Adaptor for old Gravis Xterminator Digital Gamepad (Serial DB15 male) to USB female?
Hello, all. My first post.
I have a circa 1999 Gravis Xterminator Digital Gamepad with a male DB15 connector (7 pins across top row (left-to-right), and 8 pins across bottom row, L-R).
Pin numbers (top row; L-R) 1, 4, & 7 are missing, and pin numbers (bottom row; L-R) 1, 3, & 6 are missing. This is how the connector/serial plug was configured when I bought it. No modifications have been made. A piece of tape around the cable indicates it is a REV3A.
Possibly the word "Digital" throws a monkey wrench into the entire situation - I don't know.
I love my Gravis Xterminator Digital gamepad (worked fabulously on all Win98 games I threw at it), but, of course, there are no serial and/or old gameport DB15 interfaces on newer Windows XP machines - not on mine, anyway).
I need an adaptor for converting the DB15 male connector on the Gravis Xterminator Digital gamepad to insert into a USB (V2.0 or less) port on my new computer.
I'm pretty good at modding cables, pins,etc., but was wondering if anyone here has any success in:
1) Finding an adaptor that works for this configuration (Serial DB15 (Digital) to USB)
2) Modding a cable to get the Gravis Xterminator Digital gamepad to even work properly through the USB port.
It has been a never-ending search, and I have hence bought a Logitech USB game controller - but it just ain't the same. I don't like it.
I dearly miss using my old Gravis - its weight, programmability, and especially the "heft" - how it feels in my hands.
Living a bit in the past but hoping against hope (and many sincere thanks to all comments, fixes, recommendations, references, and even "Oh, just give it up and join the real world." comments are greatly appreciated.
Mark
Partial Fix for DB15 joysticks.
There are a couple of things you can do for db15 digital controllers. One is get an adaptor for your USB port. This supports a limited number of buttons, but may prove sufficient for your needs.
Soundblaster included a gameport/midi input on their sound cards through the Audigy2. This will work well with all your digital db15 controllers, although you may have to add a registry patch to make it show up in Control Panel. I use a Logitec Wingman Interceptor, and logitec put out a reg patch for that purpose.
I don't know if it will work for Gravis or not, but you may be able to edit it.
Whether it's digital or analog, if you can get it recognized, there is a great way to make your buttons and axis programmable, called Total Game Control. My Interceptor has 33 buttons and 3 axis (including the throttle), and I can map all of them to keyboard, mouse, etc.
Unfortunately, the Audigy 4 does not offer a gameport. I bought mine not knowing that, and as a result I'm handcufffed on that machine. The db15-to-USB adaptor covers nowhere near that many buttons. What I need is a pci gameport card. CH products used to make one called the Game Card 3, but I can't find one. Does anybody know of another db15 midi or gameport pci add-on card? And where to get it?
Thanks-
Lass