Path: news.uiowa.edu!news.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!portc01.blue.aol.com!newstf01.news.aol.com!newsbf02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail From: rubywand@aol.com (RUBYWAND) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Looking for connecting Pc game port and Joystick IIe Date: 19 Sep 1996 09:46:58 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Lines: 109 Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com Message-ID: <51risi$g3d@newsbf02.news.aol.com> References: <323F0F16.20B1@union-fin.fr> NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf02.mail.aol.com X-Newsreader: AOL Offline Reader In article <323F0F16.20B1@union-fin.fr>, Philippe Collard writes: > >Has anybody the wiring sheme to adapt an Apple Joystick IIe to a PC game >port ? > > Below are pin-outs and info for Apple II and PC joysticks. As you can see, there are three major points of difference: 1. The Apple II stick uses a 9-pin plug vs. the PC's 15-pin plug. (Older Apple II sticks may use a 16-pin plug which fits in an IC socket.) 2. The Apple II stick's X, Y controller potentiometers are a bit larger. 3. The buttons are wired differently. You can use an Apple-to-PC adaptor to handle plug conversion; or, you can replace the entire cable with one from an old PC stick. The PC will work with 150k pots; but, in some applications, you may notice a tendency to max out early in the stick swing. You can correct this by connecting a 300k resistor across each pot (from the center to the end with a wire going to it). The difference in button wiring is the main reason an Apple-to-PC conversion involves opening the joystick and making changes. (The Apple stick has a slightly more complex, less flexible circuit. Apple-to-PC is not as easy as PC-to-Apple.) Basically, you need to change the Apple stick's button wiring so that it looks like the PC stick's button wiring. The mods mentioned above are not difficult, especially if you swap in a PC cable. If you want to be able to use the stick on an Apple II, then some kind of switching will be required. Apple II Joystick (9-pin male connector) (Old 16-pin IC-style plug) [2]--------------- +5V ------- 1 [7]--------------- Button 0 ------- 2 [5]--------------- X-axis ------- 6 [8]--------------- Y-axis ------- 10 [1]--------------- Button 1 ------- 3 [3]--------------- Ground ------ 8 PC Joystick (15-pin female connector) [1]--------------- +5V [2] -------------- Button 0 [3] -------------- X-axis [6] -------------- Y-axis [7] -------------- Button 1 [4] and/or [5] Ground Both sticks tie one end of each X, Y potentiometer to +5 and send the center (wiper) to the an output. (Or the wiper may go to +5V and an end to the output; it doesn't much matter.) The standard Apple II pot is 150K Ohms; most PC sticks use 100k Ohm pots. The buttons are wired differently. On the Apple II stick (see below), each button switch goes to +5V. The other end goes to GND through a resistor (one resistor for each button). A button's Output is from the junction of the switch and its resistor. When the button switch is not closed, its Output is near 0V (=logic 0). Pressing a button sends +5V to the output (= logic 1). +5V | | X Button Switch | |_____Button output to Apple (Press => "1") | Z Z 680 Ohm resistor Z | GND As shown below, a PC stick button Output is normally an unconnected wire. Most likely, inside the computer, a PC or compatible Game Port has this line tied to a 1k-3k resistor going to +5V. So, the line will normally be at something close to +5V (= logic 1). Pressing the button grounds the line and pulls it down near to 0V (= logic 0). _____Button output to PC (Press => "0") | | X Button Switch | | GND Rubywand