bruce@ektools.UUCP (Bruce D. Nelson) (08/02/88)
One of our user group members has been experiencing many problems with
his keyboard on a 1040ST. After sending the unit back to Atari (twice !)
he eagerly tried the machine when he got it back last week. When it didn't
work (you can imagine how he felt :-) he called Atari one more time.
He got to talk to one of the factory engineers who finally diagnosed the
problem. It turns out that some third-party joysticks (in this case, a
Pro-Line joystick), has connections to the "reserved" pins of the joystick/
mouse connector on the bottom of the keyboard. This problem will occur with
any bottom-mounted joystick ports like the 1040 or 520STFM.
You might want to file this piece of "trivia" in the back of your mind in
case you ever run up against a similar problem.
Bruce D. Nelson, President, Atari Computer Owners of Rochester, NY (ACORN)
a.k.a.
Bruce D. Nelson, Sr. Appl. Analyst: Software Maint., Tech. Support Svcs.
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, 901 Elmgrove Rd., Rochester, NY 14653, (716)726-7890
UUCP: {...}!rochester!kodak!ektools!brucepes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee) (08/04/88)
In article <1375@ektools.UUCP> bruce@ektools.UUCP (Bruce D. Nelson) writes: >... It turns out that some third-party joysticks (in this case, a >Pro-Line joystick), has connections to the "reserved" pins of the joystick/ >mouse connector on the bottom of the keyboard. This problem will occur with >any bottom-mounted joystick ports like the 1040 or 520STFM. It's not only 3rd-party joysticks, and not just bottom-mounted ports. I've had a problem with my 520ST (side ports, no builtin floppy, originally no TOS in ROM) for years, in that if I booted the machine with my **REAL** Atari brand joystick plugged into the second port, the keyboard would not work. Since I didn't have much joystick sortware, I simply left it unplugged until it was wanted. Finally, I got bored with that and opened up the joystick -- lo and behold, it had 'forbidden' connections as well. When I detached them and fiddled it back together, the problem was gone. If Atari can't make their own joysticks right, it's not surprising that the 3rd-party people have problems. (Admittedly, mine was the stick from an Atari 8-bit machine -- don't know about them but maybe they make use of the slightly different connection.)
towns@atari.UUCP (John Townsend) (08/06/88)
in article <2883@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk>, pes@ux63.bath.ac.uk (Smee) says: > If Atari can't make their own joysticks right, it's not surprising that the > 3rd-party people have problems. (Admittedly, mine was the stick from an > Atari 8-bit machine -- don't know about them but maybe they make use of the > slightly different connection.) Please, let's get the facts right here. The Proline joystick is made by Atari, however it is designed exclusively for use on the 7800 ProSystem. The extra joystick lines are used for a second trigger button and will confuse the ST's keyboard controller. Just wanted to clear the matter up... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Townsend Technical Support, Atari Corporation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------