7800 Control Issue

[marlowe221]

I'm having an issue with my 7800 that I'm not quite sure how to diagnose or address.

 

Basically, it's that my controllers don't work all the time. Specifically, moving the joystick left doesn't always register.

 

I was testing this last night using Asteroids for 7800. I don't like the default Pro-line joysticks so I use 2600 sticks instead when possible. I tried a SunCom Tac-2, a Wico Command stick, and a recently rebuilt CX-40 - they all exhibited this behavior.

 

Just to be sure, I used all three sticks on River Raid on my Atari 800XL with no issues at all. I also tried some 2600 games on my 7800 (Defender, Asteroids, Enduro). Things seemed to be better but certainly not perfect.

 

 

 

So... has my controller port on the console gone bad on me? Is that a thing that happens to 7800s? Or is my copy of Asteroids messed up somehow (I didn't try any other 7800 games)?

 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited April 9, 2018 by marlowe221

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Well..to really diagnose it, it would be best if you had a diagnostic cart or knew someone close by who had one. Full range of controller tests can be made. You said you tried 2600 games and they were better but not perfect? Can you detail that a bit more?

 

It is possible that you could just have a cold solder joint on the controller pins and simply hitting those points with some fresh heat from a solder iron with a little solder could fix you right up. Best part of that, is you don't have to take off the RF shielding to get at the controller ports.

[marlowe221]

On the 2600 games...

 

Defender - At first, I couldn't make the ship go to the left. But it seemed that after I played the game for a while, the situation improved and I could go left without issue.

 

Enduro - Sometimes the game would recognize me as having pulled back on the stick (brakes) rather than steering to the left. This was intermittant.

 

Asteroids (2600) - This game was the best one by far. Almost no issues of any kind - possibly perfect but I'm not sure of that.

 

The whole, console interprets "left" as "down" happened in 7800 Asteroids several times. Lots of unintentional hyperspacing...

[+-^CrossBow^-]

And this when using stock controllers with the system?

[marlowe221]

Haven't tested it with the stock 7800 joystick. Can't stand that thing.

 

But I will endure the pain to test it and report back!

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Haven't tested it with the stock 7800 joystick. Can't stand that thing.

 

But I will endure the pain to test it and report back!

Then what are you using?

[marlowe221]

The sticks listed in my OP. A Suncom Tac-2, a Wico Command (baseball bat handle), and a rebuilt CX-40.

[marlowe221]

And this when using stock controllers with the system?

 

Update - I tested the stock 7800 "painline" controller with Asteroids for 7800. The proline seems to work just fine.

 

I also tested a Sega Genesis controller I had laying around, out of curiosity. The game freaked out with the Genesis controller plugged in. It kept hyperspacing over and over again and did not respond to any button presses. I was under the impression that the 7800 would recognize a Genesis pad as a 2600 joystick. Is that not the case?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

 

Update - I tested the stock 7800 "painline" controller with Asteroids for 7800. The proline seems to work just fine.

 

I also tested a Sega Genesis controller I had laying around, out of curiosity. The game freaked out with the Genesis controller plugged in. It kept hyperspacing over and over again and did not respond to any button presses. I was under the impression that the 7800 would recognize a Genesis pad as a 2600 joystick. Is that not the case?

 

Interesting that the standard painline seems to work fine.

 

Genesis controllers only work like 2600 controllers in a 2600. On a 7800, the extra logic in the genesis controller will freak it out as you've seen. That is why the Ed Laddin adapters exist.