06/01/06:  The 720 Degrees rotary controller project started in mid 2006.  This was immediately after the Major Havoc project was officially completed.  The basic design of this device has various flaws which can be only slightly overcome by using updated commonly available materials in use today which were not widely available at the time.  These materials include stronger aluminum alloys and Delrin (rather than Nylon).  I intend to faithfully reproduce this controller with only slight modifications to materials so as the completed controller and it's components will be 100% compatible with the original controller.  The only concern I have is the upper housing component and how to construct it without edging too far into costly methods.  Aside from this, the remainder of the components should be relatively easy, although the dual encoder boards custom encoder device may give me some trouble with regard to sourcing it.

06/18/06:  I've been scouting around for a spare controller for some time.  I have an incomplete unit which I am using to spec out and start the project.  So far, I've been able to spec out the entire top half of the controller, down to the bottom housing plate and sprockets.  It's missing everything below the sprokets, including the encoder disc, centering disc, encoder shield and dual optical Coupler PCB assembly.  So, I have a ways to go.  

06/29/06:  I've run off a small batch of bottom housing plates, made from 9 gauge steel, the part has been laser cut to spec and tapped for mounting screws.  These prototype parts have not yet been plated, so they don't look quite right. 

07/14/06:  I've run off a small batch of bottom housings (the black tubular shaped part), machined from solid aluminum bar stock.  Here's a Solidworks drawing of the prototype version.

07/15/06:  I've begun the process of trying to recreate the upper housing component.  This one is going to be tough unless I opt to manufacture using plastic injection mold process.

07/22/06:  I have begun the process of trying to recreate the lower housing component.  This part will be much easier than the upper housing.  I should be able to produce this part from Delrin or even opt for Aluminum.  Here's a Solidworks drawing of the prototype version.

08/01/06:  I've been working on the handle knob and handle shaft for a week or so now and it's proving to be a chore to figure out what the handle itself is made from and how to attach it to the handle shaft.  For that matter, what color was the original handle?  So far I've seen red, blue, yellow and black handles.  Hello?  The sample I have in hand it black and it appears that the majority are black, so I'll go with BLACK.

08/19/06:  I finally got my hands on some spare parts, so I decided to run off a selection of components all at once - the pivot arm, pivot shaft, bearing housing, sprocket post, encoder disc mounting plate, and centering disc spacer.  All of the parts have not been plated yet, so they look a little odd.

08/21/06:  I've sent out the drawings to a vendor to help produce the etched encoder disc and centering disc.

08/26/06:  I just ran off a batch of encoder disc shields and PCB bracket assemblies.  They appear to be within spec, however they have not yet been plated, so they look odd. 

09/01/06:  I located sources for the sprockets and #25 roller chain.  I've placed an order for enough materials for several hundred controllers.

01/01/07:  Finally back, I'm going to research this project a little bit more and see if I can get around the issues the project is currently faced with.  The biggest problem is that I require a NOS pivot ball to spec out before I can run off reproduction pieces.  The part I have is so worn, there's no way I can even extrapolate what the part should look like.  It's pretty bad.  Also, I'm having difficulties in locating the custom optical component used on the dual opto coupler board.  Between these two sticking points, I've decided to put this project on hold temporarily.  I'm sure this is only going to be a short wait while I figure things out.

01/11/07:  I was able to get my hands on a NOS pivot ball from a collector on BYOAC named Richard and it's just arrived.  I've already spec'ed out the part and getting ready to run off a large batch of repro's.  Since this part is actually used on several of the joystick projects we're working on, I decided to run this part off regardless of the fact that the 720 controller project is on temporary hold. 

01/15/07:  I was able to source the optical devices used on the dual opto coupler board, so the project is officially out of limbo at this point in time and restarted.  See, that wasn't too long, was it?

02/15/07:  The optical boards have just come off the assembly line and they're ready for shipment.  They turned out beautiful!

03/15/07:  After looking at all of the parts I purchased back in September of last year, I realized that I'm going to have to work on the chain and create small sections of "endless loop" which seems like it might be more of a chore than I had originally thought.  No biggie.  I picked up a nice high end chain breaker, so this should be a piece of cake for someone like me.

05/29/07:  1000pc batch of pivot balls have been completed.  Pictured is a small assortment of the freshly manufactured parts.  They're made of machined delrin and they should outperform the original part substantially.  Aside from this "upgrade" they're identical to the OEM pivot balls made by Atari.

04/20/09:  The 720 handle knobs have been delivered.  They are to original spec with regard to the size, however, the density has been changed to something much heavier.  The original balls were called out in Atari documents to be made from phenolic which they used in prototypes and early production units.  They eventually went on the cheap and replaced the original knobs with nylon balls which were less than quality.  Our reproduction makes use of precision ground, highly polished phenolic balls.  Imagine a billiard ball - same thing, just a different size.  They're extremely hard and much tougher than their nylon counterparts.