Danno

I had a Wico back in the day as well. I never liked it. The ball was small, and the case always seemed rather cheap, and it's boxey, so it's not comfortable at all. And the Fire button is considerabley smaller on the Wico, which always made Centipede and other Quick fire games rather difficult. The CX-22 I had, even with the eventual button alignment problem, was alway better, IMHO.

So why then does the "Trak-Ball" movement switch on the CX-80/22 exist at all, if it was never used? Is it just another piece of abandoned hardware, or is there some vaporware/prototype floating around out there that it was designed for that never saw the light of day? I had a CX-22 back in the day and loved it for a great number of games. I'm thinking about picking up a CX-80 for old times sake. Here's a question - My old CX-22 had a problem where the guides for the fire button had broken, so the button itself actually flopped to one side when not being used and floated a bit more than they should The button still functioned, but it was seriously distracting. Are the CX-80 models with the redesigned fire button susceptible to this problem?

What is the wiring diagram for this? Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Right there on the website I linked.

Danno: Perfect no delay!!!!!!!!! The only problem I had was changing the axis for the Atari Joystick and finding an old parallel cable that I purchased in the early years of emulation. Thanks so much, this is perfect!! onkyo_emu: I got the NES and SNES controllers....can't wait to try em' out. Yep. No delay at all. And it supports everything from the CX-40 up thru PS2 Dualshock Analog controllers. In most cases, the adapter cable you need to build for any of the controllers it supports Cost less than $5.00 in parts from Radio Shack, and take less than 15 minutes to build. No waiting for shipment, no shipping and handling charges, etc. For me, the key was being able to use my Atari 7800 Pro-Line controller with support for both fire buttons using MESS for 7800 and 2600 games and my Sega Master system pad in KEGA.

you could try this: http://www.geocities.com/deonvdw/Docs/PPJoyMain.htm It's a Win2k driver to use joysticks on your parallel port. IT's FREE!

So does no one else have this problem?

Does anyone else have the problem of Z26 causing a rather loud "pop" on the soundcard when you start a game? Everytime I use it, whether I go from a command line, or using the x-26 Front end, I get a Really obnoxious popping sound. I don't want to damamge my speakers. Is there any way to avoid this other than disableing the sound altogether? I have an Nvidia soundcard that is built-into my motherboard (ASUS) so it's not a grounding/bus issue. Z26 and PC Atari are the only Emulators that cause this to happen. Mame, mess, epsxe, Kega, Gens, FCE-Ultra do not have this issue when loading roms. Anyone?

Maybe we could poke and prod Mr. Boris for info as some of his recent fixes in VSS are still issues in M.E.S.S.?

First off, the Stelladaptor is only $30 (and was only $25 for those who purchased it at PC5). Second, as Eckhard stated, a fair number of controller-related changes were made to the latest version of z26, and not just for Stelladaptor support. I've been using version 2.12 of z26, with and without the Stelladaptor, and have not run into any problems. I'd hardly call this making z26 "unusable" and "lame" just because the one particular way you are using z26 (which the vast majority of people are not doing) is not working properly. ..Al $29.95 + 5.00 Shipping, unless you plan to drive to Philadelphia(which could cost a bundle). + 1.75 Tax. = $ 36.74 That's $40 by my wallet. I appreciated Eckhard's sincere response, and understand his quandry. He wasn't given much time to fully implement support for both Stelladaptor users and non-users. This is why I said "I'M STICKING WITH 2.11 FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE". Meaning, until both methods are supported, I'll stick with the old. That's not a knock on anyone, unless support for non-Stelladaptor users is going to be permanently shut out. I'm glad Eckhard chose to address this question for me. I do appreciate Eckhard's work. I also appreciate what the Stelladaptor's creators have tried to accomplish, and apparently they've done an admiable job. But as we've ALL seen in the gaming industry, sometimes good projects get hijacked by people trying to make a buck. Sam Tramiel, anyone? Atari7800.com anyone? I just wanted to make sure that the fantastic emulator known an z-26 wasn't going to abandon it's faithful supporters, that's all. And I never said "MY" method of using z-26 wasn't working. The fact is, as Eckhard admitted, paddle emulation WITHOUT a Stelladaptor in z-26 version 2.12 is not working as it used to. I merely wanted to know if this was going to be a permanent change. Thankfully it isn't. You can all unbunch your undies now.

This is why I'm sticking with version 2.11 for the foreseeable future. I don't want to have to pay $40 for a piece of hardware just to play a FREE emulator. The Stelladaptor is a nice little niche product, but making the new versions of z26 basically unusable unless you purchase one is kinda lame.

Yep. The difference between you and me - I don't dress like a geek and expect people not to make fun of me for it. That's like Walking into Yankee Stadium wearing a Red Sox hat and seriously expecting people not to heckle you.

Umm, saikyo...I hate be the one to break it to you but... You're a geek.

The blame lies with the person who willingly wears out of date, attention causing clothing in public and then pretends they aren't aware that they cause people to point and laugh. Screaming for attention and then complaining that you get negative attention instead of positive reactions is childish. Get a sense of humor, and learn to laugh at yourself first.

This has got to be the most ungrateful, idiotic thing I've ever read on this forum. 55,000+ American Soldiers DIED in Vietnam. Their families think you're a douche bag for making fun of them.

If this guy was a veteran, and he fought in a war, YOU ALL need to learn some respect for people who risked their LIVES so that you can play video games in the comfort of your own home. Having fought in a war protecting ALL OF YOU trumps any accomplishment you have, period. Even if he wasn't a veteran - You need to lighten up. You wore Activision patches on your jacket in public, in 2004. That's not exactly a "fashion statement". It's a cry for help. There's nothing wrong with being a video game, or Atari, or Activision entusiast, but when you sew them onto your jacket and you're a grown adult, you CANNOT expect people to not make jokes about and laugh at you. You wouldn't be wearing them in public if you weren't subconsciously begging for attention. That's how life is. You're entitled to your opinion of Activision games. So is everyone else. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I'm not using a stelladaptor. I'm using PPjoy drivers through the parallel port. I'm also using the x26 front end. The command line switches have changed, but that front end hasn't been updated for it yet. No big deal. I'll just continue to use 2.11. It's great enough, It's all I need.

I just downloaded z26 ver. 2.12 The screen size is no longer correct(now much smaller, even in fullscreen mode), the timing is waaaay too fast, and the joystick only responds to one of the buttons on my 7800 pro line Joystick instead of both. Maybe I'll stick with version 2.11.

Here is exactly what you're looking for... PPJoy drivers It allows you to use your Atari Joystick (or any other, I might add) Through your parallel port. The Atari one is simple, It took me 2 minutes to build, and cost $5.25 in parts at Radio Shack. You'll need the following: 1 DB25 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit. 1 DB9 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit. 1 standard CAT-5 network cable. and install the PPJoy drivers. faollow the directions for the Amiga LPT Digital Joystick, and you're good to go.

Uh, it doesn't exist, it's a joke. Note to self.....there is absolutely nothing even remotely funny or hip about the site Game FAQs. They treat the Atari 2600 as if it were a hockey helmet wearing retard. No offense, but fuck them.

There's also other ways to get Atari Joysticks working on the PC. Actually, the http://www.geocities.com/deonvdw/PPJoy.htm PPjoy drivers allow you to connect every type of controller from the 2600 joysticks, right up through PSX analog pads, with a fre parts from radio Shack. The adapter you build for Atari Joysticks takes 2 minutes to make. It doesn't support paddles though, yet.

UPDATE: I took a trip to MicroCenter and bought adaptor kits for DB25 male to RJ45 and DB 9 male to RJ45 and wired them according to the instructions for a standard digital joystick(atari style). I now have a fully functional Atari 7800 Pro Line Joystick with 2 independant fire buttons working in MESS, Z26, MAME, KEGA, etc.. It cost me a grand total of $5.24 and 2 minutes of assembly time. I may rethink getting that Stelladaptor now.

I already use a kiky joy PSX-USB pad converter in Win2K, but I wanted to use a real Atari 7800 Pro Line Stick, since the PSX pads just don't feel right on the 2600/5200/7800 games. I saw the new Stelladaptor, and I ordered one, but that's only limited to 1 fire button, which renders it useless for 5200, 7800, SMS, NES and older PC games that use at two buttons. About 3 hours after I ordered the Stelladaptor, I found this on the net, but I just haven't had a chance to get to Radio Shack to get the parts yet to test it out. I'd hate to spend $30 on something with permanently limited capability, when I can build an adaptor from parts for $2.50 with full dual-fire button functionality.

PPJoy is a driver setup I found last night that works in Windows 2000/XP and is designed to allow for an atari joystick(and virtually every other kind as well) into your Parallel port after building a simple circuit with parts from Radio Shack. Although some of the newer style gampads seem rather complicated, the atari ones look pretty easy to setup. Let me know if anyone has tried this, Thanks. http://www.geocities.com/deonvdw/PPJoy.htm

I ordered it. Now I must wait. It feels like 1984 all over.

It is. I was the only kid who had a Sega Master System, and my friends all had Nintendo. After a few months, all of them had their Nintendo's in the shop because they wouldn't boot games. They'd all get the dreaded "flashing LED" and blank grey screen on the TV. Nintendo was the first console that required a "Cleaning Kit" even if you took good care of your system. What a piece of crap. My Sega Master System still works to this day, and I never had to get it fixed once. And the Graphics blew Nintendo's "Flickery Crapics" away. Anyway...My first Activision game - Barnstorming. I loved that game.