Announcing new 2600 controller USB adaptor

[dualcam]

11 hours ago, ClassicGMR said:

Gotta ask - what happened to the vision-daptor? Low demand? Was curious - I was thinking about picking up another a few months ago but forgot about it (RL intrusions and all that jazz) until someone mentioned them today.

Yes, falling demand and the 2600-D9 supports those controllers, and could be confusing with having a lot of adapters.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[+fdr4prez]

I have a 2600-dapter II

 

Is it OK to flash it with the D9 firmware shown on your site:

http://2600-daptor.com/2600-firmware%20D9.htm

 

or is this adapter limited to the II firmware?

http://2600-daptor.com/2600-firmware.htm

 

 

 

[dualcam]

15 hours ago, fdr4prez said:

I have a 2600-dapter II

 

Is it OK to flash it with the D9 firmware shown on your site:

http://2600-daptor.com/2600-firmware%20D9.htm

 

or is this adapter limited to the II firmware?

http://2600-daptor.com/2600-firmware.htm

 

 

 

It is limited to the II, PDL or AtariVox-daptor firmware.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[+fdr4prez]

On 9/11/2023 at 6:55 AM, dualcam said:

It is limited to the II, PDL or AtariVox-daptor firmware.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

ok, thanks for the confirmation.

[Stechmann]

hello @dualcam, i have a 2600daptor and a 2600daptor II, original Atari paddles and trying to use them with the MiSTer 7800 core.

 

but cant get them to work. when i am in the Mister OSD, and rotate the paddles, the device does get input signals and moves the selection cursor left/right and up/down.

 

but when i load Breakout game ROM and select "Paddle" in the Mister input menu, the sprite in the game just jumps to the side of the screen and stays there. i cannot move it.

 

does anyone have a step by step instruction of how to set this up correctly?

 

PS duplicate from https://forums.atariage.com/topic/318275-mister-fpga-7800-core/page/16/#comment-5347479

[big_guitar]

Has anyone established a proper retroarch configuration file for the 2600-dapter D9 or Ultimate PC Interface controller? 

Especially looking for Linux-ARM based, but even for Windows would still be helpful.

The reported key event codes from evtest under the Gamestation Pro OS when connecting the D9 are as follows:

Edited January 3 by big_guitar

[dualcam]

20 hours ago, big_guitar said:

Has anyone established a proper retroarch configuration file for the 2600-dapter D9 or Ultimate PC Interface controller? 

Especially looking for Linux-ARM based, but even for Windows would still be helpful.

The reported key event codes from evtest under the Gamestation Pro OS when connecting the D9 are as follows:

 

What is "proper"?  The RetroArch controller mapping is designed for 90's & up A/B/X/Y gamepads and older controllers don't necessarily fit that.  Wouldn't you map based on the controller you are using with the adapter and your personal preferences for menu navigation?

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[yegoilerguy]

Hello,

What should I be buying, if I’m looking to connect DB9 Atari joysticks to a Mac running 2600, 7800, 8bit and ST emulators?

Thank you.

[dualcam]

17 hours ago, yegoilerguy said:

Hello,

What should I be buying, if I’m looking to connect DB9 Atari joysticks to a Mac running 2600, 7800, 8bit and ST emulators?

Thank you.

 

If you are only wanting to use the 2600 joysticks, then either the 2600-PDL or 2600-II.  Difference between those is just what other controllers they also support.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[+wongojack]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I've used it for years and I love this product.  I think of it as the first one of these that came along, and I'm glad to see it is still thriving.

[big_guitar]

On 1/4/2024 at 9:16 AM, dualcam said:

Wouldn't you map based on the controller you are using with the adapter and your personal preferences for menu navigation?

Yes, but any example would help. Trying to see the full potential here. The adapter recognizes particular event codes which are unique in Linux-arm compared to how they are seen in Windows. Defining the proper event code values for particular buttons in retroarch.cfg is not intuitive. Such as, does event value "288" map to a typical fire button one? There is trial and error of course, but very time consuming. I'm dealing with an environment where keyboard access is disabled under a custom Retroarch build. There is a core that might allow me to use SAC controller even with a retropad mapping for CV games for example. If I can get it working, I will update. The CV subsystem under FBNeo supports spinner for example, which might be addressable if I can point to the proper event code.

Edited January 21 by big_guitar

[dualcam]

1 hour ago, big_guitar said:

Yes, but any example would help. Trying to see the full potential here. The adapter recognizes particular event codes which are unique in Linux-arm compared to how they are seen in Windows. Defining the proper event code values for particular buttons in retroarch.cfg is not intuitive. Such as, does event value "288" map to a typical fire button one? There is trial and error of course, but very time consuming. I'm dealing with an environment where keyboard access is disabled under a custom Retroarch build. There is a core that might allow me to use SAC controller even with a retropad mapping for CV games for example. If I can get it working, I will update. The CV subsystem under FBNeo supports spinner for example, which might be addressable if I can point to the proper event code.

 

The adapter does not generate event codes.  It uses USB HID in which a bit map of the current button ON/OFF states is sent.  Spinner is via HID mouse which is delta X/Y movement and a bit map of the button states.  Conversion to event codes is done in the O/S and the codes are probably particular to that O/S.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[bigfriendly]

Hey Tom and everybody on AA. I was doing some research for being able to plug regular Atari joysticks and paddles on my Windows 11 laptop. This looks like a great solution but I do have some ignorant questions for the community that uses this adapter. 

 

1. How hard is it to set up and configure this thing? While skimming through the older sections on this thread I see people posting list of code etc. It doesn't have to be plug n play but I'm looking for something that is pretty easy to figure out.
2. How is the lag factor (if any) when playing 2600 games on Stella?
3. Can one of these adapters be configured to use two joysticks or paddles for sports games or games like Warlords or do you need to buy two of them?

Thanks:)

[dualcam]

16 hours ago, bigfriendly said:

Hey Tom and everybody on AA. I was doing some research for being able to plug regular Atari joysticks and paddles on my Windows 11 laptop. This looks like a great solution but I do have some ignorant questions for the community that uses this adapter. 

 

1. How hard is it to set up and configure this thing? While skimming through the older sections on this thread I see people posting list of code etc. It doesn't have to be plug n play but I'm looking for something that is pretty easy to figure out.
2. How is the lag factor (if any) when playing 2600 games on Stella?
3. Can one of these adapters be configured to use two joysticks or paddles for sports games or games like Warlords or do you need to buy two of them?

Thanks:)

My 2600-daptors are automatically recognized by Stella.  If you want to use a different emulator, then you will likely need to set it up in that emulator's configuration/input mapping.  You will need two adapters for 2 joysticks or 3/4 paddles.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[bigfriendly]

I ordered one of your adapters today Tom. I can't wait to try it out:)

[JL]

On 1/8/2024 at 10:28 AM, wongojack said:

I just wanted to chime in and say that I've used it for years and I love this product.  I think of it as the first one of these that came along, and I'm glad to see it is still thriving.

Regular customer since 2011, I too offer Tom my Thanks! 

 

[bigfriendly]

Tom,

 

I got my adapter and I'm very impressed. It seems like a very well made product. I do have one question that maybe you or someone else might be able to help me with. I have Windows 11 on my laptop and sometimes while I'm playing it will just stop working. I'm wondering if this might have something to do with the computer maybe going to rest mode because it's always after I've been playing for several minutes when this happens. Any clue why this might be happening? Thanks:)

[dualcam]

On 2/9/2024 at 1:18 PM, bigfriendly said:

Tom,

 

I got my adapter and I'm very impressed. It seems like a very well made product. I do have one question that maybe you or someone else might be able to help me with. I have Windows 11 on my laptop and sometimes while I'm playing it will just stop working. I'm wondering if this might have something to do with the computer maybe going to rest mode because it's always after I've been playing for several minutes when this happens. Any clue why this might be happening? Thanks:)

 

By rest mode, do you mean sleep?  Also have a Win 11 laptop and the adapter still works after the laptop wakes up.  When the adapter stops working, is it's LED still flashing?  Are you checking it with joy.cpl?

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[radiohead]

Forgive me if this has been addressed earlier, but I have the PDL adaptor for my paddles using Stella (6.7) on my PC and Retropie. I am also using a Hyperkin Trooper 2 USB joystick which defaults as the LEFT controller and also serves to provide Start/Select/ESC button control. When plugged in, the PDL adaptor also defaults to the LEFT controller - for games requiring paddles, it's not an issue and everything works great. But I recently purchased a used 9-pin 2600 Joystick to have it for Player 2 using the PDL adaptor, but it still registers as the LEFT controller along with the Hyperkin joystick USB.  Remapping either controller as the RIGHT controller in Stella settings doesn't seem to work. When using 2 USB controllers in Stella (I also have an extra generic USB SNES-style gamepad), there's no conflict. Any ideas as to how to get the PDL adaptor & my USB Joystick to work together for 2 player action while keeping Paddle functionality when it's needed?

[dualcam]

23 hours ago, radiohead said:

Forgive me if this has been addressed earlier, but I have the PDL adaptor for my paddles using Stella (6.7) on my PC and Retropie. I am also using a Hyperkin Trooper 2 USB joystick which defaults as the LEFT controller and also serves to provide Start/Select/ESC button control. When plugged in, the PDL adaptor also defaults to the LEFT controller - for games requiring paddles, it's not an issue and everything works great. But I recently purchased a used 9-pin 2600 Joystick to have it for Player 2 using the PDL adaptor, but it still registers as the LEFT controller along with the Hyperkin joystick USB.  Remapping either controller as the RIGHT controller in Stella settings doesn't seem to work. When using 2 USB controllers in Stella (I also have an extra generic USB SNES-style gamepad), there's no conflict. Any ideas as to how to get the PDL adaptor & my USB Joystick to work together for 2 player action while keeping Paddle functionality when it's needed?

Stella will detect and automatically map the PDL adaptor.  I would expect you should then be able to map the Hyperkin in Stella->Options->Input Settings->Event Mappings to Right Joystick Up/Down/Left/Right/Fire.  If that is not working, then I have to refer you to ask the Stella developers for help.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[Thomas Jentzsch]

From the manual:

Swap Stelladaptor/2600-daptor port ordering

Control + 1

Control + 1

 

[radiohead]

Indeed, swapping ports of the 2600-daptor (Ctrl +1) does fix the left joystick issue and now I can separate the 2 controllers with the 2600-daptor on the right. However I need to swap them back to make the paddles work as they need to be the left controller. On the PC this is easy, but not on the retropie as I don't have a keyboard attached.

 

On the Retropie, I found a convoluted, yet workable solution: defaulting all the Atari joystick roms to lr-stella 2014 and defaulting the paddle roms to the stand alone Stella 6.7. lr-stella assigns the usb joystick and the PDL to separate inputs and it works for 1-2 player games. Stella 6.7 makes the paddles works. 

Edited February 21 by radiohead

[Thomas Jentzsch]

7 hours ago, radiohead said:

Indeed, swapping ports of the 2600-daptor (Ctrl +1) does fix the left joystick issue and now I can separate the 2 controllers with the 2600-daptor on the right. However I need to swap them back to make the paddles work as they need to be the left controller. On the PC this is easy, but not on the retropie as I don't have a keyboard attached.

You could change the properties for the paddle games and swap the paddles. Is there way to edit them?

[+fdr4prez]

8 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

You could change the properties for the paddle games and swap the paddles. Is there way to edit them?

yeah, you need a keyboard attached to the Pi and you get the same menu as the PC version.

 

A mouse is handy, too, otherwise you are pressing Tab a lot to jump around.

 

I use one of those little/mini wireless keyboard/mouse combo things.

[radiohead]

7 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

You could change the properties for the paddle games and swap the paddles. Is there way to edit them?

I'll experiment more, but I don't see a game property affecting 2600-daptor behavior beyond the Crtl+1 left/right keyboard shortcut.

 

Setting "Swap Ports" in Game Properties does just that; if both controllers are assigned to the Left port, they're both now on the Right. Setting "Swap Paddles" in Game Properties swaps the left and right paddles, but not the controller port. The overall issue looks like Stella is always defaulting the 2600-daptor as the Left controller port (I think the manual states that, and a second 2600-daptor would be set as Right), and for some reason, a generic USB controller also is assigned to Left controller port as well... but 2 generic USB controllers will split properly to Left & Right. Remapping both controllers didn't solve the problem.

 

In Retropie, I configured the 2600-daptor connected to my original Atari 2600 joystick as a generic USB controller (Up, Down, Left, Right, and "B" button) and it works and is properly assigned as Input Port 2 within the retroarch cores. So my solution here is to default paddle games to Stella, and Joystick games to lr-stella. I'm no longer concerned about 2 player action on my PC. 

 

I suspect if/when I purchase another Hyperkin's Trooper USB joystick or even Atari's new USB joystick, this won't even be an issue anymore as Stella will automatically assign the USB sticks as Input Ports 1 & 2, while the 2600-daptor will only be used for paddles (Left controller port).