Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!rutgers!clyde!cbosgd!gwspc!cbcsta!n8emr!oink!jep
From: jep@oink.UUCP (James E. Prior)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: Joy Stick for 6300+ - info request
Message-ID: <213@oink.UUCP>
Date: 30 Dec 87 03:15:21 GMT
References: <260@tsc.DEC.COM> <3496@whuts.UUCP>
Reply-To: jep@oink.UUCP (James E. Prior)
Organization: Random Prime Research Institute  Columbus, Ohio
Lines: 22

In article <260@tsc.DEC.COM>, pete@tsc.DEC.COM (Pete Schmitt) writes:
> Has anyone ever connected a joystick to a 6300+?  Is there one that
> connects to the mouse port on the keyboard, or do you need to
> connect it to the COM1 port on the back of the machine??

Trackballs and rodents interface via special boards, serial ports, and
rarely keyboards.

Joysticks are a different matter.  They interface through a game controller
port.  As a separate board, it goes for about $39.95 from IBM no less.
It is often included on multifunction I/O boards.  The key term in
IBM parlance is "game controller".

For hardware hackers:  The interface in very crude.  The pots of the
joystick complete the RC part a a quad 555 timer chip.  Four timers
can handle 4 pots which can handle two (not one) joystick.  The timer
outputs are available by a simple parallel port along the button states.
The whole mess is polled.

I've never seen joystick drivers by themselves.  The've always been
part of any program that could use a joystick.
-- 
Jim Prior    jep@oink.UUCP    {ihnp4|cbosgd}!n8emr!oink!jep