Apple II Joystick USB Adapter for AppleWin

[Comox]

Hello Apple enthusiasts!

I have recently prototyped an Apple II joystick-to-USB adapter which
allows one to connect an original Apple II (16-pin connector), //e //c
(9-pin connector) joystick or paddles to a PC via USB. The Adapter
registers as a USB HID joystick and allows one to play games and such on
AppleWin using an original Apple joystick or paddles from the '80s.
The adapter is a microcontroller circuit that uses an A/D interface to
read the joystick/paddle potentiometers and relays the data (plus switch
presses) to the PC via the microcontroller USB stack. As AppleWin
already supports analogue USB joysticks the adapter requires no special
drivers on the PC. A similar adapter is available for traditional
digital joysticks; however, to my knowledge such an adapter has not been
created specifically for analogue Apple joysticks.

The circuit is not rocket science, however there were some annoying
issues to work through; namely, not all Apple joysticks are wired the
same. This maked the A/D interface design a bit more difficult (and
leaving me wondering how manufacturers got away with not following
Apple's recommendations back in the '80s). The most notable issue was
with one of the potentiometer terminals connected to ground when it
should have been left open. OEM Apple joysticks and paddles leave one
of the potentiometer terminals open (Apple's recommendation), while at
least one '80s Apple joystick I have from a Taiwan company (called
JOY-STICK O33) grounds one of the terminals and sticks a 56K resistor
between the wiper terminal and 5V+. Point being that I have had to
work-around the differences in joystick wiring in effort to make the
adapter design more universal.

I hope to buy some more Apple joysticks (e.g. Suncom Tac1+, TG products,
etc...) and possibly a KoalaPad to check compatibility with other
non-OEM peripherals which also interface via the Apple game port.

I have since played some classics such as Choplifter and Conan using an
Apple A2M2002 joystick (which I managed to secure UNUSED and BOXED last
year). Both of these games were designed with for an analogue Apple
joystick. For example, moving the joystick to the left or right extreme
will make Conan run, while moving it slightly off-centre will make Conan
walk. Choplifter is also sensitive to the position of the joystick as
well. Better than playing with a digital PC joystick or keyboard, and
much more authentic than a PC analogue joystick! I have also played
Wozniak's pre-Little-Brick-Out low-res breakout game (available from
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II) using authentic Apple paddles
from the '80s. (Now that is a tough game...)

I am posting details of my project as I am curious as to the interest in
the adapter. If there is enough interest then I can publish a how-to
guide on the web (schematics, firmware, C source-code) some time in
2012. If there is enough interest in buying a working product then I
will design a printed circuit board for the adapter and have a batch
manufactured. I could then sell fully assembled adapters if anyone
would like one.

Please let me know what you think by leaving a message!

-Comox

[TomCh]

On Nov 11, 11:24 pm, Comox <comoxapp...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Please let me know what you think by leaving a message!
>
> -Comox

Sounds very useful. The schematic & source code option definitely
interest me.

Tom

[Marc S. Ressl]

Hello there,

now that is something interesting :-).

Why don't, besides open-source it, create an enterprise? I think you
could produce a multi-system emulator, that supports C64, Atari and
Apple II.

I personally wouldn't but a standalone Apple II joystick to USB
adapter, but if it had sockets for the other systems, I'd consider
that twice!

Best wishes,

Marc.-

[johnsonlam]

Hi Comox,

I still keep my ultimate Apple UFO Joystick, glad to know your project
can bring it back to life, waiting for your update.

http://johnson.tmfc.net/apple/pic/ufo_swpad.jpg

http://johnson.tmfc.net/apple/pic/ufo_micro_sw.jpg

Thank you very much!


Rgds,
Johnson Lam.

[sicklittlemonkey]

On Monday, 28 April 2014 19:28:12 UTC+12, chri...@the-simpson.tv wrote:
> Hi, is this available?

Another is available:
https://www.tindie.com/products/option8/retroconnector-joystick-shield/

Cheers,
Nick.

[Raymond Wiker]

IIeBoy <...> writes:

> Sorry Bill, my fault but please could you remove my email address
> (ending simpson.tv) from your quote as it is appearing to spammers. I
> have fixed the sending of it from my end now. Thanks.

No, you haven't... your email address is still there.

[Neff]

Raymond Wiker <rwi...@gmail.com> writes:

> No, you haven't... your email address is still there.

He's using google groups. Apparently he thinks this is some kind of web
forum.

--
Neff

[Bill Buckels]

"IIeBoy" wrote:
>Sorry Bill, my fault but please could you remove my email address (ending
>simpson.tv) from your quote as it is appearing to spammers. I have fixed
>the sending of it from my end now. Thanks.

Dear Christian,

I don't use google groups as my news client unless I have no alternative,
and therefore must decline your invitation. Nor do I share your fear.

On usenet the poster is free to secure themselves. You don't need my help to
do that.
I believe that anonymity is a matter of ones individual choice and is also
up to each individual just as selecting a news client and news server is
your choice which you have exercised by selecting google groups as your news
client and news server.

If you want your identity to remain a secret on usenet consider using
another news server and set-up your news client accordingly:

http://freeusenetnews.com/

More links can be found here:

http://www.big-8.org/articles/n/e/w/News_Service_Providers.html

http://www.big-8.org/articles/n/e/w/Newsreaders.html

Big-8 Management Board: http://www.big-8.org/
Big-8 History:
http://www.big-8.org/articles/b/i/g/Big-8_Usenet_hierarchies.html

There are two schools of thought regarding anonymous posts on usenet. Both
can be found in this message thread for your review by examining the message
headers in your news client. If you have concerns with how your news client
presents usenet information you are free to use another, and should not
expect other users to use your news client to edit their database.

There was a time in the 1980's and into the early '90's when I hosted my own
BBS and frequented other BBS's and also accessed usenet from the university
of manitoba's servers through dialup gateways or via WAFFLE BBS's that I
used a handle, which was a throwback to the HAM radio lineage of the BBS
movement and also a result of the early internet privacy and security
movement. My handle was usually my real name.

My email address bbuc...@escape.ca has been in wide use since 1996.

Both this email address (bbuc...@mts.net) and the above email address are
also on most pages on several of my websites.

My mail client receives virtually no spam whatsoever and I haven't received
an online death-threat since the 1980's.

All the best,

Bill

[Bill Buckels]

"Neff" <wh...@nowhere.com.invalid> wrote:
>He's using google groups. Apparently he thinks this is some kind of web
>forum.

Hi Neff,

My ISP is the largest in Manitoba, Canada. They are also our largest phone
provider. As they gobbled-up the smaller ISP's throughout the late '90's
they cancelled shell accounts and cgi gateways and server-side includes,
perl and gcc services, telnet etc.

Only mail and news was left until a few years back when they cancelled news
altogether and contracted Microsoft as their mail server. By then less than
20 of their perhaps 100,000 or more subscribers still used their news
server.

So I simply grabbed some webspace elsewhere, and since I am lazy I did not
bother putting-up my own linux server and arrange for a co-hosting
agreement.

But that aside, when we all invented the internet, we had concerns that
governments and sales-people would take the thing over. But despite that
evil, we all decided that the lowest common denominator deserved access as
much as techies.

I have a love-hate relationship with consensus but as long as we have
choices like news readers google groups really does no harm.

I just feel a little sad when I see posts like that. Google's email filters
could be fixed if they wanted to enforce some internal abuse policy.

Bill

[Bill Buckels]

"Bill Buckels" <bbuc...@mts.net> wrote in message
news:ljnprk$eh5$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

<snip>

Does anyone know how to get the above message removed from usenet? I don't
think this is possible...

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Bill

[Neff]

"Bill Buckels" <bbuc...@mts.net> writes:

> I just feel a little sad when I see posts like that. Google's email filters
> could be fixed if they wanted to enforce some internal abuse policy.

Sure, Bill. It's just that I don't think he even knows he is posting to
a thing called 'Usenet'. Google goes out of its way to conflate and
comingle their own site-specific web-based groups with newsgroups.

Usenet is not exactly well known among the general net populace these
days (other than as a shady place providing easy access to pirated stuff
and porn perhaps).

I don't think any of it is a big problem, it is what it is. But it does
lead to situations like this where if someone honestly doesn't know they
aren't posting to just another google group they have assumptions and
expectations that are patently false.

--
Neff

[Neff]

"Bill Buckels" <bbuc...@mts.net> writes:


> Does anyone know how to get the above message removed from usenet? I don't
> think this is possible...

You could send a cancel message out and newsservers that honor cancel
messages would delete it.

Many (most?) don't though so once its out there its out there.

--
Neff

[Bill Buckels]

The OP's problem is that he's posted his email address and (after pm's I
exchanged with him at his request) in my over 60 years on the planet I must
say that nobody that I will ever meet or type-to will be more deserving of a
Darwin Award. The worst case of self-inflicted abuse ever with the severest
of consequences.

News Servers aren't really the problem as you can appreciate.

It is not my message that needs to be eradicated but this entire thread for
fear that any quote at all will propagate to the archival services,
including google.

Bill

[Michael J. Mahon]

No harm, no foul.

In my experience (and yours, too!), the "evil" associated with an openly
posted email address is mostly in one's mind. ;-)
--
-michael - NadaNet 3.1 and AppleCrate II: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon

[Bill Buckels]

"Michael J. Mahon" <mjm...@aol.com> wrote:
>In my experience (and yours, too!), the "evil" associated with an openly
posted email address is mostly in one's mind. ;-)

In your case I am not surprised:) In my case however it is miraculous...
perhaps it works in reverse and only those who use aliases etc. get spammed
and worse.

Bill

[Bill Garber]

"Bill Buckels" <bbuc...@mts.net> wrote in

message news:lmdg2t$h8j$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

I have always openly allowed my actual email
address to be displayed as my return address.
Problems have always been minimal, but this is
due to the use of Norton's Internet Security.
As several others have mentioned, protection
is your own responsibility, not everyone else's.

Bill Garber
http://www.sepa-electronics.com