Atari 2600 Joystick Adapter for Odyssey 2

[+sixersfan105]

I picked up this joystick adapter recently for my detachable joystick model Odyssey 2 and it works perfectly. Highly recommend it to be able to use any Atari 2600-compatible controller with my Odyssey 2 and hard to beat the $16 price inclusive of shipping. Much to my surprise, they even included a second joystick adapter free of charge, though it's unclear to me if that was intended or not. 

 

https://sadgirlsrecords.com/products/atari-2600-to-magnavox-odyssey-2-controller-adapter-converter

[+eebuckeye]

Very cool! I had no idea this existed but I've only seen O2's with attached joysticks.. It seems the detachable are somewhat rare.

[+sixersfan105]

6 minutes ago, eebuckeye said:

Very cool! I had no idea this existed but I've only seen O2's with attached joysticks.. It seems the detachable are somewhat rare.

Yeah, the detachable joystick model is harder to find but they're certainly out there. Legend has it that that Magnavox got a lot of customer complaints about joystick failure and their repair department was swamped with joystick repairs, and since Magnavox felt the joystick failure was due to customers repeatedly yanking the joysticks out of the rear ports of the console, they revised the console to make the joysticks permanently attached. 

 

Good rule of thumb is if the joysticks are silver in color, they are part of an early model detachable joystick console. The revised console with attached joysticks are always black with red fire buttons. Also, the bottom of the front of the console box of this early model will always say "The Ultimate Computer Video Game System...by Magnavox" NEVER "Odyssey 2. The excitement of a game. The mind of a computer." Note that that the former slogan being on a console box does NOT guarantee detachable joysticks, it's just that detachable joysticks will always have that slogan. Further, it's possible that resellers may pair early-gen consoles with later-gen boxes, but that's the general rule of thumb. Here's one example (not my listing).

[+sixersfan105]

@eebuckeye btw another great option for detachable joystick O2 models is RetroGame Boyz's NES-style gamepad. It's great: https://retrogameboyz.com/products/odyssey-2-joystick-controller-gamepad-joypad-db9-style-plug-for-db9-ports-only

[scotty]

I actually have 2 O2 joysticks modified to work with any DB-9 port like the C64, 2600 or Atari 8-bit

 

[+sixersfan105]

10 hours ago, scotty said:

I actually have 2 O2 joysticks modified to work with any DB-9 port like the C64, 2600 or Atari 8-bit

 

That's kinda neat. I'm not a huge fan of the original O2 joysticks but to each their own!

[scotty]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:50 AM, sixersfan105 said:

That's kinda neat. I'm not a huge fan of the original O2 joysticks but to each their own!

Not a HUGE fan...   But I live in a very small condo (with wife and son) and even though I have a lot of real hardware (most of it is in storage lockers) I like to use real controls with emulation or on the MISTer when I can.

 

[RockLobster]

On 9/30/2022 at 8:32 PM, scotty said:

I like to use real controls with emulation or on the MISTer when I can.

I assume you use something like the 2600dapter-d9 to use a real O2 joystick as a USB device on the MiSTer?   I don't remember the O2 core having SNAC support.

 

On 9/27/2022 at 9:31 PM, scotty said:

I actually have 2 O2 joysticks modified to work with any DB-9 port like the C64, 2600 or Atari 8-bit

Meaning that your O2 sticks have been re-pinned to be standard Atari 1-button controllers?

[scotty]

6 hours ago, RockLobster said:

 

 

Meaning that your O2 sticks have been re-pinned to be standard Atari 1-button controllers?

Correct.  I found them on eBay pretty cheap a few years back.  I do have a pair of 2600dapters, but I also have the original Bliss Box when he made them by hand, then I got a Bliss Box 4Play.  He makes the Blister for the Mister.    I will probably get one some day, as I really like my case and already have the USB Hub.

[scotty]

On 7/26/2023 at 4:56 PM, RockLobster said:

 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by scotty

[RockLobster]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:44 PM, scotty said:

I do have a pair of 2600dapters

off topic but man I love the 2600dapter-d9 adapters.   especially love being able to use the Atari Trakball and the Sega SportsPad as generic USB controllers/mice for the MiSTer/emulation platforms.