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Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 5:37 pm
by msknight
I'm looking to buy a joystick to play on the spand and I was wondering what wiring standard?
I'm looking at one shop and I have...
Atari
Amiga
C64
C128
Speccy
Sneccy Next
Amstrad
If anyone has any suggestions other than Retro Radionics... I'm all ears!
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:08 pm
by Lardo Boffin
I use a Suncom TAC-2 which I believe is just the Atari standard. I have used Atari 2600 joysticks in the past.
Sinclair used a weird wiring standard for the +2 onwards so don’t use one of those!
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:11 pm
by 1024MAK
Atari set the "standard" for joysticks that use switches and which use a 9 pin D connector.
Commodore 64 and Amiga use the same.
By Sinclair / Spectrum, that depends on if it's meaning for use with a joystick interface, which will be to the Atari "standard" or to Amstrad's bizarre rewired arrangement (as used on the +2 (grey), +2A (black), +2B (black) or +3) which is not compatible with anything...
I think the Next is Atari compatible, but have not checked.
Amstrad I presume means their CPC range.
The earlier ZXpand+ did not have a 9 pin D connector, instead it had a ten pin header, the details are
here 
Does your ZXpand+ have a 9 pin D connector? If yes, it is almost certainly wired to the Atari "standard" for pins 1 to 4 and pins 6 and 8. Pins 5, 7 and 9 may be used for other functions.
Mark
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:24 pm
by msknight
Yes, the spand does have 9 pin, but here's the trick with the pin out from the spand manual as opposed to what I'm looking at for Atari pinout. They're different.
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:56 pm
by 1024MAK
That ZXpand+ pin out is ONLY for the earlier boards with a ten pin header.
Mark
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:00 pm
by msknight
Cool. It was the only pin out I could see in the manual I have, so I determined it was the same. Good to know!
Thanks.
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:05 pm
by Lardo Boffin
My Spand+ has a trailing socket on a ribbon cable and that works fine with ‘Atari’ joysticks.
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:47 pm
by Spinnetti
both the "port on a cable" and the later ones with the db9 fixed to the board support the Atari style (I have both)
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:20 pm
by rmbrowngr
Is there some type of list with what games have zxpand+ joystick support? I guess it’ll be a short one?
Re: Which joystick for Spand?
Posted: Thu Feb 29, 2024 10:32 pm
by msknight
Revival Studios games did. As the zxpand+ is a little over ten years old and seems to have gained rapid popularity, then there's a fair chance that anything written after 2011 probably might have done.
I'm not sure if there is any, "mapping emulation," which maps joystick movements to keyboard presses. If there is, then it would make it backwards compatible with everything.