01/20/08: As of today, we've officially announced our intention to reproduce the analog gimbal joysticks - both the Food Fight version as well as the Red Baron version.  Both are similar enough, they can be worked on simultaneously.  To the left is the illustrated parts list for the Food Fight analog joystick.  Armed with this, a couple of dead joysticks, some tweaked spare parts and a few NOS parts, I think we're good to go.  I'm going to focus on the top plate, gimbals and linkages for starters.  Those should all be easy to repro and get the project rolling.  I'll order up a bunch of potentiometers, as well.

01/20/08:  The hardware was purchased some time ago, but it looks like we've got pretty much all of our needs in the dept. covered.  Looking over the BOM, I don't see any hardware items listed that we don't already have in stock.  That's a good start.

02/20/09:  After a year of working on this project, it's been determined that the following items are prime for upgrades:  inner gimbal, outer gimbal, centering bellow, housing, pivot ball and linkages.  We're considering our options at the moment, but we're leaning toward these upgrades:  (1) The inner and outer gimbals will be made from aluminum and hard black anodized OR made from plain steel and power coated (ehhhh) smooth black, possibly black oxide.  One possible mod would be to have each gimbal with an extra mod to allow direct connection to potentiometer at it's pivot point.  (2) The centering bellow will be made in the same dimensions as the OEM bellow, however our version will use a modern elastic polymer material.  (3) The housing will be made from upgraded delrin material or 6061 aluminum, hard black anodized.  (4) The pivot ball with be made from precision ground delrin or precision ground nylatron.  (5) The linkages will be made from machined aluminum and hard black anodized.  If we use the gimbal mod mentioned in #1 above, we wouldn't require the use of the linkages which means one less thing to go wrong.  All of these upgrades should produce a superior product.  We should have all of the prototype parts done sometime soon.  To the left is a Solidworks (2009) drawing of the nearly-complete Red Baron controller assembly.  Missing are the gimbals, linkages and handle.  NOTE: View in new page to see higher resolution picture of assembly.

04/18/09:  To the left is a Solidworks (2009) drawing of the new analog joystick mounting plate.  The prototype, which is being fabricated right now, will be made from aluminum and hard black anodized (much like the Major Havoc top plate).  This upgrade from plastic to aluminum is an absolute *must* for the reproduction controller.  Obviously, this upgrade will allow the part to far outlast it's OEM counterpart.  Minor modifications were made to allow a better fit with the reproduction control plate (below) while maintaining 100% compatibility with the updated white OEM control plates.  NOTE: View in new page to see higher resolution picture of part.

04/18/09:  To the left is a Solidworks (2009) drawing of the new analog joystick control plate.  Since this part is made from machined acetal (Delrin) as opposed to injection molded Nylon, it's going to be a much stronger part right from the get go.  This is due in part to the fact that we do not have to pay any attention to wall thickness (which is a huge concern when using an injection molding process), so we can keep the walls as thick as possible throughout the entire part.  Also, the better wear properties of acetal are going to help as well.  This part has been modified further to allow a better (snug, if you will) fit with the housing (below).  This version has "tabs" which mate up with the housing component to hold it in place properly.  Atari never did this with their original control plate nor the upgraded version they later released which allowed the control plate to shift around a bit.  Very sloppy on the part of Atari, but we have corrected this minor flaw.  NOTE: View in new page to see higher resolution picture of part.

04/20/09:  The Food Fight 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.

04/26/09:  To the left is a Solidworks (2009) drawing of the new analog joystick housing.  Two of these are required to completely encase the pivot ball (below).  Since this part is made from machined acetal (Delrin) as opposed to injection molded Nylon, it's going to be a much stronger part to begin with.  This is due in part to the fact that we do not have to pay any attention to wall thickness (which is a huge concern when using an injection molding process), so we can keep the walls as thick as possible throughout the entire part.  Also, the better wear properties of acetal are going to help as well.  The thickness of the acetal where it makes contact with the pivot ball has been increased substantially.  This will provide for a much more rigid and reliable mechanical device which will wear more slowly.  We are still considering manufacturing this part from 6061 aluminum and hard black anodizing, but our current testing has proven that the acetal housing is performing extremely well with our current pivot ball material choice of Nylatron.  NOTE: View in new page to see higher resolution picture of part.

04/26/09:  To the left is a Solidworks (2009) drawing of the new analog joystick pivot ball.  This is one of the highest wear items on the original joysticks, so we are paying very close attention to this part.  The original material that Atari used varied between three different type.  There was a cast phenolic which wasn't so bad.  Next was a cast nylon which was the worst of the bunch.  Last was a cast polyurethane which was somewhere in the middle as far as performance is concerned.  I have paid a lot of attention to this component because I want the best possible choice so the reproduction joystick will last the longest.  The first step is know that we must choose a material that is not cast, but extruded.  This will be a better material choice right from the start.  I then sampled several different materials:  nylon, oil impregnated nylon, acetal (Delrin), phenolic, urethane and nylatron.  Having all of these materials in hand, I put each through the wringer to artificially age each one.  The results were not surprising for the most part.  Nylon did the worst, hands down.  Phenolic was the next worst which was somewhat of a surprise to some degree.  It was followed by oil impregnated nylon, urethane and then acetal.  What was very surprising was the material which has the best wear properties:  Nylatron.  Definitely not expected, but a nice surprise indeed.  Insanely expensive, nylatron isn't what you'd expect from the name.  Yes, it's a type of Nylon, but it's out of this world in comparison.  Completely alien to nylon, this stuff wears even better than phenolic and acetal which is pretty cool.  Acetal/Delrin is a close 2nd, so I may go that route as the price increase of nylatron may not be offset enough by the gain we get from it's use.  NOTE: View in new page to see higher resolution picture of part.

05/01/09:  After extensive testing and retesting to make sure my results were precise, I decided to bite the bullet and place a big order for the nylatron balls.  Nylatron is based on nylon material but with an added dry lubricant.  It's this dry lubricant which makes the wear properties of this material far exceed everything else tested.  I'm genuinely amazed by how well it performs.  Anyhow, the balls arrived as precision ground parts which are pictured to the left.  They did not come pre-machined with the shaft hole or the spring pin hole.  I can do all of that in-house.  I'd like to note that this pivot ball will not only function in the Foodfight and Red Baron gimbal joysticks, but also function in the Battlezone joysticks as well.

06/17/09:  The Food Fight control shafts have been cut, machined, drilled and knurling applied to the ends.  To the left is a sampling of the first ten units to come off the line.  Next is the chrome finish which still needs to be applied.

06/22/09:  The knobs have been precision drilled on the CNC lathe.  As mentioned before, phenolic is an extremely hard material.  These balls took their toll on the bits used to drill into them.  Every 50 balls or so, the bit had to be changed out.  Also to note is the depth of the hole.  Using three separate OEM balls to take measurements from, it was noted that the depth varied from ball to ball, up to 1/4" in some cases!  It wasn't completely clear why the depth varied so much until the original project documentation was located which described the OEM process put into use by Atari.  The original balls were specified at a certain depth but the process to drill them was manual and was done completely without precision in mind.  They had 8 stations set up with each person eye-balling the depth.  As long as the drill bit didn't pop out of the other end of the ball, it was a good cut!  Yeah, pretty scary, taking everything into consideration.  Anyhow, the RAM Controls reproduction balls pictured to the left were all cut (in-house) precisely to the original specification within 0.0005 of an inch, so it can't get more precise than that!

06/23/09:  The shafts were an easy process, overall.  The original Food Fight controller shafts were made from the same material we used: 1018 CR steel.  The OEM shafts had a chrome plating which has suffered terrible corrosion over the years.  We've applied a chrome finish as well, but ours is a bit different.  Atari used what was called a "protective chrome" which is a very thin layer of chrome, only barely enough to even be considered a "finish"...  As such, this type of chrome is prone to quick and devastating failure in the form of corrosion.  Simply look at any OEM Food Fight control shaft and you will see a prime example. 

Our chrome finish is known as a "decorative chrome"...  Just like it sounds, it's used for decoration -- it's purpose is to look as nice as possible.  The best part is that not only does it look better, but it provides a superior protective coat as well.  This is accomplished by the process itself.  The metal is polished, then a very heavy chrome plating is applied, followed up by another polish.  This is how that perfect mirror finished is created, and boy does it look nice!  As a side note, we were able to contract with a company who does chrome plating for Harley Davidson, so we're getting a Harley Davidson quality chrome plate on these parts.  If you like eye-candy, go no further.

06/23/09:  The shafts were an easy process, overall.  The original Food Fight controller shafts were made from the same material we used: 1018 CR steel.  The OEM shafts had a chrome plating which has suffered terrible corrosion over the years.  We've applied a chrome finish as well, but ours is a bit different.  Atari used what was called a "protective chrome" which is a very thin layer of chrome, only barely enough to even be considered a "finish"...  As such, this type of chrome is prone to quick and devastating failure in the form of corrosion.  Simply look at any OEM Food Fight control shaft and you will see a prime example. 

Our chrome finish is known as a "decorative chrome"...  Just like it sounds, it's used for decoration -- it's purpose is to look as nice as possible.  The best part is that not only does it look better, but it provides a superior protective coat as well.  This is accomplished by the process itself.  The metal is polished, then a very heavy chrome plating is applied, followed up by another polish.  This is how that perfect mirror finished is created, and boy does it look nice!  As a side note, we were able to contract with a company who does chrome plating for Harley Davidson, so we're getting a Harley Davidson quality chrome plate on these parts.  If you like eye-candy, go no further.

06/23/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the shafts.  They turned out quite nice.  Sure, the cost is quite high for this kind of quality finish, but the cost is well worth it to have a perfect Food Fight control shaft on the market.  And, considering that it's been 20+ years since these have been made available by the OEM, it was worth the added expense to do it right.  Also, please note the knurling which has been applied to the end of the shaft.  This knurling is slightly deeper than OEM so it will "cut" into the knob a little better, creating a solid, more secure fit.

06/23/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the chrome finished on this shaft.  It turned out looking beautiful.

06/23/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the chrome finished on this shaft.  It turned out looking beautiful.  There's a close-up of the chamfer at the end of the shaft.

06/24/09:  And here's the final product of mating the knobs and shafts together.  A beautiful reproduction control handle for the Food Fight gimbal controller.  Armed with an older Phase II 3-ton arbor press, each handle was press-fit together by hand and closely inspected afterward.  Press-fitting into phenolic is almost an art form in itself.  The reproduction handles will be made available to purchase shortly.

06/24/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction control handle from a different angle. Note the close tolerance around the edge of the hole where the shaft has been pressed in.  Also, note the high gloss of the ball top.  Nice!

06/24/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction control handle from a different angle. Note the close tolerance around the edge of the hole where the shaft has been pressed in.  Also, note the high gloss of the ball top.  Nice!

07/10/09:  The machining of the pivot balls has been completed.  These will work on Food Fight, Red Baron and Battlezone controllers.  The balls are made from Nylatron which is an unusual type of plastic.  Nylatron is based on nylon material but with an added dry lubricant.  It's this dry lubricant which makes the wear properties of this material far exceed everything else tested.  I'm genuinely amazed by how well it performs.  I'd like to note another comparison to the original pivot balls made by Atari.  After some minimal research, I noticed that the original pivot balls had huge gaps inside of the balls which is a side effect of the casting process.  Because of this, the density of the OEM balls varied greatly and essentially caused the part to be inferior.  The reproduction balls pictured to the left are machined down from bar stock and then precision ground to spec.  The resulting part has much tighter tolerances and uniform density throughout each part.

07/16/09:  The shafts were an easy process, overall.  The original Red Baron controller shafts were made from the same material we used: D.O.M (drawn over mandrel) steel.  The OEM shafts had a chrome plating which has suffered terrible corrosion over the years.  We've applied a chrome finish as well, but ours is a bit different.  Atari used what was called a "protective chrome" which is a very thin layer of chrome, only barely enough to even be considered a "finish"...  As such, this type of chrome is prone to quick and devastating failure in the form of corrosion.  Simply look at any OEM Food Fight control shaft and you will see a prime example. 

Our chrome finish is known as a "decorative chrome"...  Just like it sounds, it's used for decoration -- it's purpose is to look as nice as possible.  The best part is that not only does it look better, but it provides a superior protective coat as well.  This is accomplished by the process itself.  The metal is polished, then a very heavy chrome plating is applied, followed up by another polish.  This is how that perfect mirror finished is created, and boy does it look nice!  As a side note, we were able to contract with a company who does chrome plating for Harley Davidson, so we're getting a Harley Davidson quality chrome plate on these parts.  If you like eye-candy, go no further.  Note: the shafts are so polished, the picture is revealing fingerprints from handling just prior to photographing them.

07/16/09:  Here's another picture of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the shaft.  They turned out quite nice.  Sure, the cost is quite high for this kind of quality finish, but the cost is well worth it to have a perfect Red Baron control shaft on the market.  And, considering that it's been 20+ years since these have been made available by the OEM, it was worth the added expense to do it right.

07/16/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the chrome finished on this shaft.  It turned out looking beautiful.  There's a close-up of the chamfer at the end of the shaft.

07/16/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the chrome finished on this shaft.  It turned out looking beautiful.  There's a close-up of the chamfer at the end of the shaft.

07/16/09:  Here's another shot of the reproduction shaft from a different angle.  Please note the luster/sheen of the chrome finished on this shaft.  It turned out looking beautiful.  There's a close-up of the chamfer at the end of the shaft.