Re: New GS Owner ?'s

[rubywand@aol.com (RUBYWAND)]

In article <515afs$82v@news.emi.com>, drsmooth@relex.com (Edhel Iaur)
writes:

>
>downin@clark.net (Dave Downin) wrote:
>
>>8) I noticed the joystick port is the same as on the Atari style
joysticks
>>(just the opposite gender)...is there any way to make an adapter to
allow
>>you to use Atari joysticks?  If so, where can I find out how?
>
>It seems like a very doable project, but there's something you should
>know (at least I *think* I'm not confusing my joysticks...):
>
>Atari/Commodore joysticks are digital, that is to say that with them,
>your car/plane/character/whatever has, (as my mom said about her
>bike :D ) two speeds: stop & go.  While on the OTHER hand, Apple ][
>joysticks are analog, that is to say that very many speeds are
>possible; like in Wings Of Fury, you can fly your plane slowly, a bit
>faster, or faster than that, depending on how far to the side you push
>your stick.
>
>If limiting yourself to the aforementioned 2 speeds doesn't bother
>you, you (or some other guy >:D ) can probably make a converter (if my
>plans are right) that consists of little more than 2 plugs, 2
>resistors, some wire & solder, and some elbowgrease.  If ya want, I
>could post an approximation of my ideas, and see if I'm not just full
>of crap (I'm sure there's more than 1 person who subscribes to this
>group that would love to tell me that I'm wrong.  I may even get a
>reply to THIS post saying, and I quote, "WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" :)).


    The idea should work. The C-64 and (I'm pretty sure, the Atari)  used
a joystick that was just a collection of 4 switches. This gives you Center
plus 8 directions. A few resistors and some rewiring would let you output
8 equivalent mixes of Zero and 255 plus a 127,127 (Center)  to the Apple
II Horizontal and Vertical inputs.

    One big limitation is that, on an Apple II, such a joystick would be
useful only with programs that use the stick like a switch. A2 programs
which expect to use intermediate outputs for, say, positioning a paint
brush or a gun sight, would not work correctly.
   

Rubywand