functions.

EDIT: Two links for modding the Agetec (one with Sanwa and one with Seimitsu)

http://www.tychom.org/stick/

http://jonesey.clawz.com/joystick2/

~Paik

Sorry for the noob-esque questions. I've only lifted off the panel to view the underside of the buttons, so I can't see where the wires go to, but I also noticed that there are 3 wires going to each button. 2 black wires are attached to the right-side pin, and 1 red wire to the left pin. Is one of the black wires the ground? Can someone explain? Feel free to use small words.

Probably both of the black wires are ground (all the black may even be connected to each other at some point). Anyway, it doesn't really matter since when you put in the new button, you can just connect both the old black wires to one connector and the red to the other.

Yep, the 2 black/grey wires are the ground, done in a daisy chain between all the buttons (saves making a ground for each wire, which would look messy). If you're feeling adventurous, I'd recommend modding the Agetec with Sanwa/Seimitsu parts. Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons feel very similiar to the stock Agetec buttons, but smoother and overall better quality. The Sanwa JLF stick arguably also feels similiar to the Agetec stock too. I just finished modding my old Agetec, and I have to say it isn't as hard is it initially seems! It requires a little time to widen the button holes and prep the case to mount the stick, but it certainly isn't as intimidating as it at first seems.

Thanks for all the help, guys! I opened up the button assemblies and cleaned them out a bit. It wasn't really the plungers that cause the sticking, but the plastic buttons themselves. They fit a little too loose and it causes some binding. After the cleaning they seem to work better. It'll work as a temporary solution anyway.

@dubdubdub - Thanks for the tips and the link.

@Paik4Life - Thanks for the links. They cleared up a lot of questions after reading them through.

@Murray - Thanks. I see what you mean regarding the wiring. I opened up the bottom too and saw the daisy chain between the buttons--makes sense now.

@Martinov - What did you use to widen the holes for the buttons? I don't really want to invest in a Dremel tool right now, but filing the metal cover plate seems difficult without one.

One more question for you guys who use these with an Atomiswave... How are your buttons set up/configured? This seems like the best configuration to me:

X = B
Y = C
Z = D
A = A
B = ?
C = E or (SELECT on Neo-Geo)

but let me know what the default would be and if you modded it.


Thanks again!

To widen the holes, I used a metal file and coarse sandpaper. It does consume a few hours to do it, to be honest, a dremel would do it far quicker. If you got the buttons to unstick, then it's maybe best you leave any ideas of modding alone for a little while. If you find them wearing out, then by all means swap them out.

You can get a Mini Mite Cordless Dremel for $15-$20. Works perfect for these types of quick jobs.

As zap said, the dremel is a great hand tool. It's nice since there are a lot of attachments at Home Depot and Lowes. Sometimes I use cutting wheel attachments as well.

~Paik