Joysticks

[Andy]

It's a long time since I flew on a flight simulator with my Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback joystick and I fancied having a go today.

I got the stick out of the loft but found that there's nowhere to fit it into this newish computer.

The motherboard has onboard sound so there's no gameport. (it's an ASUS P4S800).

Can I get some kind of adapter? Is my old joystick so out-of-date it's useless?

thanks for any help!

Andy

[Dennis]

A friend of mine recently had this same problem and broke down and bought a new joystick... but:

Some companies do make Gameport->USB adapters for this purpose; they can be difficult to find, and I know of no testament to their reliability (esp where force-feedback would be supported). They also make serial and parallel game port adapters, but the same disclaimers apply (perhaps even moreso).

If you have the available slots and aren't married to your on-board sound, you could pick up a low-end sound card (perhaps for as much as or a little more than the purchase price of an adapter???). This seems to be a safer bet for a working solution, but still seems a tad silly (buying a new sound card so you can use your joystick...).

Or, just build your own!

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/pc_circuits.html
:D

EDIT: Linky: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=gameport+usb+adapter&btnG=Search. As you can see, there are a few of 'em out there, but I couldn't vouch for them...

Also, Belkin apparently makes/made one for your particular stick
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000067RIV/qid=1108559630/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3012120-9506258?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846
bt I was hard-pressed to find it on their site

Good luck

[Andy]

Hi Dennis,

I might get another sound card since that will probably be cheaper and more reliable(?) than an adapter.

Many thanks,

Andy