Greek joysticks: Modern Greek Mythology

[manicx]

To be continued....

[Freshmaker]

[Steve Camber]

AUN?

[manicx]

Yes, sorry guys, being very busy at work.

So, inspired by the old Greek joysticks, Dino Hatzi, a hobbyist with love for retro hardware and good joysticks, decided to keep the tradition alive. The Greek Stick, TGS for short, is a 100% handmade metallic joystick using top class materials. It can be ordered according to what the user wants, ie,

a) Three colors (light gray with black buttons, red with black buttons, black with red buttons)
b) 1 or 2 buttons (separate buttons useful for some games in the Amiga, especially the ones with patch to use them)
c) Diagonal (as the one I have) or with buttons being on the far left, one on the top and the other below it.
d) With or without autofire (the autofire is made by a guy who also makes a 3D printed stick that I will also present)

This is the best joystick effort since the last pacman from Anerousis. And I mean it, everything else is a toy, this is a weapon. Weights around 700 grams, measures at 11.5cm x 9cm, height with the stick is approx 10cm.

The suction cups are top notch, they stick even to surfaces that other joysticks refuse to do so. Being hand made means you won't get something factory made. The buttons may be for example a few mm higher, lower etc. But overall this is very robust. It is painted with electrostatic paint for extra safety.

As for playing KO2, this is insanely good joystick. Very accurate. What helps is the shorter stick. I find the 10cm high stick to help a lot. At least myself. One thing though, don't drop it or try to hit it. In the first case you are risking damages to the floor, in the second a broken hand. This is the ultimate Kick Off 2 weapon!

Since it is handmade, on demand, the price differs according to the configuration from 60€+vat (one button/no auto fire) το 80€ + vat (2 buttons and autofire). What you get is support not only for fixes (if it is possible to break such beast) but you can also get upgrades that made the joystick better.

I will soon present Space Alpha from MasterGR, a guy who is devoted to Amiga stuff and makes some extremely nice things. His stick is 3D printed, and can be ideal for those who want to hold the stick in the lap. Extremely solid too.

In the next WC, hope next year, without any worries about covid, I will make an effort to have both available and for purchase.

Some photos of the TGS

[Freshmaker]

Holy mother of all that is worth dying for!!! I might just need one of these beauties...

[Lee W]

I got mine yesterday, have to say I'm utterly disappointed. The box and the metal case are nice, but that's where it ends for me..

the mechanism itself is terrible. it has an incredibly rough and scratchy feel on the movement, which i discovered was cause it has a sunken inverse sphere type hole where the shaft rolls in but it's very roughly cut... metal on metal, no grease and a small spring (looks like an offcut, 3 loops and cut) that makes it feel extremely floppy to use... very very disappointing when that name is used... I was expecting much better... sadly wasted 120 euros on an ornament.

[Freshmaker]

sadly wasted 120 euros on an ornament.

Damn... that's terrible. Are they all that way or is it just your one item?

[Lee W]

will find out soon, mick has ordered 3... he's already pissed

[Steve Camber]

will find out soon, mick has ordered 3... he's already pissed

[Steve Camber]

I got mine yesterday, have to say I'm utterly disappointed. The box and the metal case are nice, but that's where it ends for me..

the mechanism itself is terrible. it has an incredibly rough and scratchy feel on the movement, which i discovered was cause it has a sunken inverse sphere type hole where the shaft rolls in but it's very roughly cut... metal on metal, no grease and a small spring (looks like an offcut, 3 loops and cut) that makes it feel extremely floppy to use... very very disappointing when that name is used... I was expecting much better... sadly wasted 120 euros on an ornament.

Maybe you could fix it up a bit? Smooth out the rough edges, bring it up to a decent spec. Throw in some LEDs naturally.

[Lee W]

I got mine yesterday, have to say I'm utterly disappointed. The box and the metal case are nice, but that's where it ends for me..

the mechanism itself is terrible. it has an incredibly rough and scratchy feel on the movement, which i discovered was cause it has a sunken inverse sphere type hole where the shaft rolls in but it's very roughly cut... metal on metal, no grease and a small spring (looks like an offcut, 3 loops and cut) that makes it feel extremely floppy to use... very very disappointing when that name is used... I was expecting much better... sadly wasted 120 euros on an ornament.

Maybe you could fix it up a bit? Smooth out the rough edges, bring it up to a decent spec. Throw in some LEDs naturally.

definitely have a plan for modding it, the case feels nice... but for 120eu I was expecting at least pacman standards, it's way off that sadly

[manicx]

Lee, just spoke with Kostas a few minutes ago as I received my second one. He already told me that some things are fixable, even mentioned using a drop of machine oil through the top and lift the stick so it can go down. Please send him an email, he even said that as soon as he has time, he will prepare a service video for you.