FIXING two Zipstick Joysticks for free!

The Zipstick joystick has to be one of the best ever made (IMHO), but over time they wear out. I dig two faulty Zipsticks out of my collection and fix them for free.
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[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

Still have mine and it's still working great

[@Muldrf]

I wouldn't have thought of the tape. It may hold up. They do often make switches that require different pressure of various types. I ran into that recently on some tiny momentary switches. I have plenty that are a physical match, but they are all take a lot more force to activate. I also expect that spacer was in there to stiffen the switch, and it would have let them just have one switch case and be able to make various switches for various pressures.

[@YesiPleb]

I love these joysticks. I have two microswitched models for my BBC Master. When I was at school I had an analogue joystick for my Model B and the two I have now are digital which is a shame but hey, one of them is in the Model B/Master colors of cream with red buttons and the other I can't remember as it's my spare/back-up.

[@RetroComputingReboot]

That's cool 😎. I have two analogue joysticks for the Beeb, which I think work great with Elite.
I've seen the Competition Pros for the Beeb but don't have any. I must admit though in most games of this era I prefer keys. I don't know if that's just because I was so used to playing with keyboard on the Beeb and Speccy.
I couldn't imagine playing Manic Miner or Chuckie Egg with anything but keys 😁
But ironically, moving to 16 bit stuff, I prefer the joystick. Go figure 😂

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

if removing the spacer doesn't work as well as you'll accept, you may want to consider cutting 1 or 2 loops off of the spring, then smoothing the edge with a jeweler's file or an emery board.

[@RetroComputingReboot]

Hey John. I think cutting the loops is a good idea. I was a bit worried though that I would end up with it being too slack and cause more problems than I'd started with.
PS you missed the fun part where one of the springs twanged off and I spent the best part of an hour looking for it 😂

[@garyhart6421]

Mine is a sort of Pinky/Purple colour.

[@RetroComputingReboot]

Gary, I read that and nearly laughed my drink out of mouth 😂😂😂

[@JohnSmith-bh4zx]

I too liked having a good waggle with my joystick and still do even now. But alas, mine is a bit battered, worn and not as stiff as it used to be.

[@RetroComputingReboot]

A little bit of tlc is all it needs

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

31:08 well now we know why those joysticks are broken. 😂🤣

[@RetroComputingReboot]

😂

[@sheep20011]

Nice waggling action! 😂😂

[@RetroComputingReboot]

@@sheep20011 Thanks!!! 😂 I was exhausted after playing it for a while 😂