Resurrecting Gravis Firebird 2

[justin48]

I have an old Gravis Firebird 2 joystick that was great in its day for a Macintosh flying an Apache helo.

It has an 8 way hat switch, 13 buttons, stick, throttle and trim controls. It came with a piece of software that allowed configuration of all the buttons.

The original input was Apple ADB, but I have an iMate ADB to USB converter that does allow the controller to sort of function...however, the cursor never disappears, and its range does not cover the whole screen either vertically or horizontally. None of the buttons function except as mouse clicks, and the joystick itself is not found by MSFS in its joystick setup menu.

I now fly MSFS Flightsim9 on a PC running Windows XP, and a registered copy of FSUIPC. It seems that FSUIPC has the capability to program the joystick buttons, and the stick itself, but I'm darned if I know where to start.

Is it possible, or should I just give the thing to a museum?

Thanks.

Justin Friedland

[Pete Dowson]

I have an iMate ADB to USB converter that does allow the controller to sort of function...however, the cursor never disappears, and its range does not cover the whole screen either vertically or horizontally. None of the buttons function except as mouse clicks, and the joystick itself is not found by MSFS in its joystick setup menu.

I googled your adapter and it clearly says "PC Compatibility Note: PC support is generally limited to mouse and keyboard support."

The cursor in FS is only hidden when no mouse activity is detected -- so it sounds like either your joystick or the adapter itself is jittery.

I now fly MSFS Flightsim9 on a PC running Windows XP, and a registered copy of FSUIPC. It seems that FSUIPC has the capability to program the joystick buttons, and the stick itself, but I'm darned if I know where to start.

Apart from a couple of very special cases (GoFlight USB and PFC serial devices) FSUIPC can only program buttons and joystick axes which are recognised as such by Windows.

Is it possible, or should I just give the thing to a museum?

Well, it isn't possible with that adapter. I don't know if there is one which will convert it into a PC-recognisable joystick device. It would probably be cheaper to treat yourself to a new joystick.

Regards

Pete

[justin48]

Thanks for the quick (and not unexpected) response. As much as I hate to throw away a perfectly fine piece of gear, you ae, no doubt, correct in that the solution is to purchase a 21st century joystick made for the PC environment. Thanks again.

Justin