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fdr4prez

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Posts posted by fdr4prez

  1. Posted · Edited by fdr4prez

    14 hours ago, wongojack said:

    Do you have a supply of these things already?  This is me just talking out of my backside, but wouldn't it be easier to use the shell of any other modern controller?  It seems like the clone controller biz would make shells with even more buttons somewhat available, and if you are going to completely re-design the inside, you might as well use something actively being produced.

     

    Edit - something like this is what I was thinking:  https://www.dhgate.com/product/replacement-housing-wireless-controller-full/533864696.html?d1_page_num=1&dspm=pcen.sp.LIST.7.bqiRJQTOHsMGJSwuPTzb&resource_id=533864696#s1-3-1;searl|0925631367:7

    For someone wanting to use a modern controller, then they can get one of these:

     

    I do have a few of the Inty25 units, and more can be had.

     

    And many here already have these in their collection, so this will be an easy conversion for them.

     

    Luckily this is a niche market, and if the demand is high enough then I do have other plans brewing

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    no, that wasn't my understanding in this order of posts:

     

    19 hours ago, Lathe26 said:

    Do you have support for the Original XBox controller and keyboard?

     

    4 hours ago, flickertail said:

    I will see if I can get a hold of 360 controllers and keyboard for testing.

    52 minutes ago, Lathe26 said:

    Be aware that the XBox 360 keyboards are different from the keyboards for the Original XBox.  The Xbox 360 keyboards use some kind of security that I don't know if anyone has figured out (they probably don't use the XID protocol either).  The keyboards for the Original XBox don't has security and use XID.

     

    49 minutes ago, flickertail said:

    I ordered a 360 controller and a 360 keyboard today. I'll try it out when it gets here and see where it goes.

    Lathe is asked about the original and you are talking about the 360

  6. Posted

    If that Intv2 is missing the power supply (it is not shown in the picture) then you may want to stay away from it, or source a somewhat compatible wall adapter.

     

    and while it does look nice, I think $100 is a little steep for it; especially if it is missing the power supply.

    • Like 4

  7. Posted

    48 minutes ago, nurmix said:

    Well, since you were on my list back in 2018, if you manage to find those two Flashback controllers I may be persuaded to finally make your Dual Action Controller (yours would be #22).  Of course @cmart604 might object to there being one more controller in the world, as it may affect rarity/value/bragging rights for him in the future.

     

     

    I need to check, but I think I have now a few Flashback controllers, too, and this has always been on my "want list"

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    If the BT/USB controller being used is an SNES controller, for example, then there are a few extra buttons on it, and you can map them out to the commonly needed keypad buttons.

     

    Granted not every keypad button would be available, so this would remove some games from the playlist, but it is also possible to use a DB9 y-adapter so you can have a real colecovision controller connected at the same time as this adapter, so that can be used for your occasionally needed keypad input.

     

    People playing in emulation using thirdparty controllers are use to these limitations, but now they can use the same controller on real hardware.

     

    It's all for fun.

     

    image.png.bbcf6eaf80e188cae5f2a9d3244c24a1.png

    • Like 1

  10. Posted · Edited by fdr4prez

    4 minutes ago, fdr4prez said:

    The Intv2 is the standard pin out for all the DB9 connector console flavors, except for the Intellivision Flashback (which should not be bothered with since making a Intv FB to Intv2 cable is rather easy).

    Well, if you want to add support for the Intellivision Flashback pinout, then that is your call since it is your adapter board.

     

    The pinout for the adapter cable is shown here:

     

  11. Posted

    3 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

    This sounds great!  The only thing I'd say is that you should really get a Sears Intellivision unit.  I say this because it is the only Intellivision unit that has controllers which  unplug like the Inty II does.  

     

    I don't think the Inty II controller is wired the same, so you would be limited to only the Inty II design. 

     

    All of the original Intellivision units are wired the same, so using the Sears unit will cover the Mattel, GTE, Tandy and possibly even the Inty III and Super Pro unit as well...not sure on those.

     

    Just something to consider before you lock in the pinout design.  I'd rather be limited to the original pinout layout than the Inty II as it just isn't the predominant Inty unit.

     

    1 hour ago, flickertail said:

    But if all I need to test all of these other variants is a Sears unit, then I will look into getting one.

    No, that is not correct.

     

    The Intv2 is the standard pin out for all the DB9 connector console flavors, except for the Intellivision Flashback (which should not be bothered with since making a Intv FB to Intv2 cable is rather easy).

     

    The original console is an inline 9 pin, and that is the standard pin out for all consoles of that design.

     

    It is all shown in the previously provided link:

    http://arcarc.xmission.com/Web Archives/Deathskull (May-2006)/games/tech/intvcont.html

  14. Posted

    On 7/15/2020 at 8:13 AM, gilsaluki said:

    Awesome. You are already modding a brand new controller.  Love it.   I just received mine.  The jury is still out for me.  Some games work well, some not.  The hex-shaped Thumbstick has too my throw and it does hurt my thumb because of its angular shape.  Oh well.  Got it for $19 shipped. On sale at Amazon.

    If it is a standard thumbstick, can you replace the cap with a standard thumbstick cap?

     

    There are tons on ebay to choose from

  15. Posted

    I read the first three posts and was quite confused by it all.

     

    9 hours ago, flickertail said:

    Essentially, the device is meant to be a Bluetooth/USB hub for classic Atari systems.

    That one line said it all for me.  Now I know what the project is suppose to do.

     

    That should have been the first line of the first post and then start with all the technobabble :) 

     

    Granted this is the Hardware subforum, so all the techie talk is welcomed here.  I just needed a little bust to get up to speed on what the plan is.

     

    6 hours ago, RevEng said:

    Good stuff on the post. I'm sure it will drum up interest - it's an interesting project. :)

    I agree

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    Currently in development is the very first Intellivision gamepad that I am calling the IntelliStick.

     

    This thread will be used to discuss the development of the IntelliStick; and to track its progress (or lack there of :lolblue: )

     

    I hope to be able to sell them, but this can be discussed later (much later)

     

    The IntelliStick will be a rebuilt Intellivision 25 Play Power plug'n'play game system:

    image.thumb.png.c84c920dc9fbaa973737822119d409e0.png

     

    If you are not familiar with the Intellivision 25 Power Play game system, it is another NoaC system and it looks like there are both an analog thumbstick and a d-pad on it.

     

    And I thought that this would be an easy conversion, but to my surprise that thing that looks like analog thumbstick is really a well disguised d-pad:

    image.thumb.png.a259728c162259de50f8041c086d83ea.png

     

     

    Objective #1:

    Replace that fake stick with a real analog stick and that would allow for 16-direction output

     

    To accomplish this objective, I need to design a replacement main circuit board that will have the needed circuitry to support this.  In my prototype that I built (some here saw it at PRGE-2019) I used an Arduino to accept the thumbstick input and output the 16-directions.  The prototype works well enough with the Arduino, but there isn't enough internal room in the Intellivision 25 for me to house an arduino while trying to keep the original board in place for the other buttons.

     

    The end goal is for the IntelliStick to have both a 16-way analog thumbstick and an 8-way dpad.

     

    Objective #1A:

    Need to determine if a thumbstick using 5K or 10K pots makes a difference.  In my prototype I am using 5k pots, but I want to see if a 10k pot thumbstick will give me a slightly better precision for calculating the 16 directions.  The angle calculations of the thumbstick are easy enough, but a few of the directions were hard to witness on my prototype.  It could be due to the design of the prototype (proof of concept) that I built.

     

    I may do a separate thread to discuss my (fully functional) prototype Inty gamepad.  It is not based off of the Intellivision 25 unit, so maybe it deserves its own thread.


    Objective #2:

    I don't want to have both inputs to be activated at the same time.  From playing on the Intellivision 25, I can see that one will interfere with the other. For example, if you are playing using the d-pad you don't want to have an accidental movement of the thumbstick and mess up your game.  The original Intellivision 25 game system has an on/off switch (you can see this switch in the picture above), so this will be repurposed on the redesigned board so that this switch will select between the thumbstick and the dpad.  And you can select between the two inputs at any time, so no need to reboot the controller to switch inputs.  This switch is a SPDT and it will be easy enough to either pass the ground to the thumbstick or to the dpad pads.  Simple-dimple.

     

    Objective #3:

    Only the Intellivision 2 and the Intv Flashback consoles have DB9 controller ports, and as most here know these two DB9 are not compatible with each other.  The redesigned board will have two sets of pin holes for the cable labeled 1-9 <> one set for Inty2 pin out and one set for IntvFB pin out.  If you have the original console, then you can either add a DB9 to your console, or you can use an original controller coiled cable and wire it to the the proper pins of the Inty2 pinout.

     

    Objective #4 (possible):

    The IntelliStick will not have a keypad (obviously), so a DB9 Y-adapter cable will be needed to be used so you can have a real Intellivision controller connected for keypad inputs.  Under consideration will be to have a short cable with a female DB9 connector sticking out, so the real Intellivision controller can be connected directly to the IntelliStick, so no third-party Y-adapter will be needed.  It wouldn't take much to have a second set of pin holes on the redesigned board to allow for a female DB9 cable to be attached.  This would be dependent on how much open space remains on the board after the initial redesign, but I suspect this is a high possibility of happening because I can simply do a 2x9 header pin out for each of the Objective #3. 

     

    Objective #5:

    The IntelliStick will not have a keypad, but the Intellivision 25 has a few extra buttons that will be repurposed as follows:

    RESET = Pause (presses 1+9 keypad buttons)

    SELECT = Keypad Clear

    START = Keypad Enter

     

    The thumbstick may have a pushbutton (it depends on which model I choose) and if it does have a pushbutton then that will be Keypad Enter.  My prototype does have a thumbstick w/pushbutton.

     

    The Intellivision controller only has 3 action side buttons, but the IntelliStick has 4 action buttons, so the upper buttons on the IntelliStick will both be the upper side buttons.

     

    image.thumb.png.796371807d334ee8203aafbb6b7e6f4f.png

     

     

    Objective #6 (low priority for me):

    The IntelliStick will require a power source.  For me, I don't mind using a phone charger with a microUSB or USB-C connection, since they are quite common in everyone's house.  I use these for my Ultimate Intellivision Controller and I use these for my Ultimate Atari Joystick that I sell, and my Ultimate Atari Paddle (still in development).  So I am quite comfortable using these, but I know having to use an external power source is frowned upon.  For me it is quite easy to turn off the IntelliStick by disconnecting the incoming power.  So as a lower item on the design list will be to utilize the Intellivision 25's battery compartment for housing a Lipo rechargeable battery with a charging circuit. Then I will need to have to add an on/off button (or switch) because I will be re-purposing the original on/off switch to select between the two inputs (thumbstick/dpad), and I will still need a way to connect incoming power just to charge the battery.  And I've no clue to how long the battery would last during game play.  

     

    Challenge:

    The biggest hurdle and challenge will be the redesign of the main board.  It needs to match the original board's size and shape.  It needs to have the contact pads for the Dpad and other buttons in the exact spots as the original board.  It needs to have the mounting holes in the same diameter and in the same locations.  It needs to have the power LED in the same spot so it lines up correctly with the existing hole.  And it needs to be able to hold all the needed electronics.  To help with space I will probably need to use SMT parts instead of through-hole parts (which would allow for easier build-at-home boards).  But outside of a simple board I designed for my Ultimate Atari Paddle project, and that was at least a year ago, I've not touched EagleCAD or KiCAD, so this is really step #1 for me.  Time for some learning.

     

    ETA:

    Who knows - not me :dontknow:

     

    All of my projects are mine and are built on my schedule (or lack there of).  They are a hobby and a love for tinkering, and for a love for the Inty community, and others around here know I help them with their projects when asked, so my projects get done when they get done.

     

    I started this project a number of months ago, and I was hoping that the Covid stay home rules meant that I'd have plenty of time to work on this, but it turned out that we are an essential company, so no staying at home for me and at work we've been quite busy as of late.  And even at home, there have been quite a number of RL projects going on.  So this project has been sitting for a bit. 

     

    Hopefully this thread will help get it removed from the back-burner and get it simmering front and center :cheerleader:

     

    Originally I wanted at least one completed to show at PRGE-2020, but I've not had much free time to work on the board design.  The expo is canceled this year :sigh2:, so now I have more time to work on it :yes:

     

    It is all planned out, but the plan is in my head (and now partly written above). 

     

    Now I need to get down to the brass tacks and get some real work going on it.

     

     

    • Like 5

  19. Posted · Edited by fdr4prez

    12 hours ago, donjn said:

    Do you do upgrades that include a composite output and audio as well? I would love to run this on my Commodore monitor. Trouble is your menu system is all widescreen.

    Sorry, I am unable to build these for sale.  It uses a custom modified miniHDMI cable to allow it to fit inside the bottom of the controller.

     

    But if you want to use a Pi Zero, it does have composite video pins, so you can solder in the needed pins:

    image.thumb.png.a615aafed4041855151b470383bb9905.png

     

     

    But it does not have audio out.

     

    For audio out, you can get it out of GPIO header and make a little circuit.  There are plenty of google hits that you can follow on how to do it.

     

    So overall I would not recommend using a Pi Zero is you are interested in composite and audio outputs.

  20. Posted

    2 hours ago, pimpmaul69 said:

    And then if you look in there you will also find my post that has a list of incompatible games that are compatible if you use a harmony cart

    Yes, one must look over the entire thread and not just the first post :deal:

     

    Also, the OP of that thread hasn't been online in 5-years, so there isn't anyone maintaining the list.

    • Like 1
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