18 replies to this topic

[HammR25]

Has anyone gotten any of the "super pots" or super pot modded paddles from Best Electronics? I didn't have any working paddles and didn't really feel like opening mine up and cleaning them so I went to the Best website to see what they have. Apparently they were running out of NOS paddles to sell so they searched for someone to make new pots and eventually found a place to make them. Best says they'll basically last a lifetime due to the rating on the pots.

I called them Wednesday and ordered a set of super pot paddles for $35 including shipping. I got them Friday and tried them out. They've got more resistance than my old jittery paddles. That makes them a little easier to be more precise with. I really like them.

The actual super pots alone are $6 each.

[bennybingo]

Thanks for the heads up! I will have to get a set....I wasn't even aware of these!

[Schizophretard]

I haven't needed any so far because I just fix mine but I will if I break a pot. I have always been curious about how they feel. Do they feel like stereo knobs?

[bennybingo]

Maybe they feel like a shortwave radio?

[zylon]

They actually work quite good. You need one wrap of tape around the center to have them align perfectly inside the controller though.

[jalidi]

I bought the Super Pot paddles from Best Electronics... when you're ordering it, just specify the upgrade and it's like 6 bucks extra. Well worth it!

Now granted, it's been 30 years since I broke mine, but the ones I got have a distinctively solid feel to them. They're clearly originals (faded Atari logo) but have been refurbished to be like brand-new and last forever. I remember being able to 'rattle' my loose paddle casing but these things don't move at all. And they turn like a dream, just the right amount of resistance. Breakout is a trip to play.

Shame there aren't many paddle games but it never took off. The ones we do have are really good though.

[HammR25]

Schizophretard, on Sun Nov 6, 2011 1:05 PM, said:

I haven't needed any so far because I just fix mine but I will if I break a pot. I have always been curious about how they feel. Do they feel like stereo knobs?

Not quite as much resistance as my current A/V receiver but otherwise yeah, I'd say like the big stereo knobs volume knobs.

[Lendorien]

I may have to look into these. Warlords (and Medieval Mayhem) are my favorite multiplayer games, but my paddles are awful and cleanign them doesn't seem to help much.

[keilbaca]

I may have to grab two sets for Medieval Mayhem

[atari2atari]

HammR25, on Sun Nov 6, 2011 12:00 PM, said:

Has anyone gotten any of the "super pots" or super pot modded paddles from Best Electronics? I didn't have any working paddles and didn't really feel like opening mine up and cleaning them so I went to the Best website to see what they have. Apparently they were running out of NOS paddles to sell so they searched for someone to make new pots and eventually found a place to make them. Best says they'll basically last a lifetime due to the rating on the pots.

I called them Wednesday and ordered a set of super pot paddles for $35 including shipping. I got them Friday and tried them out. They've got more resistance than my old jittery paddles. That makes them a little easier to be more precise with. I really like them.

The actual super pots alone are $6 each.

I've bought dozens of these from Bradley at Best Electronics, and refurbed many a paddle set - - they are the real deal!

In general, all of Best's goods are worth the money!

-a2a

[jaybird3rd]

I've definitely got these on my Best shopping list, along with some replacement CX-40 parts and a pair of refurbished 5200 controllers. It's so great that there's a vendor who is providing replacement parts for classic controllers; too many of mine are in sad need of attention.

[SpiceWare]

I've wondered about those - thanks for reporting on how well they work!

[SRGilbert]

Is anyone selling paddle sets pre-installed with these?

[SRGilbert]

SRGilbert, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:42 PM, said:

Is anyone selling paddle sets pre-installed with these?

Never mind, I see it now!

[keilbaca]

Does anyone know the pots that they use, or if you can get the pots themselves from Best Electronics? I have no problems soldering 2 wires to convert my current paddles

EDIT: They sell the pots themselves. Time to stock up on a couple sets

Edited by keilbaca, Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:23 PM.

[Atarian7]

HammR25, on Sun Nov 6, 2011 12:00 PM, said:

Has anyone gotten any of the "super pots" or super pot modded paddles from Best Electronics? I didn't have any working paddles and didn't really feel like opening mine up and cleaning them so I went to the Best website to see what they have. Apparently they were running out of NOS paddles to sell so they searched for someone to make new pots and eventually found a place to make them. Best says they'll basically last a lifetime due to the rating on the pots.

I called them Wednesday and ordered a set of super pot paddles for $35 including shipping. I got them Friday and tried them out. They've got more resistance than my old jittery paddles. That makes them a little easier to be more precise with. I really like them.

The actual super pots alone are $6 each.

I ordered a pair and they work great, but it takes a day or two to get used to the extra resistance. My old
paddles were very loose so the extra resistance might just be in comparison. If you're used to using newer paddles you might not notice the extra resistance.

Edited by Atarian7, Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:00 AM.

[jaybird3rd]

I just ordered a batch of these from Best Electronics. I've only tried them with Kaboom so far, but they're an incredible improvement over the stock (and very jittery) potentiometers. The extra resistance was only noticeable to me for the first thirty seconds, and if anything, I actually like it better. They make the paddle feel more solid to me, and I can easily get pixel-perfect precision. The only tricky part is getting them centered inside the paddles, but Brad has a good set of instructions on his website. I'm going to pick up enough of them to retrofit the dozen or so pairs of paddles that I own; I want to have plenty of these things in good working order when I retire!

[Inky]

I've thought of getting a slide pot, like they use on soundboards, to use on the 2600. I wonder how good those would work.

[tremoloman2006]

I never play paddle games because all 8 sets of paddles I have seem to suffer from some sort of jitter no matter how much I clean them. These pots sound like they may be the solution to the years of frustration the originals have given me.

I wasn't aware Best Electronics was selling these upgraded pots. Thanks for bringing them up HammR25!