9 pin joystick to usb adapter

Associate
Joined
29 Aug 2007
Posts
424
Location
Leigh-On-Sea, Essex
I have a couple of the Daemonbite usb/commodore adaptors and they are excellent and add minimal lag. You can build them yourself using the instructions on his github or find a seller that has them pre-built. I bought mine direct from the creator but they have been out of stock for quite a long time on his website.

https://github.com/MickGyver/DaemonBite-Retro-Controllers-USB

I've heard good things about Monster Joysticks though so maybe worth checking out.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
I have a couple of the Daemonbite usb/commodore adaptors and they are excellent and add minimal lag. You can build them yourself using the instructions on his github or find a seller that has them pre-built. I bought mine direct from the creator but they have been out of stock for quite a long time on his website.

https://github.com/MickGyver/DaemonBite-Retro-Controllers-USB

I've heard good things about Monster Joysticks though so maybe worth checking out.
Thanks. I did see this adapter but as you say its out of stock - https://www.daemonbite.com/product/sega-genesis-mega-drive-controller-to-usb-adapter/

I (think) i'm also right saying that this type of adapter for Megadrive 9 pin wouldnt work with 'standard' 9 pin joysticks and gamepads.
Year ago I read the port internals are slightly different on megadrive which is probably why when I tried connecting a friends megadrive gamepads to my Amiga in the 90s, they didnt work and vise-versa my joystick woudlnt work on a Megadrive.

I've purcahsed one of the monster joystick adapters
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
I don't know if this does what you're looking for but I'll throw it out there anyway.

https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/db9joy_usb_v2/index.php
Thanks, looks similar but in a more official case for £25 delivered instead of £15 from Monster joysticks. It would be nice to see a single USB to 2x 9 pin connectivity. Instead of having to buy something additionally like a multitap or another USB to 9 pin adapter.
This look like it might do the job, but out of stock - https://monsterjoysticks.com/retro-joystick-cpc-adapter
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
I have 2 Microsoft sidewinder gamepads that use gameport. Was wondering if i could use arduino to interface the pads to usb and use them on modern os?
Why do you need arduino? ...

9JFSyxph.jpg

x6gb8swh.jpg

Fdt4mCvh.jpg

Fully working XY axis, Z rotation, slider, 8 way hat and all buttons on Win10
QCzeq8Eh.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2005
Posts
19,556
Location
Midlands
would that work for the gamepad i have too

sidewinder.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2005
Posts
19,556
Location
Midlands
hmm. thing is i already have the arduino and i got 2 pads. so was wondering if i could have made an interface box where the gamepads plug into and then have a usb output on one side. will have to think about this.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
hmm. thing is i already have the arduino and i got 2 pads. so was wondering if i could have made an interface box where the gamepads plug into and then have a usb output on one side. will have to think about this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SideWinder

"Microsoft Game port to USB Adapter. Packaged with Freestyle Pro, Precision Pro, and PP2. Never sold separate."

So it works with my Precision Pro because it also has USB interface (digital interface) but did not work with my older Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro which looked identical as this was analogue.

It also worked with my Microsoft SideWinder Freestyle Pro

Sidewinder gamepad is digital mode only, no pure DOS. I expect the USB adapter would work but one was not included for some reason.

See 22:09. This looks like an arduino adapter, so yes to answer your question Was wondering if i could use arduino to interface the pads to usb and use them on modern os? it will work

 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
FYI the Monster joysticks adapter arrived and is so far working great with Amiga joysticks and Megadrive pads (Zipstik, Megadrive 3 button, Competition pro 6 button)
 
Associate
Joined
16 Apr 2022
Posts
6
Location
Birmingham
Hi everyone,
I had an account which I believe was RedDwarf but I have been unable to recover the account so I have had to make a new account. I can no longer access the email address now because they no longer seem to provide email addresses.

I am interested in DB9 to USB adapters and I have seen a number of different types. There are two which have 2 DB9 connectors and are available for a reasonable price on eBay. One is German and another is from Cambridge. Information on the German one is a bit limited and I can only find one Greek YouTube review which is very poor. It has two DB9 ports and one USB-B port, so it requires a USB-B cable which is my preferred method of connecting. The other one from Cambridge has a fixed cable to the computer and I usually avoid such connecting methods because the cable cannot be easily replaced or different cable lengths accommodated. It is supposed to support 2 fire buttons with gamepads.

€ 33.18 + €5.55 del - ~£27.41 + £4.58
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324049118889
Same item from the UK, Sintech. UK Ltd but works out at a slightly higher price. Currently OOS. £34.99 free del.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324777491341
Same item again from RetroLemon @£30.95 which I have just got from my bookmarks and noticed the lower price :)
https://retrolemon.co.uk/cables/143-usb-adapter-for-db9-joysticks.html

£34.99 + £4.95 del
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184713929096
Does anyone have any experience with either of these devices? Latency and how well they work?

Some others, most of which are single DB9>
http://www.2600-daptor.com/2600-daptor D9.htm
https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/db9joy_usb_v2/index.php
https://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=21
The cheapest of the lot @£9.99+del or £12.99 + del cased
https://monsterjoysticks.com/9-pin-joystick-to-usb-adapter
By far the most expensive but does seem to support 4 devices>
https://bliss-box.net/
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
Hi everyone,
I had an account which I believe was RedDwarf but I have been unable to recover the account so I have had to make a new account. I can no longer access the email address now because they no longer seem to provide email addresses.

I am interested in DB9 to USB adapters and I have seen a number of different types. There are two which have 2 DB9 connectors and are available for a reasonable price on eBay. One is German and another is from Cambridge. Information on the German one is a bit limited and I can only find one Greek YouTube review which is very poor. It has two DB9 ports and one USB-B port, so it requires a USB-B cable which is my preferred method of connecting. The other one from Cambridge has a fixed cable to the computer and I usually avoid such connecting methods because the cable cannot be easily replaced or different cable lengths accommodated. It is supposed to support 2 fire buttons with gamepads.

€ 33.18 + €5.55 del - ~£27.41 + £4.58
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324049118889
Same item from the UK, Sintech. UK Ltd but works out at a slightly higher price. Currently OOS. £34.99 free del.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324777491341
Same item again from RetroLemon @£30.95 which I have just got from my bookmarks and noticed the lower price :)
https://retrolemon.co.uk/cables/143-usb-adapter-for-db9-joysticks.html

£34.99 + £4.95 del
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184713929096
Does anyone have any experience with either of these devices? Latency and how well they work?

Some others, most of which are single DB9>
http://www.2600-daptor.com/2600-daptor D9.htm
https://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/db9joy_usb_v2/index.php
https://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=21
The cheapest of the lot @£9.99+del or £12.99 + del cased
https://monsterjoysticks.com/9-pin-joystick-to-usb-adapter
By far the most expensive but does seem to support 4 devices>
https://bliss-box.net/
What are you trying to connect? If its a single 9 pin joystick then the monster joysticks on works great.
 
Associate
Joined
16 Apr 2022
Posts
6
Location
Birmingham
I need two 9 pin Joysticks primarily but the option for other devices would be nice to have. I have a pile of 9 pin joysticks from back in the Amiga days, competition pro's, ram deltas and wico command control sticks. I would like to be able to connect a minimum of two of those. The latency is something that I question. It would be nice to have an information resource that shows that information for these adapters. I have seen one for USB sticks/controllers but nothing for these USB adapters.
 
Associate
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
1,919
Location
East England
The only thing I've seen that includes detailed latency information on controllers with a view to retro is the MiSTer Input Latency Google Sheet. Incredibly in-depth albeit not really with the information wanted, although it does includes a few DB9 to USB adapters (most likely use SNAC or BlisSTer). Although I suspect patterns can be spotted, i.e. if the 8bitdo Pro 2 + Wireless adapter is high latency on MiSTer USB ports it is likely to be the same on PC.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
I need two 9 pin Joysticks primarily but the option for other devices would be nice to have. I have a pile of 9 pin joysticks from back in the Amiga days, competition pro's, ram deltas and wico command control sticks. I would like to be able to connect a minimum of two of those. The latency is something that I question. It would be nice to have an information resource that shows that information for these adapters. I have seen one for USB sticks/controllers but nothing for these USB adapters.
I havent seen latency / tech specs but the latency is very low with the monster joysticks adapter.

I would guess it increases with the multiadapters. You could just buy two (or more) monster adapters
 
Associate
Joined
16 Apr 2022
Posts
6
Location
Birmingham
The only thing I've seen that includes detailed latency information on controllers with a view to retro is the MiSTer Input Latency Google Sheet. Incredibly in-depth albeit not really with the information wanted, although it does includes a few DB9 to USB adapters (most likely use SNAC or BlisSTer). Although I suspect patterns can be spotted, i.e. if the 8bitdo Pro 2 + Wireless adapter is high latency on MiSTer USB ports it is likely to be the same on PC.
Thanks for the link, it does provide some useful information. I can only see the 2600 adapter which looks like a DB9 to USB adapter which has a very low latency. I will email the German company and also RetroLemon to see if they have any information regarding latency but I would prefer some independent testing. Knowing how the device appears in device manager would also be welcome. The Greek YouTube video had what looks like a device manager screen shot but I could not see what was on screen because of the distance, not even in 1080p. A very poor video IMO.

I havent seen latency / tech specs but the latency is very low with the monster joysticks adapter.

I would guess it increases with the multiadapters. You could just buy two (or more) monster adapters
I am tending towards either the German adapter which I prefer due to the separate USB cable connection or the other one on eBay with a fixed cable. I don't think using separate devices is practical because they would need a USB hub which I suspect will add latency.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
6 May 2009
Posts
19,980
Thanks for the link, it does provide some useful information. I can only see the 2600 adapter which looks like a DB9 to USB adapter which has a very low latency. I will email the German company and also RetroLemon to see if they have any information regarding latency but I would prefer some independent testing. Knowing how the device appears in device manager would also be welcome. The Greek YouTube video had what looks like a device manager screen shot but I could not see what was on screen because of the distance, not even in 1080p. A very poor video IMO.


I am tending towards either the German adapter which I prefer due to the separate USB cable connection or the other one on eBay with a fixed cable. I don't think using separate devices is practical because they would need a USB hub which I suspect will add latency.
How many usb ports do you have on your device? I overlooked that as have about 10. 2 on top of pc and i think 8 on the back - edit, yep. 2 top case ports and 8 at the back
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom