GRS USB Button Hole Spinner

It works so well!! Glen has done it again. This spinner not only moves smoothly, but also gives you two buttons for mouse clicking. It’s USB interface makes it more then simple to install to any PC or PI.Also with its 28 mm size it fits into standard button holes! That’s right, no need to drill new ones if you already have a spot on your controller for it. And if you do need to drill a hole at least it will work for other sticks and buttons as well. This makes the new holes interchangeable for other devices too.Easy to install, easy to setup and a joy to use. Thanks for another great innovative product!

Great addition to my arcade cabinet. Now I can play Arkanoid again.

I own two of these USB Buttonhole Spinners & a GRS A1Up Spinner (Asteroids replacement) so I think they’re good. Very pricey for Canadians though. $90 a pop at the end of the day with shipping & duty. The USB cable is about 15” in length so you may require a USB extender. It does come with 2 good quality arcade buttons (red & black) & wiring which would reach to a nearby Zero Delay Board (sold separately) is a nice feature.The buttonhole spinner is aptly named because it will fit into an existing arcade button hole so no drilling necessary but if you HAVE to drill a hole, a 1 1/8” step bit or Forstner bit is what you’ll need.Tried it on an iMac (MAME OSX) and Windows MAME and both were recognized (see below for Windows instructions) and both worked. I could not get OpenEmu on Mac to recognize it though. It was great getting to play Arkanoid, Tempest and Pole Position in MAME the way nature intended them to be played. Please note that the spinner is not intended as a replacement for Trackball games (Centipede, Golden Tee etc) as it only moves side to side. This USB Spinner also works very well with Atari Vault (Steam on Windows) which allowed me to play Pong, Warlords and Super Breakout the authentic way. Love it! FYI Pong is not emulated in MAME.The quality is top notch and it has a great weight & feel to it. To get the most out of this spinner, you need to set it up in MAME. If your spinner is not recognized you have to use a text edit program to do a VERY EASY little edit to the MAME.ini file BUT MAME doesn’t automatically produce a mame.ini file, so open MAME:* Select Configure Options and Then Save Configuration*MAME will then create the mame.ini file.*Open the file (with a text editing program like TextEdit or notepad) and scroll down to locate and change: “mouse 0” to “mouse 1”*Save*Spinner should now work in MAMENow to set it up properly for each spinner game, back in the day arcade spinners or arcade steering wheels had different turn counts. The turn count of the GRS buttonhole spinner is 1024. Google “Arcade Spinner Turn Count” and you’ll locate a wiki with the turn counts of arcade games like Arkanoid, Tempest, Pole Position etc. You just have to do simple math to find the correct turn count for each game in MAME, once you have the original arcade turn count.For example:Tempest*Arcade Turn count on Tempest is 72.*The GRS Spinner has a turn count of 1024* (Math) 72 X 100 = 7200, now divide by 1024 = 7.03 (round to 7 sensitivity)*In MAME press Tab, select ANALOG CONTROLS*Change P1 Dial Sensitivity to the number 7Arkanoid*Turn count is 486*GRS SPinner is 1024* (Math) 486 x 100 / 1024 = 47.4*Change dial sensitivity in MAME to 47With that extra information in your arsenal you’ll be able to use the GRS Buttonhole Spinner to its greatest potential.My biggest complaint with any GRS product is the documentation is either confusing, almost non- existent or both. This product came with zero documentation. Print the tutorial part of this review out stick it in the box Glen! Help your customers out!

Works exactly as advertised. Spinner has a nice weight to it and the buttons come in very handy for most all of the MAME arcade games I have tested it with. Only thing that would be helpful is if they included some better instructions and maybe a cutting diagram for the three parts, but it was easy enough to figure out and there is a YouTube video they created.I installed it in an X-Arcade Tankstick with Trackball. I used a 1 1/8" drill bit to cut the holes into an appropriate area where it did not interfere with the other controls and was still easy to access and use. I put in a small hole out the back with the other cables from the system and wired them all to the PC.Note that you will almost certainly need a USB extender cable since the one included has very limited range - in my case, barely making it outside the X-Arcade system.If you are wondering what arcade games use a spinner - quite a few:720 degrees, Aqua Jack, Arkanoid, Arkanoid - Revenge of DOH, Atari Mini Golf, Aztarac, Beatmania (all), Blasteroids, Boxing Bugs, Burmuda Triangle, Caliber 50, Cameltry, Car Polo, Cerberus, Cosmic Chasm, Cyvern, Dark Planet, DownTown, Embargo, Exterminator, Fighting Soccer, Forgotten Worlds, Gals Panic 4, Gals Panic S - Extra Edition, Gals Panic S2, Ghox, Gigas, Gigas Mark II, Gondomania, Guerilla War, Guts'n, Heavy Barrel, Hiphopmania Complete Mix 2, Ikari III - The Rescue, Ikari Warriors, Jan Jan Paradise, Jan Jan Paradise 2, Kaiser Knuckle, Kick, Kozmik Kroozr, Major Havoc, Midnight Resistance, Moonwar, Off the Wall (Atari), Off the Wall (Sente), Omega Race, Panic Street, Plump Pop, Pop 'n Bounce / Gapporin, Prebillian, Puzz Loop, Quester, Razzmatazz, Riddle of Pythagoras, Road Blasters, SAR - Search And Rescue, Sengeki Striker, Sen-Know, Star Trek, Subs, T.N.K. III, Tac/Stan, Tel Jan, Tempest, Time Soldiers, TouchDown Fever, Tron, Two Tigers, Victory, Victory Road, Vs Block Breaker, Vs Mahjong Otome Ryouran, Wall Crash, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Pack, Zektor, Zwackery

I purchased a pair of these spinners for a cocktail cabinet project I'm working on.I was a little hesitant on ordering these because I couldn't find any real product pictures or reviews but I'm sure glad that I gave these spinners a chance!They arrived in Canada much faster than the anticipated shipping date.The packaging is really top notch!They came with all the cables and tool needed to assemble and install.I plugged it in my PC's USB port and they started working immediately.They are ultra smooth, solid construction, the spinner head is solid and has some weight to itMy only complaint is that the USB cable is VERY short.. I will need to purchase some USB extenders or a hub in order to reach the USB ports of my PC.I can't comment on durability but I'm feeling quite confident at the moment. I will revise after some heavy use playing Gigas, Arkanoid and some Super Sprint.