Introducing: Edladdin Controllers for the 7800

[edladdin]

Not much of a joystick guy. Can we get 7800 gamepads?

For the 7800, I suggest our Seagull 78 adapter, which allows you to use any Sega Genesis game pad with the console. Buttons B and C replicate your left and right buttons on the Pro Line.

 

For the Colecovision, one of the four inputs on the Seagull CV adapter will do the exact same thing.

 

Making a game pad from scratch is too expensive to contemplate due to the sky high cost of injection molding. The Genesis line is tried and true, with tons of options/variations available at every price point.

[JonnyBritish]

Thank you Edladdin for a quality dual joystick in the form of the super twin 78

 

I chose it in my two sons fav colors blue and yellow

 

Not surprisingly Robotron on the 7800 has gone from a great game to an awesome game with the supertwin 78

 

thank you for a great product. Quality costs money but the end result was my 9 year old controlling robotrons movement and my 7 year old controlling the firing.

 

You cannot put a price on such gaming pleasure :-)

 

Next up for them is Ballblazer :-)

 

John

 

 

 

 

[edladdin]

You are very welcome! I hope it brings you and your boys a ton of fun!

[edladdin]

PS: The Bride and I play Robotron the same way! It's amazing what a groove you can get into even though the game is going too fast for much verbal communication. Together we can pick up a quarter million points over what either of us can do playing solo.

[Jinks]

Yup a genny 3 button and a Edladdin to 7800 adapter there ya go.

[sn8k]

Ok I will be looking to buy an adaptor after Christmas holidays and all that. I'm currently looking to purchase a 5200, only thing holding me back is the garbage controllers. Also not interested in a wico or Waco or what ever. Are there any plans to build 5200 joysticks?

[edladdin]

Ok I will be looking to buy an adaptor after Christmas holidays and all that. I'm currently looking to purchase a 5200, only thing holding me back is the garbage controllers. Also not interested in a wico or Waco or what ever. Are there any plans to build 5200 joysticks?

 

Yes! I definitely want to build a 5200 controller. I have a two-port 5200 and I only play the trak-ball games and Space Dungeon with any frequency. Of the four regular joysticks, I have one where 3/4 fire buttons work ok, and even that one is arthritis in the making on a heavy fire game like Dreadnought Factor.

 

So an Edladdin "Super 52" is definitely on the list for 2016! So far I've located a self-centering analog joystick at a decent price that is intended for an industrial control panel. And once the Colecovision projects gets off the ground we'll have a supply of membrane keypads for experimentation. At that point we can get serious on that design.

[Jinks]

 

Yes! I definitely want to build a 5200 controller. I have a two-port 5200 and I only play the trak-ball games and Space Dungeon with any frequency. Of the four regular joysticks, I have one where 3/4 fire buttons work ok, and even that one is arthritis in the making on a heavy fire game like Dreadnought Factor.

 

So an Edladdin "Super 52" is definitely on the list for 2016! So far I've located a self-centering analog joystick at a decent price that is intended for an industrial control panel. And once the Colecovision projects gets off the ground we'll have a supply of membrane keypads for experimentation. At that point we can get serious on that design.

The 5200 guys will build a shrine for you!

[sn8k]

Good man. Can't wait.

[+GoldenWheels]

When is the Coleco adapter expected to be ready? I'm not in a rush but also don't frequent the Coleco forum much.

 

And any small chance the Seagull 78 could be slightly redesigned so it plugged directly into the 7800 without that extra bit of cord? Like, so the box itself had the male and female plugs on it, and sat right on the front of the 7800, rather than one end being on a lead of 6-8 inches of cord off of the converter box? I ask because A) every time I move the controller cable in my setup the poor little adapter gets banged/swung around, and B) I think it would look 100x better. (I already own one but would re-buy a smaller direct plug version)

 

Oh ok and one last q: would you guys NOT apply stickers/art and simply send it along with the product if I specifically asked on an order? I'm looking at the Coleco thing and it WILL be mine once available and while I appreciate you guys doing professional, consistent company art.....let's just say I don't like purple as much as someone at Edladdin and I'd just a soon it was a black box.

[edladdin]

When is the Coleco adapter expected to be ready? I'm not in a rush but also don't frequent the Coleco forum much.

 

And any small chance the Seagull 78 could be slightly redesigned so it plugged directly into the 7800 without that extra bit of cord? Like, so the box itself had the male and female plugs on it, and sat right on the front of the 7800, rather than one end being on a lead of 6-8 inches of cord off of the converter box? I ask because A) every time I move the controller cable in my setup the poor little adapter gets banged/swung around, and B) I think it would look 100x better. (I already own one but would re-buy a smaller direct plug version)

 

Oh ok and one last q: would you guys NOT apply stickers/art and simply send it along with the product if I specifically asked on an order? I'm looking at the Coleco thing and it WILL be mine once available and while I appreciate you guys doing professional, consistent company art.....let's just say I don't like purple as much as someone at Edladdin and I'd just a soon it was a black box.

 

 

We are going to Kickstart the Coleco products starting in the next couple weeks.

 

Thank you for your support!!! I can appreciate your thoughts on the direct plug idea. We looked hard at that initially. That would be easier and less expensive to build, but it was more complicated to design without the freedom to make the enclosure from scratch. I didnt want the weight of the adapter hanging on the input jack, nor could the enclosure jack up the front of the console under that narrow overhang. It has to be exactly right, which is tough using off-the-shelf parts. So the honest answer - that's going to be low on the list of changes.

 

Ha ha... Yes, we've definitely swung for the fences with the purple and gold "team colors". We can definitely leave off any and all artwork, and have done so for other clients. Whatever you want is fine with me! On the Coleco products, only the membrane keypad will be essential to the function of the unit, so that's way less purple.

 

The other labels for the Coleco controllers would be tougher to add after the fact... Because we have multiple outputs to label, plus the four inputs to label on the "Seagull CV" adapter and the "Super Arcade Controller Plus", the artwork on those is a full wrap - 9.9" tall x 14" wide rather than the simple oval we've used on the 7800 controllers.

[+GoldenWheels]

Thanks Edladdin!

 

I knew the re-design on the Seagull was a long shot, no worries. I looked at it myself and figured the same as you--the overhang of the front lip of the console would make pretty it tight (in my case however, the weight of the adapter is already kind of on the jack, because mine hangs precariously off my shelf by the short cable, and it seems ok). I really just want some way to "integrate" it with my system so it looks slick together. I'll figure something out!

 

Thanks so much on the art....I am only interested in the Coleco converter box right now and not the controllers so that works great for me. Please put some notice up as a status update or something here for the kickstarter, I'd love to contribute but again, don't frequent the CV forum much. Don't want to miss it.

 

(I don't suppose, by some beautiful serendipity--or planning on your part--that the CV adapter will sit perfectly OVER the controller space on the Coleco, with just an extra space for the cords to get to the undermeath ports? I want it to look as integrated as possible EDIT: woah just re-read your post...it's 14 inches wide??? That just the art left to right before wrapping? The unit looks to be 6 3/4 from the photo!)

 

And though I rarely get to play 7800 with two people, if you aren't redesigning the Seagull I'll nut up and buy a second Seagull with the CV unit when it is ready for order....may as well have a matching set, my son will be old enough to have his butt kicked in Joust pretty soon.

Edited December 9, 2015 by GoldenWheels

[edladdin]

Thanks Edladdin!

 

I knew the re-design on the Seagull was a long shot, no worries. I looked at it myself and figured the same as you--the overhang of the front lip of the console would make pretty it tight (in my case however, the weight of the adapter is already kind of on the jack, because mine hangs precariously off my shelf by the short cable, and it seems ok). I really just want some way to "integrate" it with my system so it looks slick together. I'll figure something out!

 

Thanks so much on the art....I am only interested in the Coleco converter box right now and not the controllers so that works great for me. Please put some notice up as a status update or something here for the kickstarter, I'd love to contribute but again, don't frequent the CV forum much. Don't want to miss it.

 

(I don't suppose, by some beautiful serendipity--or planning on your part--that the CV adapter will sit perfectly OVER the controller space on the Coleco, with just an extra space for the cords to get to the undermeath ports? I want it to look as integrated as possible EDIT: woah just re-read your post...it's 14 inches wide??? That just the art left to right before wrapping? The unit looks to be 6 3/4 from the photo!)

 

And though I rarely get to play 7800 with two people, if you aren't redesigning the Seagull I'll nut up and buy a second Seagull with the CV unit when it is ready for order....may as well have a matching set, my son will be old enough to have his butt kicked in Joust pretty soon.

 

Yes, the perfect design for the Seagull 78 would sit flat on the table and nest perfectly under the overhang, while putting the connector at the correct height for the DB9 on the console. All so easy to do if we were custom making our own enclosures. And while I am SOOOO grateful for all the Seagull 78 sales we have had (just started building third batch of 60!), its nowhere near the volume we would need to be able to pay for injection molding. Our engineer was just showing me a custom electronics enclosure he had made for another client - a two piece plastic disc that was around 3" in diameter and maybe 1/2" thick - and it was $8,000 dollars just to have the molds made!

 

Thanks in advance for your support on the Seagull CV! I'll definitely be yelling from the roof tops when that Kickstarter launches. :-)

 

That's a brilliant idea, to have the Seagull CV nest right into the classic Coleco console's controller bay! That would be crazy elegant. But no, not even close. Its a 6.5" wide heavy duty aluminum enclosure, the baby brother to the one that currently houses the Super 78s and SuperTwin 78's. FWIW, it was just about the minimum width box to be able to line up the four DB connectors for the four controllers that it will serve and still allow space for fingers. For scale, in the photo you can see a Seagull CV art test next to the "Super Arcade Controller Plus" prototype, which is 14" wide.

 

Thanks for the second Seagull 78 order! I'll be sure that's a reward bundle in the Kickstarter campaign - a Seagull CV and a Seagull 78. Never too early to put the beat-down on your kids!

[LidLikesIntellivision]

Thank you very much, edladdin, for making the Seagull 7800 adapter. :thumbsup:

 

I live in Brazil and it's very difficult and expensive to get a good 7800 controller, but Genesis' are very common here (not to mention they're much better than the stock 7800).

[+GoldenWheels]

 

Thanks for the second Seagull 78 order! I'll be sure that's a reward bundle in the Kickstarter campaign - a Seagull CV and a Seagull 78. Never too early to put the beat-down on your kids!

 

I will be all over it!

 

(And I'll find some way to integrate the Seagull CV unit into the console! Pretty sure I can get that one accomplished.)

[edladdin]

 

I will be all over it!

 

(And I'll find some way to integrate the Seagull CV unit into the console! Pretty sure I can get that one accomplished.)

 

We ARE planning to offer the PCB that drives the Seagull CV in a "PCB only" version so that crafty folks can build their own controllers, adapters, etc. If you are really going to install it INSIDE the CV enclosure, this would save you a few dollars.

[+GoldenWheels]

 

We ARE planning to offer the PCB that drives the Seagull CV in a "PCB only" version so that crafty folks can build their own controllers, adapters, etc. If you are really going to install it INSIDE the CV enclosure, this would save you a few dollars.

 

Oh my. AFAIK the entire left hand side of the Coleco case is empty inside. Wouldn't it be neat to have the four DB9 ports cut into the front of the console, on the chrome part right over the logo, with the keypad dropped in up top somewhere.

 

My issue is...I'm good with a dremel and hand tools...but have no soldering electronics experience. My original idea was to simply try to create an elegant way to "stack" your CV box on the top left, possibly seating it in the controller holders. Maybe I should ask for a soldering for Xmas (I have to learn sometime).

[AtariBrian]

 

Well this info changes the equation! I had never given it any thought, but if there are normal DB9 connectors inside the console shell it would be worth considering.

I have an Intellivision 2 and if you ever make an Intellivision controller that would be a 4/8 way with keypad I would be interested for sure . After you hopefully can make that 5200 controller that is .

[edladdin]

I have an Intellivision 2 and if you ever make an Intellivision controller that would be a 4/8 way with keypad I would be interested for sure . After you hopefully can make that 5200 controller that is .

 

We can definitely look into it. If the keypad matrix is the same as the Colecovision it should not be too hard to pull off.

[+sramirez2008]

Received my Super Twin 78 and promptly hooked it up to play Robotron on my 7800. This controller really delivers. The gameplay in Robotron 7800 is so smooth, that it makes it feel like the controller was designed side by side (back in the day) for explicit use by this game.

 

Thank you Ed, for the exceptional build quality that goes into each one of your controllers. I now own two Edladdin controllers (Supreme 78: All Play 4/8 and Super Twin 78) and highly recommend each one.

 

-Steve

 

[edladdin]

Received my Super Twin 78 and promptly hooked it up to play Robotron on my 7800. This controller really delivers. The gameplay in Robotron 7800 is so smooth, that it makes it feel like the controller was designed side by side (back in the day) for explicit use by this game.

 

Thank you Ed, for the exceptional build quality that goes into each one of your controllers. I now own two Edladdin controllers (Supreme 78: All Play 4/8 and Super Twin 78) and highly recommend each one.

 

-Steve

 

My Super Twin.jpg Super Twin w7800 Robotron.jpg

 

 

You are very welcome - I'm so happy you like it! And thank you for the shout-out.