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Do you use a "Homebrew Joystick"? - Post your pics!


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Found another analog, a bit pricey at $85 but IMO way cheaper than the HApp solution. It's very small as the joystick is only 43mm (about 1 3/4") long, way too tiny to mount under MDF or Plywood.

http://www.broadenedhorizons.com/arcade-style-large-analog-joystick-with-round-ball-top

 

Again, an analog joystick that appears to be designed for mobility applications. I have no idea if the movement is good enough to use for joystick applications. Rubber grommet looks cheap but I have no idea without holding it in my hands and feeling it. If movement is stiff or slow, it might be still great for powered wheelchairs but not so good for gaming.

Forget this company. I did some digging around and while I applaud they're efforts to make gaming accessible to people with disabilities, they sell pushbottons for $20 a pop and complete joystick assemblies for $995. RIP-OFF... :razz:

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Here I thought I was pretty clever hacking a couple 3rd-party Atari sticks onto the cables of the uber-flaky original TI sticks. At least they had double cable length, which was a big help.

 

I had no idea the old analog sticks were becoming unobtanium. I bought a nice all-metal one for 5 bucks surplus ages ago to build one for my TI, but the TI sticks are on/off, not analog, so I ended up never using it. Now, where the heck is it in the pile??

 

-Ed

Edited by Ed in SoDak
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  • 3 months later...

Bump. I recently aquired a 7800 console. I'm currently building a new arcade box out of 3/4" MDF. 10" wide x 6" deep x 4.5" tall. My smallest arcade controller yet. I installed the joystick and buttons to test it out. Nothing wired up yet as I'll have dismantle the parts in order to paint it.

 

WIP pic:
post-33189-0-13366600-1405190453_thumb.jpg

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Bump. I recently aquired a 7800 console. I'm currently building a new arcade box out of 3/4" MDF. 10" wide x 6" deep x 4.5" tall. My smallest arcade controller yet. I installed the joystick and buttons to test it out. Nothing wired up yet as I'll have dismantle the parts in order to paint it.

 

WIP pic:

attachicon.gifnew mystery box appears.jpg

 

SWEEEEEEEET! Nice workmanship there. Please post another picture when it's all finished! :)

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SWEEEEEEEET! Nice workmanship there. Please post another picture when it's all finished! :)

I hit a tiny snag today. Sun was shining. 100 degrees out. I started painting the box with Rustoleum "Hammered Black". Two coats 15 minutes apart, then another 15 minutes I go outside to apply the third, and it's raining for the first time in weeks... :???:

 

Water droplets sitting on top of the paint. I took the box inside (it's sitting on top of a small table wrapped with newspaper for portability) and used my mom's hair dryer to remove the water droplets. Unfortunately the finish is lumpy where the droplets were sitting, so now I'll have to wait 48 hours and sand with some ultra fine grit sandpaper (320) to get a nice textured finish. Not really that big a loss, as I usually have to sand down the paint after the first application anyway. It's the same finish I used on my Atari controller on the previous page.

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Here's a set I made earlier this year. I primarily use this with my 7800 but also with my 2600 and XEGS. They are definitely my go to sticks for classic gaming. I'm going to build another set after a few house projects are out of the way. The color scheme was inspired by the packaging from Atari's earlier Pong units.

post-26371-0-32037700-1405310462_thumb.jpg

post-26371-0-13582900-1405310474_thumb.jpg

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What is with all the LEFTY joysticks? That would be PERFECT with the red buttons and the joystick positions swapped!

Nintendo started it in 1983 with the Famicom. Gaming is largely an ambidextrous operation just like typing or other activities, so right-handed or left-handed, gamers since the mid-80s have been operating the Dpad/joystick with their left, and working the buttons with their right. Just look at those button masher fighting games that became popular in the 90s. Six buttons for your right hand; one joystick for the left. Tell me which hand is more important. Regardless of which hand you first picked up a pencil with in preschool, most people who grew up in the 80s, 90s, and beyond learned to move their character using their left hand.

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Tell me which hand is more important. Regardless of which hand you first picked up a pencil with in preschool, most people who grew up in the 80s, 90s, and beyond learned to move their character using their left hand.

 

I guess it comes down to teaching an old dog new tricks! This old dog SUX with a lefty joystick!

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I guess it comes down to teaching an old dog new tricks! This old dog SUX with a lefty joystick!

Funny story I made an ambidextrous VCS controller (extra FIRE button in the upper right corner) and later added paddles. See the first page of this thread for pics. I actually use it right-handed more often than left-handed but often switch mid game if one of my hands gets tired. I thought about building my 7800 controller with two sets of buttons as well but decided against it as I didn't want the interface to get to two convoluted and unwieldy. I even made plans for a universal Atari controller, 8"x20" or so, with a joystick in the center, two pairs of red buttons on either side, and paddles on the outer edge. A DPDT toggle switch would be required to prevent interference by swapping the paddle input lines between two button 7800 and VCS paddle operation.

 

Honestly I can do it both ways. I really believe it depends more on what tech you grew up with. Atari generation and Pre-Nintendo people are more likely to prefer right handed; post-Nintendo gamers are more likely to prefer left-handed.

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  • 1 year later...

alright this one is gonna be a small flood since its a bit unique from all angles. its still missing 2 stickers from its final product, but i figured it was finished enough to display here, especially with all the help you guys have been. everything was done with a bag of old band and cartoon stickers, and an exacto knife for precision layering.

IMG_20150803_215434_zpsmmss70zp.jpgIMG_20150803_215415_zpsqu4ywxq2.jpgIMG_20150803_215401_zpswenqeokw.jpgIMG_20150803_215339_zpsk1wk35as.jpgIMG_20150803_215325_zpszgo2gne1.jpgIMG_20150803_215258_zpsx76newet.jpgIMG_20150803_215244_zpsf6lhryjc.jpgIMG_20150803_215229_zpsxt6we7h9.jpgIMG_20150803_215214_zpsux7nt0dg.jpg

 

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yeah i had that decoupage type idea in my head from the begining, i just didn't know what stickers would make it till i got into it. the two missing stickers are a space invader, placed for ling ling to attack it, and an atari coin slot sticker, cause i have to have an atari one on there. i always liked your D-pad controller, and LBC's pong styled ones are gorgeous. this seems to fit in a little better with my personal aging punk rocker asthetic. i came so close to doing it only with band stickers from the first waves of punk and hardcore between '77 and about '82 or so (given the timing of the vcs, and asthetic i was going for i thought it was appropriate) , but i didnt have too many stickers from that era around wihtout going on an ebay spree.

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yeah i had that decoupage type idea in my head from the begining, i just didn't know what stickers would make it till i got into it. the two missing stickers are a space invader, placed for ling ling to attack it, and an atari coin slot sticker, cause i have to have an atari one on there. i always liked your D-pad controller, and LBC's pong styled ones are gorgeous. this seems to fit in a little better with my personal aging punk rocker asthetic. i came so close to doing it only with band stickers from the first waves of punk and hardcore between '77 and about '82 or so (given the timing of the vcs, and asthetic i was going for i thought it was appropriate) , but i didnt have too many stickers from that era around wihtout going on an ebay spree.

It's whatever aesthetic you want. I put D-pads under the joystick to emulate the look of original controllers. See the links to my Flickr galleries in my sig.

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the snes one was what really caught my eye, under normal circumstances the controller would have used its own pcb board right? and it looks like you hacked one together with the breadboard, and a v520 im guessing also that the lighted buttons are tied to the +5v and the ground to complete that circut? its really really gorgeous work overall.

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  • 2 weeks later...

the snes one was what really caught my eye, under normal circumstances the controller would have used its own pcb board right? and it looks like you hacked one together with the breadboard, and a v520 im guessing also that the lighted buttons are tied to the +5v and the ground to complete that circut? its really really gorgeous work overall.

Thanks. I used a pair of CD4021s (same chip used in the NES, sourced from Jameco so no real NES controllers were harmed) to create the 16-bit (12 bit really) SNES signals. My digital turbo schematic on the NES controller works but is a bit of a clusterfuck. I also have plans to add a TG-16 port in there... :o

 

Attention Joystick builders!!!

 

I recently drew up a sketch for a "universal" 2600, 7800, SMS controller that is universally compatible with ALL Atari 2600, 7800, and SMS games, including Atari homebrew that reads the Genesis as well as SMS games that don't work with it. The only caveat is it requires a DPDT switch to select 7800 or SMS mode, and an "extra button" (for SMS II and Atari homebrew) in addition to the dual fires of the 7800. Anyone interested in building a 2-in-1 may want to check it out:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/241814-universal-joystick-schematic-for-2600-7800-sms-untested/

Edited by stardust4ever
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