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Just finished putting together and playing with a prototype board to plug in arcade sticks and buttons. Works with 2600+ and a real 7600 with two buttons. I added an adjustable 555 timer through a transistor to enable turbo-fire on the left button. There are two logic gates to control the turbo fire with the main button push. Next is to turn the prototype into a circuit board, but I'm very happy with it. I installed the board in an 8-bitdo arcade stick and it's great fun on games like Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe. It's nice to tune in the auto-fire get a nice cadence for blasting those rocks!

NEW! Vectrex Vectorlink Wired & Wireless Joystick Adapter #113 (limited white) https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW!-Vectrex-Vectorlink-Wired-and-Wireless-Joystick-Adapter-serial-number-113-(limited-white)/285693475981 eBay Seller: ductape Price US $0.01 (auction listing) Located in: Montgomery, Illinois, United States Item description from the seller Brand New! Vectrex Vectorlink Wired & Wireless Joystick Adapter #113 (limited white) From Sold Out Batch #3 (yes, batch #4 is coming soon, but if you can't wait please feel free to bid, thank you!) Please see product demo and manual here: https://playvectrex.com/vecstore/vectorlink If you are looking for a controller, recommendations are here: https://playvectrex.com/vectech/vectorlink/controllers Starting bid: $0.01 Comes with everything you see pictured except the metal tray! ALL 6 of the vectrex stickers and 2 vectrex magnets you see pictured are included! All proceeds from this auction will go back into making more Vectrex related products and content. Thank you! Please check all shipping options carefully. PlayVectrex "Design. Build. Play!"

Hello, I apologize if this is the incorrect place to ask questions of this nature, but it was the forum I thought was best for posting my question. I bought an Atari Classic Wireless Joystick to play various titles including Atari titles on my PC. The webpage from Atari for the joystick states that it can be used with a PC. Anyway, when I plugged in the joystick to charge, my PC recognized it. Post charging, the instructions say to press the button with the Atari logo quickly in order to start the pairing process. It also says the logo will appear lighted and blink for a short time period while you pair the joystick. Unfortunately, my PC is not showing the joystick as a device I can connect while the light is blinking; so I have no way to pair the wireless classic joystick with my PC. I'm assuming I must be doing something wrong, as the joystick is recognized when I plug it in to the PC to charge via USB. All my other wireless devices show up, so I'm not sure what the problem could be other than something I'm doing myself incorrectly. Does anyone know and can list for me the specific steps for what I must do in order to get the wireless classic joystick to show up on my PC to pair it? Is there some extra driver I'm supposed to download or something? (I've looked, but can't seem to find anything like that) Thanks in advance.

I am selling this joystick made by me. Laser cut and engraved wooden case. Possibility of customizations. Possibility to configure the two buttons with the same function or with separate functions where supported. The joystick is very precise and has microswitches on both the lever and the two buttons. DB9 connector obviously. They are for sale on eBay, I ship from Italy. I'll post the link for those interested: https://www.ebay.it/itm/166527055748

Good afternoon Atari friends hope everyone had a great turkey day! Several months ago I delved into the Atari 7800 world and I love this thing. Except for the Pain-Line controllers, I bought 4 of them, One almost new. None were very responsive and very hard to use. I think everyone could go on and on about these controllers and very few people actually like them. I love the "look" and that's about it. Thus, begins my journey... First I did the simple NES controller MOD. LOVE IT. You don't have to "think" about using the controller, It just feels natural. I figured, what the hell, I'll get some CX78s from best... $40!? Eek but worth it for the hardcore Atari collector. also, do not look on ebay for these things unless you want to pay $70+... insane. New old stock, they are nice but button placement is strange and the D-pad does not feel as natural as the NES Controller. I still went back to the NES controller... I found "new" SNES aftermarket controllers in my controller bin and thought, why not, and modded it to work with the 7800. utilizing every button. L & R bumpers all 4 buttons and start and select. The left bumper and the left buttons and select are all FIRE1 and the rest are FIRE2. This was a nightmare to mod, took too much time as I was also trying to wrap my head around the 7800 controller circuit. It works great, but too many buttons. Almost too confusing to play with. So I decided to make my own controller. Osgeld was kind enough to offer some guidance AND his controller plans, which were just to complicated for me to reproduce. I set off on learning some PCB creation software. I'm a hardware guy, so learning new software is a pain. 3 programs later I landed on a freeish program called Diptrace. I designed the PCB within this program and boy was I in for a treat. I have a hobbyists knowledge of circuits and CAD programs, in layman I knew nothing. I had to create this layout twice the first being a cleaner design but the files did not save properly. I rushed to get the second design printed and almost screwed up royally. SOLDER MASK GOES WHERE YOU DON'T WANT SOLDER MASK SOLDER MASK GOES WHERE YOU DON'T WANT SOLDER MASK SOLDER MASK GOES WHERE YOU DON'T WANT SOLDER MASK SOLDER MASK GOES WHERE YOU DON'T WANT SOLDER MASK so when you layout solder mask you have to put it in areas you do not want solder mask not where you WANT the solder mask... are you following? I didn't follow. I put it where I WANTED mask. This would have covered all my button contacts with solder mask making some expensive beer coasters. In the PCB world that is wrong, but I caught this RIGHT before I sent them In to print. Its all an acceptable learning process, this is an ultra simple PCB design and makes me appreciate real creators like Bryan and his UAV and Curt with the XM. After weeks of back a fouth with chinese suppliers I found a resonable place for black NES controller shells. I ordered the DB9 cables and PCBs and I'm off with a rolling start. I still would like to print custom labels for the controller but it was not cost effective ATM. Maybe If I ordered large bulk (100+) I could get costs down. This design is from a forum member as well but I cannot for the life of me find that post and would love to give credit where its due, but I also am not using this on this run. But this first run is just the prototype phase, which will always be more expensive. R&D is never cheap! What do ya'll think? Am I on the right path, or should I stop while I'm ahead?

Right now there is a small company called RetroGameBoyz.com , who is currently designing various control schemes for the intellivision if you either have an intellivision 2, or an Intellivision 1 with an INTV 2 adapter. It's supposed to let you play four way and 8-way games on an Intellivision and teams up with the keyboard in a way that acts like the regular INTV control set. I'm currently showing interest. The only thing they can't do well is a 16-way joystick. I know enough about the intellivision controller scheme to know that it's not an easy thing to do to either make a 16-way joystick or to make it interface with the intellivision well. I was thinking of using a PC 15 joystick because that was analog. I understand the basic technique would be to divide the whole analog range into 16 wedges and one bullseye, and then convert those into digital 16-way joystick using the Intellivision logic. Also other than the disc, I have no idea how a 16-way fight stick could be constructed. I know on fightsticks, 2 primary directions combined the form secondary directions. It would be a very complex and hard thing to do to turn a primary plus a secondary in between to be a tertiary. I understand mechanically the intellivision disc just had 16 regions on the disc each encoded to a separate joystick code. I don't know if converting a PC 15 joystick directly to intellivision joystick code by dividing it into 16 wedges and one bullseye would be low enough ping to make gameplay worth it. Is there already a pre-existing item which lets you run a large stick that could be 16 ways for those Intellivision games? Honestly I was never an Intellivision guy in my youth but as I grew older, I learned to appreciate some of these older systems better. Originally I thought the NES d-pad was just a rehash of the Intellivision disc and thought it would go nowhere quick. And originally I thought it LOST functionality because you couldn't play it right-handed. Shows what I knew. It just sent my thumb is too imprecise to really play these thumb pads well. That's why I move most of my gameplay to large handheld sticks. Though it might not be good for fighting game purists, I think I got an analog joystick working in a arcade panel size format by using an Xbox Adaptive controller. Just wanted to see if there was any pre-existing stuff that let you run a PC 15 joystick as a 16-way plus neutral Intellivision control interface. By the way Retro Game Boyz did do a good job with their Genesis to 5200 adapter. I can play any digital 5200 game with my fight stick set on Genesis mode. (Maybe except the games that have run time errors when x squared + y squared is greater than 100% squared. Qix is an example of one of them.)

/RANT MODE ON Okay, heres the deal... the TI Joystick only has ONE FREAKING BUTTON! Now, even TI's most popular game of all time, Parsec, required buttons 1,2 & 3 for game play and P for pause. Many other games require ENTER, SPACE, 1 or 2 just to start the game play. Still other games require might require "Q" or "." to fire. So what does this mean? YOU CAN NEVER GET FAR FROM THE KEYBOARD when playing! What can be done about this? What method would you take to MODERNIZE the TI's game play ability? Going in and soldering on to the keyboard matrix is fine for a one-off or a custom job, but is there anyway a KIT could be made "for the masses"? Heck maybe even an interface board for an existing controller would work. Something needs to be done, my question is what and how? /RANT MODE OFF

I was surprised at the dismal condition my joysticks were in when I tested them with the Pocket Joystick Tester. When an LED did not light, I know it was broken but most of the time they would dim, blink, or change light intensity as the switches were activated. These are sure signs that the contacts need cleaning. If I’m going to clean the contacts I may as well take some pictures to share. Quick Shot II Turbo I’m not sure where I got this joystick or if it has ever been opened up. There appears to be some rework but this could have been done to solve some design and manufacturing problems. There weren’t any broken parts in the base? The following information is molded on the bottom between the 4 suction cups. Quick Shot II Turbo Model # QS-111 UK. Design Reg.No. 10333206 The “auto fire – manual – and CPC 464” switch controls the trigger firing mode. In auto-fire the triggers continually fire at a rate determined by circuit component design. The CPC 464 setting is for use with the Amstrad CPC 464 computer. The contacts look heavy duty. The spring and flap work together to make a distinctive click and contact. As the spring is pushed down by a pin on the shaft, the flap flips down and makes contact with a metal rod soldered in the board. The cable for this joystick requires 7 wires instead of the normal 6 wire cable of the Atari Joystick. The extra wire is used to provide 5V to the auto-fire circuit. (and can be useful for many joystick port hardware projects) The bottom of the shaft did seem to have some modifications done to it. Two of the pins that push on the springs had plastic tubing over them. I’m supposing they are to improve spring contact. The brackets that hold the shaft in place have markings that make me believe they may have been modified. Both may have been done to improve performance.

Maze Craze: A Game of Cops and Robbers (Atari VCS, 1980) Someone in the 70s realized that there was fun to be found by using a computer to generate random mazes with a simple algorithm and allowing people to race through it. The first maze game that I can remember appearing on a home console was for the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) and was cart #10 Maze, Cat and Mouse (1977). I don't know if this is the last "maze game" or not because I can't see into the future. (If I could, I'd have warned people about 80s hair.) This maze game decides to have a theme, and that theme is not merely "racing your buddy through a maze". Instead, it's a complex, textured and many-layered game which can be fraught with societal implications even to this day. It's not a game of cat and mouse! It's a game of Cops and Robbers! Which is totally different because if a mouse fights back, the cat is still gonna win. If a robber fights back, the outcome can be less certain. So, I could totally wax on that, but let's talk about the game instead. The cart contains 16 game variations with each variation further able to be varied by setting increasing parts or the entire maze "invisible". More on the invisibility aspect later. Players each have their little "cops" on screen, starting at the same point on the left side of the maze. The goal is to get through the maze to the exit all the way over on the right side of the maze. Yes, this sounds just like the other "maze" games so far, but wait...there's more!* *the phrase "but wait...there's more!" is over-used and a bit hokey and the creator of this blog would like to apologize profusely for its use. The game variations let you put "Robbers" in the maze. Two, three or five, depending on your selection. The Robbers start at the other end of the maze and randomly run through it. If you're playing the A difficulty game, your Cop moves just as fast as the Robbers. If you're on the B difficulty game, they move faster than the robbers. Players must maneuver through the maze, racing towards the exit, while avoiding the Robbers. This involves a lot of backtracking while trying to dodge the Robbers. How do you dodge the Robbers in what is essentially a single lane maze? You have to hope they take a turn down a blind alley giving you a chance to sneak by. I'm not going to lie, this is fun and depending on your emotional investment in the game, it can be intense (in a fun way). I will say that it's much more fun to play all of these with a partner but it's not necessary. You can easily play all of the games with just you leaving your Cop partner sitting alone at the starting spot. The 16 games the following variants with the number of Robbers or, in some instances, the visibility of the maze. Robbers - This is a race to the end of the maze, but Robbers come after you from the right side and will "take you out of the game" if you know what I'm sayin'. It's interesting because your little Cop doesn't disappear, it just becomes inert and doesn't move. We like to play that the dead Cop isn't really dead (yet) but yelling out to his buddy, "You gotta make it out, Louie! You gotta tell my family I died heroic and stuff...". (To keep things simple we pretended both Cops were named Louie.) Blockade - There's a variant that does let you play a cool trick on your opponent. By pressing the button you can drop an illusory wall to make it look like the bit of the maze you just passed through is actually a dead end. Yes, your opponent can just pass through this pretend wall, but it's a cool trick and if they weren't paying attention to you, they can fall for it. Capture - Another variant has the Cops doing what cops do in a game of cops and robbers, they can catch the robbers. Your goal is to get to each of the robbers and touch them before your opponent does. First to get all of them wins. There's no reason to not enjoy this game for a little while if you've ever felt some degree of satisfaction after getting through a maze. I fully intend to make an actual game play video of some of the more dramatic moments and linking y'all to it. I just didn't want to put off writing a new entry while I was still feeling the urge to write an entry. I wanted to talk about the "invisible" maze options. In most of the variants, if you choose to activate the invisibility option, the "invisible" parts of the maze will not be invisible. You will see your partner and the Robbers making their way along the invisible parts, and if you have a good head for mazes you can use their mistakes to your advantage. It's also possible to have an "auto peek" game or a player peek game. This allows you to see the invisible part of the maze for a brief moment. The problem is that your opponent will also see it. (( Martin Brundle-Fly would have been good at this. ))* (( Yes, by including that gif I AM admitting that I know things about the distant year of 1989, but I couldn't resist. )) (( From now on, if I decide to type something "out of character" for whatever year I'm currently deluding myself into believing I'm in, I'll put those anachronistic comments in double parenthesis. )) Scouts - Also in "invisible maze" you can sometimes have "Scouts". Scouts are your friends who run ahead of you briefly and show you how the maze runs. It's still invisible, but it probably keeps you from breaking your joystick slamming your Cop into an invisible wall because the Scouts give you some idea of where you can go. There, a quick and dirty entry. I'm likely going to add to it with a gameplay video as well as a discussion of a maze generating algorithm. EDIT Still no gameplay video my attention span might not last long enough to do one. I went ahead and did a cringe-worthy pair of videos talking about the maze generating algorithm that I can only hypothesize is used in Maze Craze. I'm a little annoyed at both Quicktime (which seems to want to crop any clip you add to the end of another, instead of just fitting it into the frame... if anyone knows a setting I'm missing, please let me know.) and YouTube, which also seems to decide to crop things. Well, I shouldn't be surprised that there is a learning curve and that freestuff has its limitations. The links to these videos are: Part 1: http://youtu.be/WJBIxAHV28k (EDIT: I'm pretty sure neither of these work anymore.) Part 2: http://youtu.be/XdoPmLaxf8A As always, constructive and sincere criticism is welcome, particularly with regard to any facts that I just blatantly seem to make up on the fly. My next entry should be Activision's Boxing.

I couldn't find a thread specifically about this, please pardon me if there is one. Pictured is a MiniVex II, a controller I've been producing for the Vectrex. Been considering a compact twin stick unit, like this one, that's compatible with both Atari 2600 / VCS and the 7800. Thus far I know of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Stargate for the 2600, and Robotron for the 7800, but that's all...can someone list other original release and homebrew titles for both of these systems that use dual sticks? Much appreciated. Larry

Today I have some relatively new information on a $17 controller adapter that you can obtain on Ebay that, when combined with a PC 15 pin gameport to Atari 5200 controller adapter (like the one currently being made by bohoki) will get your Atari 2600, Sega Master System, and Sega Genesis controllers working on your 5200. What's extra awesome about this is that the Sega controllers have compatibility with the two button games, and this is what the Masterplay Clone enables. (Unfortunately, no one is currently producing the Masterplay Clone for purchasing, though.) Here is the Ebay link to the product: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amiga-Atari-Amstrad-Commodore-DB9-9Pin-Joystick-to-15Pin-Port-support-Usb-Adpt/272348471848?hash=item3f693be228:g:Df4AAOSwUd9aaMnL I've ordered adapters from this Ebay seller, Ikonsgr74, since 2015 and can vouch for his top-notch workmanship. He will not disappoint you. I have some additional good news: The Atari 2600 Trakball works with it to play the digital games that may be worth a try on the 5200. I have tried it with Gyruss, Ballblazer, and Galaxian with nice control results- especially Gyruss. The trakball unfortunately doesn't work with the analog-only games like Missile Command, Tempest, Star Wars Arcade, and Super Breakout. For two button digital games like Defender and Dreadnaught Factor, the Sega Sportspad (which is a trackball) also works great. If you have a couple of Camerica NES products (The receiver for the "Freedom Stick" with Genesis cables and the "Freedom Connection" transmitter device) you can add those adapters and get your NES controllers working on the 5200. I have enjoyed playing with my NES Starmaster joystick and NES Max gamepad on games like Dig Dug and Defender. In fact, on Defender, the Star Master joystick helped me to get my best ever score of around 89,000. That joystick has a very satisfying 'click' for each direction it is tilted- though it's not actually a microswitch-laden joystick like the Quickshot II Plus. Hard to describe, but it's just a perfect joystick and I'm very grateful to be able to use it to play my favorite 5200 games. I've detected no lag by the way, so that's good... Also there's a way to connect the 8bitdo NES Retro Receiver to the 5200 via the two adapters (and Camerica NES products and NES Fourscore) and play your 5200 digital games wirelessly with the controllers it's compatible with: The Dual Shock 4, Dual Shock 3, Wii Remote, and Wii U Pro Controller. I've tested it and had great success just last evening. Hope you enjoy the info. Special thanks to Swami for being the 1st guinea pig to try out Ikonsgr74's newly revised controller adapter on the 5200 (via being added to the bohoki adapter). I'm definitely grateful for learning about this from you.

Up for grabs is a pair of tested working Wico "The Boss" joysticks that will work with most db9 pin game systems including all pre 90s Atari consoles and Commodore 64/ Vic 20. Only selling as a set. Asking $34 shipped to anywhere in the US. If elsewhere you'll have to pay extra for shipping.

When in the Stella debugger how do you make joystick movements? When I try the arrow keys the player doesn't move. I don't have a numeric keypad on my laptop. Thanks

Hello there :) Would a DB9 to usb cable make it possible to use the atari joystick to play emulators on pc? Will it register input? USB 2.0 to RS232 DB9 Link: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0758BWVXF/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_EJ5HWJR2DVX7W4J0S9BX?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls_failed I asked the support teams of this cable from Amazon. They told me they don't know but I should try comparing/matching the pin assignment. Unfortunately I have no clue. Does anyone have experience or have the tools to try? Greetings from Poland ??

Hey all, I am new to this retro collecting thing and recently received this joystick in an Atari 2600 lot I bought. From what I've been able to find, this seems to be a VIC-20 joystick, which apparently didn't sell too many before being discontinued due to a lawsuit from Atari. I'm looking for more information on this from people who are more familiar with the subject. Anyone here have any ideas on how rare it is? Is this something people are looking for? I noticed the joystick doesn't have much movement.. could it be locked up? Is it something I should open up and take a look at? The story itself seems really interesting, so I was looking for some more info on it. Any conversation on it would be great!

Hi, Did you ever think that the Atari joystick can be a wireless one ? This video is demo of a project that transforms and original Atari joystick to wireless Joystick The joystick signals are captured using an Adafruit 433 Arduino , with a lipo battery and On/Off switch. The Arduino transmit radio signal for each position of the joystick and for the button as well Another 433 Arduino "listens" to the radio signals , and transfer it a another Arduino micro that simulates signals of a joystick, connected to a raspberry Pi with an Atari emulator This cool and functionality gives us a smooth and fun and modern experience using an original joystick You can watch the video in this link : https://youtu.be/5quNEPNrHyw Enjoy Eran

Hi, Did you ever think that the Atari joystick can be a wireless one ? This video is demo of a project that transforms and original Atari joystick to wireless Joystick The joystick signals are captured using an Adafruit 433 Arduino , with a lipo battery and On/Off switch. The Arduino transmit radio signal for each position of the joystick and for the button as well Another 433 Arduino "listens" to the radio signals , and transfer it a another Arduino micro that simulates signals of a joystick, connected to a raspberry Pi with an Atari emulator This cool and functionality gives us a smooth and fun and modern experience using an original joystick You can watch the video in this link : https://youtu.be/5quNEPNrHyw Enjoy Eran

I got this old Colecovision from Creig’s list which is pretty dirt, controlle is fine, everything works perfect as it should except the joystick which only works if I push it to the right SOMETIMES if I’m playing a game and push the controller to the left hard enough it might make my character move slightly to the left, the other directions don’t work at all Here’s what the inside looks like

Hi, I am looking for a solution to connect and transfer signals from a Windows or Linux to Atari 2600 console I mean , I would like to send joystick signals like (up, down, left , right , button click) from the PC Windows to the console joystick port (without using a joystick) Any ideas how to produce this functionality ? I understand that the Atari Joystick does not works on 5V of On/Off signals , but closing each time a different circuit. How can I simulate this behavior with other device ? maybe Arduino or other device ? Any suggestions ? Eran

[EDIT 10/21: I've lowered the price and hope it's a bit more reasonable. Without a doubt I have no interest in trying to gouge anyone and apologize if my initial ask was too steep. These obscure things are always so weird to sell. Thank you!] [EDIT 10/16: Since I haven't gotten any interested buyers here yet, I've elected to try the eBay route just so anyone who may see this same item on eBay is aware. That said, if someone ends up wanting to buy it here before the auction runs out, I'd be happy to give that person priority and cancel the listing. Thank you!] Hi everyone, Though it hurts my heart a bit to do this, money is tight and I have some bills that need paid by the end of the month so I'm parting ways with my Wico Command Joystick for the Atari 5200. I've only owned this stick for several months since I got it off of a friend. In that time, however, I've sat down and enjoyed a handful of sessions using the thing and can attest to the fact that it really is the best way to play games on the 5200. So now for a few details about the actual stick and what's included. Though there was a bit of dust to clean off when I got it, cosmetically the joystick is in good condition and only shows mild wear. Both fire buttons work well and are responsive (do note, however, that the smaller of the two isn't utilized for every game) and the stick itself re-centers very well and feels tight. The two locking triggers on the bottom of the stick (which allow you to unlock the re-centering on either axis) also work well. **The one downside to this unit are the x and y axis calibrating sliders on the sides--though they do, indeed, work they are a bit stiff. It could be as simple as needing to open the joystick up and reposition them between the top and bottom housing pieces but I hesitate to open this thing up since I would hate to damage anything. Typically what I always do, if ever they get bumped, is test the stick on a game like Centipede where you have free movement in any direction and make sure the player-character isn't stuck moving in one direction. Once you set them, however, they usually stay so though they may get jostled in transit, you shouldn't have to constantly adjust them. Like I said, the functionality is totally there it's just that the sliders themselves--physically--are a bit stiff. Items included in this purchase are: -The Wico Command Joystick itself -Two Y-Cables that daisy-chain between the stick and a traditional 5200 controller (both tested and work great) -And a one page instruction/warranty sheet that I also have. It's not the actual instruction manual but it's still a little info sheet explaining how the stick works and is just a neat little collectible I'm looking to get $140 for everything, which includes shipping to anywhere in the lower 48 states as well as the goods and services fee on PayPal. And that also reminds me that I use PayPal only for my transactions and will give whoever's interested my email address upon purchase. I'll be sure to ship as quickly as possible--within 24 hours of purchase even--and send the buyer a tracking number via email immediately so they know everything is safe and on its way. I know that asking price is a bit steep and certainly not a steal but, like I said, money is just tight right now and I'm asking that much because that's essentially the amount I need--I'll still consider offers if high enough but I can't go much lower all things considered. I really respect the Atari Age community, which is also why I've chosen to list this exclusively here since I know it will go to a good home and be cherished as the collectible it is. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them as quickly as possible. I've tried to include a varied selection of photos (sorry they're not the best) but if you have any requests for more just ask and I'll try to take them and post and soon as I can. Thank you guys for looking and hopefully one of you will soon be the next proud owner of this little 5200 gem! P.S.: Sorry they're all rotated--the uploader did that and I don't know how to fix it. Sorry!

Although I probably would not want to marry her- my love for Carol Shaw runs deep. River Raid was one of the first games that got me "into the zone" whilst playing. So I took the chance and had myself a joystick made by a fine german guy here named David L. You can look him up @ http://www.norths.de/ Ergonomically it's far from a 10/10, but apart from that it plays very fine, and I mean- look at it, right?! Just wanted to share some 2600 love across the pond. Hope you and your loved ones are healthy. All the best for 2021, Nick

I have done some brainstorming for a YouTube video that has to do with classic video game controllers that people pay over $100 for. In the end, I'm thinking people don't pay that kind of money for 2600 controllers... but could I be wrong? I know there's a Wico that has an extra large base that people look for. Do you think that one would fetch more than $100? Here's the link to the video if you're interested:

I've come up with some new ways to use Switch Joy-cons on the Atari 5200 Console (as well as other Atari consoles), and there's some really good news about the two stick games, Robotron 2084 and Space Dungeon. They feel great being played with thumbsticks. The two stick method requires that you'll need to purchase the following items: 1) Two Ikonsgr74 (Ebay) 9 pin to Atari 5200 controller adapters 2) Two 8bitdo Retro Receivers for the Sega Genesis 3) Two cords around 5 to 8 inches long that have 9 or more internal electrical wires 4) Two Male 9 pin solderless connectors (db9) and two female 9 pin solderless connectors (db9). 5) Nintendo Switch left and right Joycons with Grip/recharger. After you have these items just follow the instructions I have for you here (explained midway into the presentation) to get it all set up (soldering a wire onto the board of the 2020-released Ikonsgr 9 pin to 5200 adapter is required):

If any of you have wondered about whether the Hyperkin Ranger could be modded into a two button controller for Atari 7800 compatibility- well, the day has come for that to become a reality. I came up with a way to pretty easily accomplish this, and I did it with a Nintendo Switch Joycon connected to the Ranger. It was done without using adhesives or drilling holes in controllers, so you can rest-assured there won't be any damage done to your favorite controllers. My tutorial video and review of the Ranger with footage of Dark Cavern and Kaboom! is found here, so check it out:

Earlier this year I finally broke out my Tron joystick only to find it didn’t work. Opened it up and sure enough the flexible ring had cracked and broken. After searching for a replacement I came to the conclusion that there weren’t any so I worked with a friend to try to make a 3D printed replacement. He came up with a pretty great design which is actually more durable than the original while retaining good flexibility. I figured I would share it with the community for anyone else looking to restore one of these Tron joysticks to full function. Enjoy! Tron Joystick insert