5200 Wico Joysticks Question

[icbrkr]

I just picked up a 5200 4 port (with switchbox, working), 2 Wico Joysticks w/Y adapters and a 5200 trackball from a thrift for $9.98 (). Now I have a question...

 

When I hook up the Y adapter, all my games are registering that I'm pressing the controller to the right (regardless if I have a Wico hooked up or not). If I hook up a standard 5200 controller to the Y adapter, same thing. If I hook just the 5200 controller up, no problems at all. Am I missing something? Both adapters do the same thing.

[JB]

I just picked up a 5200 4 port (with switchbox, working), 2 Wico Joysticks w/Y adapters and a 5200 trackball from a thrift for $9.98 ().  Now I have a question...

 

When I hook up the Y adapter, all my games are registering that I'm pressing the controller to the right (regardless if I have a Wico hooked up or not).  If I hook up a standard 5200 controller to the Y adapter, same thing.  If I hook just the 5200 controller up, no problems at all.  Am I missing something?  Both adapters do the same thing.

1020759[/snapback]

Sounds like a bad wire in the Y adapters. Your X axis isn't being properly connected.

[Paranoid]

That is a HELLUVA thrift find... congratulations.

 

*look of envy*

Edited February 19, 2006 by Paranoid

[RickHarrisMaine]

Mine is doing this too as of late. It looks like the guy from Berzerk is actually hell-bent on suicide!

 

 

Any way to fix?

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Have you tried adjusting the Wico controllers?

[spacecadet]

Have you tried adjusting the Wico controllers?

1021302[/snapback]

 

Yeah, the Wico sticks have centering slider tabs on them. With no joystick hooked up but the Y cables plugged in, I don't know what the normal behavior is (I've never tried it and mine are boxed up right now), but maybe the system thinks there's a joystick there and tries to read it, leading to false input readings. Which is my complicated way of saying maybe going to the right with only the Y cable plugged in could be normal.

 

But your centering on the sticks might just be off when you've got the sticks themselves connected. The X-axis centering tab is on the bottom edge of the stick; you can see it here.

[JB]

Have you tried adjusting the Wico controllers?

1021302[/snapback]

 

Yeah, the Wico sticks have centering slider tabs on them. With no joystick hooked up but the Y cables plugged in, I don't know what the normal behavior is (I've never tried it and mine are boxed up right now), but maybe the system thinks there's a joystick there and tries to read it, leading to false input readings. Which is my complicated way of saying maybe going to the right with only the Y cable plugged in could be normal.

It should be normal. The y-adapter is just a fancy extension cable. Brings pot and fire lines to the Wico, and keypad lines to the stock controller. Electrically speaking, it's the same as an empty controller port.

 

Lacking a pot connected, the resistance across the stick reads as infinite in both directions. Which is as the lower-right corner of the stick So if you don't have a controller connected your character will sprint down and right. With a broken connection, it could be just one of these.

 

<tangent>

But if you have a SHORT, your character sprints up and/or left, because there's no resistance instead of infinite resistance.

Some games get divide-by-zero errors here, because they expect a low, but measurable, resistance. This causes strange behavior in-game.

That's why a Masterplay doesn't work with some games, as it simulates 0 and infinite resistance instead of real 5200 stick values.

</tangent>

[Shawn]

Kinda on topic here. With the 5200 wico joysticks there are 2 buttons. I assume one is fire and the other is start??

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Kinda on topic here. With the 5200 wico joysticks there are 2 buttons. I assume one is fire and the other is start??

1021437[/snapback]

 

The two fire buttons on the Wico are just that - two fire buttons. Some games (such as Defender) use two fire buttons. They serve different purposes in the game.

 

The Wico stick requires the Atari 5200 joystick when the Y cable is used in order to start the game. If you don't want to have to worry about using an Atari 5200 stick you will need a Wico keypad to work with the Wico joystick. I would say the first 8 or so Wico keypads that I had worked perfect. I used to think that they all worked great but the last 2-3 that I have bought haven't worked right. If you buy one be sure that it works. The last one that I bought was from someone with almost 99%+ positive feedback. He claimed that it worked but it was only partially working.

[JB]

Kinda on topic here. With the 5200 wico joysticks there are 2 buttons. I assume one is fire and the other is start??

1021437[/snapback]

 

The two fire buttons on the Wico are just that - two fire buttons. Some games (such as Defender) use two fire buttons. They serve different purposes in the game.

Qix also uses both fire buttons, as does Star Raiders. Those are the only ones that leap out at me, though I know there's far more than that.

 

 

 

The Wico fires correspond to the 5200 top fire and bottom fire.

[GrandviewCoin]

Kinda on topic here. With the 5200 wico joysticks there are 2 buttons. I assume one is fire and the other is start??

1021437[/snapback]

 

The two fire buttons on the Wico are just that - two fire buttons. Some games (such as Defender) use two fire buttons. They serve different purposes in the game.

Qix also uses both fire buttons, as does Star Raiders. Those are the only ones that leap out at me, though I know there's far more than that.

 

 

 

The Wico fires correspond to the 5200 top fire and bottom fire.

1021489[/snapback]

 

Too bad there isn't an adapter to use the atari star raiders controller for the 2600 as a keypad..

 

I have a ton of those things.

 

Dan

[icbrkr]

Have you tried adjusting the Wico controllers?

1021302[/snapback]

 

Yeah, the Wico sticks have centering slider tabs on them. With no joystick hooked up but the Y cables plugged in, I don't know what the normal behavior is (I've never tried it and mine are boxed up right now), but maybe the system thinks there's a joystick there and tries to read it, leading to false input readings. Which is my complicated way of saying maybe going to the right with only the Y cable plugged in could be normal.

It should be normal. The y-adapter is just a fancy extension cable. Brings pot and fire lines to the Wico, and keypad lines to the stock controller. Electrically speaking, it's the same as an empty controller port.

 

Lacking a pot connected, the resistance across the stick reads as infinite in both directions. Which is as the lower-right corner of the stick So if you don't have a controller connected your character will sprint down and right. With a broken connection, it could be just one of these.

 

<tangent>

But if you have a SHORT, your character sprints up and/or left, because there's no resistance instead of infinite resistance.

Some games get divide-by-zero errors here, because they expect a low, but measurable, resistance. This causes strange behavior in-game.

That's why a Masterplay doesn't work with some games, as it simulates 0 and infinite resistance instead of real 5200 stick values.

</tangent>

1021385[/snapback]

 

This might be it - it could be a broken wire. Without the Wico attached that's exactly what happenes - bottom right. I believe even with one connected, the same happens. Where could you possibly find a new connector for this without making one myself? My soldering skills are not that good

[JB]

Have you tried adjusting the Wico controllers?

1021302[/snapback]

 

Yeah, the Wico sticks have centering slider tabs on them. With no joystick hooked up but the Y cables plugged in, I don't know what the normal behavior is (I've never tried it and mine are boxed up right now), but maybe the system thinks there's a joystick there and tries to read it, leading to false input readings. Which is my complicated way of saying maybe going to the right with only the Y cable plugged in could be normal.

It should be normal. The y-adapter is just a fancy extension cable. Brings pot and fire lines to the Wico, and keypad lines to the stock controller. Electrically speaking, it's the same as an empty controller port.

 

Lacking a pot connected, the resistance across the stick reads as infinite in both directions. Which is as the lower-right corner of the stick So if you don't have a controller connected your character will sprint down and right. With a broken connection, it could be just one of these.

 

<tangent>

But if you have a SHORT, your character sprints up and/or left, because there's no resistance instead of infinite resistance.

Some games get divide-by-zero errors here, because they expect a low, but measurable, resistance. This causes strange behavior in-game.

That's why a Masterplay doesn't work with some games, as it simulates 0 and infinite resistance instead of real 5200 stick values.

</tangent>

1021385[/snapback]

 

This might be it - it could be a broken wire. Without the Wico attached that's exactly what happenes - bottom right. I believe even with one connected, the same happens. Where could you possibly find a new connector for this without making one myself? My soldering skills are not that good

1021563[/snapback]

Given the nature of the thing, it's gonna be difficult to acquire.

I can't for the life of me figure out why Wico didn't build the adapter into the controller, but... they didn't, so it gets lost.

 

 

And this is actually a good practice prject.

Since there's nothing involved except a few plugs and some wires, the only big issue is not gunking all the pins together. You aren't working aon anythign that can be fried directly, and a multimeter can be used to find any potentially hazardous shorts.

 

About the only thing easier is a cable with less wires(like the video cable I made for my Genesis a few days ago).