¢An article on getting the most out of the joystick ports¢-----------------------------------¢¢Reprinted from the A.C.E.C. BBS (614)-471-8559¢¢Hacking The Joystick Port¢By Chuck Grimsby¢¢As every Atari Basic programmer knows, the joystick port can be used to produce nine different actions or commands (excluding the center or 'null' position), utilizing the STICK(x) and STRIG(x) commands. The numbers your programs look for are:¢ value stick posistion¢----- ---------------¢ 14 UP¢ 13 DOWN¢ 7 RIGHT¢ 11 LEFT¢ 6 UP RIGHT¢ 5 DOWN RIGHT¢ 9 DOWN LEFT¢ 10 UP LEFT¢ 15 CENTER (NULL)¢ 0 FIRE,(USING STRIG(0)¢ 1 NOT FIRE¢¢¢You may have noticed that there are some numbers missing from that list, and from all lists that show you how to use the STICK(x) command. Where are the numbers 0-4, 8 and 12? Well, actualy those numbers are there and are readable, but you can't use a normal joystick to produce them. You either need a numeric keypad (like the old Atari CX-85) or a special 'joystick' consisting of buttons in place of a single stick. I built myself a special joystick to use as a non-moving mouse (my desk space is VERY limited) and discovered I had also created a joystick that would produce those non-standard numbers. My brother has dubed this device a 'Dead Mouse' and it has proved to be very handy. It also works great as a very accurate joystick for MicroPainter. The new STICK(x) list using the Dead Mouse looks like this:¢¢VALUE BUTTON(S) PRESSED¢----- -----------------¢ 0 UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT¢ 1 DOWN LEFT RIGHT¢ 2 UP LEFT RIGHT¢ 3 RIGHT LEFT¢ 4 UP DOWN RIGHT¢ 5 DOWN RIGHT¢ 6 UP RIGHT¢ 7 RIGHT¢ 8 UP DOWN LEFT¢ 9 DOWN LEFT¢10 UP LEFT¢11 LEFT¢12 UP DOWN¢13 DOWN¢14 UP¢15 NONE (NULL)¢¢The numbers produced through the Dead Mouse can also be used to simulate the numeric keypad IF you have the proper AUTORUN.SYS file AND press the FIRE button with the other keys.¢¢The following list shows the funtions that the Dead Mouse key presses will return. Remember to ALWAYS press the FIRE button as well.¢¢FUNCTION DEAD MOUSE KEYS¢-------- ---------------¢DELETE UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT¢YES UP DOWN LEFT¢NO UP DOWN RIGHT¢- NONE (NO KEYS PRESSED)¢+ENTER UP¢0 UP DOWN¢1 DOWN LEFT¢2 UP LEFT¢3 LEFT¢4 DOWN LEFT RIGHT¢5 UP LEFT RIGHT¢6 RIGHT LEFT¢7 DOWN RIGHT¢8 UP RIGHT¢9 RIGHT¢¢¢The construction of the Dead Mouse is simple, due to the fact that every joystick made actualy uses four buttons on the inside activated by moving the stick. All you need to make the Dead Mouse are five momentery contact buttons, a female D9 conector, a six conductor cable, and a project box. You can save yourself some time and trouble by using the cable from an old broken joystick, or buying a joystick extension cord and cutting off one end instead of making a new cable.¢¢Start by drilling five holes for the buttons in the lid of the project box a little bit larger then the size of the buttons, and one hole in the side of the box for the cable to the computer.¢¢Next mount and secure the five buttons in the holes and pass the cable through the hole in the side of the box. Make a knot in the cable on the inside so the cable wont pull out.¢¢Now solder the wire from the cable to the switches following the table below. NOTE: Solder to ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE BUTTON!!¢¢ u 1 2 3 4 5 u¢ \ O O O O O /¢ u\ O O O O /u¢ 6 7 8 9¢¢¢PIN # BUTTON¢----- ------¢2 RIGHT¢3 LEFT¢4 DOWN¢5 UP¢9 FIRE¢¢Now solder pin #7 to the other side of ALL the buttons. This is the common or "ground" line. Put the lid on your box, and your Dead Mouse is ready to use. From experience, the Dead Mouse is a very poor joystick, Don't even bother to try and use it for game playing. It is ,however, a more profesional looking device for use as a mouse than a joystick, and a accurate drawing tool for MicroPainter.¢¢*** This is a very easy project, but as usual be careful and make sure what you're doing. I can't be held responsible if anything goes wrong. Ed. ***¢
