With the prefix "Dandy" all the children of the 90s are familiar. Having burst into the domestic markets, the console quickly gained popularity, and now in every house children of all ages gathered for an exciting game. Then, when computers became so accessible that everyone could buy them, the Dandy century gradually ended. In addition, more advanced analogs began to appear among consoles, such as Sega, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
However, the urge to play 90s toys has not subsided so far. Now you do not need to chase cartridges for all your friends and acquaintances. It is enough to carry out a few simple manipulations, and the opportunity to play "Dandy" will appear on a personal computer.
What is a Dandy
"Dandy" is a console with one or two joysticks. Game cartridges were special cartridges. This is a microcircuit dressed in a plastic case that carried a recorded game. In an era of insufficient Internet in order to play something new, the exchange of cartridges with neighbors or friends was relevant.
The set-top box was connected via cables directly to the TV. And the game itself was conducted using one or two joysticks equipped with buttons.
A bit of history
The Japanese company Nintendo guessed the very first to transfer games from machines to home TV screens in 1984. The console blew up the world of video games and became a real sensation. Now everyone could play any games available on Dandy in a comfortable environment. Interestingly, the name of the console in Japan was Family Computer or Famicom. And she came to Europe and the USA a little later under the name NES.
The console came to Russia in 1992 and was called "Dandy." It was copied and reproduced in various formats. True, in the early stages the existing Atari and the like competed with her. But “Dandy” quickly went around all the known formats and won the hearts of game lovers of that time. However, with the advent of the new Genesis or Sega Mega Drive 2, and then the Sony PlayStation, she had to make room in this market.
In today's world, you can also find versions of the original Dandy console in specialized stores and play for the so-called “fan”.
"Dandy": the modern era
You can plunge into the magical world of games on "Dandy" in the modern world. There are many possibilities for this. One of the easiest and most affordable is to connect the joystick from the Dandy to the computer. Thanks to the electronics market, you can purchase different device options on the Internet or on radio markets. A modern joystick for Dandy, as a rule, has a USB port, through which you can connect it to a PC. This approach contains a minimum of manipulation. If there is a desire to tinker with a soldering iron and the original joystick was accidentally discovered, then you can connect it by creating a special adapter with your own hands.
Connect the joystick from the "Dandy" to the computer via USB
The first thing to do for such a connection is to purchase a joystick for Dandy. You can find it both on specialized electronics sites, and in various markets. The joystick does not have to be like its original representative. Outwardly, it can look like from any other console.
After the joystick is found for the Dandy, you need to take care of the software. To do this, you need to download a special application - the console emulator. Since officially “Dandy” has the abbreviation NES, then you need to look for the appropriate program just for such a request. There are a lot of emulators in the network. But the principle of operation of this application is the same - launching games on "Dandy" in the program window.
Emulator
After the emulator is found and downloaded, you need to find the game directly. This can also be done by searching on specialized sites.
Demonstrate how to connect the joystick from the "Dandy" to the computer, you can on one of the popular emulators - FCEUX. Its window looks like the photo below.
Downloading and installation will not take much time, since the program weighs no more than 2 megabytes and is easy to learn.
Now it is time to connect and configure the joystick from the Dandy. To do this, insert it into the USB port of the computer. Then select Config from the emulator menu and go to the Input section.
In the configuration window that opens, to configure the joystick, click Configure. A new interface will open, which will visually resemble the location of buttons on the joystick. Thus, by clicking on its determined button and setting the corresponding key on the PC keyboard, the behavior in the emulator is configured. After installing all the joystick buttons, you need to save everything and exit to the main program window.
Next, you need to find the necessary game. There are also many of them freely available on the Internet. Games are launched through the File menu of the emulator, in which you need to select the Open ROM item. ROM is a game image packaged in a format that the emulator understands. In addition to the main features, the program allows you to save the state of the game at any time and also start it from the same place. This was not enough for many children in the era of passing complex games.
How to connect the joystick from the "Dandy" to the computer through the LPT port
Varieties and clones of the prefix "Dandy" was released quite a lot. Accordingly, the joysticks could have a different shape and number of contacts. In most cases, 9 or 15 was used. The 9-pin connector is very similar to the computer's COM port . It is this factor that can be used to create an adapter from Dandy to PC.
First you need two connectors - LPT and COM. They will have to be disassembled so that it becomes possible to solder the wires correctly. Soldering is carried out according to the simple scheme shown in the picture below.
As you can see, connector 1 on the joystick is connected to connectors 5-9 through a series of diodes. The rest are soldered directly. By connecting the wires and soldering them in the desired sequence, you can assemble everything back. The adapter is ready for the first test.
Joystick Drivers
But before that, you need to take care of the software component of the equipment. Since the operating system does not know how to manage this type of joystick, you need to install a driver with the necessary information in it. Naturally, no one specifically developed it for a PC. Therefore, you have to use universal tools to implement the connection of such devices with a computer.
There are many such software products on the open spaces of the network, but it is better to use the PPJoy application. It is optimized for connecting unknown devices like joysticks to a computer by selecting the appropriate driver.
The process of downloading and installing is simple. After successful installation, the icon of this program will appear on the desktop. Running it, you can see a window offering to add a new device to the configuration. You need to click the Add button. Next, the program will display a window in which you want to specify how the connection will occur. In the settings you need to specify the following:
parallel port - LPT1, respectively, if it is one;
controller type - SNES or NES;
interface type - Linux;
controller number - Controler 1;
controller subtype is NES.
Now it remains to click on the Add button. Thus, the program will add the device to the system. In the next window, click Done.
After setting all the joystick settings, you need to check it and calibrate it. For this, in Windows operating systems there is an item in the Control Panel called "Gaming Devices". In it, in the "Properties" tab, it is possible to check how the joystick responds to keystrokes. If any activity is observed, then the joystick works, and you can open the emulator. If not, then you need to re-solder everything again, as something went wrong.
A brief overview of popular emulators
A small list of the most popular and convenient working emulators:
FCEUX. This emulator was already mentioned in the article. It has open source code and can be run on a wide variety of systems. It has a wide selection of settings and functions.
iNES. Simple and easy emulator for the Windows operating system. It has a minimum package of settings and configurations.
Nestopia. Also has open source code. It can work under the operating systems Windows, Linux, Mac OS. A lot of settings and chips.
VirtuaNes. This emulator is capable of supporting a light gun, slowing down and speeding up the game, as well as many settings related to video processing.
RetroCopy. This is one of the multi-console emulators that can reproduce images of games not only "Dandy", but also Sega, Nintendo and many other machines and consoles.
findings
Of course, for radio amateurs the second version of the Dandy joystick for PC will be more interesting. For ordinary gamers who decide to plunge into the nostalgia of old games, method number 1 is perfect. First, the cost of joysticks with USB is not so high. In addition, now you can buy them on almost any corner. Secondly, it is a significant time saver when connecting and calibrating a new device.
There are a lot of Dandy games online. Playing with the joystick or on the keyboard is everyone's personal choice. But it is precisely a complete immersion in the atmosphere of that era that will only give a comprehensive restoration of the gameplay.
Dandy enthusiasts have ported games with a joystick so that they can be used on a large number of different emulators. Another significant plus is the fact that the simplest joystick can be used to emulate other consoles, such as Sony PlayStation or Sega. Simply install the appropriate program and find the image of the desired game.