Atari to Serial Mouse Adapter
BobR
> making a little black box that would allow you to plug a PC serial mouse
> into the ST mouseport?
This can already be easily done, with no hardware adapter needed.
A standard MicroSoft compatible serial mouse can be used in the regular
ST mousport, but it needs a software driver.
DMC Publishing, out of Toronto, sells such a driver, and it's my understanding
that a similar driver is available for ftp from atari archive sites.
A standard PC *bus mouse* can be used with no software drivers needed,
but some slight modifications to the wiring of the connector are needed.
There should be text files telling how to do this on the atari archive sites,
and I know we have them in the Atari Forum on CompuServe.
BobR
Pekka Saarinen
BobR <76702...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>> don't know if this has been asked before, but what would be involved in
>> making a little black box that would allow you to plug a PC serial mouse
>> into the ST mouseport?
>
>This can already be easily done, with no hardware adapter needed.
>
>and I know we have them in the Atari Forum on CompuServe.
Could you post these instructions here, please? There are many of us here who
have no access to Compuserve.
>BobR
Best Regards,
----Pekka Saarinen
Member of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra ( Playin' the Bass! )
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DOM...@news.delphi.com
>> don't know if this has been asked before, but what would be involved in
>> making a little black box that would allow you to plug a PC serial mouse
>> into the ST mouseport?
>This can already be easily done, with no hardware adapter needed.
>A standard MicroSoft compatible serial mouse can be used in the regular
>ST mousport, but it needs a software driver.
At least James Woods doesn't hang out here... But I think you mean the
serial port. If you want to hook up a serial mouse to the mouse port you
would need to do some major surgery.
>DMC Publishing, out of Toronto, sells such a driver, and it's my understanding
>that a similar driver is available for ftp from atari archive sites.
I think they are made by the Cyrel graphics people. DMC does the
distribution.
Dom
Eric Jolley
: Could you post these instructions here, please? There are many of us
: here who have no access to Compuserve.
Here is the file from Compuserve that Bob Retelle sent me via email. But
I don't know if it would work on anything but a Microsoft version 1 mouse.
Looking at the diagram, it doesn't look like the Microsoft v1 mouse
connector was a DB9 pin or a 6 pin PS/2 connector. It looks like some
custom thing. All the mice I see sold today have either the DB9 pin
connector or the 6 pin PS/2 connector. Neither one of which I have the
pinouts for. But here is the file, I don't know who wrote it. Let me
know if you can decipher it:
=============================
Subject: How to hook-up a MicroSoft mouse to an Atari ST
Here's a repost of my article of wayyyy back (Feb 1989) on how to hook an
Microsoft mouse to an Atari ST. No software changes are required. All it
takes is creating a special cable between the mouse and the Atari.
I've been using a Microsoft mouse now for around 2 years on my 1040, with nary
a glitch. It's so much better than the Atari mouse, I'd never go back. (IMHO)
Well, here is how to connect a Microsoft Mouse to an Atari ST. (520/1040)
The Atari has a 9-pin D-type connector. The Microsoft Mouse has a rather
strange connector on the end. To prevent having to cut the mouse cable up,
I made this adaptor. If you still can't follow it, please let me know and
I'll try to redescribe it. This does work for me. I've been using it for
6 or so months now [Note, it's been 2 years now!] with no problems at all.
It does take some soldering skills, so if you're not so hot at soldering,
find a friend to help.
As far as I know, this does not effect your Atari's warranty. However, I
have not asked Atari.
Atari ST Microsoft Mouse ST expected signal
----- -- --------- ----- -- -------- ------
1 5 XB
2 3 XA
3 8 YA
4 9 YB
5 N/C N/C
6 2 Left button
7 N/C +5VDC (N/C)
8* 6 and also tie to pin 1 Ground
9 7 Right button
* = I am not sure why I have pins 6 & 1 tied together, but it does work.
The Microsoft mouse connector looks like this. This is the solder side,
with the leads pointing up.
---------------
| 1 |
| 2 3 4 5 |
| 6 7 8 9 10 |
| |
---------------
If you can not use the connector, the pins are numbered as follows. This
is the connector side from the Microsoft Mouse plug:
/------------\ This is a view at the front of the connector.
/ Blank "KEY" \ It is where the plug from the mouse would be.
/----------------\ The pin labeled 'n' is not connected.
| n 4 X 8 | The place labeled 'X' is filled, and does not
| 9 7 1 2 | have a pin.
| 5 6 |
\ /
\------------/
Have fun!
For those who don't want to face wiring up a Microsoft mouse to their
Atari, there is another solution. I just bought a Golden Image Mouse
and I'm very pleased with it. They have an Atari ST version, so you
just plug it in. The feel is similar to a Microsoft mouse, but the
mouse is slightly larger.
It's made my working time with the computer much less stressful. I
highly recommend it to anyone who works with their Atari a lot.
I'm not affiliated with this company in any way, I just like this
mouse.
It cost me $70 Canadian, and was worth every penny. As a comparison,
the standard Atari mouse costs $45 here.
your note prompted me to re-attempt getting my 3 button logitech to work.
it's very slightly different from the microsoft. The two up/down wires
must be swapped--they are backwards from the microsoft configuration.
I connected the right and middle buttons--the middle and left buttons
work as right and left. Logitech's "technical information" is too
sketchy for me to do more than guess what's going on (a page and a half
on hardware and many more pages about software stuff that's of no use
to an st user.)
--
--
\ Eric Jolley \ Eric....@m.cc.utah.edu
\ Film Studies Major, U. of U. \ Home Page:
\ For PGP Public Key, \ http://www.cc.utah.edu/~ewj8218
\ finger ewj...@u.cc.utah.edu \
Karlheinz Sauther
Hi
I'am using a FREEWARE Mouse Driver for all serial ports on any Atari.
It's called MOUSE v.2.3.
Works on Modem1, Modem2, Serial1 or Serial2 under any TOS/MTOS/MagiC 2/3.
Works great with Microsoft Mice, Mouse Systems Mice and Logitech.
3rd Mousebutton has double click feature.
BTW:
The german Computer Magazine ST-COMPUTER had a hardware project that
makes it possible to use Microsoft-Mice work on the standard Mouse port
of the Atari ST(E), MegaST(E), TT and Falcon.
Its a lot of hardware (Processor, Eprom) and stuff, cost: about 60$
Sorry for my bad english, School is a long time ago ;-)
Greetings from (the rainy) Germany
Karlheinz
--
/----------------------/--------------------------------/
/ Karlheinz Sauther / Email: /
/ / /
/ 76726 Germersheim / cha...@senator.inka.de /
/ / karlhein...@lu.maus.de /
/----------------------/--------------------------------/
Ole Pahl
In <3ptqi5$jcf$2...@mhadg.production.compuserve.com>,
76702...@CompuServe.COM (BobR) wrote:
B>A standard MicroSoft compatible serial mouse can be used in the regular
B>ST mousport, but it needs a software driver.
That's impossible (at least w/o IKBD code modifications) because the
mouse/joystick button recognition is too slow for receiving asynchronous
serial data.
There are some MS-mouse drivers available, but the Microsoft mouse
always has to be connected to an RS232 port.
cu...Ole
---
Ole_...@iz.maus.de (no messages >16kB!) AX.25: DK1LP@DB0HES.#SLH.DEU.EU
Ole_...@chicago.shnet.org
Torsten Lang
: > don't know if this has been asked before, but what would be involved in
: > into the ST mouseport?
: This can already be easily done, with no hardware adapter needed.
: A standard MicroSoft compatible serial mouse can be used in the regular
: ST mousport, but it needs a software driver.
: DMC Publishing, out of Toronto, sells such a driver, and it's my understanding
: that a similar driver is available for ftp from atari archive sites.
: A standard PC *bus mouse* can be used with no software drivers needed,
: but some slight modifications to the wiring of the connector are needed.
: There should be text files telling how to do this on the atari archive sites,
: and I know we have them in the Atari Forum on CompuServe.
: BobR
I don't think this will work... You can plug a serial mouse into the Atari
serial port. Therefore you will need a driver (I know of a driver
supplied with the AT Speed 286 emulator so that you could use your PC mouse
also with the Atari). I think the same is valid for bus mice except that
you need an RS232 adaptor.
The reason: Atari mice are "brain dumb", they just deliver a pulse code for
direction and movement and are suplied by the 5V line of the
joyport/mouseport. The IKBD has do do the work (calculate relative
movement etc.). PC serial mice need a real RS232. They deliver byte
sequences over the RS232. Since there is no free RAM area in the IKBD
you cannot write a driver to use PC mice on the ST mouseport! Such a
driver would have to reside in the IKBD RAM! Well it's possible but you need
another IKBD controller for that.
Torsten la...@physik.uni-giessen.de
Ole Pahl
EJ>Subject: How to hook-up a MicroSoft mouse to an Atari ST
The adaptor described in your message doesn't require a serial mouse
(look at the subject) but a bus mouse which is actually compatible
to the Atari ST and Amiga mice.
cu...Ole
---
Ole_...@iz.maus.de (no messages >16kB!) AX.25: DK1LP@DB0RDB.#SLH.DEU.EU
Ole_...@chicago.shnet.org
Mario Becroft
: Hi
:
: I'am using a FREEWARE Mouse Driver for all serial ports on any Atari.
: It's called MOUSE v.2.3.
I use it too and it seems to work very well. It can be obtained from
ftp.cnam.fr (or was it ftp.uni-kl.ed?) and the filename is MOUSE23.LZH.
Hope that helps.
-Mario Becroft (mbec...@iconz.co.nz)
BobR
> who have no access to Compuserve.
No problem.. it's fairly short. I haven't actually tried this myself, but
at least a couple of our Atari Forum members have done it successfully...
Remember that this is for a BUSS mouse, even though the author just refers
to it as a "MicroSoft Mouse". The PC serial mouse connector is the same
physical type as the Atari mouse uses, a miniature male DB-9.
BobR
---------------------------------------------
Subject: How to hook-up a MicroSoft mouse to an Atari ST
Here's a repost of my article of wayyyy back (Feb 1989) on how to hook an
BobR
> mouse to the mouse port you would need to do some major surgery.
I checked with Nathan Potechin of DMC publishing, and it turns out that
the serial driver is indeed from Cybercube, the producers of the Cyrel
Sunrise video card. Unfortunately DMC only distributes the card, not the
other software products from Cybercube, so he couldn't give me any info
about how the PC serial mouse connects to the ST when using this driver.
As for doing surgery, it depends. A serial PC mouse with a DB-9 connector
should plug directly into the mouse port of the ST.. they use the same
connector type (and that should include just about every serial PC mouse
you're likely to encounter).
If it turns out the serial PC mouse needs to be connected to the ST's serial
port instead of the mouse port, you would indeed need to convert the plug
somehow.. but 9pin to 25pin adapters are easily available for a couple of
dollars, so you shouldn't need to do surgery on the plugs.
The PC *buss* mouse *does* have a proprietary connector that would need to
be adapted, or cut off and resoldered to a DB-9 that would plug into the
ST's mouseport. It might actually be possible to use the cable from a dead
Atari mouse to make such an adapter, or even possibly to solder the Atari
cable to the mouse in place of the cable supplied with it.
I'll see if I can contact Cybercube and get more info from them about how
the serial mouse connects to the ST...
(Meanwhile, I bought a "Best Mouse" for my ST from Best Electronics many
years ago which works great, hardly ever needs to be cleaned, and "best"
of all, is a direct replacement for the Atari mouse without adapters or
drivers or anything... highly recommended..!)
BobR
BobR
> called MOUSE v.2.3.
Aha..! I guess that solves the mystery of where a serial PC mouse would
connect to the ST...
I was wrong to assume it plugs into the mouseport then. How do you handle
using the mouse for things like terminal programs though, where your serial
port (at least on an ST with only one serial port) would be connected to
a modem..?
> Sorry for my bad english, School is a long time ago ;-)
No problem there at all..! I wish everyone I knew here in the US spoke
English that well..
:)
BobR
BobR
> uses, a miniature male DB-9.
Oops... not that it probably matters a lot, but the connector on both the
Atari mouse and a serial PC mouse is a *female* DB-9. Must be I've got
Friday night brain fade...
:)
BobR
(Oh, and I just realized there might actually be some "surgery" required to
plug a standard DB-9 into the Atari mouse port since the standard plug has
"ears" that stick out with screws to secure the plug into the connector.
These protrusions would probably have to be cut off with a razor saw or
something to allow the plug to fit into the Atari mouse port recess.)
Karlheinz Sauther
>I was wrong to assume it plugs into the mouseport then. How do you handle
>using the mouse for things like terminal programs though, where your serial
>port (at least on an ST with only one serial port) would be connected to
>a modem..?
A real problem, but the only way is to upgrade any ST with STESCC from Harun
Scheuzow from Germany. This little Hardware expands STs with 2 extra serial
hispeed ports. 115kbaud are no problem, it uses the SCC as Falcon and TT.
>No problem there at all..! I wish everyone I knew here in the US spoke...
Thank yoou :)