I have the Competition Pro in both versions (real Amiga and one for WinUAE), and they are ace. Buy one (or two).
[Reply]

If you can you should pick up a ZIPSTIK - try to get an older model with fully microswitched controls. You will never want another joystick again!
[Reply]

Zipstik is still my favourite Amiga joystick. Sadly mine has a broken microswitch now But at least you can get the Competition Pro's I mentioned brand new which is great for Amiga fans.
[Reply]

Yes, i think i will buy one of those, they look good, with that arcade style.
[Reply]

I'm one of the few people who actually didn't like the Competition Pro (though I did own one). My joystick of choice was always 'The Arcade Pro' stick:



Neither of the buttons was microswitch though, just the stick itself.
[Reply]

Looks very simple, but nice.
Well i am tracking some joys in ebay... but the prices are similar to one of amigakit (new joys)....
I think i will buy a new one, and hope that the postman make a delicate delivery
[Reply]

Sharingan wrote:

Cool! I had that joystick myself and I used it until it broke. A good quality joystick for sure. I favoured the Competition Pro though, and the good old Tac-2.
[Reply]

Can you crack open joysticks? Or are the microswitches so enclosed in the unit that you cant get them out?
[Reply]

Zipstiks are easy to open and so is replacing the microswitches. So if you have any spare ones, or can maybe cannibalise some from a poorer stick, they are quite easy to fix. Failing that you can open the broken microswitch itself, it usually is just a stuck spring that is the problem.

I have a couple of Competition Pros for the Amiga, and have a USB version for the PC. I really liked them just for that reason that they are easy to fix when something goes wrong. Having messed around with both, it seems the only real difference between the Zipstik and the Competition Pro apart from the look is the switches for the firebuttons. While the Zipstik had proper microswithces for them too, the Competition Pro had a pair of long connectors that bent and connected when you pressed the button. These would get worn and not connect any more after some use, so as they got older I had to more and more frequently open my joysticks to bend these a little so they would connect again.

The new USB Competition Pro however has also proper microswitches for firebuttons and is not using that solution the old ones did. So while it looks like a Competition Pro, it's actually built like a Zipstik. So it seems to me it's some sort of hybrid of the two.
[Reply]

I always found the feel of the two quite different. The Competition Pro sticks always felt stiffer and took more effort to manoeuvre, compared to the ZipStik which was slightly looser and less effort, making it nicer to use.

Can anyone remember what the joystick was called that had the variable stick tension? You could rotate a collar around the base of the stick to make the joystick movement stiffer or looser.

There was also a joystick released that had the Xybots arcade game joystick feature where you could rotate the stick 90 degrees left and right. This worked brilliantly for the game Xybots, where you rotate the joystick to rotate the character within the 3D levels by 90 degrees, allowing the actual joystick control for normal movement, but I'm not sure it was much use in many other games. Maybe useful in a Dungeon Master style graphical adventure/fps? I think that joystick was based on the Turbo Master II but I'm not 100% sure. Anyone know?

BTW, once I get the hardware section started I'm going to be including a hardware database that will work much like the game and demo sections, and I want to include a joysticks section. I don't want it to be as in depth as the Amiga Hardware site, but instead include the most useful hardware everyone used and knew about for quick reference, and include hardware manuals, any software it came with for download, images of the hardware and the packaging it came in. I'm hoping I can get this going next week.
[Reply]