Thunderstick Studios GRS USB Button Hole Spinner version 2 features longer wire and software adjustments
Recently, I reviewed a very nice spinner controller for my arcade cabinet from Thunderstick Studios and Glen’s Retro Show. It’s a very nice USB spinner that fits into any standard 28mm button hole. What I didn’t know was that the one I ordered from Amazon was an older version.
Thunderstick Studios was kind enough to send me an updated version of the GRS USB Button Hole Spinner to try out and there are some minor but important differences. For starters, the newer version comes with a much better length USB cable. The first version came with a 20” USB cable, which was rather short in my opinion. On my machine, I had to dangle it out the front and to the side to one of my flat panel USB ports as it wouldn’t reach my USB hub inside the machine. Version 2 of the GRS USB Button Hole Spinner comes with a much better 40” USB cable that worked much better in reaching to my USB hub. Now of course, I could have bought a USB extension cable for the one I currently have, but I always like to have cables that are one continuous length from connector to connector and seeing that the revision has a cable that’s about double the length is a nice improvement.
The other update for the second version of the GRS USB Button Hole Spinner is the fact that you can use a piece of software to make some adjustments to it. You can do things such as adjust the resolution of the spinner between three different settings, change whether the spinner moves on the X or Y axis, and update the id. For resolution, you have a choice between 360, 720, and 1440. I chose 1440 myself. The ability to make some adjustments via software is another nice touch and a good update to the original spinner that I purchased.
Other than those two things, the two spinners look identical and they are constructed with nice heavy materials making for a solid product to put into your arcade cabinet or control panel. The second revision still features the smooth rotating action and accurate Hall Effect sensors that makes it one of the better spinner solutions out there to be picked up.
I put the second version into my cabinet and it worked as well as the first one in all the games that use a spinner. With the software adjustment, I tailored it even more to my liking making it more sensitive.
Hopefully the ones that you can order are mostly the updated version. I ordered the mine from Amazon and was sent the previous one, thus the shorter cable length and lack of software adjustment. Also, the newer revision comes in a bigger box than the previous one as well as being marked with TS-BSP02 on the cover while the first version has TRS-BSP01 on the box.
Again, I really recommend the GRS USB Button Hole Spinner for those wanting a nice quality spinner for their arcade machine and it’s priced very reasonably as well at $$49.99 on Amazon. You can also pick one up directly from Thunderstick Studios as well.
