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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: superfrog76 on August 24, 2013, 10:31:06 AM
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Hi folks
So after that the last working joystick that I have is dead (a quickshot 2...strange enough it survived to my competition pro), I have decided to get a new one.
The problem is that you can't find many joystick for the Amiga, and even less, a new one, so I decided to go fro the handmade solution.
I've got an arcade stick (looks like a Sanwa, I think this is how you spell it), and various buttons; all of them are with microswitch, and pretty much, identical to the arcade stick and buttons; quite sturdy too.
Now I am planning to buy a cheap 9 pin serial cable, so I can cut one end and use it with the stick and buttons, but I do not know where to get a box that could be used as container for the joystick.
I have found an old wood shelf, which seems to be big enough to be cut and make a wood box with it. Altho I have no clue how to do so :) If you know where I could look at, to make a nice joystick box (or where to get one already made), I would really appreciate :)
The wiring is pretty simple, but now my question is: how can I make a stick that would be usable for the Amiga and also on the PC, when I use MAME? Is that even possible?
Anyone attempted to do so? In the worst case I will get an arcade stick just for the pc, but I would like to have as less stuff as possible on my desk, so one arcade stick for both was the ideal.
Thanks!
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buy the PSX adapter and you will have plenty of joypads available (also new) !
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one of these
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It would be interesting to try a new model of joystick ergonomics. Maybe a flattened cube shape with a single switch on each vertical facet (up, down, left, right). The top might have 2 fire buttons.
OR
Start with the same box and use industrial spring loaded toggles - one for up/down the other for left/right. The switches could be installed, again on different faces, with the plane of toggling naturally oriented to the direction they serve. This could be a very intuitive and responsive controller. Might look kind of like a steam-punk design.
Fun to think about.
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The problem is that you can't find many joystick for the Amiga, and even less, a new one, so I decided to go fro the handmade solution.
What do you mean you can't find one? There are HORDES of them for sale, even if you want brand new, never used ones.
http://tinyurl.com/ljnqmcd
http://tinyurl.com/lx5bk69
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=610
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Don't go for that newfangled stuff! this is all you need:
http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/tech/joystik.html
:biglaugh:
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The first thing you should do is ask about making a nice case on a specialized DIY Arcade forum. They're experienced with this kind of project there. Simply make the stick Amiga only, and use a ready made converter, like the cable suggested above.
Another option is to buy a good, ready to use arcade joystick, rip out the electronics, and mod it to connect to the Amiga. Good ones can be pricey, though.
It would be interesting to try a new model of joystick ergonomics. Maybe a flattened cube shape with a single switch on each vertical facet (up, down, left, right). The top might have 2 fire buttons.
OR
Start with the same box and use industrial spring loaded toggles - one for up/down the other for left/right. The switches could be installed, again on different faces, with the plane of toggling naturally oriented to the direction they serve. This could be a very intuitive and responsive controller. Might look kind of like a steam-punk design.
Fun to think about.
Yeah, I'm sure that's a whole lot easier and more intuitive than a joystick, where you just move the stick in the desired direction :rolleyes:
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Thanks for the open-minded encouragement. ;)
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The best joystick I've ever had was (and is) tomahawk/pacman.
A Greek stick that is unbreakable :-)
If u find one buy it.
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Best joystick (IMHO) is the zip stick.
So far i have been unable to wreck one.
Despite the fact, when i lost the stick was flying everywhere.... :D
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Thanks for all your reply!
So far I have figured out that the build is pretty easy; once you get a serial cable and few switches, it is pretty straight forward.
Got a box from the local electronic store and added the stick and buttons; tomorrow I will solder the switches with the serial cable and see if it is good or not.
I like the idea of the adaptor, once I have the joystick done, I can use that one to connect it to my pc and play finally the mame games with a real arcade stick!
There are joystick on the market, altho most of them are used; the issue is that I don't really want to pay 50 USD for a competition pro clone; I mean, that's a 4th part of the price of the amiga! In my days a joystick would cost me 10-20 bucks at most. Making one from scratch cost for sure less, and you know what kind of component you put in it. Other than a real competition pro or a Konix Navigator, I wouldn't buy a cheap imitation made in China, for a load of green :)
I thought of buying a good arcade stick, but the real good ones were $100+ and most of the electronics was integrated on the stick, so I just gave up on the idea to retrofit an arcade stick for PC or PS3/Xbox for the amiga. I am a beginner and I do not have the skill to de-solder boards and find where to make a small soldering point.
Attached a picture of what I have so far: the stick was 9.99, the buttons 1.29 each (they have a led inside, so they light up if you want...I am not sure if I can use the LED with the 5V coming from the joy port), the box was $6, so in the end, I paid barely $22 (I had already a serial cable to cut); while the cheapest arcade that you may find is about $40, and looking at the reviews; they crack after few months of use.
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Best joystick (IMHO) is the zip stick.
So far i have been unable to wreck one.
Despite the fact, when i lost the stick was flying everywhere.... :D
Hey, don't say mine comes second.
lol, I haven't seen one. :-D
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The zip stick is the one like the competition pro, but in black and yellow? :)
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Thanks for the open-minded encouragement. ;)
Sorry about that :)
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I ordered the joystick adapter in the picture above so I can report how it works once it arrives.
$9 with free shipping from the distant land of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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Sorry about that :)
Don't worry about it. :)
@ SuperFrog
Nice looking controller. Mass producers always make a stick with one cable to a specific game port (economics, marketing strategy?). If you want just 1 stick for multiple platforms, you could mount a connector on the box itself (your pin-out design) and then make a separate cable from your connector to each platform. It might save some space.
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So far the joystick is working fine, I will order one of these adaptor and try it on the pc too :)
Now that I know how to make one, I will try with a MarkII, with 6 or 8 buttons probably, so it will be totally compatible also with games like Street Fighter.
Also for the case, I will try to make one from scratch; I've used one of the electronic project box, found in an electronic component store; or go for the acrylic custom made case (which is easier, there is a store that makes them right down the street).
I have found a design for an Xbox controller, but it involves removing the main board of the controller. At this point I will be hunting for a broken arcade joystick, which works with PS3/PC and Xbox; in this way I will just use the circuit board (will be interesting to find out the connections thou).
Altho from what I understand, the Amiga support only 2 buttons (and not all games support it), so the other 4 basically will just be unused.
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The Atari adapter came in and I tried it on a windows 8.1 preview PC and I did not need to load any driver.
it can be identified as "Atari Controller USB1" and "Atari Controller USB2"
used a Konix Epyx 500XJ
no lag noticed. Tried shadow of the beast. CPU is AMD FX8320
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Got one too, altho it won't recognize any other button except the first.
I have connected the 2nd and 3rd button to the mouse buttons wires; so I would expect that it would work.
Anyway, it is cool that at least one button works :)
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Got one too, altho it won't recognize any other button except the first.
I have connected the 2nd and 3rd button to the mouse buttons wires; so I would expect that it would work.
Anyway, it is cool that at least one button works :)
I don't think its your wiring. I noticed that the secondary button was not working for me either. I suppose I can try a CD32 controller and see which of those four buttons work. I'm guessing that the standard Atari 2600 never had more than one button so buttons in addition to that are probably not supported and may not even be standardized.
The nice feature is that it comes with a long enough cable to reach the back USB ports on a tower case.
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The great thing about building your own Amiga arcade stick is that you need 0 electronics at all. Just directly wiring the buttons so 0 lag at all and a rock solid controller that will last until your last breath ;)
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Yup, it is good because it is simple, but at the same time is a downer if you want to use one controller for your various console and computers ;)
Usually the arcade games has at least 2 or 3 buttons, which means that if the converter does not carry the signals, it is basically not really useful as joystick for mame or other arcade games :( I wish I knew about the fact that it support only one button, so I would save the money and purchase something else. If you want to play any game that uses more than one button, you are screwed :)
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Oh BTW, when making an Amiga stick, one very handy thing is to use a button that also triggers the "up" direction. It makes a LOT of games easier & more pleasant to play.
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Oh BTW, when making an Amiga stick, one very handy thing is to use a button that also triggers the "up" direction. It makes a LOT of games easier & more pleasant to play.
I was about to ask....most of the games has the jump set to the up position; while if you route it to a button, you are in fact setting a jump button :)
Just be careful to not put it as second button otherwise if you play a game that is like Hybris or SWIV, you may accidentally kill yourself hitting something :P
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You've probably already seen this discussion (with links) about Amiga joysticks.
http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39405&page=3
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Might be of interest to you guys but I know that someone is designing an 'electronically identical' interface board that will give your sticks full cd32 compatibility (if you have enough buttons!) and I think some other functions - mapping an 'up' button for example.
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Might be of interest to you guys but I know that someone is designing an 'electronically identical' interface board that will give your sticks full cd32 compatibility (if you have enough buttons!) and I think some other functions - mapping an 'up' button for example.
and here it is, far quicker than I expected. (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amiga-CD32-AmiArcade32-Arcade-Controller-Board/111171240282?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D16547%26meid%3D1385197917335780541%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D7839%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D111165737190%26http://)