C64 mini

2 Articles

Adding An Atari Joystick Port To TheC64 USB Joystick

April 24, 2025 by 1 Comment

“TheC64” is a popular recreation of the best selling computer of all time, the original Commodore 64. [10p6] enjoys hacking on this platform, and recently whipped up a new mod — adding a 9-pin Atari joystick connector for convenience.

When it comes to TheC64 units, they ship with joysticks that look retro, but aren’t. These joysticks actually communicate with the hardware over USB. [10p6]’s hack was to add an additional 9-pin Atari joystick connector into the joystick itself. It’s a popular mod amongst owners of TheC64 and the C64 Mini. All one needs to do is hook up a 9-pin connector to the right points on the joystick’s PCB. Then, it effectively acts as a pass-through adapter for hooking up other joysticks to the system.

While this hack could have been achieved by simply chopping away at the plastic housing of the original joystick, [10p6] went a tidier route. Instead, the joystick was granted a new 3D printed base that had a perfect mounting spot for the 9-pin connector. Clean!

We’ve seen some great hacks from [10p6] lately, like the neat reimagined “C64C” build that actually appears in this project video, too.

Continue reading “Adding An Atari Joystick Port To TheC64 USB Joystick” →

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Hackaday Links: June 30, 2019

June 30, 2019 by 31 Comments

In our continuing series of, ‘point and laugh at this guy’, I present a Kickstarter for the, “World’s First Patented Unhackable Computer Ever”.  It’s also a real web site and there’s even a patent (US 10,061,923, not showing up on Google Patents for some reason), and a real product: you can get an unhackable laptop, and you can get it in either space gray or gold finish. This gets fun when you actually dig into the patent; it appears this guy invented protected memory, with one section of memory dedicated to the OS, and another dedicated to the browser. This is a valid, live patent, by the way.

The 2019 New York Maker Faire is off. Yeah, it says it’s still going to happen on the website, but trust me, it’s off, and you can call the New York Hall of Science to confirm that for yourself. Maker Media died recently, and there will be no more ‘Flagship’ Maker Faires. That doesn’t mean the ‘mini’ and ‘featured’ Maker Faires are dead, though: the ‘Maker Faire’ trademark is simply licensed out to those organizers. In the next few weeks, there is going to be a (mini) Maker Faire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Gilroy, California, Edmonton, Alberta, Kingsport Tennessee, and a big ‘ol one in Detroit. This raises an interesting question: where is the money for the licensing going? I’m sure some Mini Maker Faire organizers are reading this; have your checks been cashed? What is the communication with Maker Media like?

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. It’s valuable words of wisdom like that and can apply to many things. Commenting on blog posts, for example. Yes, you can throw sticks at a wasp’s nest, that doesn’t mean you should. Yes, you can 3D print Heely adapters for your shoes, but it doesn’t mean you should. It does look dope, though and you’re automatically a thousand times cooler than everyone else.

The C64 Mini is a pocket-sized Linux device with an HDMI port meant to play C64 games.   There were high hopes when the C64 Mini was announced, but it turned out the keyboard isn’t actually a mini keyboard. Now someone had the good sense to combine one of these ‘smartphone chips running an emulator in a retro case’ products with a full-sized keyboard. The C64 will be around by Christmas, and yeah, it has a full working keyboard.