Telegames Joystick - Internal photos and comparison

[Leonard Smith]

I recently acquired one of these for a good price and figured I'd do a quick tear down since I haven't seen many photos of the internals.

Mine was supposed to be "brand new" but I did notice evidence that someone has been inside this joystick before.  Also, not sure if this is normal, but my fire buttons seem to be reversed.  (Ie: the right button fires the machine gun in Commando, which is the opposite of my other ProLine joysticks).

 

The casing is identical in terms of size, but the joystick and fire buttons are noticeably lower in their alignment.  The joystick knob is about an inch taller than the standard Proline, which gives it a fair degree of throw.  The feel is much less crisp and more loose...very similar to those 3rd party Spectravideo/Quickshot joysticks on the 2600 (without the microswitches).

The fire buttons are comfortable to use as they use a metal leafswitch mechanism...they click nicely and have a satisfying smooth motion to them.  Additionally, the cable is about a foot shorter than a standard Proline.

Right out of the box, the stick wouldn't register a down position.  
Opening the stick was easy and right away, I could see the reason for the missing directional -- a blue wire was sitting on the contact and impeding the stick from making contact.  That was easily resolved by moving it out of the way and taping it down.

 

I mentioned the feel of the stick being similar to a Quickshot joystick and now I see why.  The mechanism is the same 'plus shape' metal leaf switch mechanism that the Quickshots utilize.  I see that a wire was cut from the quickfire board, so not sure if that was done intentionally or if this was a mistake or mod from the factory.  There's no foam disc and there's just a plastic actuator in place to activate the metal switches.  I'm impressed by how well-made this was.  In particular the metal leaf switches on the fire buttons...no domes or flimsy springs here.
 

I may check the wiring in more detail to determine why the fire buttons are reversed, but I was eager to start using it and put it all back together. 

As noted, there is a bit more throw and the stick really does resemble the Quickshot from a movement and feel standpoint.  Has that Wico arcade/leafswitch feel to it, so it's good for Ms Pac-Man once you adjust. 
It feels a bit more comfortable in the hand since the stick is actually more centered on the casing, but it takes some getting used to.

 

One game where I really feel that it makes a difference is on Pole Position II.  The extra throw and smoother fire buttons translate into a pseudo analog-ish behavior and I found myself immediately posting great lap times.  Donkey Kong and Commando played great, but there's a learning period here.  All in all, I know this joystick has been discussed previously, but I figured I'd do the community a favor by posting some better photos of the insides.
 

[mimo]

I think that someone has been playing with your stick.

I bought a NOS one direct from telegames in Leicester UK about 15 years ago. I don't use it often but don't remember the fire buttons being the wrong way round, and the auto fire certainly works.

[Leonard Smith]

Yeah for sure, I'm inclined to think it's been 'repaired' or something.  That cut wire on the auto fire PCB is dead giveaway.

No biggie...just glad it actually works.  I'll get it sorted out over the weekend.
Though the fact that the blue wire resting on the 'down' contact was a new one for me, lol.  You can actually see the indentation on the wire from being pressed/crushed.

[+GoldenWheels]

The design of that compared to the ProStick....wow. Actual metal contacts. I bet they hold up better than those damn dome switches...

[Leonard Smith]

1 hour ago, GoldenWheels said:

The design of that compared to the ProStick....wow. Actual metal contacts. I bet they hold up better than those damn dome switches...

Agreed.

I was expecting something on par with the old Commodore Vic 20 joysticks (the ones where the contacts were just taped in using scotch tape - from the factory!).
But damn...whoever Telegames contracted to make these really set out to make a quality product.

Looking at the box, this has to be an older version of the stick.

There's a notice indicating "Atari is a trade mark of Warner Communications" and additionally, only the 2600 is referenced.  No indication of 7800 anywhere on the box.

So that makes me wonder if Telegames modified this joystick after the fact to make it compatible with 7800 two button games?

 

[project7800]

Thanks for this post. I really appreciate it. 

 

In general I'm a Proline sympathizer myself, although I mainly use them in a coupler for Robotron.  

 

I have one Telegames joystick as well and use it occasionally, mainly for maze games.  

 

Have you tried the upgraded Proline's from Best Electronics? I was wondering which is a better investment. If you or anyone has any opinions on this, I would appreciate some input.

 

My main concerns are ergonomics and durability. 

[Leonard Smith]

3 hours ago, project7800 said:

Thanks for this post. I really appreciate it. 

 

In general I'm a Proline sympathizer myself, although I mainly use them in a coupler for Robotron.  

 

I have one Telegames joystick as well and use it occasionally, mainly for maze games.  

 

Have you tried the upgraded Proline's from Best Electronics? I was wondering which is a better investment. If you or anyone has any opinions on this, I would appreciate some input.

 

My main concerns are ergonomics and durability. 

You're welcome!

 

I do have 2 of the Best Electronics 'gold' contact Prolines and I feel they are miles ahead of the Telegames joystick.  I prefer a shorter throw and the enhanced dome switches do feel great on the Best sticks.  The gold switches have a nice clicky 'bubble wrap' type feel and make the ProLine a real pleasure to use.

That said, the Telegames stick does work great in maze and driving games (like Pole Position II) since the longer throw and leaf switches translate into smoother movements.  If you pop the mushroom handle (it literally slides right off), the metal stick is actually a decent length and could do with a shorter balltop.

[project7800]

Thanks! I just ordered an upgraded Proline from Best!
 

[+Mitch]

Telegames - http://www.atari7800.org/console/telegamesjoystick.htm

VS

Best Electronics - http://www.atari7800.org/console/bestjoystick.htm

 

Looks strangely similar.

 

Mitch

[Leonard Smith]

6 minutes ago, Mitch said:

Telegames - http://www.atari7800.org/console/telegamesjoystick.htm

VS

Best Electronics - http://www.atari7800.org/console/bestjoystick.htm

 

Looks strangely similar.

 

Mitch

LOL!
I didn't realize that BEST had one of those variants!
I was referring to the gold contact upgraded model.  But I guess we can see that whoever manufactured this just slapped on different identifying stickers!