RAM Controls - FF stick, pots and pivot ball

robotron911

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I just received my freebie/order from Dave at RAM controls and all I can say is WOW!!

Food fight stick and ball - this baby is heavy! Not a cheap light-weight steel shaft. This thing has some heft. I compared it to the shaft that I have to replace and it is a perfect reproduction. The chrome finish is excellent and the ball top is identical in size, as well as smooth and unblemished. I cannot imagine ever having to replace this again, no matter how much use it can get. This would definitely stand up to everyday, commercial use. Well-packed in its own plastic bag and the ball top was even further packed with an additional plastic bag to protect it from scratches.


Pivot ball - this is what makes me sick. This thing is virtually indistiguishable from NOS other than feeling a bit sturdier. The part that makes me sick - I spent $60 with shipping for this NOS one a year ago!

Pots - look to be a heavier duty version of the NOS pots. Perfect fit. With the linkages I got from Franklin last year, this baby will be sweet.

Overall - Well packed, shipped fast (Next Day!). Not only would I not hesitate ordering from Dave again, but I look forward to buying some of his other stuff as it becomes available. I honestly would put the quality of his work alongside the quality that Darin at PhoenixArcade, Brian at ArcadeStencils.com and ThisOldGame.com have put into the reproduction artwork. Its a great day to have another quality resource available. Thanks, Dave.
 
Now that's the kind of input I was looking for!!

A little about the chrome finish. I had been searching for a good chrome company for some time, sending out samples all over the place. It finally came down to two places which were nearly identical in quality. I decided to go with the company that name dropped Harley Davidson. LOL They do chrome work for H.D. and the quality is simply stunning. I see varying grades of finish work coming from vendors on a regular basis, so I have a good handle on what's hot and what's not. To say that I am pleased with this chrome work is an understatement.

A little about the pivot balls. The originals Atari made were injection molded nylon balls. Good and got the job done. The downside is the fact that it was molded the way it was - it ended up with lots of bubbles in the material which turned into gaps when the part solidified. If you look down the hole of an OEM pivot ball, you will see these gaps scattered throughout the length of the hole. This greatly affects the density and quality of the part. It will wear relatively quickly. The reproductions are made from extruded nylatron bar stock which was machined down and precision ground to size. Nylatron has a dry lubricant embedded into the material, making it superior to plain nylon. Further, because it's machined from extruded material, the density is about as high as you can get - no bubbles, no gaps, etc. These parts should look identical to the orginals, but will outperform them across the board.

Well, that's about it for now.

I hope that everyone who orders these parts will be as pleased with the quality as I am.

Thanks for the quick review. :)

Dave
 
I got one of these from Dave too. Now I just need a Food Fight cabinet to go around the joystick shaft. LOL
 
My RAM controls Food Fight Joystick

I also was lucky enough to score one of the sticks from Daviea and I just installed it in my FF. I will start out by saying that visually it really dresses up the game. The chrome reflects the colors from the overlay and is really eye catching (see pic). The installation is fairly easy, I picked up a set of punches from Lowes and didn't have any trouble at all pulling off the old pivot ball and installing it on the new stick. The new stick has a very solid weight and feel, when installed the balance is excellent. I like the stick so much that I am ordering one of their replacement pivot balls for it, since my old worn one is not doing this stick justice. I actually ended up using the housing from a Red Baron joystick and it fits like a glove. Once I get the new pivot ball I will post a follow up.

-Dan
 

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