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8 bit ISA SB card and joystick questions....

marc.hull

Experienced Member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
107
Unrelated questions that is.


I was lucky enough (in my opinion anyhow) to score an 8 bit ISA sound blaster card for my XT clone. It's in the mail and should arrive sometime soon. Now when it arrives I won't know what to do with it (meaning I don't know what software utilizes it.) I'd love some suggestions.

Now I am on the hunt for a joystick. Don't know if all joysticks hook to the serial port or whether some need a special interface and drivers etc. Any suggestions ?

Thanks.

Marc
 
It'll give the ol gal a voice. Other members should be able to point you in the right direction for suitable games and demos.
Vogons is also a good resource http://vogons.zetafleet.com/
If you wanted to use two joysticks you can disable the SB onboard port and use a dedicated games port card with speed/sencitivity adjuster and two joystick ports.
 
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I was lucky enough (in my opinion anyhow) to score an 8 bit ISA sound blaster card for my XT clone. It's in the mail and should arrive sometime soon. Now when it arrives I won't know what to do with it (meaning I don't know what software utilizes it.) I'd love some suggestions.

Oh heck... what CAN'T you do with a Sound Blaster? Here are some things I would suggest:

If your XT is a 286 or higher, download GLX212.ZIP (galaxy music player) and play some .MOD files which will likely blow you away (realtime wavetable mixing). Also, try Wolfenstein 3-D.

If your XT is an 8088/8086 or NEC V20/V30, then there are still a few games that make good use of the digital sound, like Prince of Persia, but you may find more success with the Adlib portion of the card for music and adlib-based sound effects. Indianapolis 500 has fantastic sound effects using the Adlib compatibility. Here's a list of DOS games that use Adlib, although they are not limited to your specific hardware so check the specs to make sure they'll run before trying them out: http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/dos/tic,1/ti,21/
 
As far as joysticks, I personally like the gamepad-style joysticks, specifically the original Gravis Gamepad. The Gravis Gamepad Pro will likely appeal to those of the Playstation generation, however it might need higher requirements on the computer/software side (I've not checked, so I mention that here as an impetus for you to check before taking my recommendation!)

If you're after a flight stick, then take you choose... I have about half a dozen (or so) ranging from the dirt simple old PCjr sticks, Gravis Phoenix, and original Saitek sticks to to the Logitech Wingman Extreme USB, but I usually just go for the Thrustmaster Top Gun stick. Not for any particular reason other than that I like Top Gun and it's got a nice, heavy base :)
 
SB card arrived this week and I'm fairly stoked. Haven't had time to tear down and get it installed. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to put the case back together ;-)... So in preparation for my next move I'd like ask a couple of specific questions and please bear with me in that I have not installed the HW or SW yet.

1) Is/was there a music studio program out there that would let some one compose or otherwise fiddle around (no pun intended) with the SB 2.0 on an 8088 3/10 Mhz machine with 640K ?

2) does anyone have for sale or trade a working Joystick that is capable of being used on the card ? If so please shoot me a PM.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Marc
 
1. Look for Visual Composer (came with Adlib cards) which is a "piano roll" style composer for the 9-voice FM chip. Lots of sample songs and an easy-to-understand interface.

2. I have several but not entirely sure I could part with them, but look on ebay and you'll find several for $30 or less including shipping. I favor "CH Products". For example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...45&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1414
 
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1. Look for Visual Composer (came with Adlib cards) which is a "piano roll" style composer for the 9-voice FM chip. Lots of sample songs and an easy-to-understand interface.

2. I have several but not entirely sure I could part with them, but look on ebay and you'll find several for $30 or less including shipping. I favor "CH Products". For example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...45&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1414

OK thanks for the link and info. I am going to assume then that just about any PC joystick from the "vintage " section made for an IBM should be OK ?

I installed the card tonight and it seems to work just fine. Very happy with it . I have searched for a manual scan and have come up empty. Is there a good, hidden archive somewhere or does someone have the SB 2.0 manual scanned ?
 
The manuals for these cards are essentially useless. All you really need are the drivers, jumper settings, and info. Drivers are available online. Jumper settings and info are available over at Stason.

That said, one of these days, I'd like to get around to scanning my manuals, as they're not anywhere on the web that I've yet seen. Certainly, they're not accessible from Creative's site, though I can't seem to access their archives via FTP (who knows what might be hidden there - IF they allow public access to it these days)
 
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