Atari 2600 Joystick TV Remote Control

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Overview

 

I wanted a simple remote that could be used to easily control the volume and mute the TV when the phone rings. I have replaced all of my remotes with a single Harmony 880 control which works great, but I wanted something a bit more cool to compliment it. Building the retro remote was fun and simple since the mini remote that I used was very easy to hack.

 

Video of it in action

 

 

 

Steps to make the Atari 2600 Joystick TV Remote Control

Parts you will need to make the Atari 2600 Joystick Remote. (page 2)
Taking apart the remote and joystick. (page 3)
Hack the remote and joystick together. (page 4)
Reassembling the new remote. (page 5)
All done, time to have fun. (page 6)

 

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44 Comments


  1. TV is mounted kinda high, no?



  3. speaking of old console mods i am thinking of turning one of my ols neses into a comp using insturctions i found.


  4. Hey Kingpixel,

    It is about 6 inches higher than I would have liked however it had to clear the speakers so that is where it had to go. 🙂


  5. Interesting Idea. But i don’t like the idea killing the 2600’s functions. Would it be possiblie to integrate both? A little switch for TV/Console-mode, of course the TV-Out & power cables should be removeable. So you could place this jewel on your desk for remoting your TV, and still have that Atari flashback when you need it…

    Well done the way it is, looks very clean & professional. Maybe I’ll do someting similar to a Competion Pro or a Genesis’ gamepad. Thanks for the idea!


  6. when I was growing up, a friend of mine did this with his N-64 controller, except he used the “c” buttons to controll the tv, while the rest was kept normal



  8. Hi M0rt1n,

    It would have been nice to keep the game operational, especially since my daughter loved the simple games. I guess it would have been possible to make the unit switch modes but originally I was only looking for a used standard remote (no electronics inside) and I kept that mentality to simple make a remote.


  9. Well, it’s still a nice piece the way it is! What did you do to the electronics no more needed? maybe you could build an external box to plug into your remote to make it a 2600 again… 🙂





  13. yeah. I played with this joystick 15 years ago 😉










  22. hey do you are thinking connect a light gun (games consoles clone nintendo type DB9 connector) to your pc

    i can getit
    and y like to do that

    could you helpme
    thanks






  28. is it possible to use another remote’s circuit board w/ this? as long as its a universal rite?


  29. Any other remote should work just fine however you may have to do a bit more re-wiring if there is not a common line that runs between all of the existing buttons.


  30. wau. looks great. but i played games on amiga 500…




  33. Interesting idea but I think it over complicates what should be a simple function. A standard remote only needs one hand to operate. This jobber needs both…





  37. My dad has ALS and can not use his fingers to push a button. He is better with a joystick but the joysick on the Atari is to big. Can this be done with other Jaks units or can the joystick be replaced with a ball. Also how can this be modified to work with a cable box and not just a tv. I am not very technical but have people who can help. I just need ideas. Anything is appreciated. All my dad wants for his birthday/xmas is to change the channel


  38. Hi Sean,

    What this project is doing is using the switches in the remote to press the buttons on the small universal remote. I am not sure if it has the code for your cable box though. It probably doesn’t since I am sure it would only have TV codes built into the remote.

    Instead of this joystick you could use anything that has switches and you could also tie it into any remote control.


  39. thanks, I may use a different plug and play game controller with a smaller joystick. I also found a mini remote that works with cable boxes that I am going to try before I install. I appreciate your advice and hopefully this works. It would make my father a happy man!


  40. how do you tie the switches together?

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