262 replies to this topic

[Shawn Sr.]

What is the name of this all in one Space Invaders stick if I was looking for it at Wal- Mart or wherever? Also can someone post a picture of what it looks like un-moded with th Space Invaders sticker on it so I know what to look for please? (and also so I can see the sticker too).

[kenfused]

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by kenfused, Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:11 AM.

[MrRetroGamer]

They can be purchased online from GameStop for $9.99.  Add code FREESHIPALL to get free USA value shipping.  I'll probably pick up one or two to tinker with myself!  

[frank_c]

my local Gamestop had 'em for $9.99, too.

[PacManPlus]

kenfused, on Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:10 PM, said:

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Uh oh - do I see a Qix port for the 7800 in the future?

[MrRetroGamer]

I picked up one for $9.99.  For that price, I'm not that disappointed.  The games are not exact, but play pretty good.  I think Colony7 is a good sleeper game, didn't know it was the inspiration for Imagic's Atlantis.

[Lord Helmet]

PacManPlus, on Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:47 AM, said:

kenfused, on Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:10 PM, said:

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Uh oh - do I see a Qix port for the 7800 in the future?

[Lastblade]

I am going to buy one of these and sacrifice a 7800 controller for the conversion.

So do I just have to rewire thing board?  I hope this is easy

[keilbaca]

kenfused, on Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:10 AM, said:

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Agreed. That's why I made the atari 2600 joystick to begin with.

[remowilliams]

Lastblade, on Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:31 PM, said:

I am going to buy one of these and sacrifice a 7800 controller for the conversion.

So do I just have to rewire thing board?  I hope this is easy

You actually are just going to cut the leads to the Space Invaders PCB and stick it in the bin - where it belongs

You'll need to tie one side of all the buttons into a ground (then tie that ground into the ground that goes around the microswitches on the stick).  Then connect that ground to the 7800 cord ground.

Then you tie the other wires of two buttons at a time (I tied my inner buttons together, and the outer ones together) then wire those up according to the button wiring in the 7800 FAQ on AA.

Then you simply connect the directional wires from the 7800 cord one at a time to the proper microswitch - using the NO (Normally Open) leads on each microswitch.

You can do it without using perfboard.  I used one to simplify (and cut down the amount) of wire inside the stick.  I do have another SI joystick sitting here and a mostly finished little board, so when I get the chance to assemble my second stick, I'll try to document the steps.

Edited by remowilliams, Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:16 PM.

[remowilliams]

kenfused, on Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:10 AM, said:

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Qix probably was the worst out of the bunch.

But look at it this way - it helps play a mean Beef Drop now  

[Lastblade]

remowilliams, on Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:10 PM, said:

Lastblade, on Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:31 PM, said:

I am going to buy one of these and sacrifice a 7800 controller for the conversion.

So do I just have to rewire thing board?  I hope this is easy

You actually are just going to cut the leads to the Space Invaders PCB and stick it in the bin - where it belongs

You'll need to tie one side of all the buttons into a ground (then tie that ground into the ground that goes around the microswitches on the stick).  Then connect that ground to the 7800 cord ground.

Then you tie the other wires of two buttons at a time (I tied my inner buttons together, and the outer ones together) then wire those up according to the button wiring in the 7800 FAQ on AA.

Then you simply connect the directional wires from the 7800 cord one at a time to the proper microswitch - using the NO (Normally Open) leads on each microswitch.

You can do it without using perfboard.  I used one to simplify (and cut down the amount) of wire inside the stick.  I do have another SI joystick sitting here and a mostly finished little board, so when I get the chance to assemble my second stick, I'll try to document the steps.

I think I got it.... But if you could document it further (maybe with pics), that would be awesome.  Thank you in advance!

[JB]

remowilliams, on Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:11 PM, said:

kenfused, on Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:10 AM, said:

here is a not so good camera phone shot from the top.

I bought mine mostly for Qix and was very disappointed.

Qix probably was the worst out of the bunch.

But look at it this way - it helps play a mean Beef Drop now  

Better yet: I picked one up and I'm gonna graft it to a PC gamepad and play Qix in MAME with it.

Now if only I had decent Qix art...

[Lord Helmet]

I just converted my Radica stick over to a 7800 stick this weekend. Man, what a great alternative to the 7800 stick or pad! I may make another couple of these just to have a backup! This makes a better stick than my Radio Shack project box controller I made last month.

[Prodos8]

I'm new around here.   But, I was wondering, would 1k ohm resistors work in place of the 620 ohm for the conversion for dual firebuttons?  As, the 1k ohm are much more common than the 620 ohm, hence this question.  

[Shawn Sr.]

Prodos8, on Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:08 PM, said:

I'm new around here.   But, I was wondering, would 1k ohm resistors work in place of the 620 ohm for the conversion for dual firebuttons?  As, the 1k ohm are much more common than the 620 ohm, hence this question.   

680 ohm are pretty common and they will work fine but 1k might be a little to much IIRK.

[Zonie]

PacManPlus, on Sat Jul 9, 2005 1:48 PM, said:

Very cool idea!  You guys are right - it is a well built joystick

That's cool.  
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We sure are a bunch of effin geeks, aren't we?

Edited by Zonie, Fri Aug 26, 2005 6:58 PM.

[Zonie]

Lord Helmet, on Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:36 PM, said:

I just converted my Radica stick over to a 7800 stick this weekend. Man, what a great alternative to the 7800 stick or pad! I may make another couple of these just to have a backup! This makes a better stick than my Radio Shack project box controller I made last month.

Can you post a pic of the project box one?

[jaybird3rd]

Just thought I'd give this thread a bump and say thanks to remowilliams for this AWESOME idea!

I ordered two of these Space Invaders controllers from Gamestop (around $13 each including shipping) specifically for this purpose, and I performed the modification on the first one last night.  It took me about two hours to do it and I had to "borrow" the cable and resistors from a ProLine controller.  It's too bad that the 2600 cables don't have the necessary pins or I'd use a new 2600 cable instead of butchering my ProLines.  I also wish Radica had made the wires going to the switches inside the controller just a LITTLE bit longer, but considering the overall high quality of its construction (surprising for the price point), I really can't complain.  The modification wasn't anything too difficult; wiring the buttons was the most complex part but even that wasn't bad.  I didn't see a need to use a circuit board.

Again, thanks for the idea and for posting pictures.  Having a good arcade-style controller gives those 7800 games a whole new meaning, especially the arcade ports like Ms. Pac-Man.

[keilbaca]

anyone want to take the challenge and offer this service?

[jaybird3rd]

keilbaca, on Thu Sep 8, 2005 12:12 AM, said:

anyone want to take the challenge and offer this service?

I might be willing to do it if there was a source for suitable joystick cables.  Most Atari cables out there are 2600 cables, which are missing the two pins you need for the buttons.  As I said before, I'd hate to butcher a whole bunch of ProLines just for joystick cables.

I'm going to try to use what I learned from the first modification to make the second one as fast and as clean and efficient as possible.  If I succeed, I might post some pictures of the interior in case anyone here wants to have similar work done on theirs.

[Laner]

keilbaca, on Thu Sep 8, 2005 12:12 AM, said:

anyone want to take the challenge and offer this service?

I'd definitely want one

[keilbaca]

jaybird3rd, on Thu Sep 8, 2005 12:31 AM, said:

keilbaca, on Thu Sep 8, 2005 12:12 AM, said:

anyone want to take the challenge and offer this service?

I might be willing to do it if there was a source for suitable joystick cables.  Most Atari cables out there are 2600 cables, which are missing the two pins you need for the buttons.  As I said before, I'd hate to butcher a whole bunch of ProLines just for joystick cables.

I'm going to try to use what I learned from the first modification to make the second one as fast and as clean and efficient as possible.  If I succeed, I might post some pictures of the interior in case anyone here wants to have similar work done on theirs.

Then offer like I was going to. Have them send a proline stick and the radica stick, do the mod then send it back

Edited by keilbaca, Thu Sep 8, 2005 3:33 PM.

[Mitch]

Much better to take the cable from a third party Genesis controller. They're usually pretty cheap to buy as well.

Mitch

[keilbaca]

Mitch, on Thu Sep 8, 2005 10:39 PM, said:

Much better to take the cable from a third party Genesis controller. They're usually pretty cheap to buy as well.

Mitch

Or in that case, Genesis extention cords