dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I read on another forum about some hardware "security key" that needs to be plugged into joystick port2. I had bought this game back in the day but I don't remember anything like this... is there a dongle or something that was required to run this game?!? Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks, Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qix_maniac Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I recall having paperclip and that had security that plugged into joystick port to operate but don't know about Leaderboard...my copy was "kracked" by Kilroy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 After doing a little research, it appears that there was a "security dongle" that had to be plugged into joystick port 2 for the game to run. I am guessing that that's why it hangs in the middle of loading It seems as though the dongle simulated the joystick being pressed upwards and downwards simultaneously?!? Pretty ingenious security measure for back then... My next question is "Does anyone have one of these?" Thanks again, Roger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I cracked that game too - there was nothing to it. The dongle did something stupidly easy - it was something like pressing the joystick up and down at the same time, might have even been left/right. Best bet would be to just grab a copy of the game online, then no need for dongle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Best bet would be to just grab a copy of the game online, then no need for dongle. I have a working ROM for my emulator... I'm just being extremely anal in my attempt to obtain a working original Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 You could make a dongle yourself in a matter of minutes - 2 bits of wire and the right plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 You could make a dongle yourself in a matter of minutes - 2 bits of wire and the right plug. My level of expertise in doing something like this is pretty low Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 So, if pins 1 + 2 + 8 need to be connected on the dongle, could I (through process of elimination) find the three wires that correspond to these three pins and simply tie them together?!? Is it that simple Thanks, Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Doing guesswork isn't a good idea. If you happen to short +5V and GND that's not a good thing. You could do it using a spare joystick - just rig it so that it's pushing in the two directions all the time. Depending on the joystick you could either use bits of wire, or foil if it's a leaf-switch type. But yes, trying grounding of pairs 1/2 or 3/4 whatever it happens to be should be the same as having the dongle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snicklin Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I used to have that very dongle. It looked like somebody had melted a load of red wax onto a joystick connector. Unfortunately, it was so small, I have no idea where it is now, if I even still have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 I used to have that very dongle. It looked like somebody had melted a load of red wax onto a joystick connector. Unfortunately, it was so small, I have no idea where it is now, if I even still have it. Hmmm... that red wax thing rings a bell... maybe I do remember that thing And I initially thought the disk was bad Thanks again to everyone, Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) I just cut off an old joystick cable and twisted the relevant wires together (in 2nd joystick port 2) ... hmm now where is it?! On my disk I have written join pins 1,2 and 8 - you'd better check this first! \12345 / \6789/ p.s. It's a great game, especially funny when you put the difficulty/wind on high? and curl the ball right around, and also when it lands on the edge of the land and a little island of ground appears around the ball Edited March 21, 2011 by therealbountybob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 http://orph.atarinet.com/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=8239&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 I have this, the dongle is in this picture... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I received an original "Paperclip" in an Atari package. No "dongle." (why does that word sound so rude?) Was there a cracked Paperclip (there was a 130XE version an a regular version), or is this the same "dongle" as leaderboard? Was this as easy to crack as Leaderboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 http://orph.atarinet.com/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=8239&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 I have this, the dongle is in this picture... heh that looks familiar... :') can you pull out a multimeter and see what the connections are? sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Was going to post that I thought there was also Leaderboard Tourney released, but looking on Fandal's site he has Leaderboard II listed, not sure if this needs the dongle too. Just tried his xex of Leaderboard on altirra and it runs so maybe he has taken the protection off them, he's good like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Paperclip has a Dongle also, same basic concept but it is wired up differently I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 (edited) Pulled my Dongle out (leaderboard) Only pins 1,2 & 8 have connectors in them when looking carefully... Tested with a DVM and they are just all three tied together, no resistance encountered at all. The Paperclip one is a lot more complex and reads various resistance readings on different pins. Edited March 22, 2011 by orpheuswaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Resistance is only really of value through the POT lines. Strange about the simplicity of the dongle and fact you can work it out just by looking. If they'd wanted an extra level of security for a few cents more they could have built in a simple resistor ladder that could generate multiple voltages by tying 1-4 of the PORTA lines to the POT input. Then the software could put various bitsettings to PORTA which would alter what the POT returns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dafivehole Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Some great conversation here... one of the many reasons to love this website This weekend, I will try and make one of these bad boys! Thanks to all, Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qix_maniac Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Paperclip has a Dongle also, same basic concept but it is wired up differently I think. I will find my paperclip and post a picture tomorrow...have to dig through a sea of boxes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I can snap a pic of mine tonight. I thought about opening it up, but I don't want to damage it, and it looks like it's glued shut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snicklin Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Mine had a bit more of a rounded end to it, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 (edited) I used to use the end of an old joystick, Just needed to cut it off and join a couple of wires together. Worked like a charm. Probably more likely to stay in place than a paperclip? This was back in the day ... not sure where I got the information from. No internet. Thinking about it, all it involves (I think) is taking the +5V line and redirecting it into one of the digital inputs. A little trial and error should come up with the answer. Edited March 22, 2011 by Tickled_Pink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qix_maniac Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 sorry took me a while to find..here is my paperclip picture below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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