Wico Joystick and two button games

[zetastrike]

I just bought an Atari to USB converter for my PC to use with the various emulators I have. I know I'll be set with the ST and Amiga stuff I have, but I want to know how a Wico stick will interact with two button games on the MSX or the few on the Amiga. Will the stick be sufficient for most of the games?

[Seob]

If i'm correct 2 button atari style (amiga) joysticks aren't compatible with msx 2 button games, due to the fact that it uses a different pinout.

[bobotech]

Generally all Atari 2600 compatible sticks with 2 buttons only work as one button. The two buttons are wired in parallel with each other so hitting either button responds to the computer with the same signal.

 

I believe that Atari 7800 joysticks use resistors or something so that instead of being a flat on or off signal to the 7800, there is either 1 of 3 states, off, then one resistance for one button and a different resistance for the other button which is why it can still use the same 2600 pinout.

[Rybags]

It's emulator use so compatability in itself isn't the real issue at stake.

 

But as stated, practically 99.9% chance it's single button in parallel - in theory such sticks could be modified with changed wiring to use the second button returning down a paddle line but even then a USB interface won't necessarily pick up on it.

 

If the interface docs state that it works with Sega controllers or can read both buttons on a 7800 pad then it's probably worth getting one of those.

[Seob]

I meant that the msx uses a different pinout for the joystick then most atari styled joystick ports.

 

MSX

pin 1 - up

pin 2 - down

pin 3 - left

pin 4 - right

pin 5 - +5V

pin 6 - button 1

pin 7 - button 2

pin 8 - output 3

pin 9 - ground

 

Amiga

pin 1 - up

pin 2 - down

pin 3 - left

pin 4 - right

pin 5 - n/c

pin 6 - button 1

pin 7 - +5v

pin 8 - gnd

pin 9 - button 2

 

Most likely you gone blow something up when using a 2 button amiga joystick on a msx computer since button 2 on the amiga joystick will connect +5v (pin 7)to ground (pin 9).

Edited September 3, 2014 by Seob

[zetastrike]

I was hunting around in some used game stores and just bought a standard VCS stick today. I'm still waiting for the adapter to get here. I'm hoping blueMSX will let me map one button to the stick and the other to the space bar or something. If not, there's always an aftermarket PS3 pad.

 

The atari stick should be good for A8, ST, and Amiga games though.

[carlsson]

I'm fully aware about the pinout differences between Atari style, Sega style and MSX style. While I generally advocate to not use Sega controllers on a system that expects Atari style, I have been using Atari style controllers on MSX computers without any obvious damage although I realize that I tie an output signal to an input signal rather than the intended ground on the MSX computer.

 

I've also got a few Spectravideo Quickshot labeled joysticks, but alas those also seem to wire both buttons to the same pin even if you could have imagined differently.

 

In the case of the USB interface, it should be programmable or at least switchable to let you connect any DE9 enabled controller, including the Atari/Commodore, Sega, MSX, perhaps even Channel F, TI-99 and so on. To be honest I don't know if they usually are or at least some interface exists which takes many pinouts, but it doesn't seem unthinkable.

[zetastrike]

I think the adapter I bought only supports one button sticks. Retrolink also has Genesis adaptors, but I really don't need that because I already have a Genesis/MegaEverDrive and I wanted the authentic feel for the Atari and Amiga emulators. Quite a few of the MSX games I've tried with the keyboard use up for jump, particulalrly Maze of Galious and Vampire Killer, so that was unexpected.