Any alternatives to SlikStick then??

[gedwyn]

I was just in the process of building a MAME cabinet and even had the CO2 control panel picked out. Not sure where to head to now??
Anybody know of any alternatives to slikstik then??

Thanks,
Paul

[Meatball]

Yessir...Try the x-arcade units.

http://www.xgaming.com/

I got the Tankstick model. Has a trackball & two joysticks with 8 buttons per joystick. You don't get to choose any buttons or colors, but it runs only $200 and it's nicely put together. No need for an overlay either, comes with one already on it. Customer service is pretty good too.

It's working great with Maximus Arcade and I have it set up to work with Mame (they have a config file you can just download for control), Daphne (Laser Disc Games), Nestopia (NES), Gens (Sega), and an Atari 2600 emulator (can't remember the name.)

Just takes a little bit of tweaking, but overall I'm very happy.

Oh, and one other thing, there's some side art, marquees and bezel graphics all available from MameMarquees that match the xArcade logo. Looks great.

[pmanili]

I just bought a SS Classic unit through mameroom.com and got it within a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure what is going on with SS, but I ordered directly from SS months ago, never got the product, reversed my CC charges and ordered from mameroom, then got the product within a couple of weeks. The only unusual thing out of the whole deal was that the controller came from Nutley NJ, the SS address. Not sure what is going on, but I got the controller I wanted fast by going through mameroom.

[mmafan]

Well I'm in the same boat as you were.I ordered mine back in October.I never heard anything from them So after about 3 month, I called my credit card company and disputed the charges from slikstik since they never sent my panel. I went ahead and called mameroom,(Where I bought my arcade cabinet) to see if they could give me some insight on why they had slikstik panels on there website to buy? I was told that basically slikstik is going through changes right now and mameroom agreed to build and sell there products till they lined everything out.They even use slikstik parts.So I asked if I could get my panel from them since I already placed a order with Slikstik? They said they could not fulfill any orders that were placed before they agreed to take over the panel operation .So the only way I can get one is by Canceling the charges on my credit card from slikstik, and ordering a new one from Mameroom.com....They also said they quote you a ship date when you buy it, and if it does not get shipped on that date they give a 3% discount for each day it is delayed.So at least they are trying to keep slikstiks customers from going elsewhere.That is what I heard is going on.. Hope this clears some things up!

[carnid]

I don't know if they have any left in stock but you might want to try the X-Arcade XXL - it is specially for MAME cabinets. It cost just $99 and I hooked this up to my mameroom system - it works great:

http://www.x-arcade.com/mame-panel.shtml

[Mike Ahearn]

This article and forum were the motivation I needed for my arcade project. However, my dealings with SlikStik haulted my progress. Everything is complete except for my control panel. Here is my story:

On March 13, 2007, I purchased a control panel from SlilkStik. My credit card was charged on March 14, 2007. To date, I have yet to receive the product we ordered. Because I wanted this arcade machine to have a sports theme, my wife designed the overlay which was to be printed and laminated to the control panel. The owner of the company (Christrian) was excited about my idea and said that would be no problem for my wife to design the overlay. However, before moving forward, we were required to purchase the control panel. My wife then designed the artwork and sent it to the company. Since then, we have had serious problems in communicating with SlikStik about our order. I have sent countless emails and left numerous phone messages.

After my wife designed the artwork, SlikStik indicated they would forward the artwork to their printer who would print out a proof for us to examine before applying to the control panel. In an email dated August 21, 2007, SlikStik said that they sent my wife's design to the printer who was supposed to ship us a proof of the artwork as soon as he made it. In an email dated August 31, 2007, SlikStick responded that they were surprised we had not received the sample from the printer and that they would call on Monday to check on it. They told me that they could not do anything on the control panel until the overlay was installed. In an email dated September 6, 2007, SlikStik stated that their printer lost my address and would be sending out the proof shortly. In an email dated October 2, 2007, SlikStick stated that they had our artwork with their printer in Michigan. I was told they should be sending the proof and that they would call the printer again and let them know. Finally, I was told that as soon as we approve of the artwork they would finish the control panel. We never received the proof or the control panel.

Since receiving that last email, I have left numerous phone messages and sent several emails, all of which have been unanswered. Desperate, I did some internet research and found an arcade forum where others are experiencing similar problems with this company. By researching said forum, I was able to figure out who the printer in Michigan was. I emailed him directly and he told me that he was familiar with my project but was no longer working with SlikStik because they failed to pay his bills. After conducting this research, I now know that my wife and I are not alone in our plight. However, we are still out hundreds of dollars with nothing to show for it.

I am in in process of trying to reverse the charges on my credit card. Even though the purchase was more than 90 days ago, my credit card company is trying to reverse the charges. I'll know by January 9th whether the charge will be reversed. Apparently, SlikStik has yet to respond to my credit card company.

In looking for an alternative to SlikStick, it looks like you can now buy SS panels from Mameroom. Addtionally, arcadesrfun.com also sells control panels. I'll let you know how my project and situation ends up. Others, please post your progress and/or resolution as well.

[ever1458]

So what do you do if you what a 4 player control panel? Anyone know if the ones they sell at Arcades R Fun are any good?