Using the Microsoft Sidewinder Controller

[Astronouth7303]

Here are the specs for DB15 game port:

Pin NonMIDI MIDI IFI
 1   +5v    +5v  +5v
 2   A-1    A-1  Trigger
 3   A-X    A-X   X
 4   Gnd    Gnd  Gnd
 5   Gnd    Gnd  LED/Switch
 6   A-Y    A-Y   Y
 7   A-2    A-2  Thumb
 8   +5v    +5v  LED/Switch
 9   +5v    +5v  LED/Switch
 10  B-1    B-1  Aux1
 11  B-X    B-X  Aux
 12  Gnd    Rx   Gnd
 13  B-Y    B-Y  Wheel
 14  B-2    B-2  Aux2
 15  +5v    Tx   LED/Switch

Notice that pins 5, 8, 9, & 15 are special on the OI.

I would recomend hooking it up to an OI/RC that are just sitting there and looking at the dashboard. This may give you clues as to what goes where on a Sidewinder. Also, hook up an oscilliscope (if available) to the Rx/Tx pins and see what level/baud it uses and which way they go.

[Dave Flowerday]

Most (if not all) Sidewinder joysticks use a serial protocol that will not work with the IFI equipment. They end up using one of the button signals as a data line and another button signal as a clock. They then send a serial stream of information containing all the information about the analog & digital readings of the joystick over these pins. This is the reason that they warn you that the joystick will not work with MS-DOS - it requires a special driver to decode the serial stream, and there isn't one written for MS-DOS.