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I can assure you this retro Battlestation is fully operational.
It also includes, not depicted or easily seeable, a sd2iec adapter, an Exos V3 module and a 154i floppy disk.
Time to play some Rainbow Arts classics!
And Bubble Bobble
Quickshot!
The greatest joystick ever made, ever, period. Ever.
Such a classic! I had one with my ZX Spectrum.
They always used to break for us, and we'd have to go back to the trusty Competition Pro:
Mine always misalign after a while, so that I can't get input when I push the stick forward.
I just ordered a sega master system controller, should be fully compatible.
The Competition Pro is great :)
The Competition Pro is great :)
It truly is. Also, IF those micro switches for the buttons ever broke, you could easily replace them.
That statement kinda works with every tech from that era, no?
Now that you mention it ...
And those devices came with service/repair manuals as well, what fuses are used, what capacity the capacitors have, ... Unthinkable nowadays
I just ordered a sega master system controller, should be fully compatible.
I would avoid using a Sega gamepad with a Commodore computer. 1. the pinouts are different, especially where the +5V line is. 2. Master System controllers have pull-up resistors, where Atari standard controllers just leave pins floating. This can screw with the keyboard. Apparently some controllers use active circuitry which require the +5V line. I have even heard of them borking the CIA chip in the Commodore.
My advice would be to get a proper controller that has internal microswitches rather than the cheaper contacts that wear out.
Mhm so you know a gamepad that's fully compatible with the ç64? Playing jump and runs with a joystick just feels so utterly wrong.
Off the top of my head I don't.
I thought this only applied to Mega Drive/Genesis controllers, as many two-button joysticks back in the day were advertised as compatible with "Atari, Commodore, and Sega".
I opened my Master System controller (Model 3020) and verified that there are no resistors or components, and the Sega's +5V pin (pin 5), and the C64's +5V pin (pin 7) ~~are the two wires that are not connected to anything~~ do not even have pins or wires in the cable. So this particular pad is safe. Other pads may be wired differently!
Then I see no reason that shouldn't work. It may be Mega Drive/Genesis controllers I'm thinking of.
Even among old microcomputer joysticks you have to keep an eye out, I think those made for Sinclair and/or Amstrad were also pinned differently.
Agreed, cheap DB-9 used for all kinds of different connections. I used this site for info: https://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/DB9-Joystick
In the US, Sinclair and Amstrad seem to be rare. We do have the problem where Master System was uncommon but Genesis was massively popular, so many people refer to the Genesis as "the Sega". You can't say, "Sega controllers are OK for C64" with Master System implied, because someone will use a Genesis pad and blow up the CIA when pad buttons and keyboard keys are pressed at the same time.
I'm reaching back a little before my time but I believe some Sinclair microcomputers were imported to the US under the Timex brand, but between the popularity of Japanese video game consoles and the domestic market of Atari, Commodore, Apple, Tandy and IBM, European microcomputers weren't that popular.
You're right. I got a "Timex Sinclair 1000" at a garage sale, it's a 2KB modified ZX81. The other manufacturers you mention had more software available, and Commodore often played dirty.
I'm tempted to replace the TS1000's failing keyboard with one of those new ones with tact switches, but that's a bit of an investment for what would sit on the shelf anyway. My C64 at least still gets played and demoscene stuff showed off!
Sure it may be great, but for jump and guns/runs? Feels rather awkward:/
It's a classic joystick, and works fine. I was being hyperbolic purely in the name of nostalgia. :)
I see :)
LOAD “JUMPMAN”,8,1
Giana Sisters was a great game!
Yes :)
Play some M.U.L.E. for me
instinctively starts headbanging to the rad soundtrack
I will certainly put it on the list :)
🥲 Memmmmmmmmmories…
That's mostly the reason why I gathered the pieces :)
"Mission accomplished... Congratulations!"
Oh damn I remember those keyboards, I remember my friend absolutely pounding on one like Chick Corea on a meth rage... Didn't even affect it
I can here your monitor
Yeah me too, that is after I figured out that the volume control is the wrong way e.g. turning it anticlockwise increase the volume while turning it clockwise reduces the volume:D
ha cool
Could we get a closer look at that keyboard/terminal? I've been thinking about picking one up to toy with lately
Sure thing.
What are you mostly interested in about it?
Mostly the triple usage of each button, I find that concept super fascinating. I know we've kept some of it with the modifier keys but it's not the same lol
Edit to add: Thank you for the picture! I gotta go poke around the docs for this bad boy a bit to glean some more info off those buttons
One interesting fact about that board is that the shift lock actually locks in place once you pressed it and springs back up on the second press.
I always preferred the C64C style keyboard where the graphics characters were in the top of the keycaps. This is my C64G (old breadbin style chassis but with C64C style colouring and keycaps):
Quick summary: You get the left graphics character with the Commodore key (bottom left corner), and the right character with Shift key. By pressing Commodore+Shift, you swap between upper case + graphics characters mode and the upper case + lower case mode, applying to the entire screen (so you can't actually use the right graphics characters in that mode).
Fun thing: To switch to another text colour you press Ctrl + number keys, with 8 colours available there, just as in the VIC-20. However, there's also another set of colours available with Commodore + number keys, for another 8 colours. I guess with Jack Tramiel's penny pinching, they didn't bother to mark those on the keys when making the next gen system.
i think its quadriple usage if you include upper case and lower case letters with shift. the graphix alternatives i believe used the commodore key + shift.
poke 646, peek 162
Quint, because some of the keys double up as joystick buttons.
