Gaming Hacks

Use Atari Paddles with Your PC

Use a proper controller for the right games.

If you remember the original Atari 2600 hardware, you likely have fond (or not so fond) memories of the paddle input device. Instead of using a joystick for Breakout-like games, you turned a paddle left or right. Some games play much better this way.

Fortunately, enterprising hackers have sorted out hardware, drivers, and relevant emulator software to make Atari paddle controllers work on the PC, so you can play classic reissues of Atari 2600 games on modern hardware with the original controls. Some emulators even recognize and take advantage of the special analog properties of the paddle controller.

Finding a 2600 Paddle Controller

How do you find original paddle controllers? You might try your local thrift store—classic consoles and computers appear with alacrity. Otherwise, eBay comes to the rescue again; there are several auctions at any given time that offer a pair of paddles for $5 to $10 plus shipping.

De-Jitter Your Paddles

Try to pick an auction that clearly says that the paddles are jitter-free. Atari 2600 paddles suffer from an infamous jitter effect after constant hardware use. Unfortunately, the use of WD-40 or similar lubricants will fix your paddle in the short term, but will also end up making it gunkier (in a scientific sense) in the long term.

Of course, if you don’t play often or you think you can beat the odds, constant WD-40 squirtage may do the trick. Some sites are vehemently against it, however, so the proper way to fix a jitter-tastic Atari 2600 paddle is to follow the Atari Guide site’s guide to taking it apart and soaking all the goop out (http://www.atariguide.com/help/care.htm). You need to follow the somewhat complex web site instructions to complete disassembly, but there are some particularly important points to note:

Remove the knob carefully

Pull the paddle knob straight up; don’t pry it up with a screwdriver or lever. If the knob comes off at an angle, it’ll break the potentiometer.

Handle the potentiometer with care

When it comes time to disassemble the potentiometer itself, don’t bend the tabs holding it in place too much. If they break off, you’re in real trouble.

Swab gently

Use a lint-free cloth you don’t mind ruining to soak up all the liquid you can from inside the potentiometer. Try not to snag the cloth on the sharp bits inside lest you ruin its delicate mechanics.

There are three ways to use an Atari 2600 paddle on a PC: the hard way, the easier way, and the easiest way.

Atari 2600 Paddle to Joystick Port Adapter

If you play 2600 games on your PC, you might use the excellent Atari 2600 emulator Stella ( [Hack #3] ). The Stella user’s guide explains how to build your own 2600 paddle to PC adapter (http://stella.sourceforge.net/docs/stella.html#Adaptor) using common electronics components found at Radio Shack. The site says it’ll work with the DOS and Linux versions of Stella automatically. You’ll need to be handy reading schematics and soldering—and beware of the disclaimer that you may short out your hardware—but several people have reported success in using classic controllers with emulators.

Before you start, you’ll need a 15-pin joystick/MIDI connector on the PC end. Many sound cards such as the SoundBlaster Live (http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sblive/specs.asp) include them. Other hardware includes two DB9 male connector ports for the paddles to plug into on one end and a DB15 male connector to plug into your PC on the other. You’ll also need four 115k resistors and plenty of wire to wire everything up. See Figure 1-5 for the schematic.

Figure 1-5. The Atari paddle schematic

On the left controller connector, connect port 3 to port 2 on the PC game connector, port 4 to port 7, port 5 to port 6, port 7 to port 1, port 8 to port 4, and port 9 to port 3.

On the right controller connector, connect port 3 to port 10 on the PC game connector, port 4 to port 14, port 5 to port 13, port 7 to port 9, port 8 to port 5, and port 9 to port 11.

You should end up with six wires from each controller connecting to the game connector. Be very careful that you don’t short out the +5V and GND connections with sloppy soldering, because you’re liable to blow your PC game port, the paddle controllers, or if you’re very unlucky, your whole PC.

For each controller, solder one 115k resistor between the wires coming from controller ports 5 and 7 and another between the wires coming from controller ports 7 and 9.

You can cut up a joystick extension cable for the PC instead of using a standalone DB15 connector, much like the Xbox extension cable in [Hack #37] . This may be even easier, if you can find one cheap on eBay or at an online computer retailer.

Atari 2600 to USB Stelladaptor with z26 Emulator

Here’s the bad news. You can be all macho and mess with 15-pin joystick controllers and lots of solder and resistors, but in 2004, the excellent Pixels Past released a Stelladaptor 2600 to USB interface for Mac, Windows, and Linux. This device works perfectly with the paddle controllers using the z26 (http://www.whimsey.com/z26/z26.html) Atari 2600 emulator, which has built-in support.

This is the real deal, and for only $30 it’s a decent value, too. It also works with Atari 2600 joysticks and driving controllers, though it’s worth reading the caveat regarding compatibility:

Stelladaptor will work with any emulators that support standard USB controllers. Paddle controllers will only work in emulators that allow configuration of analog USB controllers (such as MAME32 and MacMAME), or emulators that have been updated to directly support the Stelladaptor (such as z26).

If you’d like a second opinion, the Back N Time site’s Stelladaptor review (http://www.backntime.net/Hardware/Stelladaptor/FrameSA.html) is very positive, though they do point out that you need one adapter for each controller you connect to your PC. You’ll need two Stelladaptors to play two-player games.

JAKKS Atari Paddle Controller TV Game

If you think the Stelladaptor’s wimpy, then the JAKKS TV Game Atari 2600 paddle controllers are for cowards because you don’t need to buy original controllers or even own a PC. This software/hardware bundle, designed by retro master developers Digital Eclipse, should come out around the time this book goes to press. It apparently includes a great reproduction of 11 classic Atari 2600 paddle games within the controller and will cost between $20 and $30.

Unfortunately, the ever-gorgeous Kaboom! didn’t make it, but plenty of other classics did, including Circus Atari and Super Breakout. The whole thing is available in both one- and two-player variants, so it’s an easy way to get 2600 games running without digging out your own console. Rumor has it that this iteration is much better than the Atari 2600 joystick (see [Hack #9] ), which suffered from noticeable software issues.

In the end, whether you do it the hard, easier, or super-easy way, you can soon twiddle knobs to your heart’s content and praise the geniuses at Atari for classic early ’80s engineering feats.