The Amiga Multi-Joystick Extender allows two additional DE-9 joysticks to be connected to an Amiga computer beyond its two native controller ports. Each Amiga controller port carries active-low direction and fire signals on a 9-pin DE-9 connector, as documented in the Amiga Hardware Reference Manual (Chapter 8). Because the native ports are already occupied by primary controllers, this extender routes the direction and fire signals of two further joysticks through the Amiga’s 25-pin parallel port (Centronics-compatible). Games must explicitly support the Multi-Joystick Extender protocol to read the additional inputs.
9 PIN D-SUB MALE to the 1st Joystick
9 PIN D-SUB MALE to the 2nd Joystick
25 PIN D-SUB MALE to the Parallelcable
| Parport | Joy 1 | Joy 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Up 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Down 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Left 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Right 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Up 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Down 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Left 2 | 8 | 3 |
| Right 2 | 9 | 4 |
| Fire 2 | 11 | 6 |
| Fire 1 | 13 | 6 |
| Ground 2 | 18 | 8 |
| Ground 1 | 19 | 8 |
Notes
- The two native Amiga DE-9 controller ports (port 1 and port 2) remain in use for the primary controllers; the extender is connected to the parallel port only.
- All joystick direction and fire signals on the DE-9 connector are active-low: a switch closure connects the signal pin to GND (pin 8), and the host asserts a pull-up to +5 V so an open switch reads logic 1 and a pressed switch reads logic 0.
- The DE-9 pin assignments for each joystick are: pin 1 = Up (Forward), pin 2 = Down (Back), pin 3 = Left, pin 4 = Right, pin 6 = Fire, pin 8 = GND.
- Games must be written to poll the parallel port data and status registers for extender input; the standard Amiga controller-read routines do not cover these pins.