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DIY Track&Field controller

Enjoy a classic game with a proper controller

danjovicdanjovic
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Track&Field for Atari 2600 is one of the best conversions from the arcade, and it is a pity that the standard Atari controllers did not provide a compatible gaming experience, that's why Atari included a controller similar to the arcade buttons at the time the game was released. These controllers have been sold separately to be used in systems with compatible joystick ports.
Though these controllers are not considered a rare item they are very easy to build, as the buttons are simply mapped to "Left", "Right" and "Fire".

The project is pretty forward. The  "RUN" buttons are wired to pins 3 (LEFT) and 4 (RIGHT) of the controller port and the "JUMP/THROW" button is wired to pin 6 (FIRE). All buttons return to pin 8 (GROUND).


Few components are required: Three buttons, one cable and one box.

  The buttons  used on this project have low profile

The low profile buttons allowed to use a low profile box.

The buttons were disposed like the original track and field controller


The unused wires are isolated using heat shrink tubing

And here's the finished controller.

  • 2 × Low profile arcade button - WHITE
  • 1 × Low profile arcade button - RED
  • 1 × Atari controller replacement cable
  • 1 × Plastic box

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Mudammir wrote 06/02/2022 at 07:11 • point

Do you by any chance have the Link/files for the Plastic case/box?

Also how are you finding those buttons? If they are great, can you please share their part number as well so I can get something which you have tested.

  Are you sure? yes | no

danjovic wrote 09/17/2019 at 02:02 • point

Yes, the original game was released as an arcade machine, for instance: https://clesocial.com/products/track-field-arcade-game

I feel pity for these machines, having their buttons spanked 24/7... it's no surprise that they were often broken down, lol!!!! 

  Are you sure? yes | no

Dan Maloney wrote 09/16/2019 at 15:21 • point

Was there there an arcade version of this game? I seem to remember players rapidly pushing two buttons to try to run or something. Seemed like it was a game that was always broken down for some reason...

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