4play 6 0 Serial Id
Rut Almeda
The 4play+ is a complete redesign of our original 4 channel controller. We added amplified CD quality sound, more memory, and a full color LCD display. The result is a super easy to program, yet incredibly powerful prop controller.
There is 1 trigger input and 4 solid state outputs. The trigger can be configured to start the next or previous show, or start a specific show. This optically isolated input will work with a variety of switches, sensors or contact closures.
The digital outputs utilize individual drivers for each channel. These drivers can supply up to 1 amp of current to each output. This is enough to run items such as relays, solenoid valves, or LEDs directly.
The 4Play+ is programmed using 5 built in buttons. A full color LCD display guides you through the process. Pressing the buttons allows you to create your show in real-time and see it live while it happens.
Through the built in menus, you can choose to create up to 9 different show sequences -each of these shows can have a unique sound track. You can enable a 10th ambient show that will loop continuously between triggers. The ambient show can have a sound track too. You can also choose a normally open, or normally closed trigger input. Additional features like pre and post show delays are available for every show through the menu.
The 4Play+ can hold nearly 10 minutes of high quality MP3 sounds files. Although capable of playing WAV files, we recommend using MP3s to maximize storage capacity. This sound is then played through the internal 40 Watt mono amplifier. There is also a stereo line out jack if you want to add an external amp. An assortment of sound effects are preloaded on the controller when it ships, so you can hook up a power supply and literally use it right of the box. A standard USB jack is provided on the front of the controller to download your own sound files. Alternately, we can ship you the 4Play+ preloaded with your sound files. Select the "Preloaded With Your Audio" option at checkout. We will contact you via email regarding the sound files
HauntBots builds the most rugged controllers available. Our extruded aluminum enclosure is literally strong enough to drive a car over. And, the entire circuit board is protected inside that enclosure. The only things that stick out of the enclosure are buttons and connectors. The 4Play+ uses the same plug in style connectors as our other HauntBots products. In the unlikely event of a failure, just pull the plugs and drop in a replacement.
The USB port that is used for downloading your own sound files can also be used to read/write show files between the controller and a computer- or to update the firmware. For prop manufacturers, this means creating the show once and then just downloading it to subsequent props.
Hi,
Just my 2 cents.
Having extra josyticks for the Apple II is great.
BUT I find the Atari joystick the worst joystick ever for the control. It is very painfull after few minutes.
The ONE button is also in the opposite of Apple spirit, where games at least use 2 buttons.
Even if the Amiga / Atari ST joystick like Quickshot II are less painfull, they are noisy (click click clik) and become rare nowdays (especially outside Europe).
IMHO, the best choice would be to create a card inside the Apple II to control 2 or 3 Genesys (Megadrive) joypads. They are not expensive (millions of units have been sold, retro companies like PlayAsia are still selling clones), they have 4 buttons (3+1) so the Start button could be mapped to ESC which in most Apple II games PAUSE the game. The 3 other buttons A B C could be mapped to Button 0 - Button 1 - Button 0, so depending of the game you can map it as expected (Lode Runner expect the Fire-Left to be mapped on the Left button).
Because the Apple II has already ONE joystock port, and most of us have such joystick, we simply need to add 2 or 3 extra joypads. So existing games would use classic analogic Apple II Joystickt and new (or patched) game would take advantage of extra ones.
Regards,
I've played with Atari joysticks for hours on end and I've never had any problems with them. I guess it's a personal thing. I do like gamepads and I agree that they are easier to use than joysticks.
The 4play card can support the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) gamepad in several different ways. This gamepad uses multiplexing to read two sets of buttons. I have shown in the blog one way to do this and that is by using an adapter to force it into Atari joystick mode (1 trigger). An alternate way is just to rewire the gamepad via the DE9 to give you 3 triggers or rewire straight to the card socket to give you 4 triggers. I think that's better than having more complicated hardware and more complicated software (to handle multiplexing). It's then up to the software to map the triggers to whatever Apple II keys you want.
Personally I'm not even bothering with that. Indirectly, Antoine gave me an idea which I am currently in the process of trying out. That is buying a usb gamepad. They are only about $4 including shipping. I'm stripping out the usb part and rewiring to get a gamepad with 3 triggers.
Cheers,
Alex.
Hi,
USB pad support would be great. That will remove the need of extra cable and drop down the final price of the card.
Genesis joypad are great but if you support them, I think that will be better to do not ask people to re-wire them. Most of people do not know (or don't want) to modify or solder anything in the joypad. And from memory, the PCB inside the joypad is covered by a kind of plastic layer so you have first to scratch it to remove the protection. Not easy task for every one. I would vote for a plug and play solution.
Greetings,
Ive been devouring your blog entries !!! Simply marvelous, can't wait to finalize my move to our new home and fire up my old Apples to explore your posts myself. Although I don't have your circuitry expertise you've done a great job of laying it out there for us.
I have a question prior to purchasing the Apple II 4play Joystick Card, will this function with Atari 2600 controllers ? I've recently come across a "Le Stick" by Datasoft (I'm a huge fan of Datasoft) and have a small collection of other platform controllers...
many thanks to the open source hobby posts !
peace
Hi FallingApples,
You're welcome. The 4play card is compatible with the Atari 2600 Joystick but it is not compatible with the other Atari 2600 controllers ie paddles, keyboards, etc. Looks like "Le Stick" uses the standard Atari Joystick signals so it will be ok to use.
Note that the 4play will only work with converted games. Currently only a hand full of games have been converted, the eight that I have done plus KABOOM! and Brutal Deluxe's converted Lode Runner. Since the Atari 2600 Joystick only has one trigger button this joystick will work with some of these converted games but it will not work with games such as Lode Runner or Seadragon where two trigger buttons are required.
Cheers,
Alex.
LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Learn more in our Cookie Policy.
Telco bundling strategies have been around for decades. And bundling of Fixed and Mobile services has been a hot industry theme for the last 5 years. What has been less clear, is the role TV plays within that mix... and terms like "4play" have been used in many (frequently, imperfect) ways, confusing itself many times with "FMC" (reminder: Fixed Mobile Convergence).
2. Changing strategies over time: E.g., KPN used to have a hard 4play bundle until 2014 and later softened bundling. They now allow for more flexible bundling but still keep a third of Dutch TV market! Spanish Movistar did exactly the opposite, offering fixed-mobile bundles in the beginning to switch later to hard bundles with TV, capturing a 40% TV market share via that strategy, up from 17% at the time of its FMC launch
What can you take away from this? Successful TV and FMC strategies can reinforce each other. 4play is not a silver bullet, as markets and households greatly differ across countries and players, requiring end customer value perception, superior user experience, clear differentiation vs. pure plays, ... and let's not forget those expensive sport rights! But then, adding TV optionality to FMC bundles can help telcos to differentiate over competitors, increase ARPU on the back of up-sell in bundles, boost customer retention and considerably increase or at least maintain TV market share.
b37509886e