hansel@amy.uucp (Steve Hansel) (09/15/89)
The following is a letter that I received from sm.luth.se!d89-ahg (Anders Hedberg). The letter is in response to my comment about it not being good to disconnect power and ground from a circuit (the mouse or joystick) without also disconnecting the other signal lines. ] Hello! I have seen this discussion for a while but I haven't been able to ] write this to the newsgroup. ] I've built a switchbox that disconnects the power and ground lines to the ] mouse when I wanna use the joystick, and it has worked over 9 months by ] now. ] Any questions? Email me! ] Please write the above in the newsgroup! Comment it with some warnings ] if you want to... ] mvh Anders Hedberg No warnings - You could very well get away with this. Personally I don't think it's worth the risk. Steve usc.edu!amy!hansel gryphon.com!amy!hansel
andrew@aucis.UUCP (Andrew Gillham) (09/20/89)
A friend of mine is trying to build a switchbox to switch the mouse and Joystick on port 1. He is having trouble and I wonder if anyone knows exactly what lines need to be switched? (other than all, of course) thanks!! -Andrew -- Andrew Gillham | andrew%aucis.uucp@mailgw.cc.umich.edu or Andrews University | sharkey!aucis!andrew Berrien Springs, MI. USA! | Signature? Who said I could write?
kevin@cbmvax.UUCP (Kevin Klop) (09/20/89)
In article <508@aucis.UUCP> andrew@aucis.UUCP (Andrew Gillham) writes: >A friend of mine is trying to build a switchbox to switch the mouse and >Joystick on port 1. > >He is having trouble and I wonder if anyone knows exactly what lines need >to be switched? (other than all, of course) > >thanks!! > >-Andrew Okay, for a microswitch joystick/mouse, here are the lines that need to be switched: Pin Meaning on Joystick 1 Forward 2 Back 3 Left 4 Right (All other pins should go to BOTH devices) (The other pins used are Pin 6 [Button 1 for mouse and Joystick], Pin 7 [+5 Volt], Pin 8 [Ground], Pin 9 [Button 2]) For an analog joystick, Pin Meaning on Joystick 3 Button 1 4 Button 2 5 POT X 9 POT Y All other bins should go to both devices. (Taken from the Hardware Reference manual page 8-8) -- Kevin -- ----- Kevin Klop {uunet|rutgers|amiga}!cbmvax!kevin Commodore-Amiga, Inc. The number, 111-111-1111 has been changed. The new number is: 134-253-2452-243556-678893-3567875645434-4456789432576-385972 Disclaimer: _I_ don't know what I said, much less my employer.
blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner) (09/21/89)
From article <7955@cbmvax.UUCP>, by kevin@cbmvax.UUCP (Kevin Klop): > In article <508@aucis.UUCP> andrew@aucis.UUCP (Andrew Gillham) writes: >>A friend of mine is trying to build a switchbox to switch the mouse and >>Joystick on port 1. > [Lots of pinouts deleted.] What about just switching power and ground? Since the joystick switches are all wired from their output to ground, opening the ground lead will completely disable it. The mouse requires both power and ground, so opening those two will disable it. There is one possible problem with this idea though. Does an unpowered mouse put enough drain on any of the lines to activate them? Since a DPDT (double-pole, double-throw) switch is cheap, it might be worth a try. But what I'd really suggest is buying a DB-9 switchbox. A number of places that advertize in Computer Shopper sell them, some quite cheaply too. -- Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland 580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108 Here: utah-cs!esunix!blgardne {ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne There: uunet!iconsys!caeco!i-core!worsel!blaine (My Amiga running uucp) "Nobody will ever need more than 64K." "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."
FelineGrace@cup.portal.com (Dana B Bourgeois) (09/24/89)
Here is a similar problem. I have my A1000 stuck in a rather tight location and need several right angle DB2 plugs(like the mouse). Anybody know a source for the housings? I can get about 4 styles of straight housings and solder cup plugs are easy to find but I haven't seen ANY right angle housings for DB connectors of ANY size. I could just make a mold and pot the thing but would prefer to use a commercial housing. Dana FelineGrace @ cup.portal.com
mikef@hpspdra.HP.COM (Mike Fischer) (09/28/89)
The need for tight right angle DB-9 connectors (like on the mouse) can be met with the IDC (insulation displacement connectors) version that is used with ribbon cable. Some styles of these have a clearance height that is about the same as the mouse connector. Just buy a male and female pair, and some ribbon cable, and make up an extension cable of whatever length is convenient. I checked the 1989 Radio Shack catalog, and they don't list the particular connector that I'm referring to, but that catalog is a full year old, and they might stock these now. Otherwise any industrial electronics parts place ought to have them, they are popular. Part numbers that should work are: TRW/Cinch FC-9P and FC-9S, or equivalents from other vendors. -- Mike Fischer mikef%hpspd@hplabs.hp.com *!hplabs!hpspdra!mikef
hansel@amy.uucp (Steve Hansel) (09/30/89)
In article 1539@esunix.UUCP Blaine Gardner writes: > >From article <7955@cbmvax.UUCP>, by kevin@cbmvax.UUCP (Kevin Klop): >> In article <508@aucis.UUCP> andrew@aucis.UUCP (Andrew Gillham) writes: >>>A friend of mine is trying to build a switchbox to switch the mouse and >>>Joystick on port 1. >> [Lots of pinouts deleted.] > >What about just switching power and ground? Since the joystick switches >are all wired from their output to ground, opening the ground lead will >completely disable it. The mouse requires both power and ground, so >opening those two will disable it. Disconnecting power or ground from only part of a circuit is generally a bad thing to do. The unpowered section of the circuit usually 'tries' to get power through other connections to the live part of the circuit. When this happens high amounts of current can go through inputs or outputs and burn out the circuit. Steve