If you're a child or fan of the video game systems that were popular in the 1970s and early 1980s then you may have a found a way to play the emulated games on a contemporary computer. However the controls via the keyboard or mouse may not meet the needs of the true purist. This can now be solved if you can locate some orginal game controllers and follow the Instructable by member MatthewH.
By using an Arduino Leonardo or compatible board such as the Freetronics LeoStick you can emulate a USB keyboard or mouse quite easily - and then it's a matter of some simple hacking to connect the classic controller to the Arduino. Finally with a quick sketch you can monitor the inputs connected to the classic controller and convert them to USB keyboard or mouse commands and thus play the classic emulated game on a moder PC with the classic controller.
So if you have some classic Atari or other joysticks to hack up, head over to Instructable to get started. And for more, we're on facebook, Google+, and twitter - so follow us for news and product updates as well.
Need a small Arduino-compatible for use with your own USB HID emulation projects? Then check out out our LeoStick. It's the Arduino Leonardo-compatible board that's cheaper and smaller than the original:
Apart from being one of the smallest Arduino-compatibles on the market with USB, it also has an onboard RGB LED and piezo which can be used a knock sensor and various tune and sound effects. Plus you can add extra circuitry with the matching protostick! For more information and to order, click here.
