Usiing my QuickShot Cobra in my PC

Hi all,

Can anyone help? I have downloaded Amiga Forever emulator (http://www.amigaforever.com/), and have been enjoying playing some old classics on my PC, but only using the keyboard. I'd love to be able to use my QuickShot Cobra (QS-130F), particularly for games like sensible soccer. I know the joystick still works fine. I have bought a USB adapter that means I can plug it into my PC, but I don't think it is recognising it properly. It comes up as an 'unspecified device' on my 'devices and printers' window. When I first plugged it in it seemed to download drivers from the internet automatically and I have also tried using the DVD drivers that came with the adapter cable, but without luck.

I run Windows 7.

Can anyone advise how I might be able to sort this out? Or if it is impossible, whether a normal PC USB joystick would work fine?

Thank you!

Robin

[clueless]

Hi there.

Which USB adapter? Post a link so we know which one. There are a few USB adapters available and they generally work well.

It is straightforward to use a PC usb controller, the emulator will recognise it as long as windows does.

Hi, thanks for the reply clueless.

Here is a link to the adapter I bought on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/USB-RS232-Co...o+r232+adapter

It's a cheap one. Do you think I need to buy a more expensive one...?

R

[roy bates]

i dont think thats going to work with your joystick.

[Toni Wilen]

That is 9-pin RS232 serial port to USB adapter, Amiga joysticks have same port but it is not serial port.

You need 9-pin Atari-type joystick to USB adapter.

[Jope]

You need something like this:
http://www.rastermania.be/product.php?id=240

[neil324]

I made one myself. And old USB gamepad. Taken apart circuit board cut down to a minimum. Placed inside a small black box with a 9 pin D-SUB male connector piggy backed onto the circuit board. All parts bought from Maplins. You can get the pin-out for 9 pin D-SUB of the internet.

[clueless]

Also available a bit cheaper

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Retro-bit-...item1e7b96f801

for £10 delivered, but might take a while to get here. I have one of those and its great.

[Jope]

That's not strictly the same one.. Better get the Atari one if you're going to use joysticks with it. Get the megadrive one if you're going to use megadrive pads.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Retro-bit-...item1e7b96fd4c

[Retro-Nerd]

Well, this Genesis/MD adapter works at least with one-button sticks perfectly too.

[clueless]

I have the genesis one. It works perfectly with one button amiga joysticks and has the added benefit of working with multibutton (both 3 and 6)megadrive pads as well. Best bit of kit I've bought.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

Well, this Genesis/MD adapter works at least with one-button sticks perfectly too.

Originally Posted by clueless

I have the genesis one. It works perfectly with one button amiga joysticks and has the added benefit of working with multibutton (both 3 and 6)megadrive pads as well. Best bit of kit I've bought.

Yep, just don't use autofire if you use an Atari stick with the Megadrive adapter.

There are two different adapters for a reason.

[clueless]

Originally Posted by Jope

Yep, just don't use autofire if you use an Atari stick with the Megadrive adapter.

Why not, what's the difference? Both my zipstick and comp pro megadrive autofires work fine. What will happen with an Atari autofire?

[Retro-Nerd]

You mean the actual autofire unit on the stick, e.g. the blue/chrome CP Star? Yep, you can't move then. Anyway, this is fixable with the "autofire (always)" option in WinUAE. Then you don't need the real autofire unit at all.

[Jope]

The zip stik [1] is an atari compatible stick.

The difference here is that on atari sticks the +5V supply is on pin 7 [2], and on the megadrive, pin 7 is a signal pin instead[3].

So you're driving the autofire circuit's Vcc with the megadrive adapter's pad duplex select signal instead of an actual power supply line (which would be on pin 5 for the megadrive).

Sure, it might work forever if you're lucky, but then again it might burn out the driver for that signal at the controller chip inside the USB adapter if you're unlucky. Then you can't use megadrive pads with the adapter any more.

The same reason why you shouldn't just plug in a megadrive pad into an Amiga unmodified. If the POTGO register has been configured to set pin 5 of the joystick port as an output with the value 1, you are driving the megadrive pad's power supply from a signal pin and you might fry the signal driver in your Paula.

To be safe, you should make an adapter that passes all other pins through but crosses 5 and 7, or modify the megadrive pad itself, by desoldering these two wires from the circuit board and reconnecting them in each other's place.

I've written about this too many times, but this time I actually took the time to do the research as to write down the actual reason why it is a bad idea.

[1] http://www.retrogames.co.uk/more/on/details/020662
[2] http://old.pinouts.ru/Inputs/AmigaMouseJoy_pinout.shtml
[3] http://pinouts.ru/Game/genesiscontroller_pinout.shtml

Thank you all for your help.

I've gone for one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Retro-bit-...item1e7b96fd4c

It will take a few weeks to arrive but looks the best bit. I'm assuming that I can plug two joysticks into the two 9 pin ports and use both at the same time for 2 player games.

Thanks again - very useful.

Robin

[clueless]

Thanks Jope, I appreciate the effort.