ThunderStickArcade Spinner For Arcade1Up

It’s rare when a product is good enough for me to write a review. In this case, it’s absolutely good enough. I was skeptical and the spinner was better than expected! I bought an Arcade1Up unit that has Tempest and other games included. The factory spinner is simply worthless. It hardly spins and is complete plastic. I felt like I wasted my money on the cabinet! After researching aftermarket options and watching the YouTube video for this, I snagged one. It was easy to install with the video instructions and worked perfectly. It’s heavy, like I expected an arcade spinner to feel! Adjustable speed control and the fact that the grips are notched make it perfectly comfortable to play. Worth every penny!

For the A1UP Asteroids cabinet it’s perfect. Even speed dip switches don’t need changing and just plugs in. Unscrew top, cover, and old (crappy) dial. Drop in new one and game on!I would recommend tapping two more screws (provided) for a total of 4 but you can get away with just using two already tapped. For me, it was already perfectly aligned so tapping two extra screws was piece of cake. Basically, it’s the easiest mod you are likely to find. This is an arcade quality spinner 100%. I think the parts are same as Ultimarc. At the quality is nearly identical.It’s a bit overkill to use on a cheap cabinet but without it Tempest and hidden gem (for me) Major Havoc are just wrong! So if you want a near arcade experience for those games, an arcade spinner is required. Yes it’s pricey but it’s less $ than other high quality spinners and easy to install.Thanks Glen for getting this on the market! This is nice piece of kit!NOTE: If you have the cabinets with track ball, I am pretty sure you need to get the extra control board so make sure you can order both.

I bought this, and the 12 in 1 interface board which you need on the 12 in 1 to connect both the spinner and trackball at the same time, after seeing it on Glen's Retro Show on YouTube. All I can say is if you like Tempest and Major Havoc and want to play them on your Arcade 1Up Asteroids, 12 in 1 or 6 in 1 cabinets like they were meant to be played, BUY IT! There isn't much I can say here that virtually all the other five star reviews haven't already said. Reiterating some, it is a first rate arcade quality spinner, complete with everything you need to install (except some of your time - NOT MUCH and a phillips screwdriver), instructions are with it as are the URL for Glen's Retro Show YouTube videos on it too and the 12 in 1 interface board for review and installation, if you would rather watch than read. It has a small spacer to make up for the control panel protector thickness - if you have one. There are no wires to cut, solder or modify, just plug and play. This is a high quality smooth spinning spinner of which , honestly, the only one that is better is on the original Atari Tempest Arcade Coin-Op. (I know, I own one of those too.) This will make playing Tempest like it should have been from the start. This was so little cost even for both it and the interface board Arcade 1 Up likely could have / should certainly have done this themselves to begin with and likely their sales would have been even higher. JUST BUY THIS, INSTALL IT AND ENJOY THE GAMES INSTEAD OF GETTING UPSET AND FRUSTRATED WITH THE "UN-SPINNER" THAT CAME WITH THE MACHINE.

I bought the original Arcade 1Up Asteroids cabinet mainly for Tempest, my favorite arcade game of that era. I was incredibly disappointed with the spinner it shipped with as it functioned more like a "knob" and didn't "spin" at all. This replacement spinner was exactly what I was looking for: has a great feel, metal not plastic and actually "spins"! The swap out is incredibly simple (although the instructions should note somewhere that the old spinner knob is actually screwed onto the mechanism, I thought it just pulled off and got lucky that it cracked/broke off before I did any damage to the cabinet trying to remove it). If you own this cabinet (or the 12-in-1) do yourself a favor and get this spinner, it will transform your gameplay experience.

I was worried that this would be complicated to replace, but it was super simple! Rather than the clunky plastic wheel that 1Up installed on the Asteroids machine, which doesn't freely spin and clicks like cogs on a gear when you turn in - this wheel is metal, feels great, and free-spins beautifully. Only took me maybe 5 minutes to replace, and makes the games SO much easier to play, especially Tempest. Worth every penny and worth the wait if it's not into stock!