Apple II Joystick

Ok, I know. My Apple II fetish is getting out of control... I can stop whenever I want you know!

A little while back I put up the plans for an Atari to Apple II joystick adaptor, which sadly doesn't work! As I can't seem to work out why and I still want a joystick for my Apple II's I guess I'll have to do it Apple's way...

As usual joysticks for these machines are hard to come by, expensive, and IMO look like they should be cr*p to use. So here goes:


The above piccie should be regarded as my initial musings:
-I personally prefer joypads to sticks, hence the layout
-Two tact switches for buttons
-A PSP1000 nub for the analogue stick

The design should work as-is, but my intention is to make a replacement PCB for a commonly available joypad shell, and so the dimensions will end up being tweaked. Currently I'm leaning toward using a SNES shell as land-fills are full of them and they are about the right colour / aesthetic. Having said that I'm open to suggestions, I've no idea what to do with all the extra buttons on a SNES pad.

the only Apple II joysticks I ever liked were the Kraft ones... (partly because I am left-handed and they were always easier to use)

forgive the onslaught of issues (sorry) -

snes or nes?

how will you fit the analog stick through the snes pad face

will the stick still need centering controls

do you intend to support the unused buttons with glue or all buttons with the same function

why choose a psp controller instead of an X360's longer analogue stick, my sense is the psp's nub may be less tactile especially due to the short stick and self centering.

dont forget I have a apple2 joystick ready for you at the amibay meet.

Thanks Iain, feedback and suggestions always welcome
In reverse order:
-I had forgotten, oops, but thanks very much I really appreciate it.
-PSP controller for no better reason than I've used them before, and they are cheap. An X360's stick wouldn't be a problem.
-I've no idea what I'll do with the unused buttons beyond tying them together. I'm considering a NES shell instead of a SNES as there are fewer buttons, although something simple / available with a DB9 plug on it would be better
-Yep, pots for centring included.
-It remains to be seen how an analogue stick / nub will fit. With a PSP nub my hope is the top will be large enough to hide much of the empty space left by the removed digital pad. With a larger stick (like an X360) I suspect the hole will need to be cut to accommodate. Part of the reason for my leaning to the former is my hope that minimum mods will be needed.

PS
In the subject of buttons there's always the IIe's numpad header... thoughts?

i wonder if there's any nes pcb's available, to nick the dimensions etc?

btw I saw this a few weeks ago - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Joystick-for-APPLE-II-e-c-and-IIGS-compatible-/282645575066

Funny you should mention...

I just just bought a NES pad off fleaBay (waiting) to have the PCB out of it and do some general measurements. I also bought a serial patch cable as that seems the cheapest / easiest way to get a cable with a DB9 on it. (let's hope all the pins are actually connected!)

I saw that eBay listing too, I have to admit it's what spurred me on the have a go. Considering we're talking Apple kit a nice price, but most of the fun for me is in the making and I hope to end up with something easy to replicate and nice in the hand.

On the subject of fun building I've been putting together a refurbished / upgraded Euro IIe as a duplicate of my Platinum IIe set-up, with an eye to selling. A nice system for someone and a fun way to help finance my hobby... at least that was the plan. I've ended up putting far too much effort in to it - I just hope I break even!

Update:
I got a NES controller in the post today, took some measurements and the following should be a drop-in replacement PCB:



I'll need to print out a template and re-measure once components are placed but all being well this should be a nice 'n easy way to make a proper Apple II compatible analogue pad. Assuming my measurements are good I even found a way of incorporating trim-pots for X & Y without any plastic cutting. If the controller nub is pushed to one side the trim screws can be revealed through the old cut-out for 'up' and 'right'...
...for want of a better plan the 'A' and 'B' buttons are duplicated for 'start'and 'select', but could just as easily be omitted. I guess if the above plan doesn't work those holes could be used for trim-pot access.

You're too kind.

Assuming I got my measurements right I think this is the version I'll go with:



Trim pots hiding under the stick? Stupid idea... moved under the basically redundant select and start button holes. S0 and S1 buttons swapped and a bit of explanation scattered over the board.

Another day, another update:



Well, it's actually been sunny today... out on the skateboard. Home to see how close my measurements were by doing the old 'hold up a printout of the design against the original PCB and let the sun shine through' trick. Not too far off, but no cigar. The above version is post fiddling the fit and re-printing a couple of times to check. Time to call this v1.0 and send another order off to Seeed - they're doing good business out of me ATM!

I guess it should be noted that while this board should be a drop-in for the NES controller I've got, a good knock-off, I see there's a few board versions floating around and further cutting may be required for some. Regardless all the buttons should line up and I've tried to keep traces away from areas that my need chopping. Also as I'm using tact-switches for the A & B buttons (I like tact switches) it remains to be seen if that will require further massaging of the fit...

...If this design proves popular with anyone other than myself there may be options:
-Replace the tact-switches with PCB traces for a more 'authentic' if crappier fit and feel
-Make a better thumb-stick mounting solution than just gluing the b*gger down - fine for a PSP nub but a 360 stick may need holes drilling ATM

-Maybe, maybe do a digital board for the full 'stealth' appeal... having said that my Apple2Atari adaptor doesn't work and I still can't work out why!