Jump to content
IGNORED

Controller Conversion Help


mister_pal

Recommended Posts

I'm not to sure if this is the right place to ask but I might as well.

Currently i have been trying to convert an Atari Jaguar controller so that it might possibly work on my 2600 but i have been having some trouble correctly wiring it up correctly and so far it does not yet work. I have had some trouble finding information on this specific topic so i have decided to ask here. If anyone can provide me some advice, pinout diagrams, links to how-to articles etc. I would really appreciate it :) .

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited by mister_pal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While i really appreciate your help with this i have unfortunately already been there and frankly besides the semi - useful pinout there is almost nothing there that would strike me as something that could help me :( but i anyone can enlighten me please do :).

 

Once again thanks in advance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I can think of a couple of alternatives.

1 Buy this adapter from best electronics, you get to keep the Jag controller in one piece

2 Use a 2600 or 7800 joystick cable and just solder onto the appropriate switches 2600 and 7800 pin out you only need one fire button for 2600, so you could possibly link all of them up to give you plenty of chance :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice mimo but unfortunately for your 2. that is almost exactly what I am doing and it isn't working :(. What i was really hoping for was a possible how-to because my knowledge with this kind of stuff isn't that great and i have already hacked up the two controllers :P.

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am just trying to emulate a standard 2600 controller.

So far i have removed the 2600 plug with the corresponding wires.

Also I have cut through the Jaguar cable and have begun rewiring everything but as i have stated i have had some trouble getting it to work.

 

Thanks in Advance Zero :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did what you are asking, but it was for the Atari ST to use a Jaguar controller I had laying around.

 

It is pretty easy to do.

 

I basically had an old controller for the Jag someone gave me that had no cable coming out of it. I took a volt meter to figure out if I could solder to anything to allow use of the control pad for movement and the A button for fire.

 

The Jaguar controller uses a bank switching approach so it can read all the various buttons on the controller, so it doesn't seem easy at first glance, but it is pretty easy.

 

What I found is that white ribbon that goes from the circuit board the a/b/c and directional buttons are on is the easiest place to make your connections.

 

I basically flipped that circuit board over and with a volt meter figured out which pins go to UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT and the A button. Also one other pin on there is a common that makes a connection between the UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT/A and itself when they are pushed.

 

I basically wired the GND from an the standard 9 pin Atari joystick plug to that common line. Then the up/down/left/right went to their counterparts on the 9 pin Atari. And A went to FIRE.

 

I can give you more detail if you need it

 

Worked fine, and the kids like using the Jag pad more than the 2600 joysticks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should not since the controller was an old one someone gave me, it had no cable coming out of it since they tried ripping it out for a BJL interface cable.

 

If you have a Jaguar controller with an existing cable, you could probably make a little 15pin - 9pin adaptor and get the signals in the right place, but since I didn't have to worry about it, I just soldered right to the PCB the buttons I needed were on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking at my quick notes.

 

That ribbon that connects the main pcb with the smaller one has 13 pins.

 

My diagram is looking at that little PCB face down with the directional buttons towards your left.

 

I saw this.

 

0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  1  1
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  0  1  2  3

G  R	 F					U  L  D
N  I	 I					P  E  O
D  G	 R					   F  W
  H	 E					   T  N
  T

 

No guarantees this is accurate, but you can easily verify by putting one probe on your volt meter on the GND pin and the other on the others listed. Then press the button of the pin the second probe lead is on. You should get zero ohms, or a beep if your on the diode tester mode of your volt meter.

 

If it doesn't work you may be looking at it reversed from my diagram (your pin 1 may be pin 13).

Edited by belboz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice mimo but unfortunately for your 2. that is almost exactly what I am doing and it isn't working :(. What i was really hoping for was a possible how-to because my knowledge with this kind of stuff isn't that great and i have already hacked up the two controllers :P.

 

Thanks

your easiest bet would be to hardwire a DB9 to the contacts within the controller, bypassing the HC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Belboz says, because of the bankswitching the controller

you have to make sure you are on a ground from the joy port.

Otherwise if you are using the ground of the 74HC244, it wont

help becasue, then the 2600 would have to make sure the 74HC244

was set to the right row to read. Im not sure what state the 74HC244

defaults to at power however.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now might be a good time to ask this but after putting my controller back together i forgot to put the rubber pause/select thing back in. Being fairly late at the time this happened i decided to wait until tomorrow to do this. Now i can't find it! If someone has an extra one..... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once again even though i have already finished thank you very much guys :)

 

 

We just like to babble on. :D

 

Also for anyone else interested, if you can figure out how the 74HC244 chip

in the Joy pad defaults to, you wont need to even open a jag controller. Just

make sure that the default common is the one connected....oh yeah a 9 to 15

pin obviously

 

...you know.....

 

Using BOTH 2600 controller ports should give you enough lines to actually

make the entire Jag pad work. That would be neat..but then you would

have to write a game to use it. I'm not sure if you can set the port bits

of the 2600 or not. Anyone know off hand if they are read only?

 

I bet the bB gurus an answer that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can anyone help me with where to link in a rotary controller so I can keep the original functionality of the Jag controller?

 

I will assume you are playing Tempest 2k....

 

You will have to use a switch for that. Since the rotary uses the joypad switches

as the rotary input you may have the encoder NOT set to a zero buttons state.

this means unprovoked movement.

 

Can you read a Schematic?

 

 

I can send you a small drawing on what to do. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah that wouldn't be too hard. But do people really love the Jag controller that much?

 

 

Most PC games are better served with analog and mouse type controllers nowadays anyway.

 

However, I can see perfectly why a Jag fan would find this enjoyable. :)

 

That is something I could look into designing on my Spartan3E.....hmmmmmmm....

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...