Announcing new 2600 controller USB adaptor

[dualcam]

My adapters are repairable - not throw-aways like so many things are any more.  Best to contact me directly if you have one to send back for fixing.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[+MrZarniwoop]

New to the forum, but grew up around all manner of Atari magic and later was a fan of the Lynx. I recently went a bit crazy with RetroPie to recreate my arcade-spent youth, and it's been quite fun. As part of my new RetroPie habit, in a fit of nostalgia bought a couple of 2600-dapter D9s and original CX40 joysticks to recreate the experience of my first VCS experience.

 

The 2600-dapter D9 is an amazing little device, hats off to the engineering! EmulationStation picked it up as a controller instantly.

 

But, as some here are likely aware, that's not quite enough to start playing with my setup. Because the original CX40 joystick has only one button, there are no buttons available to map the needed SELECT, RESET (START) or DIFFICULTY A/B switches on the 2600. And it's not obvious to me how to map those to a keyboard, as RetroArch wants to feed l-stella just the controller configuration from EmulationStation.

 

I think the answer is some manual controller mapping in l-stella where some things are joystick and some things are keyboard, but I figured perhaps I'm not the first person down this road. I've searched around, and there are some posts of people remapping similar settings with regular Stella, which I may try, but I haven't squarely found this RetroPie-centric answer.

 

Is there a simple configuration or setting somewhere I may be overlooking? Otherwise, back to digging around how RetroArch configuration files work and regular Stella...

[mr_me]

This should go in a separate thread.  My recommendation is to use the non retroarch stella.  It should be more straightforward.

[dualcam]

On 9/12/2020 at 6:38 AM, MrZarniwoop said:

New to the forum, but grew up around all manner of Atari magic and later was a fan of the Lynx. I recently went a bit crazy with RetroPie to recreate my arcade-spent youth, and it's been quite fun. As part of my new RetroPie habit, in a fit of nostalgia bought a couple of 2600-dapter D9s and original CX40 joysticks to recreate the experience of my first VCS experience.

 

The 2600-dapter D9 is an amazing little device, hats off to the engineering! EmulationStation picked it up as a controller instantly.

 

But, as some here are likely aware, that's not quite enough to start playing with my setup. Because the original CX40 joystick has only one button, there are no buttons available to map the needed SELECT, RESET (START) or DIFFICULTY A/B switches on the 2600. And it's not obvious to me how to map those to a keyboard, as RetroArch wants to feed l-stella just the controller configuration from EmulationStation.

 

I think the answer is some manual controller mapping in l-stella where some things are joystick and some things are keyboard, but I figured perhaps I'm not the first person down this road. I've searched around, and there are some posts of people remapping similar settings with regular Stella, which I may try, but I haven't squarely found this RetroPie-centric answer.

 

Is there a simple configuration or setting somewhere I may be overlooking? Otherwise, back to digging around how RetroArch configuration files work and regular Stella...

 

I haven't played much with the default RetorArch l-stella.  RetroPie gives this mapping -

https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Atari-2600/

I would assume map those functions (left trigger, left shoulder, etc) in Emulation Station.

 

Personally, I would switch to regular Stella.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

 

 

 

[+MrZarniwoop]

On 9/14/2020 at 9:48 AM, dualcam said:

I haven't played much with the default RetorArch l-stella.  RetroPie gives this mapping -

https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Atari-2600/

I would assume map those functions (left trigger, left shoulder, etc) in Emulation Station.

 

Personally, I would switch to regular Stella.

Thanks! I'll make three helpful hints from all this in case others want to use RetroPie with original Atari controllers using your awesome 2600-daptor D9:

 

1. The default configuration in RetroPie when using maps the Select to the right Shift key, and Start to the Enter/Return key, although both can be remapped. For example, in recent Virtualman images, Select is remapped to the F5 key, and Start to the F6 key.

 

Many older arcade no-button games, like Ms. Pac-Man, or one-button games, like Donkey Kong, Galaga or Joust, are highly playable with the original Atari controller using your 2600-daptor D9 if you use the keyboard for Select (Coin/Credit) and Start.

 

2. For Atari 2600 games, if you also want to map the difficulty and color/BW switches for l-stella to keys, you'll have to map them in either the default configuration or add them to the l-stella-specific /opt/retropie/configs/atari2600/retroarch.cfg:

input_player1_l2_btn = "nul" # Left Difficulty A
input_player1_l_btn = "nul" # Left Difficulty B
input_player1_l3_btn = "nul" # Color TV
input_player1_r3_btn = "nul" # Black/White TV
input_player1_r2_btn = "nul" # Right Difficulty A
input_player1_r_btn = "nul" # Right Difficulty B

You can map them by changing "nul" to any key supported by RetroArch. In the default retroarch.cfg, search for "Keyboard Input" for a complete list of supported keys.

 

3. It's generally more convenient to use l-stella instead of official Stella in RetroPie, but there is one downside: hotswapping between joystick and paddle games on the same 2600-dapter D9 isn't easily possible with l-stella. While it's easiest to play most joystick-oriented games using l-stella, for Atari 2600 paddle games using real Atari paddle controllers, it's just simpler to change the emulator used to Stella, as you suggest. With Stella from RetroPie for just paddle games, you launch the game, swap to the paddle controllers on the same 2600-daptor D9, and it just works. This is because l-stella wants to use the pre-configured RetroArch controllers, and it's a pain to make a special controller configuration for swapped-in/out real paddle controllers.

 

The downside of this is you'll have different keyboard controls in Stella vs. l-stella, although if you wanted, you could map RetroArch to keyboard controls that mimic Stella (F1 for select, F2 for reset/start, etc.). If you were to do this, note that there are conflicting hotkeys in retroarch.cfg that are disabled by default (F2 to save state, F4 to load state, F8 for screenshot, etc.) that you should probably remap as well in case you enable them later.

Edited October 25, 2020 by MrZarniwoop
Clarifying paddle swap issue

[GameGeezer]

I'd like to discuss software implementation for the paddle mode of this adapter, to allow using it in custom software. If you have time, please send a PM to me, as I am unsure if the paddle mode emulates mouse X/Y or if it is sending signals that only emulators such as Stella support. It would be helpful to have technical docs on implementing support for it. 

[dualcam]

16 minutes ago, GameGeezer said:

I'd like to discuss software implementation for the paddle mode of this adapter, to allow using it in custom software. If you have time, please send a PM to me, as I am unsure if the paddle mode emulates mouse X/Y or if it is sending signals that only emulators such as Stella support. It would be helpful to have technical docs on implementing support for it. 

 

The paddles show in the USB joystick X & Y analog axis.

 

I posted here in case the information could be of help to others, but you are welcome to PM if you want a private discussion.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[Capt Moore]

On 1/29/2019 at 3:36 PM, fluxit said:

Hey Tom(dualcam,)

 

We(the fans) recently succeeded in adding 2600-daptor compatibility to the Retron 77. In testing this, I noticed some strange paddle behavior with my 2600-daptor upon which I thought you might have some insight. I hadn't really used it for paddles before, so I'd not seen this before.

 

I'm using my Coleco Gemini 'Dual Command' paddles in their 'Y' adapter. They are newly repaired and cleaned, FWIW.

The 2600-daptor is a 2600-daptor II flashed with the "2600-daptorII TB FB1" firmware.

 

Demons to Diamonds works perfectly. Super Breakout works perfectly. Video Olympics is... strange. It acts as though there is invisible bubble gum sticking the paddle to the screen in a particular spot about an inch up from the bottom for both paddle 1 and 2. On the Retron, and also on my desktop machine in Stella, I get the same effect. When the paddle is about to reach the bottom of the screen, it stops, and there is a dead zone of movement, followed by normal movement *at* the bottom of the screen. Again, the behavior is the same for both paddles(and both players,) and it is entirely consistent.

 

I see something similar in (normal)Breakout, but less pronounced. The paddle 'skips' the dead zone when almost to the left side of the screen instead of doing the virtual shoe in bubble gum routine.

 

In MAME 0.185, Video Olympics(same ROM) skips the dead zone entirely, with the paddle never occupying that space at all AFAICT, using the default paddle settings in MAME, as I'm sure that I could eliminate the dead zone by tweaking settings in MAME.

 

Is my 2600-daptor II malfunctioning?

I am having the same issue on my retron 77 using Atari paddles with breakout.

 

I know this post is two years old, but can someone else also confirm the bug is still present in the latest firmware release?  Has anyone figured out a work around?

 

fyi, I used the same setup (paddles/adapter) on the Mac version of Stella and it did not display the issue, it sounds like the previously mentioned Linux bug (although it is the retron build)

Edited May 6, 2021 by Capt Moore

[+fdr4prez]

33 minutes ago, Capt Moore said:

I am having the same issue on my retron 77 using Atari paddles with breakout.

 

I know this post is two years old, but can someone else also confirm the bug is still present in the latest firmware release?  Has anyone figured out a work around?

 

fyi, I used the same setup (paddles/adapter) on the Mac version of Stella and it did not display the issue, it sounds like the previously mentioned Linux bug (although it is the retron build)

This question would be better asked in the Retron 77 thread and not necessarily here.

 

RetroN 77 - Atari 2600 - AtariAge Forums

[dualcam]

11 hours ago, Capt Moore said:

I am having the same issue on my retron 77 using Atari paddles with breakout.

 

I know this post is two years old, but can someone else also confirm the bug is still present in the latest firmware release?  Has anyone figured out a work around?

 

fyi, I used the same setup (paddles/adapter) on the Mac version of Stella and it did not display the issue, it sounds like the previously mentioned Linux bug (although it is the retron build)

This is a "feature" of Linux.  It automatically creates a center dead-zone on analog axis.  A utility was created to remove this on regular desktop Linux.  I don't follow the Retron 77 project, so I don't know if this has been ported over.  As fdr4prez suggests, you should bring this up on the Retron 77 thread.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[Capt Moore]

On 5/6/2021 at 7:48 AM, dualcam said:

This is a "feature" of Linux.  It automatically creates a center dead-zone on analog axis.  A utility was created to remove this on regular desktop Linux.  I don't follow the Retron 77 project, so I don't know if this has been ported over.  As fdr4prez suggests, you should bring this up on the Retron 77 thread.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

I have another question now.  I have the Atari 2600 keyboard controllers, to use with the Retron 77 and 2600-adapter.  I am a bit confused as to how I am suppose to let the 2600-adapter know that I plugged in the keyboard controllers.  Do I just plug them in and they automatically sense (like the Joystick/Paddles/Driving controllers appear to) or do I need to do something else such as hold down a key?  

 

I did try to get them to work on my own, but I can't seem to make them register in a game such as codebreakers.  I may very well be doing something wrong on my end however.

 

The Keyboard controllers were NIB and still sealed from the factory, I purchased them from best electronics, so I think they probably work fine, it may be the r77 doesn't work with them, or something else I am missing.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Which version of the 2600-daptor are you using? The first one doesn't support Keypads.

 

Else check this.

[Capt Moore]

8 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Which version of the 2600-daptor are you using? The first one doesn't support Keypads.

 

Else check this.

The d9 version.

 

I am sure I am doing something wrong, I just can’t figure out what.  The joystick/paddles/driving were just plug and play with no setup.  I should try them on the Mac version of Stella to troubleshoot over the next few days (when I have time).

[dualcam]

8 minutes ago, Capt Moore said:

The d9 version.

 

I am sure I am doing something wrong, I just can’t figure out what.  The joystick/paddles/driving were just plug and play with no setup.  I should try them on the Mac version of Stella to troubleshoot over the next few days (when I have time).

Set all the D9's switches up and hold the keypad "0" key as the you plug in the USB.  Keep holding the "0" until the LED is regularly blinking, about 3-5 seconds.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

Edited May 17, 2021 by dualcam

[Capt Moore]

1 hour ago, dualcam said:

Set all the D9's switches up and hold the keypad "0" key as the you plug in the USB.  Keep holding the "0" until the LED is regularly blinking, about 3-5 seconds.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

I will try it again. One thing i think I was doing wrong it think is that the adapters are always powered, even with the r77 in the off position.

(I realized that last night after turning off the power, but then realized I could still see the red led on.)
 

To go back to paddle/joystick mode after using the keypad I simply hold the fire button when plugging in a joystick/paddle, correct?

[+fdr4prez]

2 hours ago, Capt Moore said:

To go back to paddle/joystick mode after using the keypad I simply hold the fire button when plugging in a joystick/paddle, correct?

The adapter changes mode when the adapter is plugged in (during powering up of the adapter itself), so nothing will happen if you leave the adapter's USB connected and you simply plug in a different controller.

[Capt Moore]

OK. So I got the keyboard controllers working.... on macOS.  Retron 77 still gives lots of problems, with they keyboard generally not responding, some keys brings up some emulator options.  It looks like the adapter is working once I was able to put each of them in keyboard mode, so maybe it is a retron 77 bug?  I will put a bug report over there for people much smarter than me to look into it.

[SpaceCougar9]

Hi dualcam,

 

I just order a 2600 daptor II by mistake and meant to order a 2600 D9. The D9 is $5 more so I'm not sure what to do. Please advise.

 

Thanks!

Dave

[atwwong]

I just received the 2600 daptor II and a D9; they arrived rather quickly to Canada and work great! I'm very satisfied. 👍

 

I plan to flash the 2600 daptor II to work with the AtariVox+ Speech Synthesizer when it arrives from Albert. Then I can try to connect the AtariVox to my PC and use the D9 to connect a joystick to my PC as well.

[Ed Wolfe]

I have the 2600-dapter PDL. I'm having an issue that requires me to disconnect paddles at times (I won't go into that unless necessary). My question is, if I put a switch on pin 7 between the paddles and the dapter, can I just switch off the paddles when not in use and turn back on when needed without any issue? Is there anything in the ROM that would require the paddles to be on when RetroPie starts?

 

Ed

[+fdr4prez]

2 hours ago, Ed Wolfe said:

I have the 2600-dapter PDL. I'm having an issue that requires me to disconnect paddles at times (I won't go into that unless necessary). My question is, if I put a switch on pin 7 between the paddles and the dapter, can I just switch off the paddles when not in use and turn back on when needed without any issue? Is there anything in the ROM that would require the paddles to be on when RetroPie starts?

 

Ed

Retropie shouldn't have a complaint about that.  It will see the adapter when RetroPie starts, so that's the important thing.

 

Just confirm that the paddles are "on" when you start the ROM because I am fairly sure that Stella needs to detect the paddles so the emulator is configured as it opens.

 

Unless @dualcam knows differently.

[dualcam]

21 hours ago, fdr4prez said:

Retropie shouldn't have a complaint about that.  It will see the adapter when RetroPie starts, so that's the important thing.

 

Just confirm that the paddles are "on" when you start the ROM because I am fairly sure that Stella needs to detect the paddles so the emulator is configured as it opens.

 

Unless @dualcam knows differently.

Older versions of Stella require any USB controller (including USB adapters) to be already plugged in when Stella is started.  Stella was updated at some point to where USB devices can be plugged in and be recognized after Stella is already running.  Sorry, off hand not sure which version that was, and also not sure which Stella version RetroPie is currently using.

 

For Stella to recognize that a 2600-daptor is present, it does not matter which, or even if any, controller is plugged into the adapter.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/