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genesis adapter schematics
Crowquill:
Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than that. Gameports were built for analog controllers, not digital. So digital controllers have to use strategically placed resistors so that by default it's at 2.5V, and then when you press left it drops to 0V (or 5V when pressing right). This makes the gameport think you're using a potentiometer. There's a lot of good info here:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/pc_circuits.html
The other issue is buttons. If you were wiring up an Atari joystick or Master System controller you'd be fine as it uses simple circuits that open and close for each pin much like arcade controls. It also only has one or two buttons. But with Genesis they made some changes to how the pinouts worked. There's an extra identification pin. If the controller has 5V at pin 7, then the two button inputs work as B and C (just like a Master System Controller). But to get A and Start, it grounds pin 7 while sending the button signal.
Six-button controllers use a complex multiplexing system to identify the buttons, so that's definitely not an option. More on these pinouts can be found at the pinouts.ru site.
DarkDraco:
i think i should just give in and get a genesis>usb adapter for 22$ at retrousb. already saved 90ish making my own nes and snes. :(
thanks for the links tho, i still read them. circuit work is interesting to learn about
Crowquill:
It's good to know the theory if nothing else. Part of the reason I'm recalling this stuff so easily is that I was just looking it up earlier in the week figuring out how to adapt Atari Paddle controllers to a Gameport connector.
For those wondering, it'll be easy to wire once I swap the pots out for 100K linear ones.
For $22, it's not worth the hassle (and probably $10 in parts).
DarkDraco:
yea i tried looking into other methods like making the LPT adapter then using LPT>USB but thy all come out to same price as buying it x.x
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