Joystick port

These ports (or this port, in the case of the VIC, which has only one) are usually referred to as the joystick ports, since they are most commonly used for joysticks. BASIC 2.0—in the VIC, 64, and 128 in 64 mode—does not support any devices through these ports, so you must communicate with this port by using PEEKs and POKEs. However, BASIC 3.5 in the Plus/4 and 16 and BASIC 7.0 in the 128 in 128 mode both have built-in statements for reading the status of controllers connected to these ports. 

One additional type of peripheral—the light pen—can also be connected to this port. (On those models with more than one joystick port, the light pen can be connected only to port 1.) The pen contains a phototransistor that switches when it detects the electron beam of the video display sweeping past. A line is connected from the phototransistor through the port to the chip that generates the video signal (the VIC chip in the VIC, the VIC-H chip in the 64 and 128, and the TED chip in the Plus/4 and 16). 

A two-player mode is available as well, but it s not competitive Instead, the players take turns flying the plane, trying for the highest possible score. The game reads both joystick ports, so if you re using two joysticks, the inactive player should put down the joystick to avoid interfering. 

Sound cards fypicaly have a joystick port volume control, and audtoinpuVouput jacks. and vohxne control. 

DB-15 15 sockets Female If there are three rows of five, it s probably a VGA/SVGA video adapter. If it s one row of eight and one row of seven, it might be a network transceiver port or, more commonly, a joystick port. 

Integrated system boards joystick port motherboard... 

For some ports, the computer s operating system—the ROM which controls the machine s functions—provides routines that handle much or all of the "dirty work" of communicating with peripheral devices. To use other ports, you must program all the necessary support routines yourself. That task can range from very easy (for example, reading a joystick) to quite complex (interfacing with a parallel printer through the user port, for example). 

In addition to joysticks, the ports can be used to read any other device that behaves like a joystick, such as a trackball or the 128 s "mouse" controller (which is essentially a trackball turned upside-down). Atari and Coleco joysticks are functionally identical to Commodore joysticks and can be used interchangeably. However, owners of other Commodore computers should avoid controllers designed for the Plus/4 or Commodore 16. On those computers Commodore has abandoned the widely used DB-9 joystick connector in favor of a nonstandard connector, so existing joysticks cannot be used. 

This port is designed for one particular peripheral, the Commodore Datassette recorder. There are now two models of the Datassette, the 1530 (or equivalent C2N) for use with the VIC, 64, and 128, and the 1531, for use with the Plus/4 and 16. As with joysticks, the only difference between the two is the plug on the end of the connecting cable. Commodore has used a new and incompatible type of connector for this port on the Plus/4 and 16. 

Note that all choices can be made with a joystick in either port. Move the pointer to a menu item and press the fire button twice to make your choice. If you don t own a joystick, use I, J, K, and L for up, left, down, and right respectively. Press M in place of the fire button. 

CLR/HOME SHIFT-CLR/HOME Space bar or fire button CRSR keys or joystick in port 2 Back arrow Keys 1-4 SHIFT 1-4 CONTROL 1-8 or Commodore 1-8... 

A joystick plugged into port 2 moves the small cursor within the grid. If you move the cursor out of the current character, the red cursor jumps to the next character in whatever direction you want to move. The display at the bottom adjusts, and the grid scrolls as necessary. This means that you can ignore the traditional boundaries between characters and draw shapes as big as the entire character set (256 X 64 pixels—a pixel is a picture element, or dot). You still edit one character at a time or make a shape within a 2 X 2 box of characters. There is no wraparound for the cursor in the bottom section of the screen. When it hits an edge, it will go no further in that direction. 

Figure 9.8 Micromanipulator for holding the micropipet via the chuck holder. W, Y, and Z motion is achieved using the coarse screw-controlled pins on the top, back side, and rail. Fine control of position is achieved by connecting a pneumatic joystick to the three axial input ports that drive steel bellows in the manipulator (Courtesy of Research Instruments Inc., Durham, NC).

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