Hey I'm looking to connect my old Atari joystick to my blender. I want the fire button to start the blades and the joystick to act as a throttle - I'd still have to hit the blender's buttons to switch from chop to puree, etc. Anybody have any experience with making a joystick operate "dumb" machines?
:?

I've built some kits sp I have some experience, and a previous boyfriend got me started by doing things like connecting the Nintendo Duck Hunt gun to a lamp and stuff like that.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Partygirl

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Is it an analog or a digital joystick? Using the fire button to start the machine is feasible enough - but throttle control is only really possible with an analog stick.

 

"..Is it an analog or a digital joystick? Using the fire button to start the machine is feasible enough - but throttle control is only really possible with an analog stick..."

I'm guessing that there is a way around that. For instance, you could add a chip that timed how long you were holding the joystick in the "up" position - the longer you held it the higher the value. The chip could then relay the value to a controller that set the speed of the blender based on the number. It wouldn't be a smooth throttle, though - it would probably sound like it was gear shifting.

I think would work but that's more involved than I wanted to get for my Atari blender.

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The Atari 2600 joysticks had 4 on-off buttons to detect the position of the stick. You could wire these to relays across the the speed switches on the blender. Wire them in series with the fire button to turn the blender on.

I used my duck hunt gun and an old barbecue ignitor to make an ignitor for an acetylene torch.

 

I was hoping this had to do w/ toasters and flameing pop tarts. And that torch idea is cool.. Any pictures?

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No pictures, but it really didn't look any different. The big red ignitor button just took the place of the trigger and two electrodes stuck out the front for the spark. It turned out to be safer to light the torches with than that little striker you get, kept your hands further away.

 

Becareful! Pop-tart's Box Read's:

Warning: Content's Maybe Hot Do Not Touch

 

a lot of info on hooking playstation2 dual shock2 controllers to microcontrollers. Do a google for 'playstation2' and 'nuts and volts'. Also some info about super nintendo controllers (forgot where though).

 

What's a blender??