Interesting Controller Hack

[CrazyChris]

Never saw this one before.

eBay seller: glennfre

 

Completed auction link

Edited January 27, 2019 by CrazyChris

[0078265317]

I wonder what the purpose is?

[Swami]

I wonder what the purpose is?

 

It's a joystick with screen-centering trims and adjustable self-centering for joystick. It uses the original controller as the keypad.

[+pboland]

To be honest I surprised no one in the 5200 community has already been doing this. Early PC controllers used self-centering potentiometer based joysticks for years. Assuming the potentiometer values are the same (or similar) it should just be a matter of wiring up the pots from the PC joystick to the 5200 controller. Actually it should be fairly easy to make a small box that you just plug both controller into. That way you don't have to physically modify an original 5200 controller.

 

Here's a few common joystick from back in the day that might work:

 

 

[Swami]

To be honest I surprised no one in the 5200 community has already been doing this. Early PC controllers used self-centering potentiometer based joysticks for years. Assuming the potentiometer values are the same (or similar) it should just be a matter of wiring up the pots from the PC joystick to the 5200 controller. Actually it should be fairly easy to make a small box that you just plug both controller into. That way you don't have to physically modify an original 5200 controller.

 

Here's a few common joystick from back in the day that might work:

 

Bohoki has been selling this type of adapter frequently on the 5200 sub-forum. I posted the schematics for one I made somewhere around here with it's own additional trimming pots and three capacitance ranges for each axis, but I don't have time to make them for selling.

[leech]

The adapters should be something AtariAge makes and sells maybe? I finally got a hold of a Wico with the keypad box, but that only covers single player games. I also 3d printed the dual-joystick holder and Robotron 2084 and Space Dungeon is a blast with that!

 

But the adapters should be made somewhere and sold, a good many games are ext3difficult with the standard Joysticks.

[bohoki]

that is a really good idea it solves 2 major problems #1 the lack of a good plug end #2 a project box it might have been even better if instead of chopping the joystick end he put a 15 pin gameport plug in place of the boot

[Shawn]

To be honest I surprised no one in the 5200 community has already been doing this. Early PC controllers used self-centering potentiometer based joysticks for years. Assuming the potentiometer values are the same (or similar) it should just be a matter of wiring up the pots from the PC joystick to the 5200 controller. Actually it should be fairly easy to make a small box that you just plug both controller into. That way you don't have to physically modify an original 5200 controller.

 

Here's a few common joystick from back in the day that might work:

 

 

 

The values are way, way off. Most those old PC joysticks used ~10k pots and the 5200 uses 500k pots. Otherwise, yes, it would be awesome. I played around with an old Apple// stick trying to do this exact same thing but tossed it when I realized it was way more work than it was worth. The pots are not conventional ones as in the 5200 controller either. They are the horizontal sliding types. At least the stick or two I opened where.

 

P.S. That Tandy joystick is awesome!!

[Lynxpro]

Ah, the joys of "Soviet" design aesthetics from Apple II and early IBM PC era analog joysticks...

 

I cracked a joke about that over in the Apple II Facebook group and sure enough, someone from the [former] Warsaw Pact posted pics of their clunky ["Soviet" looking Apple II] joysticks.

 

 

Mind you, they also had pics of Atari Jaguar JagPads in the shot so life is obviously 100% better there these days, and ever since the 1990s.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Lynxpro

[CrazyChris]

Another interesting controller modification. Not sure what it is used for?

 

ATARI 5200 Controllers Lot of 2 Joystick OEM - eBay

 

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by CrazyChris

[0078265317]

2 hours ago, CrazyChris said:

Another interesting controller modification. Not sure what it is used for?

 

ATARI 5200 Controllers Lot of 2 Joystick OEM - eBay

 

 

 

 

Self centering? 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

1 hour ago, 0078265317 said:

Self centering? 

Pretty sure they did this to make it easier to play maze games as it helps guide the control stick into 4 directions for absolute up/down, left/right use.

 

[doubledown]

Looks like a 4-way "clover" gate...for physically restricting the stick movements to the 4 cardinal directions. 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Yep, it's what's generally known as a restrictor plate in the arcade world.  Limits movement to four directions only, as others have pointed out.  There are also 8-way and 2-way restrictors used in some games.

 

I do like how they were cut from what looks like inch-thick plexiglass at the right camera angle.  They're pretty beefy, I'll give them that.

[CrazyChris]

Here's another one sold on eBay today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BIGHMW]

Kinda reminds me of the 4-way 5200 control guide one company came up with, in which was a piece that slides in place to render the joystick to only 4-way directional control for games like Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and Qix, I used to see ads for them in early issues throughout '83 in Electronic Games magazine.

 

I tired Googling them up but found nothing, but most of my fellow 50-somethings who are/were Atarians at that time might remember seeing those same ads in other video game mags if not EG.

[CrazyChris]

I don't get how one bolt keeps it on?

[thegamezmaster]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:53 AM, 0078265317 said:

Self centering? 

 

On 12/5/2021 at 11:11 AM, CrazyChris said:

Here's another one sold on eBay today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wondering what those attachments are called? The clear ones and the black ones. Are these available or what? Thanks for any help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by thegamezmaster

[+GoldenWheels]

This hurts my brain. If the 5200 controller is working well (ahem), it seems a damn shame to put this thing on it. OTOH, if the controller isn't working well, why bother at all? I can't see the sense in this either way.

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:27 AM, CrazyChris said:

I don't get how one bolt keeps it on?

If you look at the pics closely. It butts up against the top row button bezel holding it in place as well.

 

[CrazyChris]

4 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

If you look at the pics closely. It butts up against the top row button bezel holding it in place as well.

 

Good observation. A bit unconventional.

[CrazyChris]

Next:

 

Clicky Switch Mod on eBay.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by CrazyChris
Added links

[0078265317]

On 6/5/2022 at 9:34 AM, CrazyChris said:

Next:

 

Clicky Switch Mod on eBay.

 

 

 

Weird, never seen that before.  I wonder what the switches are for.

[CrazyChris]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:01 PM, 0078265317 said:

Weird, never seen that before.  I wonder what the switches are for.

I'm thinking it might be for a game like space invaders. Left, Right, and Fire?

[+x=usr(1536)]

18 hours ago, CrazyChris said:

I'm thinking it might be for a game like space invaders. Left, Right, and Fire?

Possibly - but what appear to be the same (or similar) switches have also been installed on the unit with the joystick still installed; they're located where the fire buttons normally are.

 

The one with the three switches where the joystick would normally go has me wondering if it wasn't being used as an external keypad for a non-standard replacement stick.  Those three switches could conceivably be tied to the Start, Pause, and Reset buttons, and, given the condition of the Reset button on that particular controller, makes me think that these could have been a workaround for flex circuit / button damage.