doctorclu Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I've taken a look at ... http://www.atari7800.org/console.htm ... and I know that mainly the sticks for the 7800 are the typical 7800 stick design. Not a big fan of the button being on the sides, why I hate the 5200 stick. But then I'm used to a 2600 stick. So has anyone tryied making a stick that is similar to the Atari 2600 but has two buttons on the top? Or maybe rewired a Wico so the button at the top and base act as two buttons for the 7800? Looking for a good 2 button 7800 stick design that is more like a 2600 stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prodos8 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I rewired a Wico to function as a two-button 7800 stick, but I sold it. It wouldn't be very hard to rewire and add a second button to a normal cx-40 stick if one was so inclined. Normally I use a modded Radica Space Invaders stick when I play my 7800 or CV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accousticguitar Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I was thinking that a good design would be to take the Tac-2 joystick which already has 2 buttons and add a third button right in between the 2 buttons for button number 2. That way it would be a good joystick for left-handed people as well. I don't know if it is possible though. I don't even own a Tac-2 anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prodos8 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I was thinking that a good design would be to take the Tac-2 joystick which already has 2 buttons and add a third button right in between the 2 buttons for button number 2. That way it would be a good joystick for left-handed people as well. I don't know if it is possible though. I don't even own a Tac-2 anymore.I repaired one of these (a dog chewed the original wire up) for another member here and made it a two-button stick. The buttons were a bit too far apart imo to be really functional. Adding another button, like you suggested, would probably be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almost Rice Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I have a Competition Pro that will get the modification. Until then I will have to make due with arcade controls with Wico joysticks. Robotron is just like I remembered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I was thinking that a good design would be to take the Tac-2 joystick which already has 2 buttons and add a third button right in between the 2 buttons for button number 2. That way it would be a good joystick for left-handed people as well. I don't know if it is possible though. I don't even own a Tac-2 anymore.I repaired one of these (a dog chewed the original wire up) for another member here and made it a two-button stick. The buttons were a bit too far apart imo to be really functional. Adding another button, like you suggested, would probably be better. I really tried to make it work, I really did, but that Tac-2 would not feel right no matter how I played with it. it feels better than the prolines, though, by far. A middle button may make a difference, letting the left hand do all the button pushing. Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Well, here is phase one of my 2600 looking 7800 stick... Took the guts of a 7800 stick and put it in the 2600 case after a bunch of drilling, dremmeling, gluing. My goal is to extend the fire button wires a bit, and I will have the fire buttons BOTH ON THE LEFT SIDE. ™ (Photoshopped image to show what I'm shooting for...) Yeh, I know that is not original for Joysticks, but I have yet to see Atari sticks done that way.. most of the time the buttons are on the sides, or on the top above the stick, not to the side of the stick. To me I fire with the left hand, and control with the right hand, so it seems more natural to have the button both on the left side. The 7800 stick board can line up with the 2600 plastic stick just fine (if done right), and I had the wires, though tight, coming off the board opposite of the fire button. All that needed to happen was that the up and down wires needed to be switched. The joystick works well with the 7800 (was able to play Choplifter for the first time the way I am used to playing Choplifter.. with a 2600 stick!!) and my 7800 redemption module for the 5200 also liked it. Just wonder why Atari never thought to make a modified Atari 2600 stick for the later systems with games that needed two buttons. Oh well. Edited May 20, 2008 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) Ok, more progress tonight... Wiring, placement... Gluing... And cramming it all together... Ladies and gentlemen, The Leftfire 7800 Stick! tm (Swap the X/Y axis wires and you get The Rightfire 7800 Stick tm) Edited May 21, 2008 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Ok, more progress tonight... Wiring, placement... Gluing... And cramming it all together... Ladies and gentlemen, The Leftfire 7800 Stick! tm (Swap the X/Y axis wires and you get The Rightfire 7800 Stick tm) Liking the mod I might have a go at mashing up my Tac-2 for 7800 use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 (edited) Liking the mod I might have a go at mashing up my Tac-2 for 7800 use Please let us know what it takes to get that done. This first time I repackaged the guts of a 7800 stick in a 2600 stick frame and added a extra red firebutton. However in the future I might try to mod an existing 2600 controller and add the extra wires and so forth. And maybe next time use a piece of PVC pile for the column on the extra firebutton. That way I only need to use one controller (and not three) to make this happen. But then I need the extra button. So probably just best to mount a good old red button on the top lower left. Yeh... could do that. But had to do one just like the one you saw above just for grins. I would try to map a Wico, but I never really liked those sticks... They always felt too loose to me. Edited May 21, 2008 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireTiger Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 *suddenly has mental picture of a joystick with buttons at all four corners...* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 *suddenly has mental picture of a joystick with buttons at all four corners...* So a stick to have all buttons to accomodate right or left handed players? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireTiger Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 -that AND it would be hard to tell which way it up. *evil grin* I think it would be easier for me to use both buttons down the right hand side... You would 'need' a toggle switch with 3 positions (LRB, RRB, off) then you could 'tell' each button what to do, but this would also require.... oh... a microprocessor or the worlds least efficient wiring harness... ok so that really won't work... I think.... 0---------\ 1\2\3\ --------------{ (pin for left button) (pin for right button) switch position one closes button to left button pin switch position two opens the circurt (off) switch position three closes button to right button pin (then do that for all four buttons!! no thanks. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) Been ten months, moved on to other projects then as I was playing in the many high score clubs they brought on Joust for the 5200... http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=139283 ... and I started to think how cool it would be to have a 2600 stick for the 5200. Yeh, I was one of those that when I bought the redemption module I didn't know there was a 7800 or Sega version. Oh well, I got what I got. The 7800 D-Pad has been awesome, but some games are joystick games (action games like Galaga) and others are D Pad games ( like Moon Patrol, platformers, things like that). Donkey Kong while the first "platformer" will always be a joystick game to me. http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=139176 --------------------------------------- So about nine to ten months ago managed to take the guts of a 7800 stick (which was really in crappy shape) and put it in the shell of another (non-working) 2600 stick. The joystick part worked fine, the fire buttons were not as responsive as I would have liked. So today when inspired to play Joust I thought about dremming down the button on the bottom of it so that the part in the middle stuck out more. That actually worked pretty well. This is what the two buttons looked like when I got that much worked out... Here are some more pictures of the inside, and the altered top (which I talked about earlier in this message) And I made a video of how the joystick can be used (shown with Dreadnaught in the background, a game where is it a must have for two buttons) leftfire_palm.movLeftfire_thumb.mov One shows where you use the left hand thumb, and the other shows a thumb and palm method. Edited February 17, 2009 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) What stuck me as funny is when I was trying to find this old message again (not wanting to create a new one) and I found the photoshopped image of what I thought it would look like I thought "Hey.. I don't remember doing another prototype" I was about to start looking for that. Anyway, this is a case where fact and fiction resemble each other closely, if not better than fiction. Anyway, when I imagined a two button stick, I imagined the Tac-2 or something like that. But you know, a 2600 Joystick is held with the left hand with the thumb working the fire button while the hand hand works the joystick. Having a button on the other side of the joystick from the side that had the fire button just didn't seem to work. Maybe for the D-pad controllers, but not the 2600 joystick. Edited February 17, 2009 by doctorclu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xZanU Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 That is pretty cool doctorclu. Have you though of maybe putting one on the back (not the bottom), sort of like how modern gamepads have the "trigger" buttons on the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 That is pretty cool doctorclu. Have you though of maybe putting one on the back (not the bottom), sort of like how modern gamepads have the "trigger" buttons on the back? On the back of the stick towards you? Actually I think the next 7800 stick I do will be 2600 based, but will have more study switch for the fire. Also I am thinking of that trigger idea... but something right under the fire button (where the rubber feet is). That might not be a all bad two button solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xZanU Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 On the back of the stick towards you? Actually I think the next 7800 stick I do will be 2600 based, but will have more study switch for the fire. Also I am thinking of that trigger idea... but something right under the fire button (where the rubber feet is). That might not be a all bad two button solution. Yes. Something that could be tapped with the index finger. I don't have any 2600 sticks, so can not perform a test "hold" to see how comfortable it would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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