DOS Games Discussion

Hey. Right section I hope. I recently brought an old yet unused Firemaster II joystick, in its original package.

Installed the drivers, Windows lists the thing correctly, but does not detect the thing, even though it's connected. Correction - it only SORT OF detects it.

Like if I rattle the joystick around and press some buttons, it detects it for a second and loses it again.

I connected another joystick and I never had this detection issue. What could the issue be and can it be fixed?

Just a thought. I have a small intex sound card.

Maybe the thing does not receive enough power? It has more buttons and controls than my previous (broken) sidewinder pro.

If i change my card to a heavier soundblaster live, can it receive more power?

I doubt it is a power issue from the card, I'd say try that second; the gameport has 5v pin-outs; USB has similar 5v pins.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gameport+pins&tbm=isch
https://www.google.com/search?q=usb+pinout&tbm=isch

Looking up the Firemaster II joystick on google, it looks like it came in usb version as well, which means it probably has a chip inside and not just passive components. Any chance the one you have has both usb & gameport connectors, and you could test it on USB?

But first I'd suspect faulty connections of some sort, either in the connector to the computer or inside the joystick itself. If it's the connector, bending the pins *carefully and slightly!* to engage the socket might help. If it's in the joystick, then opening it up and having a look is your only shot.


edit: And all power comes from the motherboard, so no reason a "small" card should provide any different power than a "big" one.

Do you have another computer you could try it on, first? Also, certainly no harm if you try the soundblaster.

Let us know what you try, feel free to share pictures of the joystick and the insides if you take it apart.

I've only had one joystick "not cooperate" ultimately, and it was a fancy expensive CH combat flightstick that plugged into keyboard and gameport. The rest might be flaky at times, have resistor problems, etc., but ultimately "worked".

Thanks for helping me. I just changed my sound card to an sb live, reinstalled drivers, same issue.

The joystick is in mint condition, never been used. but it is very old (15yrs +). So either it was built like this or time did a number on it. The floppy was busted, it wouldn't even read the drivers. I found a replacement here in case someone else is looking for them - http://download.solodrivers.com/gestor_ ... com/19372/

it does come in two versions, and this one looks to be gameport only.

Should I buy a gameport to usb adapter? Would that help somehow?

No way I can take it apart. But I suppose I could find someone who's willing.
oh, and Win98 sees the thing by its full name, so the drivers appear working as well.

Gameport to USB adapter: Shouldn't make a difference, and I had trouble with the one I tried, though I was using it for a "weird" joystick (Ultraracer: https://www.google.com/search?q=ultraracer&tbm=isch). (In the end I just got a playstation and gamecube versions + console converters and that worked perfectly.)

You could still try *carefully and slightly!* bending the connector pins to see if you have a bad connection between one of the pins and the port.

That behavior really sounds like a loose connection somewhere, inside the joystick or at the connector. Does wiggling the connector make the joystick detect, or is it just shaking the joystick itself?

Pressing and fidgeting the thing does make it detect it for a just split second.

Then you might be in luck that just bending the connector pins might make it work without opening the joystick.

The dual goals are, of course, 1) don't snap them off! and 2) Still fits (tightly) in the connector. I usually bend them slightly in toward the center rather than out, but in theory it doesn't matter. If this fixes the problem, that means one of the pins is just floating in the standard connector without touching the sides.

I've successfully used a steak knife or similar thin fixed lever for stuff like this. However, if the problem is at the joystick end, this sadly won't help.

Aldeb wrote:Pressing and fidgeting the thing does make it detect it for a just split second.

Some possibilities tha tcomes in mind:
Corroded contacts? (pins?)
Broken wire?
Crackled soldering point?
....... etcetera ....

Grab ya gear !!


...... or trash bin ....