Atari hall effect joystick?

[Thomas Robert Fennimore]

Any of you guys know what a hall effect joystick is? Is it Atari's name for an analog stick? Atari used these in a couple of their games like I-Robot and Roadrunner as shown on KLOV.Im thinking about buying a Happ analog joystick for my cabinet so I can play analog games like Sinistar and Foodfight but I don't know if it would work properly with the Atari games that call for a hall effect joystick.Could somebody explain the difference between these two sticks if there is any?

[1UP]

Mame is usually set up so that it will work with commonly available controls (i.e. you don't HAVE to use a spinner in Tempest, it can be emulated with a mouse or keyboard.)  I doubt that any game is set up so that you can ONLY use a "hall effect" stick.

I looked up "hall effect" on Google, and got a bunch of arcane physics links, but it sounds like maybe something they were experimenting with for an analog effect, but ended up being more expensive to produce than pot-based sticks.

[u_rebelscum]

I looked up "hall effect" on Google, and got a bunch of arcane physics links, but it sounds like maybe something they were experimenting with for an analog effect, but ended up being more expensive to produce than pot-based sticks.

A Hall effect joystick is an analog joystick, except instead of using pots, the "Hall effect" is used to restrict the electrical flow.  The game has no way of knowing if the analog joystick is through a pot or the Hall Effect.  The only differences are how the joysticks felt (but that's mostly the springs anyway), and the curve of the electrical flow (I think the Hall Effect curve is less linear than a pots curve).

Current Hall Effect uses:

Hall Effect joysticks are used in a lot of industrial places.

Almost all "analog buttons" use the Hall effect.

[ErikRuud]

A quick, simple explanation of a Hall Effect Device.

A "Hall Effect Device" (HED) is a sensor that reacts to magnetic fields.  As a magnet is moved closer to a HED, it changes the amount of voltage that flows through it.  

I have built a "slot car magnet matcher" using a HED.  When there is no magnet near it, the HED outputs 2.5 volts, when I place a magnet near it, the voltage will go up if it the north end of the magnet, or it will go down if it is the south end of the magnet.  

[spidermonkey]

Thanks guys,
You've more than answered any questions I had about hall effect sticks.

[u_rebelscum]

Thanks guys,
You've more than answered any questions I had about hall effect sticks.

Want even more info?  (heh-heh)
I looked up so pages and posted them in this thread: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=main;action=display;num=1021468218;start=0

Have fun!