Review: Retro-bit USB 9-pin joystick/controller adapter

clueless

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AmiBayer
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Spotted this on Ebay a little while ago, and at the price (BIN $12.95) couldn't resist. It arrived from the US today.
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I have always wanted to use my original joysticks under emulation, but the price of adapters have always put me off a little, so this seemed to fit the bill nicely.

It is available as an Atari adapter or Mega Drive adapter, although I assume there is no difference between them. I opted for the Mega Drive one.

I can't fault it. 2 ports, nicely made and appeared under WinUAE no problem. No setting up or fiddling about. Plugged my Zipstik in and was playing straight away. I experienced no lag.

So it seems to be a great, cost effective solution for getting those old joysticks working with your preferred emulators.

:)
 
Nice find Craig, I might grab one (y)
 
yep very nice:)

i use a Keyrah to do the same thing, it does make a difference using an original controller
 
That looks pretty sweet, thanks for posting about it. :)
 
Thanks for sharing! Ordered one also. (y)
 
Received mine yesterday. Works like a charm. (y) Absolutely no lag in Vice. Definitely a better alternative to the USB Prof Competition.

I wonder if the analog lines are connected too? With a simple Y-split adapter you could attach a legacy PC joystick into it.
 
I like the coloured DB9 Connectors... It is nice to see. :)


Cheers,
Oge
 
Interested too but should i take the Atari or SEGA version for WinUAE?
 
Could you guys list a few emulators these adapters work with?
And what you had connected to them when testing.

I'm guessing they present themselves as some generic USB HID device?

I'm not really asking for myself but some newer retro guys at another forum who seem very sceptical about these things.
 
I got no anwser to my previous question but i bought the SEGA one.
It is recognized on my Win 7 laptop as SEGA USB device (with a gamepad icon) but i haven't tried it with anythiong so far.
 
I've tested it working in VICE with a Switch Joy connected to it.
 
Thanks for the heads-up about this item. I'm going to order the Mega Drive version to leave options open for using multi button controllers.

I have a Retrode which I use for MD/Atari/Amiga (and SNES) controllers, but this capable looks more hard wearing for carrying places.
 
Anyone tried these with 6 button Megadrive pads? :unsure:
 
Sorry guys, missed that there were a few comments and questions

Anyone tried these with 6 button Megadrive pads? :unsure:

Yep, just tried street fighter 2 on Fusion and it works fine, appears in the controller options, just set it to 6 button

Clueless: how much did you paid with shipping?
Just under £13 from the ebay link in the first post

Could you guys list a few emulators these adapters work with?
And what you had connected to them when testing.

I'm guessing they present themselves as some generic USB HID device?

Using my laptop on win Vista, appears as GENESIS controller USB 1 or 2. Used a zipstik and a genuine sega 6 button pad.

Works with
Winuae
Thecompany exe's
Fusion

Also works as a straightforward USB controller in windows, when defining keys the buttons appear as

A-1
B-2
C-3
X-4
Y-5
Z-6
Start-7
Mode-8

Cant think of anything else I can add. - It works a treat!
 
Yep, zipstik autofire and comp pro turbo buttons work.
 
Finally got round to getting one of these and all seems great when used on my 2 ZipSticks (yellow and purple) (y) However on my blue and silver Competition Pro 5000 neither the auto fire or the slow motion work :huh: Is it going to quick to be detected??? All testing has been done on my Win7 setup using WinUAE. I can confirm that my CompPro works 100% when running on my A4000D.
 
So, believe it or not this is the first time I'm trying to do multi-player with my adapter.
It's the GENESIS version and on my Mac it shows as one device with two sets of X/Y axes and two buttons.

What's the best way to set up the two joysticks in E-UAE or FS-EAE?

None of the default options let me use both.
 
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