Question about Genesis Controller

[clear430]

I wanna know if i can safely use a genesis controllers on the atari 2600. I used one a long time ago and later on i tried to use my 2600 and i could only go up and left. Was that the effect of the genesis or just everyday wear and tear?

[StanJr]

I've not heard of any such trouble. I used a Genesis controller for a long time, before I got a stick, and have never had any trouble (well, except for worn out sticks). Its as safe as dating a nun for all I know.

 

Safety First Stan

[sway3]

I only use genesis controllers. I couldn't even play pitfall with the standard joysticks.

[King Atari]

Same here, they've got better control than the original joysticks, not to mention I don't want the joysticks worn out.

[ubersaurus]

Some games don't work right with the controllers though. Like Thrust comes to mind.

[StanJr]

Yeah, you really can't get the diagonals right for some games with the Genesis Controller, jumping in Mountain King comes to mind. Then again, I think Gravitar is easier with the D-pad....

[Ze_ro]

Story time:

 

A long time ago, I used to have a ColecoVision... eventually, it stopped working, so I put it away (for some reason, I never throw out things that don't work... I just "put them away"). Last year, I took the machine out with the intention of fixing it. After all, I'm an electrical engineer major... I should be able to find the problem, right? Especially since it was just the picture that was screwed up and not the actual processor as far as I could tell.

 

So, I open the thing up and monkey around with it for a while. Most of all, I ended up busting open the metal-encased area where the TV modulator is. I figure if anything is affecting the picture, it would be in there. Of course, these things are made like cars... that is, they don't want people replacing stuff themselves, so they make it as hard as possible to get at it. When I finally do manage to get a look at what was under all that metal, I can't see any problem.

 

Around this point, I check out the internet for advice (as I often do). Couldn't really find anything, so the ColecoVision gets put away again. A little while later, I come across something on the internet that mentions that the Atari doesn't put out a powerful enough signal to trigger automatic RF switches such as the ones that came with the Nintendo. It was now that I realized that the only RF switch I had been using was the one that came with my Jaguar which just happened to be an auto-switch! So, I hook up the Coleco using a manual RF switch, and what do you know? It worked!

 

A few weeks passed without any problems, then all of a sudden, the video went crazy again. I didn't bother even attempting to fix it, or even to "put it away". A few more weeks passed without me touching the system, and I eventually tried it again. To my surprise, the video was fine, and the game started up. Odd... it didn't give me the blue screen with difficulty selections... what the?!? My character keeps moving left!

 

Of course, I've dealt with video games enough to know a broken controller when I see one (or so I thought), so I switched the controller with another that I had kicking around, turned the machine on, and again it did the same thing! Hmm... strange that two controllers would be broken... especially since I remember they always working perfectly (In this case "perfectly" means "not terribly crappy", which is about as close to working "perfectly" as you can get out of a ColecoVision controller). So I tried unplugging the controller and turning the system on.... STILL it skipped the blue screen, and Mario would just move left! At this point, I was at a loss for what to do next. Obviously, my tinkering with all the mechanisms and gee-gaws inside the system must have buggered something up good.

 

At this point, I think I put the system away again... but I might have left it connected, I really can't remember. If I put it away, I eventually took it back out again.

 

Since nothing seemed to be making any sense at this point, I starting thinking illogically. After all, Spock wasn't there to point out that I was wasting my time. I decided to start hooking up whatever the hell joysticks I could. It obviously wasn't the joysticks that were the problem... but what else could I do, right? So, I plugged my Genesis controller into the system... it just happened to be one of the 6-button Genesis controllers that I actually bought brand new from a Radio Shack for $6 (I was surprised to find them there... and I actually had to return one that was a 3-button despite the fact that the box clearly said 6-button).

 

I turned the system on, and (after the 12 second pause) the blue screen came up, and waited for me. Spock was at a loss for words. It was about now that I realized that Sega had forgotten to put a keypad on the Genesis controller, so I mashed buttons and directions in frustration. I looked at the screen, and the game had somehow started! I played a game of Donkey Kong, and then did some experimenting:

 

Pretty much every game seemed to work properly... except of course any game that needed to use the keypad, and Slither, which required a trackball. For some reason, when you hit stuff on the Genesis controller, the ColecoVision sees the correct buttons and joystick movements, but also sees keypad presses for some reason. So when I mash buttons at the blue screen, something gets picked (it usually end up picking one of the 2 player games)... and for games that use the keypad, I end up randomly hitting keypad buttons when I don't mean to, which makes games like WarGames pretty much unplayable.

 

Eventually, I found out that this is a common problem with ColecoVisions. There's a chip on the board that connects to the joysticks that fries ones in a while. I don't remember touching this chip when I decided I was authorized to repair the thing, so there's a good chance I didn't screw it up after all. So my ColecoVision is still hooked up, even in it's semi-usable state (at least until I find a replacement), and my Genesis sits there with only one controller.

 

I forget the point of this story, but I still think it's a pretty interesting one nonetheless. Maybe the point was something like "Genesis controllers don't work well with ColecoVisions"... but if that was the point, then why would I post it on AtariAge and not ColecoAge or something? Oh well.

 

--Zero

[Fretwobbler]

quote

Atari doesn't put out a powerful enough signal to trigger automatic RF switches such as the ones that came with the Nintendo

 

 

Youve just answered another one of my 'all time most puzzling yet simple problems'

 

Thanks

Adam

[Ze_ro]

Yeah, I think most classic systems won't work with an auto switch. I haven't done any tests or anything, but I'd guess that the 5200 would be the first to put out a strong enough signal (It was the first to come with an auto switch to my knowledge). At least, it better put out a strong signal, considering it draws 1 amp of current! (That's a lot)

 

--Zero

[Fretwobbler]

I gave up and so I have a manual NES switch(a most useful item - and the only Nintendo item I still posses) stuck to the top of my tv with blue tack and a tangled mess of 5 rf cables balanced precariously in the vicinity of the switch, then theres the four scart cables sqaushed around the back of the tellie (catering for PS2,Dreamcast,VCR and Sky Digital) as well which i keep having to change because i'm too stingy to buy a 5 into 1 scart box thingy.

 

One day when I'm going to start a company called "Switch Solutions For The Obsessed Video Gamer" and design a box, not more than 8"x4"x4" that can take 15 RF cables and 10 scart leads.

 

First though I would have to learn how to do it

 

Adam