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I took some picture of a real Atari Black VCS Joystick, I took it apart and you can see it has a pole in the middle of it and a hole though its pcb so why its a accurate joystick, RGL made the CXSTICK to much like THEC64 RED Joystick, they should of just copied the original Atari joystick and it would worked OK or did it like PLAION did with the Atari2600 Plus do not see why they didn't, they work together to make these. Atari Black VCS 2600 Joystick Teardown ========================== The good old days how things where built... a 80s joystick, I think it might of been made for the Darth Vader VCS, not sure when that come out, in the 80s maybe between 1980/82.

The full Manual usually get printed in to a manual or into a user guide book later on by Paul Andrews, Andrews UK, I have both THEC64 Manual Hardback version and THEA500 User Guide books.

If the button in the Paddles worked then you probably be able to use them, the first fire button on the first Atari Paddle does nothing and the second fire button on the second Atari Paddle is the sort button, if they they were fixed so were setup to use the right buttons in the game then the paddles might work, you need the button to work of it to use that Paddle, if you press fire on the CXSTICK then you can play the game with it, this is why you need to be able to set the buttons in the built in games yourself, only another way round it is change the buttons in the `gamecontollerdb.txt` file, I just realised something, the built in games have a file that it makes in the /tmp folder when the games is run, its called `ctrldb.txt` so is the games `gamecontollerdb.txt`file so maybe that can be changed, not sure. Here is the file from Airball, I try and get the one for Super Breakout too. ctrldb.txt

Do they show with any analogue controller, I got them to show by plugin in the Atari2600 into THE400 Mini and having the Atari Paddles plugged in to its Atari joystick port 1 (DB9), you have to put the Atari2600 Plus into update dumper mode, Color on B/W and press and hold Reset switch while turn it on, it then thinks its THEGamepad, you can see it on a PC `Setup a game controller on PC`....

THE400 Mini is a UK product and made in Hong Kong that was part of the UK up until 1997... weird ... but only recently China took control of Hong Kong, like a company taking over another company there is a 3 year cooling of period where the company been taken over can change there mind so it can not be changed for 3 years. China got full control of Hong Kong about 20 years later, (2018 I think, it was just before the pandemic), thats why people in Hong Kong protested about it, they didn't want there lives to change.

Mine is... Mine say made in Hong Hong not Hong Kong... someone is dyslectic... lol, does yours say the same thing or is this the only label that has a typo..?

And Colleen Emulator is Retroarch libretro lib file libatari800.so file with a wrapper round it that executes it so it can use its own commands, it uses the same commands as Amiberry v3.3 thats on THEA500 Mini, its uses the same carousel so it built the same way, and its buildroot(system is from THEC64) well it is THEC64, just with a different interface GUI carousel and emulator, it made the same way as THEVIC20, I like to know how they tick...

You can always try the 5200 on PCUAE, its uses the Atari 800 Emulator 4.2.0 so you can use its menu(F1) to customise it how you want it, all you need is PCUAE Main installer setup and Atari Mode installer setup, you install it in parts so only need the parts you want to use, you do not need to download all of it.

Yes I totally Agree, I have loads of old consoles and computers plus I collect Mini Consoles now so they are great, my first one was THEC64 Mini PAL in 2018, it got me to create PCUAE in 2020, at the time I never knew anything about Linux, only skinning Linux Mint, or how they worked, I wanted to add games to its carousel and no one else was doing it so I did and that how PCUAE started, it was the first console I pre ordered, I have now THEA500 Mini, THEC64 Mini NTSC, THEVIC20, Capcom Home Arcade, the Atari2600 Plus(I got that because of how good the CHA was and I knew who PLAION was Koch Media, they published Back To The Future The Game in 2010 too... I have that on PC DVD and yes they do still publish games like Atari do) and now THE400 Mini, and hope there is more to come... , more Mini's, no room for Full Size... I even at one point made my own THEC64, I called it THEC64 Frankenstein, I made it because I could not get one at the time so built one... I could not help but see your signature about the gamecontollerdb.txt file, I did make something in PCUAE that reads the GUID of the second joystick plugged in, it would show it on the screen and then sends it to a file called `testjoys.txt` This is what's in the file after it read the joystick: 03000000790000001100000010010000,USB Gamepad so you could make a GUID out of it for the gamecontollerdb.txt file in THEC64 so the joystick or controller would work in THEC64/THEA500 and now should work on THE400 Mini too, it was so it would make the right GUID that works on the RGL machines, its better to make the GUID on the machines that going to use it, that way they work, they all use the same SDL txt file, it here if you want to look, the post is abit old now, but it still should work in PCUAE, it has the SDL2 Gamepad Tool too in PCUAE, its under now: `PCUAE-USB-Drive\options\c64_a500_sdl_controllers`, hope it helps... look here... https://thec64community.online/thread/640/edit-game-controller-joystick-pcuae

You will need Atari Paddles plugged into the Player 1 DB9 Port on the Atari2600 Plus for it to unhide the games. I put the Atari2600 Plus into Dumper Mode because it acts like a joystick(THEGamepad) while its in that mode, plug its USB-C cable in port 1 or 2 in THE400 Mini, then put Color on B/W and press and hold down Reset and Power switch to On and hold for a few seconds, then turn on THE400 Mini and it should see the joystick, I tested it with Navy Wavy and its Atari Joystick works fine... So I thought what would happen if I put in a pair of Paddles into it and would the hidden game appear and... they did... but I tried Super Breakout and I press the Paddles button but its stuck on Player 1 up, it makes it flicker, but this is something...:) but you can use the Atari joystick to play it too.. and you can use real joystick with THE400 Mini now so use a properly Atari Joystick with it if you like.... :), it kind of cool... and if you do not like the CXSTICK you can now use the one that came with the Atari2600 Plus or its new Gamepad or a different DB9 joystick... My paddles I am using are from the Atari Flashback so maybe why they are not working, have to find the original Atari Paddles now, I have them somewhere do not know where at the moment. You will need a power supply 5v 3a because that what I am using, I tried it on 5v 1a and it HDMI signal flicker in and out. Well they would work together because they are both built by PLAION...

It took me a while to work it out but I finally did... This how you do it, make sure you do not load a game image in Media Access. How To Load ATARI BASIC in THE400Mini: Open USB Media Access, on the carousel look for the USB Stick Game Slot, its blue, highlight it and press the fire Button on it and then Open the Games Settings Menu by pressing Menu Button and then highlight and press on the toggle button next to Enable BASIC(it on the top right of the menu) to enable it and then press TOP(Up) Button to go back to Media Access and now highlight THE400_BASIC.atr file on the root of the USB Drive, it should of made one and then press Fire Button to select it, then press Home Button to run Atari Basic... Done... . Now you can type a BASIC program in THE400 Mini and then save it to the THE400_BASIC.atr file by using the save command in BASIC, like how you are meant too and not by using Save States... .

or like this: Space Invaders Favourite Slot Game 1, Save from Space Invaders.atr, From USB Media Access. That it, just some ideas...

Favourites in PCUAE on THEC64 has its own carousel gamelist so its not part of the main carousel gamelist, its so you can make your own list of favourite games that you want in the favourite carousel gamelist, I created it because I wanted certain games in it that I liked more then other games, in PCUAE Manager you can make 10 favourite gamelists if you want too so `Favourite 1, Favourite 2, Favourite 3....and so on up to... Favourite 10 but that because you can add more games and the games in the carousel it can show is up to 255 games per carousel gamelist and that all gamelists`... RGL could make it so Favourites has its own gamelist but the problem is you can not add any more games to the carousel so no point too, do not see the point of have favourites at the moment anyway its just sorts the gamelist that never changes because it only has 25 games on it, it need more games for favourites to work but that can be sorted if they add Favourite games from USB Game Saves made from USB Media Access Games so be able to add your own games to the carousel then and the carousel will be used more then too, that the whole point of having the carousel, too use it so not for Display Purposes only(not to make the console look nice, it meant to be a selling point). I say use USB Game Saves from USB Media Access Games because they make a screenshot of the game as a png file when it save the game that can be used as a cover in the Favourite Game Slot on the carousel, this way you do not need to make a generic cover png file to use in each Favourite Game Slot the carousel creates. RGL could add the name of the Favourite game to what the image.atr is named so what the save is connected to so if it called `Space Invaders.atr` then its tittle is called `Space Invaders` and then under it, it could say `Favourite game 1, save from USB Media Access Games so like: Space Invaders Favourite game 1, save from USB Media Access Games and each Favourite would change like: Favourite game 1, save from USB Media Access Games... Favourite game 2, save from USB Media Access Games... Favourite game 3, save from USB Media Access Games and so on with every one you make. They would probably word it better then me, just so ideas...

One problem with the carousel is the way RGL added Media Access to it as a Game Slot, so they made it part of the carousel so they be no way of them running it as a Classic Mode like on THEC64, Media Access on that is part of Basic Mode so not part of Carousel Mode, RGL would have redesign the whole carousel to make a Classic Mode. I like the way they made the carousel on THEC64 where Media Access is separate and is not a Game Slot on the Carousel, plus it takes up a Game Slot and only one game can be a favourite in USB Media Access so not point to adding one as a favourite, RGL should of added it as a USB Icon(they could use the same icon just make it smaller) on the bottom bar instead because its a option so a feature(so should not be part of the carousel and it stops you doing other stuff with Media Access in the future, you should always think of the future when you make something and make it easy to change if you need too), so like, there is space for one more item on the bottom bar: `(Down) Save Games` `(Menu) Options` `(Rleft) Favourites` `(RRight) Sort` `(TOP)RUp) USB Media Access` `(F) Start Game` `THE400 Mini (logo)` Thinking why RGL added USB MA as a Game Slot, I did use the Info Game Slot, They let you know what carousel gamelist your on, on THEC64 in PCUAE(you can add your own games to the carousel on THEC64 in PCUAE) so when you highlight it and press on it, it loads up Classic Mode so you can load Media Access easier so it very similar so maybe why they added USB Media Access as a Game Slot on THEA500 Mini, they do take ideas from it, like Joystick Port Swapping, Favourites, Modes, I am glad they do... .

How about a small spring to push it away from the board, I am thinking what RGL could add to it, I was just looking at mine(in bits... ), maybe a key cap spring from a keyboard, that might be the logical answer, it needs a spring to keep the stick straight and its pushed up away from the PCB board, THEC64 Joystick has one you need one to stop the stick been pushed down on PCB board when you grab it fully with your hand and I noticed it has no hole in the middle of the PCB board so the stick does not push agent the PCB and crack it as you push down on the stick or could ware out the PCB at that point, it very close to the left and right lines, weird... I would of put a hole in the PCB board there so no rubbing can happen. Quick Joy joystick with hole in the middle of its PCB The Atari2600 Plus joystick has a hole in its PCB, thats what is missing, its missing the hole in the middle of the PCB. RGL THECXSTICK is on the left the Atari2600 Plus Atari Joystick is on the right It needs a new PCB with a hole in the middle, unless your good at cutting but there 2 trace lines very close in the middle of the board, left and right traces, if you look where they are its enough space for a hole, they missed it in the factory, it has a design fault, it happens, Sega missed a trace on my first Sega Master System for button 2, it never worked for player 1... so I had to add a wire to its Db9 port so it would work, that was in 1988... Now I have to put both joysticks back together...