Mayflash F300 stick adjustment...

[Eltigro]

Okay, so this is my first arcade style joystick for PC.  I use it mainly for MAME on my laptop.  And on MAME, I mainly wanted a joystick like this for Ms Pac Man.  It comes with two joystick gates, an 8 way and a square.  I needed a diamond for Ms Pac Man, so I ordered one online.  It fits and works, but my problem is...  I feel that there is too much travel in the stick.  I'm playing the speed hack of Ms Pac Man and need quick direction changes and I just feel that the stick is too loose for me to get the feel I want.  Is there a way to shorten the throw on the stick?  I've thought of getting a diamond gate that has a smaller opening (but not sure how to search for that) or putting something around the base of the stick itself (inside the gate) so that it doesn't move all the way over, if that makes sense.  You can feel/hear the switches click a little less than half way through the stick's travel in one direction and I really just want to tighten that up.  Any ideas or leads?

[doubledown]

So we need to determine what your issue is...dead-band or over-travel.  The dead-band, is the amount of movement required off of center to make/actuate a directional contact.  The over-travel, is the amount of movement that the stick can continue to move after the contact has been made.  So do you feel that you need to move the stick farther than you would like...just to make contact (too much dead-band)...or do you not like the amount of travel the stick has after the contact has been made (over-travel)?  

 

I don't have any idea what "joystick" component is used in this assembled arcade stick...so I don't know what sort of accessories are available for it.  But for other sticks used in the competitive world (like those from Sanwa, Seimitsu, Samducksa variants)...different gates and/or restrictors and "over-sized" or "under-sized" actuators can be available.  The over-sized actuators would lessen the dead-band, and cause the contacts to make sooner in the throw of the shaft...which may be what your looking for.  If no such thing is available for your particular joystick, some have wrapped electrical tape, or added 1 or 2 layers of heat-shrink tubing over their existing actuator...to increase its diameter to make it "tighter."  

 

If you can't get the feel you're looking for...there is always the possibility of replacing the "joystick" component with one that may be more to your liking...or adjustable.  

[Eltigro]

It'd definitely over travel.  I can feel/hear the switch click about half way through the stick's travel.  I think a gate with a smaller opening would be ideal, but don't know how to search for such a thing.

[doubledown]

You would just have to search for a gate or sub-gate for that joystick model...to see if anything exists.  Keep in mind...that over-travel may be required for diagonals though.  I've never used one of those so I don't really know anything about what is available for them.  As they are fairly inexpensive sticks, I would be surprised if there were many options for parts...without changing the actual joystick component to something with more customization...if its possible to change easily.  I'm sure there's info on the old inter-web if you look around either on Reddit, or SRK forums.  

[Eltigro]

It uses regular Sanwa gates.  Below is a link to one I bought that fits perfectly, but still has too large of an opening, just like the ones that came with the stick.  Just need something with the same fit, but smaller openings I think. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GDJHBKC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[doubledown]

Yeah I'm not sure how much luck you're going to have finding something like that.