Atari 2600 Frankenstien Controller

[Atari-Jess]

Well, My 2600 controller (the only one I still have the rubber piece for, was dying the cords inside were all starting to break apart so, with some controllers I recently bought, I took two of em apart and shoved bits and pieces into the Atari Controller and tada! a reconditioned fixed up Atari 2600 controller! and all fixed for the low low price of 50cents! (canadian) anyways the morale of this story is, Atari controllers can be fixed, if your willing to sacrifice another controller.

[Ze_ro]

The funny part about this is that when I read this thread, I was expecting a controller that was specifically suited for playing "Frankenstein's Monster"

 

--Zero

[rasty]

Same here!

 

Atari-Jess, did you take apart 2 working controllers to relive one?

 

greets,

Rasty.-

[rasty]

Actually I happen to live more on the European side of the world... Well, now I know I think like a US collector...

I like it!

 

greets,

Rasty.-

[moycon]

Haha The title got me too! I was like I don't recall there ever being a controller made for Frankenstein. Don't ask the picture I had in my mind when I started clicking on this.

[Junie]

Here is a Frankenstien controller

 

Well I had gotten a dead Wingman Attack PC joystick from my dad and thought I'd make something with it. After a little thinking I decided to remove the handle from the PC joystick, along with the buttons etc. and use it on my Atari 2600.

 

I gutted the handle, I simply removed the original bottom half which was how it detected movement. I tested the electronics of the original movement, they will not work on a Atari.

 

I then cut off the rubber from the Atari joystick, on the shaft only. The surrunding rubber I left intact. I then drilled two 1/16" holes thru the white Atari handle plastic on the bottom. The holes are on two sides of the "wheel" on the Atari handle, next to the handle nub.

 

Then I wrapped lots of electrical tape around the handle of the Atari joystick where I removed the rubber. Th new handle couldn't fit because the rubber was too thick, but without it the handle wouldn't be tight.

 

Then I soldered new wires to the new handle buttons and ran the wires thru the new handle and the old handle. The wires come out of the holes I just drilled. The new button wires are soldered onto the Atari joystick PCB, next to where the original wires connect.

 

Once all that was done I finished putting it together, tighting screws, etc. and now I have a fully function controller with a hand nice hand grip and real buttons.

 

The PC joystick has actual buttons, very simular to a Cherry brand Arcade buttons. So I won't have to worry about the buttons wearing out now The original Atari fire button is still wired and so is the PC joystick trigger button (The one where your fingers go on the side of the handle.

 

I have tested it, and it works wonderfully! It is very responsive and the new grip makes it easier to hold on to and use. Not to mention the new fire button, it has a very nice "sound" feel and you can feel it click.

 

This was a great project and I am very happy with the results. I thought I would share my project with everyone. I actually got the project done in about 2 hours, if I do it again I imagine it will only take about 30 minutes to do.

 

Here are some pictures of the new controller I built. Yes the trigger button on the handle works, the handle itself is very balanced, and is really comfortable to use. I would wire the rest of the button to work as well, but I don't think that is really not needed.

 

Well let me know what you think

[videotwit]

Wow, Junie!

 

That looks really nicely put together!

[Junie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by twit:

Wow, Junie!

 

That looks

really

nicely put together!

---

 

Thank you for the compliment. I am quite proud of it

 

To bad it'll cost me at least $30 to make another one. The PC joystick itseld sells for $30 new.

 

It would be nice to have one more, to have a matching pair

[atarimastermarty]

Same here, us colletors think alike!

[moycon]

Thats joystick rocks. Maybe AtariAge could start a section of fan made Atari peripherals.. might be intresting and inspire some people.

[Junie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by moycon:

Thats joystick rocks. Maybe AtariAge could start a section of fan made Atari peripherals.. might be intresting and inspire some people.

---

 

Thanks for your compliment as well

 

My wife loves it. When she got home and seen it she had to play a few games with it. I found out it is quite sturdy. My foot accidentely got caught on the cord and pulled it to the floor from about 3 foot up. Still works like nothing ever happened

 

I think a new section would be cool, as long as the pictures included instructions on how it was done and possiably pictures of the different steps.

[Saqqqq]

What other freaky inventions have you guys made? How about a cross breed of a joystick and a paddle, although I dont know how that woukld work!

[Ze_ro]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Saqqqq:

What other freaky inventions have you guys made? How about a cross breed of a joystick and a paddle, although I dont know how that woukld work!

---

 

Joystick/paddle combo's already exist actually Coleco sold their Gemini with a set of joysticks that have a paddle on them as well... not to mention that the Sears Video Arcade II did as well. I believe Atari's prototype 2700 (RC Stella) even did this... though in this case, the knob was a joystick and paddle at the same time.

 

I was actually considering making a hybrid joystick/paddle at one time, but dropped the idea when I found some Gemini joysticks. I was also playing with the idea of making an extra connector on the Atari which would tap into the console switches and buttons, so that you could actually have a box of switches plug into there to control the Atari from a distance (Ultimately, the idea was to have a joystick that had Left/Right difficulty, select, reset, etc right on the joystick itself... this would be great for games like Space Shuttle). But, I've been too lazy/busy to actually go through with this. Also, it would be difficult to do this properly without actually disabling the console switches (What would happen if you had the console switch in the A position, but on the joystick it was in the B position?).

 

However, it would be very interesting to see someone design a game that used both the paddle and the joystick simultaneously. You could do a remake of Combat where you could swivel your turret while you drive!

 

--Zero

[Junie]

Another controller that I made was from the idea of the "Atari Glove" homemade controller. I apologize but I can't remember the link or the guy's name to give credit to.

 

Anyway the controller I seen used a glove and "Direction Pad" for movement. Well the controller I made was simply a temporary one, done with electrical tape and aluminum foil.

 

I learned I had to wrap my fingers in electrical tape to advoid getting shock. (I first did it without the tape and kept getting a mild shock that made it hard to use )

 

It actually worked great. It used two hands and all your fingers.

 

I had it setup like this...

 

Thumbs - Fire

Index Fingers - Up

Middle Fingers - Left

Ring Fingers - Right

Pinky Fingers - Down

 

To do it you would touch the two fingers together. So for example you touched your thumbs together the fire button would be "pressed".

 

The best way to use the "controller" was to hold the end of both of your palms together and keep your fingers spread and cupped. Like if you were holding a baseball with two hands or something.

 

If your interested in making one simply run one of the wires for the controller to your appriote finger tip. I did this on the left hand.

 

Then on the other hand, right hand, connect the ground wire to all your fingers (and thumb )

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

I am actually interested in trying to produce new Atari 2600 controllers for sale.

 

I have many more ideas and plans for controllers. The only problem really is trying to find materials priced low enough.

 

The controllers will not be simply "Frankenstien" controllers, they will be completely new designs or some that are more useful.

 

For example the controller I posted above, with the images. It has a far superial hand grip and actually adds the Fire button on the handle. This might be one that I will create.

 

I might actually do this sometime in the future, if I do I'll post a message about it here. They will be sold thru my website.