C-64 Joystick To Use On The PC Recomendation

[The Enforcer]

Would like to know where I can buy the following:

1) Best quality joystick to use with the Commodore 64 computer on the PC (emulator).

2) Best adaptor card to use that will hook up to my PC game port that will allow me to hook up my C-64 joystick.

I just recently got a C-64 PC emulator and it's fantastic (over 15,000 games for the machine).

All I need now is to get a joystick hooked up for it, and I wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks so much for the help,

-=>The Enforcer<=-

[DaveMMR]

Basically any PC gamepad or joystick works fine.  The C-64 used a basic Atari 2600 style joystick (I used to use my Colecovision joysticks on it actually).   And pretty much any joystick you hooked up to the C-64 broke after extended playing of Summer Games.

The emulator I use accepts gamepads or whatever from the gameport or a USB port.  However I'm not sure about the availabity of an adapter if you want to use the old joysticks.  

[jerryjanis]

Well obviously you could use any old PC gamepad to work with the C64 emulator (assuming the emulator supports it).  If you want to get crazy and use a real commodore 64 joystick, well...  Hmmm...  I grew up on Commodore 64 and I don't honestly recall them having a joystick to call their own because generic Atari joysticks worked just fine.  Original Atari joysticks



were pretty poor because I always found that they would wear out or little parts would break.

When I first got this joystick:


I had no idea what I was getting: the PERFECT joystick.  I beat the cr-- out of these things for probably 15 years on my Atari, Commodore, Amiga computers.  Every 5 years or so the contacts would start to lose their conductivity, so I would take it apart and use an eraser on the the burly metal contacts.  The only one that I ever saw stop working was one that I  twisted, turned, wrenched, cranked, and jumped on until the handle finally busted.  Great joystick.

As far as finding one, I don't know if I can help you - but if you find a used one it's probly as good as new.

As far as interfacing it to the computer...  Hmm....  Any of the methods described on this site will work wonderfully: Keyboard hack, PC gamepad hack, IPac, (etc)...

Also, a Sega Genesis controller worked on the commodore 64 and it had the same connector, so if you could find a good Genesis controller-to-PC hack it would work the same for the commodore 64 (the only difference is you have only 1 button to worry about).  I think I read about some parrallel port hacks with drivers.

[jerryjanis]

And pretty much any joystick you hooked up to the C-64 broke after extended playing of Summer Games.

The Slick Sticks even survived Summer Games (I can still hear my mother, "You're ruining the joystick stop doing that!")

[DaveMMR]

I had a pair of Slik Sticks and those were by far the best joysticks to have for any of the Epyx 'Games' series (and Decathlon).  They were really sturdy.

[telengard]

Would like to know where I can buy the following:

1) Best quality joystick to use with the Commodore 64 computer on the PC (emulator).

2) Best adaptor card to use that will hook up to my PC game port that will allow me to hook up my C-64 joystick.

I just recently got a C-64 PC emulator and it's fantastic (over 15,000 games for the machine).

All I need now is to get a joystick hooked up for it, and I wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks so much for the help,

-=>The Enforcer<=-

Hi there,

I actually just used an IPAC to hook up the old CX-40 joysticks and I've played many
a game of Forbidden Forest and Space Taxi with it.  Works excellent w/ VICE.  I'm
currently working on a paddle interface using an old mouse.

HTH

[paigeoliver]

Would like to know where I can buy the following:

1) Best quality joystick to use with the Commodore 64 computer on the PC (emulator).

2) Best adaptor card to use that will hook up to my PC game port that will allow me to hook up my C-64 joystick.

I just recently got a C-64 PC emulator and it's fantastic (over 15,000 games for the machine).

All I need now is to get a joystick hooked up for it, and I wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks so much for the help,

-=>The Enforcer<=-

Hi there,

I actually just used an IPAC to hook up the old CX-40 joysticks and I've played many
a game of Forbidden Forest and Space Taxi with it.  Works excellent w/ VICE.  I'm
currently working on a paddle interface using an old mouse.

HTH

I thought all the old console paddles used a pot and not an optical encoder. Hooking one of those up is pretty simple. Grab an old analog cheapo gameport joystick from the thrift store. Rip it open, and put the pot from the left/right axis inside the paddle, and wire the paddle button up to button 1 from the joystick.

[telengard]

Would like to know where I can buy the following:

1) Best quality joystick to use with the Commodore 64 computer on the PC (emulator).

2) Best adaptor card to use that will hook up to my PC game port that will allow me to hook up my C-64 joystick.

I just recently got a C-64 PC emulator and it's fantastic (over 15,000 games for the machine).

All I need now is to get a joystick hooked up for it, and I wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks so much for the help,

-=>The Enforcer<=-

Hi there,

I actually just used an IPAC to hook up the old CX-40 joysticks and I've played many
a game of Forbidden Forest and Space Taxi with it.  Works excellent w/ VICE.  I'm
currently working on a paddle interface using an old mouse.

HTH

I thought all the old console paddles used a pot and not an optical encoder. Hooking one of those up is pretty simple. Grab an old analog cheapo gameport joystick from the thrift store. Rip it open, and put the pot from the left/right axis inside the paddle, and wire the paddle button up to button 1 from the joystick.

They do use a pot but I was able to get an encoder around the wheel inside quite easy.  Plus the only
emulator I want to use a paddle for is z26 for warlords, super breakout, etc.  And I think the only
support is through a mouse.

[jerryjanis]

They do use a pot but I was able to get an encoder around the wheel inside quite easy.  Plus the only
emulator I want to use a paddle for is z26 for warlords, super breakout, etc.  And I think the only
support is through a mouse.

I just ordered a handful of 5k pots on Ebay (I don't know if they'll be the right type or not, but they were cheap).  I plan to use them to make 4 Warlords controllers of some sort, and make them plug into my 1UP Sidewinder Dual Strike hack.

It will work in Mame (the arcade version), and I have to assume it will work in Mess.  (If not, it should one day if I'm willing to wait or do it myself).

Warlords RULES.

[paigeoliver]

Why are you ordering special pots when you can do that same thing much cheaper using 2 gameport analog joysticks and a gameport splitter?

[jerryjanis]

Why are you ordering special pots when you can do that same thing much cheaper using 2 gameport analog joysticks and a gameport splitter?

I already have the USB Sidewinder hack (half) built for hot swapping analog joystick devices in and out, so that is basically free for me.  I hate the gameport - I have one gameport device and it always gives me problems.  Either the driver for the port itself isn't working, or I can't find the driver for the actual joystick.  USB rocks - just plug it in, and even if it's got a ton of buttons & axes, it works.  The pots I ordered were less than $1.00 apiece shipped.  They may not work, but I figured it was worth a shot.

[paigeoliver]

Ok, that makes a bit more sense then. I have never had too much trouble with gameport hacks. Although I always base then on generic 4 button digital pads or analog sticks (the ones that do not require special drivers).

I do have a dual strike and a T2 gun sitting at home waiting to be hooked up someday.

[Chris Goodwin]

Twenty some odd years ago there was an article in Creative Computing on how to build an Asteroids CP for your Atari 2600.  Ummm...that has not much to do with this except that the innards of one are utterly trivial -- four directional switches, one fire button, and one common (ground).  (http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/ataristick.html has the pinouts for them so you don't have to dissect one and go at it with a voltmeter.)  

At the time, that article put the bug in my ear to want to build my own Atari joystick out of arcade parts, but I was a kid at the time so I never really followed up on it.  As I rapidly found out after my first posting here, "the best CP is the one you build yourself."  

There are at least a few projects out there that explain how to connect up an Atari joystick to a PC (http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/pc_circuits.html#atari_pc_converter is one such).  

I second the motion on the Slik-Stik.  My brothers and I didn't know what we had, and I think we ended up dissecting it for what reason I don't remember.