Pictures of a controller...

[Aswald]

Well, here it is...I hope.

[Aswald]

I sent the "good" pictures I had back in December, but as far as I know they were never posted.

So I dug up this one.

The local library just got a scanner/copier. And wouldn't you know it, it is a Dell A940.

So, here it is...sort of.

[Steve W]

Would it be possible to hack an old Apple II two-button joystick into an Atari 5200 controller, with a keypad integrated into the cable? I like most of the self-centering Apple II third party joysticks I've come across in the wild, but I don't have the knowledge to do a modification like that.

[Aswald]

I do not know anything about an Apple controller, I'm afraid.

You will need a 15-pin type cable, for starters.

If the joystick you mentioned is analog, using two small potentiometers (tiny paddle-controllers, really), or even slide-potentiometers (as long as it does the same thing) then yes, it should be quite possible. But, in the circuits for the vertical and horizontal, you'd like to add two extra potentiometers, to adjust for centering...unless those Apples have such things built in?

Just keep in mind that the directional movement (vertical and horizontal) is controlled by only three wires. Is that how an Apple does it?

[Aswald]

If you are talking about directly attaching an Apple controller into a 5200 controller, then you could do it- you'd have to wire in the fire buttons and directional control into the 5200 controller circuits, and that would be 6 wires (3 for direction; 3 for fire). Since I am unfamiliar with the circuit design of an Apple controller, I don't know if any rewiring for this is needed. But in theory, almost any controller can be "hacked" into a 5200; it might just take some extra effort.

[Pantechnicon]

I sent the "good" pictures I had back in December, but as far as I know they were never posted.

...and that was totally my fault. Procrastination with no good reason and for that I sincerely apologize. Shouldn't have kept you hanging like that.

Better later than never, here are Aswald's other two custom controllers. Pretty good work, I think, especially the 5200 paddle:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/pzcortez/AswaldController1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/pzcortez/AswaldController2.jpg

Maybe Aswald would be kind enough to remind us of the what the Coleco controller is supposed to do exactly?

[Aswald]

That small switch basically turns the controller into a "4 button" controller. When you switch it, buttons 1 and 3 act as the two extra buttons on a Super Action Controller. This makes playing Front Line and Rocky Boxing much easier with it.

On the paddle controller: if you look carefully at the right side, you can see that I replaced the buttons with a rocker switch. This allows you to shift gears in Pole Position.

[Pantechnicon]

That small switch basically turns the controller into a "4 button" controller. When you switch it, buttons 1 and 3 act as the two extra buttons on a Super Action Controller. This makes playing Front Line and Rocky Boxing much easier with it.

So can you toggle that on the fly? Don't you have to be able to access at least the #1 button on the keypad to launch a game?

[Aswald]

You cannot use the keypad properly when it's in the 4-button mode. To do so, it has to be switched back. For the games I play, this is not a problem, but even without the roller-dial, it would be awkward to play Baseball or Football with this set-up.

Of course, you could just add 2 small buttons to the controller, but I didn't have any small enough. Hence, the switch.