Finding the perfect GC analog stick

[GentleFox]

Everything in the GameCube controller seems to take the strain of competitive Melee just fine, except for one thing. One stupid, stupid thing.

The analog stick.

It is the only weak-point of the GC controller, and they break like hotcakes. Or, car brakes. They break a lot. Not only do the springs wear easily, thus leading to a bad return-to-center, but other parts of them seem to break too, as they will output a direction even when held dead-center.

With new controllers costing $30+ and having 0 guarantee that Nintendo will continue making them, I am looking for a more permanent solution.

I am sure that higher quality analog sticks than what Nintendo used must exist somewhere. Ideally it would be roughly the same size, not horribly expensive, and be fine with 3.43 volts as to not require voltage regulators and such. I would be fine with making it as hacky and expensive as possible if it were for me, but much of my quest is for the sake of the Melee community, and thus it would be preferable if I could install these into dozens of controllers without bankrupting myself or others.

I was intrigued by the discovery of Hall Effect Sensors, as they seem to have very long lives, but the only ones I can find that are sized properly are exceedingly expensive, going for $80+.

If Hall Effect is not possible, how can I find out the quality of regular potentiometer thumbsticks? They don't have to be able to withstand being thrown against walls or anything, but being enthusiastically smacked against the containing plastic will certainly happen during matches.

Sorry for the nooby post, just getting kind of desperate here, and was very excited to see a board about controllers.

Thanks =)

[Andy-Antsinpants]

Wow, and I thought the GameCube had the best analog stick. Ever. Perfect placement on the pad, perfect feel, perfect deadzone, no wear.

I had never managed to break one of my originals, only a third party pad broke within few weeks. Another third party pad had issues with the deadzone.


Also I think the original GC controller is the only one which can really handle Super Monkey Ball. Ports of SMBall on other consoles show that.

And I still play Smash Bros Melee a lot with my friends since its release. I don't see any wear of the stick mechanism.


However, I wish you good luck finding or creating a stick replacement that suits your needs.

[GentleFox]

Wow, and I thought the GameCube had the best analog stick. Ever. Perfect placement on the pad, perfect feel, perfect deadzone, no wear.

I had never managed to break one of my originals, only a third party pad broke within few weeks. Another third party pad had issues with the deadzone.


Also I think the original GC controller is the only one which can really handle Super Monkey Ball. Ports of SMBall on other consoles show that.

And I still play Smash Bros Melee a lot with my friends since its release. I don't see any wear of the stick mechanism.


However, I wish you good luck finding or creating a stick replacement that suits your needs.

It is a good analog stick. The problem is it wasn't intended for this.

I don't know how competitive you are in Smash, but there is a thing called DI (Directional Influence) where if you smack the stick perpendicular to the direction you are hit within a few frames, you veer toward that direction. It is extremely important in high-level play, but it puts a lot of wear on the stick, as you do it every single time you get hit, and you have to do it fast, which means a lot of force.

[public-pervert]

I feel in need to reply to this.
Sorry, but I totally disagree with you. Everything you've pointed is the exactly the opposite, at least for me.
I've never broke any of those sticks even when being brute or letting the controller fall from my hands. They have the best feeling, greatly centered and never got ghost movements.
I can't believe someone thinks something like this about the GC sticks. The only thing I can imagine, is that you've got no luck and had a bad controller.

[GentleFox]

I feel in need to reply to this.
Sorry, but I totally disagree with you. Everything you've pointed is the exactly the opposite, at least for me.
I've never broke any of those sticks even when being brute or letting the controller fall from my hands. They have the best feeling, greatly centered and never got ghost movements.
I can't believe someone thinks something like this about the GC sticks. The only thing I can imagine, is that you've got no luck and had a bad controller.

Do you play competitive fighting games on the GC? I'm not talking about Mario Kart once a week with my friends, I'm talking about 1-3 hours of practice every single day, and 8 hour training sessions once a week.

I'm not doing this for one controller. My friend has 10+ controllers with analog stick problems, and I have 3. It is a very common problem in the Smash community.

[Andy-Antsinpants]

I've got to admit that I'm playing Melee for fun rather than competition.