Atari 7800 controllers

[toptenmaterial]

people used to convert NES and SEGA (or 7800) into a working 7800 two button stick... IF anyone is still doing this I can donate a bunch of NES and bastard NES controllers for two of them back converted-

 

Since I solder now maybe I can learn to do it... I wonder.

Not sure how Ax is feeling these days, but he does this for a pretty cheap rate.

[Shawn]

Not sure how Ax is feeling these days, but he does this for a pretty cheap rate.

 

He's hiding from the masses that he owes a ton of hardware or money too for a huge project he never came good on 5 years ago. So I doubt your gonna see him around.

[ColecoGemini]

 

He's hiding from the masses that he owes a ton of hardware or money too for a huge project he never came good on 5 years ago. So I doubt your gonna see him around.

This seems to be a running theme in the 7800 scene. *ducks*

[Almost Rice]

How much was he charging? This is a not so hard project. I could make a Joystick with arcade components.

[mipaol]

Hi everyone, new member first post, if OP is looking for a two button alternative to the 7800 CX-78 maybe a Sega Master System controller would be a good fit. It has the required two buttons, a great d-pad, and unless I'm mistaken (which I may be) does not exhibit the button issues found with the Mega Drive/Genesis controller.

 

Or maybe if the OP wants to maintain that arcade feel with a two button joystick one of these bad boys.

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

Just my two cents on the 7800 Euro-pad. I just got a reconditioned AV-modded 7800 from Best Electronics. I've been playing with the Europad (don't have any Pro-Line joysticks so can't commenton those) and while it does work, the Dpad / thumbstick hybrid is admittently stiff, and like someone mentioned with the SMS, the Europad has some issues with hitting diagonals a bit too easily. In Donkey Kong, Mario will stall on a ladder if you hit a digonal, or continue walk away instead of climb. Ms Pacman had some issues with that as well. I kept getting cheap deaths. Xevious and Food Fight play well enough, although I find myself throwing food diagonally instead of vertical or horizontal. I'll probably just start using the Genesis pad for one-button compatible games as it's a better joypad design.

 

I plan on doing a custom 2-in-1 arcade joystick that works with both SMS and 7800 using a DPDT switch to swap between 2600/SMS and 2 button 7800 compatible games. The way I plan on wiring it, 1 button 7800 games will need to use the 2600/SMS setting. Pity it likely won't work with Princess Rescue and other "Genny Pad" homebrews, because SMS mode lacks the pullup resistors. Adding them in would break the 7800 operation.

Edited June 20, 2014 by stardust4ever

[+wood_jl]

He's hiding from the masses that he owes a ton of hardware or money too for a huge project he never came good on 5 years ago. So I doubt your gonna see him around.

 

Say what? Which project was that?

[Shawn]

 

Say what? Which project was that?

 

Read this thread

 

It's 11 pages cause it's 5 years worth of waiting for those poor folks.

[FireTiger]

Not sure how Ax is feeling these days, but he does this for a pretty cheap rate.

 

 

 

He's hiding from the masses that he owes a ton of hardware or money too for a huge project he never came good on 5 years ago. So I doubt your gonna see him around.

And I'm one of them Paid in Full - my son was not yet conceived (Or we didn't know yet) when that project started (as I would not have sent that kind of money while knowing I was expecting) and I'm still waiting-

 

Why I chuckle at the 3.5 year thread... yeah?! and?!

 

*SMH*

 

Like the XM We really just wanted updates - oh well.

Edited June 29, 2014 by FireTiger

[Jinks]

You guys dropped alot more money tho.

[BigO]

I just converted a Radica Space Invaders to a 7800 controller. I might actually keep my 7800 out so I can play it now.

I'm seriously considering converting my other Space Invaders to a controller. Not sure if I'll do that or just build a controller from scratch.

 

On a side note: anybody have a Space Invaders that they need to repair? I happen to have a fully functional board that was recently evicted from its home.

[tyranthraxus]

That Sega controller was my go to joystick waaaay back when I had my Commodore 64. Very solid design, nice quality. Thanks for posting that photo, havn't seen one person in 20+ years! In general if you want a decent 2-button joystick for the 7800 you're going to have to mod a Sega Genesis controller (or try that SMS arcade stick).

 

However, I'm partial to the 7800 gamepads. I agree that there is the usual Tramiel era cheapness to them but thats an inherant issue with all Atari products after 1984. You either accept it or go buy a 5200. But I havn't had any of the Atari pads break on me. I don't use the the mini stick, just use them like a flat gamepad. I've gotten lots of hours on Joust, Food Fight, Ms Pac Man and Galaga, which are about all I ever play on the 7800. Its also nice that they are actual Atari branded and just makes the 7800 seem more complete and modern.

 

I also use them as my controller on the Colecovision, using a stock Coleco controller in port 2 to use the keypad. That setup works with most CV games.

Edited July 24, 2014 by tyranthraxus

[BigO]

I just converted a Radica Space Invaders to a 7800 controller. I might actually keep my 7800 out so I can play it now.

I'm seriously considering converting my other Space Invaders to a controller. Not sure if I'll do that or just build a controller from scratch.

 

On a side note: anybody have a Space Invaders that they need to repair? I happen to have a fully functional board that was recently evicted from its home.

(The Radica SI board has been spoken for.)

[+SabertoothRetro]

I ordered some IL/Happ parts in January to put my own arcade joysticks together. It's a fun project if you have the time.

[+DrVenkman]

I ordered some IL/Happ parts in January to put my own arcade joysticks together. It's a fun project if you have the time.

 

Those look great! Do you have a link?

[+SabertoothRetro]

Those look great! Do you have a link?

Thanks! I bought the IL/Happ Competition joysticks and buttons from Paradise Arcade in Hawaii. At first I tried the Chinese made Happ joysticks but they aren't as good as the European made IL/Happ. If you go with Happ, look for the version with the white actuator. http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com

 

As for the rest, I built the cases and designed the layout myself. The cases are wood boxes made with a finger joint; the top is inset. The graphics were done on a free paint program on my Mac, printed in reverse and transfered to wood using Liquitex gel medium. It's supposed to be reminiscent of the early home Pong packaging.

[Rhomaios]

For one button games I'd say use a sega anything....it's going to be leaps better than anything made by or for an actual atari IMO.

For two button games, my experience agrees with loons....at least when I play Xevious, it acts like both buttons are being held down. In Xevious I actually don't mind this (it's basically bomb autofire) but others I do believe it makes unplayable. My One-on-one just goes into perpetual jump shots as I recall, using a sega pad.

For one button sticks, it's definitely Wico > Sega > Atari.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Here's my NES conversion and completed Homebrew Joystick:

 

 

[+GoldenWheels]

For one button sticks, it's definitely Wico > Sega > Atari.

 

 

Well....depends. To me the Sega ones are arcade sticks (I use an ascii power clutch SG for atari but same difference here, Sega made almost the exact same thing) and the Wico is a Joystick....for certain types of games I prefer one to the other. Big difference between the two for me but I do usually prefer an arcade stick.

 

Sometimes it only "feels atari" with a joystick though.

[Shawn]

I ordered some IL/Happ parts in January to put my own arcade joysticks together. It's a fun project if you have the time.

 

Those boxes are very well done.

[mckafka99]

I just converted a Radica Space Invaders to a 7800 controller.

Do you have a list of or a link to the steps required to do this? Every time a do a search for this and think I've found a link (to here on AA) I always get an error about too many page redirects. I just picked up a fully function stick that may be of more use for this mod. Thanks.

[Trebor]

Do you have a list of or a link to the steps required to do this? Every time a do a search for this and think I've found a link (to here on AA) I always get an error about too many page redirects. I just picked up a fully function stick that may be of more use for this mod. Thanks.

The "Radica Space Invaders > 7800 joystick" Started by remowilliams, 3 Jul 2005 thread has all the goods, but even on the Waybackmachine/Internet Archive, much of the thread is hosed up (pages 4-9).

 

Here are a few things I could gather:

 

"You actually are just going to cut the leads to the Space Invaders PCB and stick it in the bin - where it belongs

You'll need to tie one side of all the buttons into a ground (then tie that ground into the ground that goes around the microswitches on the stick). Then connect that ground to the 7800 cord ground.

 

Then you tie the other wires of two buttons at a time (I tied my inner buttons together, and the outer ones together) then wire those up according to the button wiring in the 7800 FAQ on AA.

 

Then you simply connect the directional wires from the 7800 cord one at a time to the proper microswitch - using the NO (Normally Open) leads on each microswitch.

 

You can do it without using perfboard. I used one to simplify (and cut down the amount) of wire inside the stick. I do have another SI joystick sitting here and a mostly finished little board, so when I get the chance to assemble my second stick, I'll try to document the steps"

https://web.archive.org/web/20120624022710/http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/72198-radica-space-invaders-%26gt%3B-7800-joystick/page__st__25?do=findComment&comment=896049

 

Also, this note:

"I didn't have any 620ohm resistors laying around either, so I put a 680 and a 6.8K (had a bunch of these) in parallel and it works fine."

https://web.archive.org/web/20120622052705/http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/72198-radica-space-invaders-%26gt%3B-7800-joystick/?do=findComment&comment=885761

 

And...

 

Decals for printing (Links still work):

https://web.archive.org/web/20130521162643/http://atariage.com/forums/topic/72198-radica-space-invaders-%26gt%3B-7800-joystick/page__st__250?do=findComment&comment=2548450

7800: https://web.archive.org/web/20130521162643/http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=249747

Blank: https://web.archive.org/web/20130521162643/http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=249746

 

In case the decals links go down here they are:

AtariRSI7800Decal.zip

AtariRSIBlankDecal.zip

 

Plus...

 

"The following is the cheap way to make the label instead of paying to have it professionally printed.

 

Materials Needed:

• Sharpie Pen
• Laminating Sheet
• Photo Paper
• Mod Podge (glue)
• X-acto knife

Directions:

• Print out the decal on photo paper.
• Apply a laminating sheet by starting at one end and slowly apply it moving your finger back and forth to avoid air bubbles. If you get any air bubbles start the entire process over because your decal is already screwed.
• Once the laminating sheet has been applied you will see areas that look hazy. You need to rub this down until this disappers. I use the edge of a credit card.
• Next very carefully cut out the excess white border. Cut along the outer black edge, not the orange edge.
• Once its cut out take a Sharpie pen and color the edge of the decal to get ride of the white.
• Now you need to apply the label to your RSI. Make sure the old decal is completely removed and the RSI has a dry clean surface. I use Mod Podge to glue it down which you can get at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores.
• Using a popsicle stick apply a thin layer of glue to the entire back of the decal.
• Now apply the decal to your RSI. Once you have it positioned correctly use your finger and rub the decal to make sure it is making contact all over. Try to remove any excess glue around the outer edges. Also rub off any glue you may have gotten on your label when applying.
• Let it dry completely. This will take a few hours.
• Once dry take a sharp x-acto knife and cut out the 4 button holes.
• Next you need to cutout the joystick hole. Try to cut as close to the outer edge of the whole as possible. You don't need to get it perfect since you can trim it up after you cut out the main piece. Once you have the piece cut out use your x-acto knife to cut the label right up to the outer edge. Now take your Sharpie pen and color the white exposed edges.
• That's pretty much it."

The good news is that it appears from the thread that several people did it on their own and are still active here. Hopefully, one or more will chime in on this thread to fill in any other additional details needed/required.

 

H311bender made some SWEET looking decals: https://web.archive.org/web/20120624022122/http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/72198-radica-space-invaders-%26gt%3B-7800-joystick/page__st__225?do=findComment&comment=2543227

 

BurgerTime

 

Mario Bros.

 

Aw man...This Donkey Kong one ...lol.

[BigO]

Those steps sound right. My approach was to cut the controller wires close to the PC board then remove the board. I referenced a 7800 controller schematic and wired it like the schematic. You can work out by examining the joystick which terminal is up, down, left, right. I wired the A buttons as the left button and the B buttons as the right.

 

The only significant issue for a novice might be how to deal with two sets of buttons. And that is simple enough to deal with.

 

I also used 680 ohm resistors because the store was out of 620. I'd expect 560 to work just fine, too.

 

Glad to see those labels. I was not looking forward to relying on my own artistic skills.

[BigO]

Oh, and I scavenged a cable from a Sega Genesis controller. The really flexible cable was kind of a pain to deal with. Each wire is a group of fine copper conductors spiral wrapped around a series of flexible synthetic cores of some sort. Not recommended for soldering but it can be done.

[BigO]

Dup post

Edited July 27, 2014 by BigO