Jump to content
IGNORED

Discrete input to Atari 7800 and 2600 Booster Grip


tripletopper

Recommended Posts

Hello, I was wondering. I can hire a joystick builder to wire a joystick.

 

I’m just trying to find out what is the better route.

 

My fight stick his separate wires for each Joystick Direction, button ground, voltage and a miscellaneous "other wire", like what the Xbox 360 needs. and then gets sent into a Brook fight board. (It actually has 11 buttons and 4 directions, it’s easier to go down than up.)

 

Thanks to the fact that the brook stick is easily removable with a DB25, I was wondering if either the Atari 7800 or the 2600 Booster grip is as simple as wiring discrete buttons to pins, meaning a pin representing a direction, button, ground or voltage is straight wired from the DB25 discrete to a pin on the DB9.

 

I know the basic 2600, Astrocade, Master System, and Neo Geo are simple one pin = one function hookups. I understand I could have a straight-wire hookup to do those systems. I understand systems as early Intellivision and Colecovision had "coded" joystick signals, so those are hard without PCB knowledge unless you hack an existing PCB.

 

The 7800 and the 2600 booster grip are two weird beasts. Atari 7800 has buttons that split to 2 pins and one pin that is a combination of 2 buttons. Is that as easy as a simple wiring job with no coding and no PCB, or do you need some sort of "OR circuit" to make the 2600 button work. I don’t know if an Or circuit is as simple as wiring it, or if it needs intelligence.

 

My joystick guy is charging $2 a 2-way pin hookup. With 4 directions, 2 buttons, a ground and a voltage, that should come to $16. That would be cheaper than a Edladdin Genesis->7800 adapter, and I don’t have to split up my shipment between myself for the 7800 and my joystick maker for the Colecovision. But I don’t know if uilding a discrete 7800 adpater would work.

 

Also the 2600 booster grip has digital buttons actuating an analog paddle signal. Is that a simple wiring function too, or does THAT need some circuitry for it to work to convert a joystick signa to a paddle (assuming they are different I hear it’s an analog voltage between zero electricity and the maximum allowed electricity, [i won’t pretend to throw around words I don’t understand] so if it’s as simple as actuating a maximum, it’s just like taking the dimmer switch away from a circuit: it becomes a simple on/off circuit.)

 

I also notice the pins are similar in a 2600 booster grip and a 7800. Can one device work for both? Or is it better to make 2 separate ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The booster grip seems to use straight wiring according to this: http://arcarc.xmission.com/Web%20Archives/Deathskull%20%28May-2006%29/games/tech/2600cont.html

 

The CX24 of the 7800 is not straight but uses resistors to allow both buttons to be used interchangeably on the 2600 and separately on the 7800: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/255244-diy-atari-7800-stick-guide/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So my instincts are right. Analog paddles are actuated in an all or nothing manner, so you’re just changing the dimmer dial to an on/off switch.

 

I didn’t know if there was an easy "OR circuit", but it looks too complex where I can’t explain it to my joystick hacker. I’ll just either pad-hack a 7800 controller, or (probably cheaper) pad hack a Genesis controller I was getting pad hacked anyway, and just buy the Genesis->7800 adapter form Edladdin. The cost of a 7800 pad + labor to hook up the 7800 + Genesis > the cost of an Edladdin controller adapter plus a Genesis hack.

 

The Pad-hacked Genesis pad can also be used in a Genesis->INTV adapter from @7800fan, if he actually responds in his Gen->INTV forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...