Dual 9 Way Atari/Commodore USB Joystick Adaptor

Use a classic Atari Style 1,2 or 3 button Joystick on your PC or Pi

What is it?

This is an adapter which plug into a modern PC or Raspberry Pi or similar system and appear as USB joysticks or game controllers. You can plug vintage Commodore / Atari style joysticks with a 9 way D connectors (as used on the Commodore 64 or Atari 2600 etc.) and control games or emulators.

It can also be used to connect up your own arcade style joysticks, you just need a 4 way or 8 way joystick and up to three arcade buttons

Why did you make it?

I made these to go along side my USB keyboard conversion for vintage machines, or to add to other Raspberry Pi or PC based games systems. Modern game controllers are nice, but they aren't as nice as a good old ZipStik or Competition Pro joystick.

What makes it special?

The Dual USB box allows two joystick to be plugged in and appear as two separate game controllers (two player mode). On the rear is a micro USB port and a micro USB A-B lead is supplied. The dual units also have an LED which lights when the joystick moves or fire is pressed. Handy to test your joysticks and who doesn't like flashing lights? Neatly packaged plug in and go solutions. No drivers or configuration is required.

How is it mapped?

The joysticks appear as one or two game controllers with an X and Y axis and three buttons. The pinout matches that used on many home computers and games consoles in the 1980s (excluding the Atari 7800 and the Spectrum +2 which do not follow this standard). 

• 1 = Up
• 2 = Down
• 3 = Left
• 4 = Right
• 5 = Fire 3 (not usually connected)
• 6 = Fire 1 (the normal fire button)
• 7 = 5V
• 8 = GND
• 9 = Fire 2 (not usually connected)

Just to clarify

These adapters allow you to use a vintage joystick on a modern PC, they do not work in reverse to allow a modern game controller to be used on a vintage computer system.

TynemouthSoftware product - Tynemouth Software Linky

Designed & produced by Dave Curran