+DrVenkman Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 1 hour ago, CZroe said: Wonder if you could salvage those with a higher capacitor value. I’ve thought about that. I’m going to experiment a bit once we’re caught up on all the backorders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPB Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 After my big brother smashed my atari 5200 to pieces in 1984 out of frustration, I ran across a 5200 at a local video game store, I had to buy it. As expected, the stock controllers are terrible. Would you happen to have 2 of them for sale? I would buy them from you and would go to church on Christmas morning and thank god for your work! Please say you are still building these. :) God's speed, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 On 12/8/2019 at 7:51 PM, RPB said: After my big brother smashed my atari 5200 to pieces in 1984 out of frustration, I ran across a 5200 at a local video game store, I had to buy it. As expected, the stock controllers are terrible. Would you happen to have 2 of them for sale? I would buy them from you and would go to church on Christmas morning and thank god for your work! Please say you are still building these. God's speed, Rob Please see this thread: My friend and business partner @MakerMatrix and I are building @smbaker's controllers, along with our own custom 3D-printed cases and buttons and the required extension cables at our dedicated site as discussed in the linked thread. Please be advised that we've been working down a sizable backorders list for the last month or so - we are nearly caught up but not completely. It will likely be a week or 10 days before we are entirely there. Maker Matrix 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Just got my controller. Unfortunately, having issues ?. When I turn on the system into the AtariMax SD (all I use nowadays) the controller is stuck in the left position. So i have to move left, and then I can move. All seems well. However, when I access any game, I'm similarly stuck moving left. I'm using the extension cable that was supplied with the controller. I tried every possible positioning of the R132 adjuster and it's not fixing it. My stock controllers have no such problem, and the issue is in both controller ports (2-port machine). I don't own any spare 5200's. I tried the 5200 Joystick Alignment Test rom, and it seems fine in there, but obviously any calibration in that program does nothing anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakerMatrix Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 8 minutes ago, Greg2600 said: Just got my controller. Unfortunately, having issues ?. When I turn on the system into the AtariMax SD (all I use nowadays) the controller is stuck in the left position. So i have to move left, and then I can move. All seems well. However, when I access any game, I'm similarly stuck moving left. I'm using the extension cable that was supplied with the controller. I tried every possible positioning of the R132 adjuster and it's not fixing it. My stock controllers have no such problem, and the issue is in both controller ports (2-port machine). I don't own any spare 5200's. I tried the 5200 Joystick Alignment Test rom, and it seems fine in there, but obviously any calibration in that program does nothing anywhere else. Make sure it's seated all the way on both ends. The virgin cable connectors can be a bit stiff. First time I used one I had this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, MakerMatrix said: Make sure it's seated all the way on both ends. The virgin cable connectors can be a bit stiff. First time I used one I had this problem. Made sure of it, but I don't think it's the connector, as I tried it with a stock controller and it's fine. I also tried some actual carts, same issue. Aside from testing on other systems, which I don't have, not sure what else I can do? PS: to be exact, using Pete's Cart, my vertical axis ranges from 8 to 225, but the best I can do on the horizontal is 4 through 52. There's clearly something off in the X-axis. Edited December 14, 2019 by Greg2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 16 minutes ago, Greg2600 said: Made sure of it, but I don't think it's the connector, as I tried it with a stock controller and it's fine. I also tried some actual carts, same issue. Aside from testing on other systems, which I don't have, not sure what else I can do? First things is to be 100% you have fully seated the connector on the controller end. Second, ff you have the AtariMax, boot up Pete's Test Cart and see what your readings are on both axes of the controller with the stick centered, and then moved to each extreme. Pete's Diagnostics (1982) (Atari).zip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Just now, DrVenkman said: First things is to be 100% you have fully seated the connector on the controller end. Second, ff you have the AtariMax, boot up Pete's Test Cart and see what your readings are on both axes of the controller with the stick centered, and then moved to each extreme. Y is 8/115/225 X is 3/21/40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 1 minute ago, Greg2600 said: Y is 8/115/225 X is 3/21/40 Yep, that's definitely not correct on the X-axis! Something is amiss - please use the contact form on our website and we'll arrange for a return and exchange. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 1 hour ago, DrVenkman said: First things is to be 100% you have fully seated the connector on the controller end. Second, ff you have the AtariMax, boot up Pete's Test Cart and see what your readings are on both axes of the controller with the stick centered, and then moved to each extreme. Pete's Diagnostics (1982) (Atari).zip 1.61 kB · 3 downloads Hey this is a neat little program, I never knew it existed! Thanks for posting it. For the record I get: HOR: 1/217 VERT: 1/202 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 1 minute ago, --- Ω --- said: Hey this is a neat little program, I never knew it existed! Thanks for posting it. For the record I get: HOR: 1/217 VERT: 1/202 Yep, that's perfectly in the "A-OK" range - you should get single-digit lows and 200+ highs. It can vary from console to console and controller to controller. The biggest variable - we have found after building well over 50 of them now! - is the digital potentiometer chip, the MCP42100. Two brand new chips pulled from side-by-side in the same manufacturer's shipping tube and inserted into the same controller, tested on the very same 5200, can easily have a variability to them of up to 5 - 8 points. That's not usually a problem so long as it's not greater than that on either axis. But as I've posted before up-thread, we've had a surprisingly high rate of out-of-spec chips (purchased from Mouser for this current run, so not "eBay specials"). Over half a dozen have tested low on at least one channel, sometimes both channels, enough that they are unusable in these controllers. There is also some variability in the thumbsticks - they're only 10K ohms range, and there's a variability to the resistance at their center point as well as at the extremes of each axis. In this case, we haven't seen enough variability for it to be a problem though - every issue we've run into building these controllers has come down to the digital pot chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Thumbsticks, evil! I cannot play a decent game with them to save my life. I'm not much better with the 5200 joystick either, but I do fairly well with this CH Flightstick. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 14 minutes ago, --- Ω --- said: Thumbsticks, evil! A few of us beg to differ. And after all, that’s the subject of this very thread so ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 1 minute ago, DrVenkman said: A few of us beg to differ. And after all, that’s the subject of this very thread so ... Oh I know, I'm just pulling your leg with the evil part. Sadly, I'm just an old dog that can't seem to learn any new tricks with those newfangled contraptions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz_n64 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 I made a video review of the new Maker Matrix controller for the Atari 5200 Supersystem. Atari 5200 Maker Matrix Controller Review 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) Okay, so turns out my controller had some type of malfunction in the analog stick. After a brief return/turnaround I've got it back! They also switched me to a Right-Hand stick setup. After using the Left-Stick, I felt the right was more Atari-like, since I play those systems using my RH on the joystick, LH button. After a calibration of my POKEY with Pete's Cart, I was away.... So I went through a ton of roms (quickly) on the Atarimax SD. I would largely concur with buzz' review. This controller is a MASSIVE improvement over stock. The fire buttons alone make it worthwhile, given the absurd squishy ones on the OEM. Maze games, shooters, and platformers are hugely improved. My God, playing Miner 2049er or Monty's Revenge, massive difference. Where I would side with the review is that games which work well with the Trak-Ball or need a slow moving cursor are not good. Missile Command is rough, while Star Wars Arcade is not really playable. The stick moves too quickly. Is that adjustable somehow? If I missed those instructions, forgive me. Tempest (proto) doesn't calibrate right, but who cares. Pole Position wasn't working (couldn't move the car), which was odd, but turns out I never loaded the "fixed" rom for the SD Edited December 23, 2019 by Greg2600 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Greg2600 said: The stick moves too quickly. Is that adjustable somehow? Unfortunately not. The code and interface is purely analog. So movement of the stick is completely proportional to the movement of the cursor/pointer/object on the screen. To get a lower movement rate you’d need a longer stick (like the stock joysticks) and probably much weaker spring to make it less tiresome to fight the centering - in effect, you end up with a stock design and lose the convenience of the thumbstick. It is conceivable the code in the ATtiny might be modified to give a non-linear response though - so that you get much less movement near the center and then progressively more/faster toward the extreme in each axis, but the code space is very limited and it might require hardware changes to accomplish effectively. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakerMatrix Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Greg2600 said: The stick moves too quickly. Is that adjustable somehow? If I missed those instructions, forgive me. Tempest (proto) doesn't calibrate right, but who cares. Glad the replacement controller arrived and is working for you. I've asked myself the same Q about the X/Y rates on the thumbstick. If you look in Scott's code for the ATTiny85 you can see the two lines of code where he scales the stick values to X/Y digital pot values (lines 86 and 91 of https://github.com/sbelectronics/5200-controller/blob/master/5200controller.c). Modifying that function would be the way to manage this in software. I might take a stab at it at some point but since November all my spare time has been taken up building these controllers with the current spec firmware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 If anyone is looking for one of these completed controllers David has at last a couple for sale in the Marketplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Alexander Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 On 1/2/2020 at 4:24 PM, Shawn said: If anyone is looking for one of these completed controllers David has at last a couple for sale in the Marketplace. Thanks Shawn, all sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Impressive project! Living in PAL land and having access to 8-bits, it's very unlikely I'll ever need one but after reading tons about unreliable original 5200 joysticks it's good to see that a really cool replacement is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion1052003 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 I have the maker matrix controller, but my Atarimax multicart (not flashcart) menu list goes haywire when I plug it in. After sending the controller back, I was told it passed all tests. I will try to upload a diagnostic test from the Multicart on that pete's rom. What else should I do? It is most likely the potentiometer? If so, is it something a no electronics experience dude can fix? Kwisatz Haderach, Your picture looks so clean and nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 26 minutes ago, orion1052003 said: I have the maker matrix controller, but my Atarimax multicart (not flashcart) menu list goes haywire when I plug it in. After sending the controller back, I was told it passed all tests. I will try to upload a diagnostic test from the Multicart on that pete's rom. What else should I do? It is most likely the potentiometer? If so, is it something a no electronics experience dude can fix? Kwisatz Haderach, Your picture looks so clean and nice. Please see post #1 in this thread. My suggestion is to use one of your vintage controllers to load up a copy of the Pete's Test Cart rom and then plug in your analog thumbstick. Adjust the POKEY resistor until you get values in the range of about 112 on the X-axis, and 100-124 on the Y-axis. Make sure your cables are fully inserted into the 5200 and the controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion1052003 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 (edited) https://youtu.be/vtL734-HTx c https://youtu.be/k4uqeu_3GQ s https://youtu.be/EQpU1tYTA6 Q Edited January 31, 2020 by orion1052003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion1052003 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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