doubledown

Thank you ...and I completely agree...expensive maybe...but never bad! 😁

The Sega SH-400...yes, that's partially how I decided on the concept...I also own the rarer motorcycle variant, the BH-400 too. Spy Hunter while "technically" a driving game is not like a racing game...in that you are only making small adjustments to move your car left or right on the straight road that you are driving on. Which is why...for the most point...a joystick works fine for this. When playing a racing game like Pole Position, Hang-On, or Out Run...(which had analog (or digital encoder based) steering controls in the arcade), with a digital joystick or d-pad controller on home port versions, you have to work the digital controls depending on the turn. On a sharp long turn you may just be able to hold the joystick hard to one direction and make the turn...but for softer turns you have to tap, tap, tap the joystick so that you don't over-steer. The beauty of this design is that there is a bit of dead-band off of the center, to the point where you make contact with either switch (about 5 or 6 degrees), and then there is a bunch of over-travel past the point where you make contact with either switch (about 30 - 40 degrees). So while you would still be "working" the steering control (turning a little farther, then letting off a little, then turning a little farther)...as you don't feel physical stops (unless you really crank the steering)...it just feels like you are making analog adjustments to compensate for the turn. Again this has little effect in Spy Hunter...but this "digital / simulated-analog" concept with lots of play/movement...offers a pseudo-analog feel when playing true racing style games. In the picture you can see the hemispherical cam on top of the rear-most shaft collar...which when the yoke is turned...is what contacts/activates the lever arms of the micro-switches. This hemispherical cam, and lever arm style micro-switches are also what allow for so much rotation/movement after making the contacts...without damaging the switches. The torsion spring seen above, captured between the two shaft collars, is what provides the return-to-center tension, and the rotational stops. The outer pair of hex stand-offs can be adjusted to allow for more or less spring tension on the yoke...and the inner pair provide the end of rotation stops. As I had no idea when I first built it...how much tension I would want...or how much overall rotation I would want...so I drilled and tapped large arcs of "adjustment" holes so that I could fine tune it to my liking. Now that it's done...I can see that I really only need the holes that are currently in use...and a couple each way from these...and all of the others are unnecessary. But better safe than sorry!

I'm just glad that the ColecoVision port allowed for (4) separate buttons for the weapon controls, so that both triggers and both thumb switches are functional/necessary. The ports for the Ataris, C-64, and even the NES, only used 2 buttons...one for forward firing weapons (machine guns normally, then auto switching to missiles if you had them, and the attack helicopter was on screen), and the other for rearward firing weapons (which if I remember correctly you would only ever have 1 of at a time). I think sometimes we take for granted how awesome the ColecoVision really is...when compared to some of it's "competition"...if you even call them that. 😁

My love of Spy Hunter is definitely for the C-64, and ColecoVision versions...I also suck at the harder arcade version. But trying to play it on the CV with a Hand Controller...with it's nubby joystick and using the keypad buttons for secondary weapons is a travesty, and lets face it, the SAC can't compete with a custom-built steering yoke. And as an added bonus...this gave me an excuse to expand my portfolio!

It just goes to show you...you keep your head down, you put in the work, you have an endless amount of skill and talent, you don't box yourself in to any sort of budget...and anything is possible! Also, I feel this masterpiece substantiates my self-proclaimed title as the "King of All Controllers!" 😊 Seriously though guys...thanks for the kind words. I really am happy with it. I also love being able to finally add some side art to an enclosure for a change, it's such a visually important & beautiful part of the old arcade cabinets. In all honestly...I have absolutely no idea what the cost would be to reproduce this, at this point. I'd have to go through my receipts and add up all the parts, take a guess at how much machining time was required, and how much time for assembly is involved. The "sell" price can also have a huge variance depending on the availability of parts in the secondary market. Off the top of my head...big money parts...the enclosure had a list price of about $150, but we get a bit of a discount through work, and I think I paid about $120-ish for this one. The grips, as new from HAPP, are about $80 for a set (plus their ridiculous shipping charges), but I got these from a guy selling new stock items on ebay, for I think about $50 for the set...then there are the pedals. This particular dual-pedal, foot switch I chose, due to it's Explosion-Proof rating, has a retail price of $378 (yeah you read that right)...but I got mine used from some medical supply salvage reseller on ebay for about $60, which I then had to refurbish, and out of common-sense, I replaced its two used micro-switches with new ones...which were about $15 a piece. Now of course with the "gear shifter" doubling as the speed control, it could be offered without pedals...which would be the "Standard" Edition...versus this, the "Deluxe" Edition. So like I said...no real idea, but if I were to take a stab at it, something in the $500 - $1000 range probably. I really couldn't be any more "accurate" than that at this point. I'm already planning on a Turbo Edition - VVG Experience Controller using this same enclosure. I have a couple of small details regarding component mounting and installation to figure out on that one once I get into it, and will need to order some parts of course, but it will happen...this I can promise you.

For your enjoyment, I implore you to turn up your speakers, and press play on the video below whilst you read the following post So this project got started approximately 9 months ago when I had a vision. That vision…to design and build my most elaborate Experience Controller to date, for one of my all time favorite games, to be played on one of my all time favorite consoles. I really don’t remember the order of events that lead up to me starting this one, but the earliest pieces of the puzzle must have been sourcing the Pistol Grips for the steering yoke, and the dual foot-switches for the Pedals…and then it all built from there. I had the initial proof-of-concept for my custom steering yoke finished around the middle of October last year, starting with the bent tubing and center hub for the handlebars and the Grips, then engineering and machining the bearing block, and the spring-loaded return-to-center and rotational stop mechanics. With most all of the mechanics & engineering worked out, I started looking for an enclosure that would work for this project. After a short search I found one, requested and received a quote for it, and placed my order. The initial quote I received, estimated about 5 days before shipment, but it ended up being 27 days until I actually received it…just before the Thanksgiving holiday. I got the enclosure machined that weekend, but now my problem was the weather. The enclosure had an “industrial gray” coating, but I wanted it to be black…unfortunately it’s too cold in late November in Ohio to do any painting outside…so it would just have to wait. Fast forward to April 2020 when it’s starting to warm up outside and then the Covid-19 outbreak…I’m working from home…and I’m not allowed into the office where the enclosure was. Fast forward a couple of more months to this June, and things start rolling again. I finally get the enclosure painted, and now I could assemble the world’s greatest ColecoVision Experience Controller…ever. So nine months in the making (granted mostly related to weather and a mild pandemic), I present to you, and proudly unveil, my Spy Hunter Deluxe Edition – VVG Experience Controller: Built into a mild steel, Saginaw ELJ Consolet enclosure, measuring 20” x 8” x 7” with a 30/60 degree sloped face, and weighing approximately 15 lbs. empty… lives the Spy Hunter controller we all deserve. The taller sides of this enclosure, versus the lower ones I normally use for joystick type controllers, finally allowed me to include some arcade cabinet inspired side-art. The grips are Happ, Left and Right Grip assemblies, w/ the additional Thumb Switches. They’re not exactly the same as the originals…but they are very close. Plus they offer complete control of the weapons systems in your G-6155 Interceptor, in addition to providing the steering controls. The grips are one of the very few purchased “finish” parts for this build, as all of the handlebar tubing, steering shaft, bearing block, and mechanics were engineered and fabricated/built by yours truly. The Spy Hunter arcade game featured a 2-speed (low/high) gear shift lever, and an analog gas pedal, whereas all of the vintage home ports of the game (to my knowledge) deleted the “gear-shifting”, and simply used the joystick’s up & down directions for your in-game speed control, acting like the “cruise control” in your car. So to provide the necessary in-game speed controls for this controller, I purchased a Linemaster 596-EX, two-pedal, Explosion-Proof, foot switch. Obviously in environments like our homes, the Explosion-Proof rating is not necessary, but this Ex-Proof housing is cast aluminum, robust as hell, and heavy…which is exactly what I wanted. Plus I wanted pedals that were over-hung, and that pivoted at the rear like real car pedals, not ones that pivoted in the front. The benefit of the added weight of the cast aluminum enclosure is realized when you use the pedals…no fumbling about, or accidentally knocking them over during game-play, especially when on a plush carpeted surface. The pedals are wired as the right-pedal = “Gas” (joystick up), and the left-pedal = “Brake” (joystick down), and I removed some of the metal from the pedal assembly which was initially there to protect them from being stepped on accidentally. In the case of playing a video game…nobody is going to get injured or killed if a pedal is stepped on accidentally, plus it makes it easier to transfer your foot from one pedal to another, and it won’t hurt your bare or socked feet if you step down in the wrong place. Connection between the pedals and the controller enclosure is made at the rear of each unit, via a custom 8’ uni-directional cable I made up…which is removable at both ends. Additionally, the “SH” logo artwork I installed on the pedal assembly, is the matching artwork from the floor-mat of the original arcade cockpit cabinets. For cosmetics sake, I still installed a “gear-shifter” via a 2-way (up/down) joystick, but I moved it to the left side of the steering yoke, versus the arcade cabinets which had them installed to the right of the yoke. This “gear shifter” is actually wired as an additional/alternate/duplicate controller for the speed control…should you opt to use this, versus the pedals. I installed it to the left of the yoke because the right grip’s index finger operated “trigger” is the control button for your machine guns…the most used weapon in the game. So if you’re not using the pedals, but you are using this “gear-shifter” instead, you can still shoot your machine guns while accelerating, or braking. Lots of time was spent redrawing the CPO artwork (most of which is blocked from view by the steering yoke), as each gauge is intended to look like a three-dimensional gauge with raised/beveled edges, and highlighted by a light-source from the upper-left quadrant (presumably the sun shining through the driver’s side window). I don’t even remember how many layers, and fill properties, and transparency properties I used to get them to look just right. I had found lots of photos online of the Spy Hunter arcade cabinet artwork for the reproduction of the CPO, but so many of them were really dark with poor lighting, or blurry, or simply taken from too far away for me to make out all of the details in the gauges. Fortunately a guy over at the KLOV forums had a super high resolution scan of the bare CPO, which provided me with the extra detail I needed to get the artwork to be a near-perfect match. Lastly, to the right of the steering yoke is a 12-button membrane keypad for all of the necessary game and menu selections, and it’s custom overlay has been drawn to match the artwork styling of the “simulated keypad” which was on the original CPO artwork, in this same location…although that one was a 16-button keypad. I have to say I’m super happy with it, and I hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Potentially amazing news, Spy Hunter & ColecoVision fans...I received my enclosure's replacement latches today. Unfortunately its been so long since I removed them, I don't remember what the original ones looked like exactly, so I won't be able to verify that they're the correct ones until I get home after work. So maybe the unveil is tonight...maybe not...stay tuned!

Remember...it costs money to spend money!

Do we want "new" ColecoVision fans though...really!?! 😅 Obviously in a perfect world every game or piece of hardware ever made, would always be in stock and available for purchase at retail pricing, but unfortunately that will never happen. As I'm not a software developer/publisher, I don't have any idea of the production costs to make a game available. But it's obvious that cartridge shells have to be made, as do manuals, boxes, labels, PCBs and the likes. The more that are made the less expensive they will be (individually), but then the up-front investment is larger. Then what do you do when you make 500 copies of a game, and only 50 people buy that game...sit on 450 for a dozen years until new fans pop-up interested in buying them, or mark them down and break-even, or even sell them at a loss in an attempt to recoup some of the money. At work we deal with a metal fabricator, and if I want him to make 1 of something for me, it's $100...but if I tell him I want 5, then they come down to $20 ea., so still a total of $100, but now I get 5 of them. I would assume that some of this rings true in this world with custom printed labels, manuals, boxes and the likes. If CollectorVision, Opcode, Team Pixelboy were to say that any of their games were available at any time, and 1 person orders this 1 game, how much would it cost to make only 1 of these games at a time? For me with building controllers, I know I can get little price breaks when I order quantities of items, for example saving 6% when I buy 50 enclosures versus just 1 or 2, but then I'm sitting on $2500 worth of enclosures that may or may not get used or sold, not to mention all the room they would take up. In this instance, the $3 per unit savings, really isn't worth it. Granted the per unit price discount, regarding quantity ordering, is a lot more noticeable when ordering "custom" items versus simply ordering off-the-shelf items. Also for me, I like making new hardware designs, versus simply re-making previous ones. From a business-model standpoint, this is not what you want to do...as you want to spend the R&D time and money once, then simply reproduce the work that has already been done. But I find this boring, as I like to flex my creative brain muscles apparently. Then there is always the collectability of something. If when it was sold, it was limited to X number of examples, which people bought with that in mind, and now it's being reproduced...how should those original buyers feel. Yes you can always change some aspect of the item to differentiate it from the original run to later runs, but it still cheapens/lessens the original run if others are made later. With my custom controllers...if I didn't do my own machining, artwork design, and printing, I guarantee that I wouldn't have as many different styles/editions/versions available...as it would simply be way to expensive for all of these crazy one-offs...and what kind of world would that be...I'll tell you, a world I wouldn't want to live in! 😃

I think it all depends on the source. PlayStation 2 / Dreamcast (generation) and newer consoles usually look great on modern tvs, but older pixel based games/systems, definitely look better on CRTs...no doubt about it. I recently started playing some of the old PS1 generation Namco Musuem discs (Galaga, Pac-Man, Gaplus and the likes), and while they look fine/good/sharp on an older (albeit high end at the time of release) Sharp Aquos 14" LCD, they look a helluva lot more arcade accurate and crisp, with the visible pixel/scan lines that my Advent 14" CRT displays. From everything I've seen, I think the N64 looks the worst out of all of the systems on modern TVs, but how much of that is due to the size of modern TVs, versus what we use to use. I remember playing old PC games on a 13" or 14" screen back in the day, and now if I play those same games on a 20"/21" monitor, the large size really displays worse...in my opinion.

Tell me about it. I got the paint buffed out after work at a buddies house, went back to work for assembly, got the CPO artwork and all the the other hardware installed, then when looking for the latches and hinges...couldn't find the latches. I looked for probably 20 minutes, and then another 10 or 15 minutes at home (on the off chance they were there) and no luck. Sucks to pay $20 for replacement parts I shouldn't need, but such is life I guess. The only saving grace (if things work out) is that they're "in stock", and the company is only a few hours away in the same state so shipping should be quick. I'll check tomorrow to see if they provided a tracking number to find out if I'll get them tomorrow, Thursday, possibly Friday, or after the holiday weekend (worst case scenario). So stay tuned to be amazed! I promise its worth the wait...at least it will be to the kid in all of us who would have killed to play Spy Hunter with a steering yoke at their house, versus my personal childhood experience of using a WICO Command Control (bat handle) on my cousin's C-64. I never actually played the ColecoVision port of Spy Hunter as a kid...the 2 friends who had ColecoVisions didn't have it apparently.

Flicky and Thexder (their original versions) are 2 of my all time favorite games. I had Thexder for my Tandy 1000EX when I was a kid, and I found Flicky (Arcade) on Mame years and years ago, which I then found out was available for the Sega Genesis as a near arcade perfect port, and I've had it ever since. Unfortunately, if you're use to the Arcade/Genesis version of Flicky...you may be disappointed with the SG-1000 version. It's the "same game", but maneuverability is so radically different, I find it hard to play.

I'd have to go back and "math up" Vanguard, but I wanna say (and don't quote me), that one is somewhere between $350-$400 ish. Spy Hunter is amazingly close to being finished (I mean really freaking close). I assembled 98% of it last night but couldn't finish it because I lost a couple of pieces. The enclosure for Spy Hunter is a steel industrial, NEMA rated housing, with a hinged door (which is the face that the controls are on). I had to disassemble the latches and hinges from the door & enclosure body for machining, and painting...and apparently I lost the latches...because now I can't find them. Literally everything else is done...I just need 2 stupid little quarter-turn latches to fill the 2 holes in the front door, and to button up the housing. I ordered a replacement set today, which are supposedly in stock, and only about 120 miles away in Aurora, OH...so fingers crossed I get them in a couple of days so that I can unveil it. Spy Hunter was a huge pain to engineer, but now that it done, it's replication can be "easy", albeit time consuming. It can be offered as a "standard" or "deluxe" version...the deluxe version will include the gas & brake pedals, the standard version won't. I will say that I am also extremely happy with the artwork on this one, and the unique shape of this enclosure (versus the others that I've used) allowed me for some new opportunities regarding the artwork, that I haven't previously been able to do. I would really hope to get these replacement parts tomorrow, or Thursday, but I just have to wait.

That really surprises me honestly. Granted I don't know how these were sold...limited to x number, or all pre-orders welcomed or what, but I don't think that I have ever played Gradius, which means, initially in my brain, I have very little interest in it...whereas I have been playing Pac-Man and Space Invaders all my life (basically), so I bought those as an obvious no-brainer. I've seen videos of Gradius on YouTube, and the game looks great, but I can't get over the choppiness of its scrolling, which I know is a limitation of the ColecoVision, and possibly the 1 or 2 videos I watched weren't "good video captures" adding to this. But as I have no "fond childhood" memories of Gradius, its not on my radar personally. Obviously no negative criticism, or malicious intent intended here, just explaining my surprise to you mentioning Gradius being your best seller...I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years.

I too share your pain. How am I going to make a custom "Secret" controller if I don't know what the game is!!!

Me too...oh wait I can partially tell you now. You can look at my website HERE (also linked in my signature) to see what I've done thus far...mind you my website is just a Google site that I use as a portfolio, its not a web-store. Pretty much anything I've made before I can/will offer with a few exceptions: With this upcoming pre-order, I'm not looking to do any ColecoVision Hand Controllers (or Nintendo or Jaguar, to CV conversions)...maybe later, but not at this upcoming phase. In the ColecoVision section of my site, pretty much anything in the Joystick / Grip / Enhanced / Experience controllers sections will be offered, with the exception of the models marked as "L"imited "E"ditions, such as the #2495 Display Editions. The only other caveat is locating "donor" hardware in the cases of some of the controllers that use vintage arcade original controls or donor housings. In these instances, the donor hardware needs to be found, and it's cost(s), will directly affect the price of the finished controller. Additionally, controllers I have listed in the Atari / Nintendo / Sega sections would be available too. Plus any new controllers I finish up between now, and when I start the pre-order phase would also be available. To give you some idea, if memory serves (from the last batch), and if donor housings are still available in the $50-ish range, I can tell you regarding say, the VVG Joystick Controllers: Coleco Black CollectorVision Phoenix Super Action (Orange) Super Action (Red) ...were in the $210 range Q*bert ...was in the $225 range Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Junior Ms. Pac-Man Pac-Man ...were in the $275 range Mouse Trap (Joystick controller...not the Experience controller) ...was in the $350 range More info to come, along with more new controllers (as always), but if there is any 1 or 2 other specific controllers you were looking at, or thinking of, post it here, and I'll ball-park price it so that you have some idea. Also if anybody has some amazing idea for a controller that I haven't done yet (the more ridiculous/elaborate the better)...post that too...I'm always looking to outdo myself!

You could just "swap-tronics" all of the components, one by one, until it works properly!

For all the true leaf-switch fans out there, firstly..."blessings and riches". Secondly, I received the original Coin Control leaf-switch joystick today that I'll use in my Commando Edition 7800 controller: It looks and feels amazingly good, especially when considering the fact that its about 35 years old. I'll take it up to work tomorrow, tear it down, and get it all cleaned up and ready to go. Right now I've got the CPO artwork pretty much done...I just need to finalize the machine gun & grenade artwork bits sizing, rotation, and placement on the CPO. Then of course I still need to order the enclosure and the green and white buttons, but I'm waiting to place parts orders until next week, when I've figured out all of the bits and parts I'll need for my next 3 or 4 controllers...saves on shipping a bit that way.

No problem...I'm trying to get all of the new ones out before the pre-order so that people can have the choice then, versus ordering 1 (which is available now), then I come out with something new later, and they wish they had that one instead. Not to say that I'll ever stop making new designs...but just kind of my thought at this point.

Not right at the moment. I'm currently in a "new build" phase, creating new and more fabulous versions & editions. Once I get finished up with these new ones....I'll post/offer a pre-order period for any of the controllers that can be made available, and then build them in one large batch. I was planning on doing this earlier this year, but I got hung up with some other stuff...and then Covid-19...and now I'm making all of the ones that I thought of / designed, during my 3 month "work-from-home" quarantine period.

A direct quote from MrPix on 06/18/20 (full post found HERE) "I don't have any incentive to make an SGM. Anyhow, I have better ideas that make the SGM look like a toy " Yet here we are, with what I understand to be a direct clone. Why the 180?

I'm not currently "taking" orders for any controllers...least of all Hand Controllers, at the moment. I have more than a dozen new controller projects that I'm working on currently. Once I've got those out of my system, I'll look into accepting orders for any controllers that can be made available. FYI, the Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. and Pac-Man / Ms. Pac-Man sets were limited to a 1 time sale with X numbers sold, and no more will be made. So if you're looking for those versions specifically, you will have to get them from the open market.

For those interested...I'm painting the Spy Hunter enclosure today...get syked!!! Hopefully it will be unveiled soon.

Its definitely the shaft extension and ball knob...assuming everything else is working properly. It makes a huge difference versus the short, factory shaft, and disc knob. And now of course enter the barrage of posts from people who "love" everything about their stock ColecoVision controllers, in their factory configuration! 😄 (probably the same people who love their factory 5200 controllers 😄 )

My initial plan for this controller was for full & complete ColecoVision & Genesis (3-button) compatibility. Reason being...I love the ColecoVision...and from what I read, the port of Frogger for the Genesis was amazingly arcade-accurate. Fun fact...Frogger was the last licensed game released for the Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo. So I got a copy of the Genesis game, and while it looks, sounds, and plays arcade accurately...it has a few flaws I can't abide. For starters there are no settings of any kind, and the only game-play option is 1 or 2 players, each staring with 5 lives...versus the arcade standard of 3. Then there is no high-score saving...not even during a single game session. So as soon as you finish your game, and start a new one (without powering off the console), there is no "high-score". So decided against adding the Genesis compatibility (which saves about $40 in hardware, and more than an hour of extra wiring), and I'll use the extra parts I purchased at a later date, I'm sure. **On a side note. I ran across a set of "my" Pac-Man / Ms. Pac-Man Edition Hand Controllers on ebay. They are mine in the sense that these are one of the sets that I made, but I am not the person selling them. So I can't speak to the selling price, or their actual condition, but if someone was looking for a set of these, they can be found on ebay. Again...not my listing...I don't know who's selling them...I just know there are always some people looking to get a set of these it seems like. HERE I noticed that the seller will only ship to the USA, so if you're out of the country and you want these, I can probably help with brokering the deal, (shipping to me, I'll ship to you...what-not).