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PC Joysticks Adapted To DB9 Atari, Is It Possible?


belty

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Right, Ok here's my point, Atari joysticks are finite in supply (UK), I bought one off Ebay for a handsome price, it was crap and would not move right, does anybody know of any conversion units to convert a PC Joystick (Gameport?) to use on an Atari 2600?

 

Can you imagine my discontent when playing Berserk with Up, Down and Left the law of physics dictate that I will run into a wall sooner than I should. Downer.

 

Cheers

 

-Belty

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Here is exactly what you're looking for...

 

PPJoy drivers

 

It allows you to use your Atari Joystick (or any other, I might add) Through your parallel port.

 

The Atari one is simple, It took me 2 minutes to build, and cost $5.25 in parts at Radio Shack.

 

You'll need the following:

 

1 DB25 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit.

 

1 DB9 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit.

 

1 standard CAT-5 network cable.

 

and install the PPJoy drivers.

 

faollow the directions for the Amiga LPT Digital Joystick, and you're good to go.

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Here is exactly what you're looking for...

 

PPJoy drivers

 

It allows you to use your Atari Joystick (or any other, I might add) Through your parallel port.  

 

The Atari one is simple, It took me 2 minutes to build, and cost $5.25 in parts at Radio Shack.  

 

You'll need the following:

 

1 DB25 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit.  

 

1 DB9 (male) to RJ45 (female) converter kit.

 

1 standard CAT-5 network cable.  

 

and install the PPJoy drivers.  

 

faollow the directions for the Amiga LPT Digital Joystick, and you're good to go.

 

Last time I checked the 2600 doesn't need any drivers. :ponder: :P

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Danno, thanks for the info (I need to get those PC drivers just to try them out), but I think the original poster was talking about going the opposite way than you were thinking...

 

I think what he meant was, is there any kind of adapter to use, say a Gravis or Microsoft joypad/joystick on the Atari, in place of the original Atari controllers (cause the original Atari sticks are hard for him to get in the U.K.)

 

I'm afraid I can't be of much help -- I don't know of any product that would let you use a GamePort or USB controller with the Atari.

 

Your best bet might be to see if you can find a pinout diagram for the Atari's joyport. If you are good with a solder gun you might me able to slice the male end off a broken Atari stick, solder the wires to the correct corresponding wires from a PC gamepad whose connector had also been cut off.

 

It may be just a simple matter of a splice job, like I stated. However, i wouldn't try to do this with an analog PC controller (as far as I know, the VCS is only meant to take analog control on one axis, i.e. the paddle and driving controllers). Also, you shouldn't try it with a USB-based controller, because the USB port provides power to devices connected to it. Plus a fancier PC controller wouldn't do you more good anyway, since only one button is supported by the 2600.

 

I bought a PC controller from Gravis, I think they just called it "Gamepad" that mimics the Playstation's (original, not DualShock) controller in design, and it only cost me $10.

 

So if you're game to experiment, see if you can make it work. I'm sure there are others here on AtariAge that can help you with the specs of the Atari's joyport. This website sells the Redemption adapters that do what Danno was telling you about -- allowing you to used Atari controllers on your computer. As far as the PC's GamePort, I'm sure if you dug around enough on the net you find a wiring diagram.

 

Well, sorry I can't be of more help. And thanks again to Danno for trying to help. If you do figure out this riddle, I'd love to know the specs. Much as I love the original 2600 joysticks, I think they are giving me arthritis.

 

Good luck!

 

Max T.

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I bought a PC controller from Gravis, I think they just called it "Gamepad" that mimics the Playstation's (original, not DualShock) controller in design, and it only cost me $10.

Gamepad Pro.

Which it is far from. Horrid little device.

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All I can say is... good luck!

 

You'll need an analogue->digital converter as the PC gamepad will be Analogue if it's less than 20 years old.... somehow you'll have to convert values such as -127 to setting the pin low on the 2600 joystick port (I believe they're active low).

 

Given that all that's wrong with your Atari joystick is a slightly flattened metal dome that can be replaced for about 10p (unless the plastic's broken, in which case you just need superglue), I think you're probably better off just repairing or buying another. :)

 

Of course, I'm no electronics expert so it may be easier than I think!

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it would be much, much easier all round if you go on ebay and buy a few amiga joysticks, or megadrive game pads.

 

I use a Speedking Joystick with the atari, you can still get them from ebay, it's highly robust and looks slightly sexual (which is always a good thing)

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...2&category=3543

 

I've had mine for about 15 years and it's still going strong.

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Spiranthro, do "D-pad" only PC game controllers still put out an analog signal? If I didn't mention before, I admit that I am pretty much a total retard, but I thought that a controller like the Gravis GamePad (which another AtariAge poster recommended against) would put out a digital signal to the PC's GamePort.

 

Well, hell if I know. I was just throwing an idea out there. If you guys say that all the modern PC game controllers put out analog, I certainly believe you.

 

I just wish that people more intelligent than I could put the Redemption adapters into Reverse. I'd love to be able to play games on my VCS without getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, or whatever that is.

 

Anyway, looks like my ability to help has reached the end of its rope. Damn, I thought I had a brilliant idea for once.

 

But, as other people have mentioned, you can use your MegaDrive (Genesis in the USA) and most Commodore 64/128 controllers directly on your Atari 2600.

 

Good luck!

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Spiranthro, do "D-pad" only PC game controllers still put out an analog signal?

 

AFAIK yes.. certainly the only PC joypad I have - can't remember what it is - emulates an analogue signal because the PC's joystick port is analogue, not digital. If you want to connect a digital joystick to a PC you have to use either a digital to analogue converter (which is what the joypads use normally) or interface it to the parallel port (or USB or similar, but that's a lot more complex).

 

What you _could_ do, though, is lift the output of the switches _before_ the signal gets as far as being converted to analogue... to do this, though, you'd need to rewire the inside of the joypad: but it could be done!

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It sounds like you simply need to replace the dome switches in your controler. You can pick up enough to fix 20 joysticks for $6 on ebay. That would be your easiest fix and when a direction wears out in the future, just replace it again. There is an excellent tutorial a few threads down in this forum. Another easy one is to pick up a sega controller and use the B button to fire. It isn't a joystick though, but you can pick up one of the arcade controllers for it though. Either solution would be much easier than trying to hook a PC joystick to the 2600.

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If youre looking for a project i suggest building an arcade style control panel rather than messing with a PC joystick. Arcade joysticks are digital so its as simple as just soldering the wires from an atari cord to the terminals on teh joystick switches. Of course, you have to build some sort of wooden encloser to put it.

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Hey Chaps, success, following the pin out diagram for the 2600 I put on here earlier:

 

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystic...ck/tvgames.html

 

I've managed to convert a brand new quickshot megadrive joystick to work on the 2600. It's a bit of an arse and took a while I basically had to scratch out the contacts on the joystick internal PCB, solder the microswitchs to new wires, make a new gound contact for all microswitch's then the messy bit matching all the wires to a new standard serial cable socket.

 

I did all that yesterday, took quite some time and some more, then when I got home my other half said she was helping a friend move house and found a copule of c64 joysticks in the loft and brought them home for me. This were found mid-day just when I started my many hour rewiring project. Ooh the irony of it.

 

Anyway the c64 joysticks work great, my custom contraption works great, tested it out on Empire Strikes Back because it would be rude not too, low and behold down go the AT AT's but still they keep coming.

 

Like the idea of building my own stick from arcade parts and like Joseph The Carpenter building a nice wood base in the theme of the 2600.

 

Anyone know where you can buy arcade stick/button parts in the UK.

 

Cheers

 

-Benny

 

P.S. I can now go up, down left and right now on Berserk, it's liberating I need a cold shower.

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Spiranthro, do "D-pad" only PC game controllers still put out an analog signal?

 

AFAIK yes.. certainly the only PC joypad I have - can't remember what it is - emulates an analogue signal because the PC's joystick port is analogue, not digital. If you want to connect a digital joystick to a PC you have to use either a digital to analogue converter (which is what the joypads use normally) or interface it to the parallel port (or USB or similar, but that's a lot more complex).

Yah. The only ones that aren't simulating an analog joystick are even worse. They use the gameport as some god-forsaken bastard serial port(this is virtually every pad with mroe than 4 buttons, BTW).

 

What you _could_ do, though, is lift the output of the switches _before_ the signal gets as far as being converted to analogue... to do this, though, you'd need to rewire the inside of the joypad: but it could be done!
Definitely.

Also vastly opens up the pad possibilities, since you can do that with ANY pad.

 

Possibly a pain, though. You're probably going to be soldering on top of PCB traces, not proper solder joint locations or wires.

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I wouldn't suggest trying to wire a PC controller to atari. I would suggest two possibilities. Either just use a genesis pad without modification or modify an nes controller to use on the 2600.

 

And the metal domes are probly just fine in your joystick, but a small wire inside the large wire is most likely broken. If one direction doesn't work, 99 percent of the time it is a broken wire. (Doesn't hurt to check the wires with a multimeter)

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