TRS-80.org » Joysticks

The Stickeroo Joystick Interface

Matthew Reed — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:04:53 +0000

The Stickeroo Joystick Interface was an Atari-style joystick interface for the TRS-80 Model I and System 80 computers. Introduced in 1982, the Stickeroo was sold by Micro-80, an Australian magazine dedicated to the TRS-80 and System 80. (The System 80 was nearly identical to the computer sold in the United States as the PMC-80.) The original advertisements also mentioned an upcoming TRS-80 Model III version of the Stickeroo, but that was presumably never produced.

The “Micro-80 Product Catalogue” was a multiple page section of Micro-80 that sold TRS-80 and System 80 hardware and software by mail-order to “customers throughout the Australian and Pacific region.” Many of the products were imported from the United States, but others, including the Stickeroo Joystick Interface, were products of Australia.

DOUBLE-STICK-80

Matthew Reed — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:34:34 +0000

The March 1981 Alpha Products advertisement featured the first appearance of the DOUBLE-STICK-80. This package included two joysticks, interface, and demo game for $59.95.

STICK-80

Matthew Reed — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:43:30 +0000

The first commercial joystick for the TRS-80, the STICK-80, was created by Alpha Products (originally Alpha Product Co.). The first advertisement I can find was in the December 1980 issue of 80 Microcomputing. The STICK-80 package included an Atari joystick and interface and originally cost $29.95.

TRISSTICK

Matthew Reed — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:48:25 +0000

In 1981, Bill Hogue wrote Robot Attack, a variation on the arcade game Berzerk. Unlike most TRS-80 games, in Robot Attack you can move and fire in all directions. You fire in a direction by moving the joystick in that direction and pressing the FIRE button. This shows up a problem with the STICK-80 mapping; how can a game determine if the player was moving the joystick up or down and firing if the FIRE button is mapped to a combination of UP plus DOWN?

Alpha Joystick

Matthew Reed — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:46:51 +0000

In October 1981, Alpha Products created a new version of their joystick which included a mode switch to allow a choice between the STICK-80 and TRISSTICK FIRE button behavior. The advertisements from then on referred to the joystick as the Alpha Joystick, and the price remained at $39.95.