Slogger Switched Joystick Interface
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"This interface makes joysticks available on a wider range of programs than ever before. With the software supplied, the joystick can be made to emulate the keyboard to the extent that the user may define which direction on the joystick corresponds to which key on the keyboard. In this way, the joystick may be used on a game where a joystick option is not normally possible."
- Slogger Switched Joystick Interface, User Guide, 1986 |
What It Does
The Slogger Switched Joystick Interface, not to be confused with other similar-sounding interfaces, is a 9cm x 7cm x 1.5cm creme coloured interface. It is exactly the same size as an Acornsoft ROM cartridge and sports the Slogger logo on its face and a 9-pin joystick port on its top. It therefore connects only to an Acorn Electron computer that has been expanded with either an Acorn Plus 1, an AP1 or a Rombox+. Furthermore, Slogger's Expansion ROM 2.02 ROM (or later) must be installed else this interface will not work.
The Slogger Switched Joystick Interface needs a compatible 'switched-type' joystick, which should be connected to its top. The interface then immediately works with any games that have an analogue joystick option. Games can also be programmed by the user to read from the switched joystick independently of the keyboard.
With the *JOYSTICK command, the Slogger Switched Joystick Interface can be programmed in the same way as other switched joystick interfaces. The user can input the keys used for left, right, up, down and fire in the game and the joystick then emulates those keys during it.
The biggest advantage of the Slogger Switched Joystick Interface over others is that, because it plugs into a ROM cartridge slot, it does not restrict playing with a switched joystick to a tape-only system.
The Slogger Switched Joystick Interface was originally available by mail order and from Slogger dealers for £14.95. Despite good reviews in the Acorn press though, it never proved popular and is now extremely difficult to get hold of. A second hand Slogger Switched Joystick Interface will usually sell on eBay for around £20.
Artwork And Images
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