New joystick (or build one) for Atari 800

Question

I recently got hold of an old Atari 800 and some peripherals. Thanks to the answers to this question: How to clean (or prep) Atari 800 or any old computer

I have it cleaned up and am using it. One immediate problem I see is that I only have one joystick. Can someone tell me how to buy or adapt something for use as an Atari 800 joystick? I suspect the one I have will give out at some point (it's very old). Plus a second controller would be nice. I'm not interested in a pristine original joystick particularly. If there are plans around on what the configuration is (pin outs, etc.), I'm up for building something or adapting something. Perhaps there is a dedicated vintage Atari group where this is better asked? Thanks

Answer 1

You can still buy replicas of the famous Competition Pro joystick (search on Amazon, for example), albeit with a modern USB interface. These need to be "de-modernized" to use with a retro computer, which is, however, pretty simple (connect the cables directly to the microswitches, and fit a DE-9 [commonly known as DB-9, the joystick ports] to it). You can even leave the original USB cable intact to be able to use it with a modern PC.

Another way to build a proper joystick is to use a joystick kit intended for the RetroPie set of arcade replicas - These also come with a USB interface but can be modded to expose the switch contacts directly on the DE-9. You also need to build a simple case to house everything.

You can also every now and then find China-made replicas of the original Atari 2600 joysticks on eBay, that should be a "plug in and go". These replicas are, however, known to break easily and not as sturdy as the originals.

Other than that, you can still sometimes find original 80ies joysticks used from eBay - Those very probably have been used for 25+ years, however, and are sometimes of dubious quality.

Note that even if the connectors for joysticks are typically DE-9, every vendor developed their own ideas for the pinout - you need to carefully check the wiring before connecting a new joystick.

Answer 2

While you can still get 1980s-vintage joysticks, some of the PVC cable sheathing is beginning to de-plasticize with age, so the cable can effectively fall off. Before I realized they were basically unreplaceable, I threw out three Konix sticks that had that problem …

Building your own isn't hard, though. I made a ridiculously over-engineered box out of 6 mm birch ply, and installed a Sanwa-compatible arcade joystick and two arcade buttons. I wired it all together with a terminal block leading to 8-way stranded cable with a DE-9 (DB-9) Female Socket Connector on the end. Not counting design time, it cost less than buying a NOS 80s joystick, and it's solid enough to outlive me.