Tomahawk/Pacman Joysticks and CPC 6128

[gaos74]

I talked via PM with with VincentGR and Gryzor about this subject.

I would like to thank them for their help and Gryzor suggested that I should open a thread.

I have the legendary Pacman joystick:



I had heard when I was a kid that it may fry the 6128 ( I had switched to Amiga when I purchased it).

Is this true?

I am awaiting my 6128 off ebay and would like to use it in case there is no danger.

[Ace]

I think the problem with the fried Amstrads, was with some metal joysticks with a second joystick port attached to the body. Back in the days I heard that one shouldn't touch the pins of that second port, or the CPC went goner, but I don't know exactly what was the failure, or the symptoms.

I have one of those though, a CMS one with a second port, as well as a Tomahawk one and I haven't encountered this kind of problems.

[pelrun]

Electrostatic discharge into the joystick port can really easily kill your CPC. If you touch the port pins when you've got a charge built up you'll send all that current into the AY soundchip, which also handles the keyboard.

It's very likely that a metal-cased joystick connects the case to what it thinks is a ground pin on the port. Unfortunately due to the way that Amstrad wired the port, there isn't a true ground pin available that could provide a safe discharge path for the ESD - all the pins go into the AY chip. So picking up the stick is the same risk as touching the port.

That said, there's no guarantee that a plastic joystick is safe either. I killed my 6128 back in the 80's by holding a connected plastic-cased joystick and touching the monitor glass (which was significantly charged at the time).

[amijim]

Just to sum up,is it safe to use the tomahawk joystick with amstrad considering no live plug into the joystick port?I just received my pair of anerousis joysticks since i had sold my original one back in 2003.

[Gryzor]

This went nowhere then?


I remember using those (the metal versions) with my 464/6128. Never had an 'incident'. However, I've heard since that indeed some are wired in such a way that they  may damage the CPC... Weird.

[Gryzor]

Incidentally, those *are* the best retro joysticks ever produced. It's such a shame they were only available in Greece; for decades the world was looking for 'arcade' controllers and we had them locally produced

[VincentGR]

Probably they should reverse the fire button.
We are the only one who have the stick on the right 

[Gryzor]

Never had a preference myself, always could work both configurations and never understood people who whined about the one or the other!

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

[VincentGR]

Although I can use both hands with keyboard games and left for joypads, can't do that with a joystick.

[VincentGR]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfmBbWFL2A&feature=youtu.be

[TotO]

In arcade, the stick is on left and buttonS on the right... I will never understand why (except Vectrex) those console joysticks are not properly designed.

[VincentGR]

It wasn't like that, at least here 95%
After the potentiometer and only buttons era, sticks were in the middle or right side.
They changed that to make games more difficult, that is what I red 

[Gryzor]

There's no 'proper' design. It's just how one is used to.