There are also many brands
of
non-Atari mo-
dems
that
will
workjust
fine
with
your
Atari
via
the
850
interface. Novation, Hayes, and
Radio Shack modems are quite
popular
with
Atari owners. The Hayes Smartmodem
is
one
of
the most popular modems in
use
today.
The
Smartmodem enjoys a
well-
deseNed reputation for reliability and versatility,
and
is
generally available for
about
$240 or
less.
Even
less
expensive
is
the
Novation
J-Cat
avail-
able for under
$1
SO.
Both the Smartmodem and
the J-Cat require a special cable
to
hook
into
the
850
interface. This cable should be available
at
stores
that
carry these brands
of
modems.
GAME
CONTROLLERS
There are
plenty
of
game programs available
for
Atari computers,
which
are discussed in the next
chapter. In order
to
play many
oJ
these games,
you
will
need another peripheral: a controller.
This
device allows
you
to
move in different
directions on the screen,
to
shoot
etc. The most
common controllers come in three
forms:joy-
sticks, paddles, and trackballs.
Joysticks
Ajoystick
is
a stick
that
you
can push forward,
backward,
left
and
right-
-
or
a combination
of
these directions.
It
also contains a firing
button
for missiles and
other
weapons
you
may need in
a particular game.
You
will
need
ajoystick
for
many Atari games.
In addition
to
Atari joysticks, there are a variety
of
non-Atari joysticks
that
you
can
use,
such
as
185
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