8bitdomain Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 What do you get when you combine a 5200 Trakball controller, Masterplay interface, Redemption controller & autofire/autotrigger functions? Also digitally selectable on the fly, while playing your favorite game? While playing my Atari 5200 multicart one evening. I was getting tired of endlessly pluging and unpluging various controllers, adapters, joysticks, etc into my 5200. I thought, what if I could combine all the different peripherals into one box. And select any one that I wanted during gameplay with just the press of a couple of buttons. It would need to be simple and low cost yet provide all the features that I wanted. So, I decided to add all these new features to an existing device, the Atari 5200 Trakball. First of all I needed a simple way to select the various functions without comprimsing any of the features of the trakball. I noticed while looking through the service manual that the 2 keypads and 2 red buttons on the top of the trackball case are redundant. I can keep 1 keypad & set of red buttons as-is and use the other 2 red buttons to select the different functions. But how does the user know what function is selected? Easy, replace the right keypad with SMT led's. Cover them with a nice overlay similar to the ones used on the joysticks except use translucent legends that glow with the functions selected. (Button 2) selects type, mode or device. The led under the respective selection lights in sucession each time Button 2 is pressed. (Button 1) selects which type of digital joystick is used when the SELTYPE led is lit, either Atari 2600, Atari 7800 or Sega Genesis/SMS. If the SELMODE led was already lit then you select which autofire or autotrigger mode you want or if all auto functions are off. If the SELDEVICE was already lit then you select weather you are using a digital joystick, analog joystick, or the trakball. All of these can be changed during gameplay, and the controller has EEPROM so thatthe last functions selected remain even after powering off. Also by using the existing trakball enclosure I can use the power from the 5200 so no extra power adapter is required. On the back of the trakball enclosure I will use the existing cable from the trakball to the 5200, but I will need to add a new DB15 male connector (for an analog joystick), a DB9 male connector (for a digital joystick) and a small pot to select the autofire autotrigger rate, that way case machining would be kept to an absolute minimum. The trackball controller has two PCB's inside, one on the bottom for the trakball controller and the other on the top for the keypads and buttons. So I decided to produce a replacement PCB for the top board. Making it easy to upgrade with a simple snap-in board swap. I have added some pictures below...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Nice. What's the difference between 'turbo fire' and 'turbo trigger'? Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 That looks soooo cool - very good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 IN a word ... WOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerG Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Great work!! Do both buttons work on the 2600/Genesis digital controller? You also need to have a y-cable with the 5200 paddle set up, ha! -RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8bitdomain Posted February 4, 2006 Author Share Posted February 4, 2006 Great work!! Do both buttons work on the 2600/Genesis digital controller? You also need to have a y-cable with the 5200 paddle set up, ha! -RG 1012632[/snapback] Here is a function table of the controller button mapping. 3 button Sega controller button C = 5200 Analog bottom button left & right 3 button Sega controller button B = 5200 Analog top button left & right 6 button Sega controller button C = 5200 Analog bottom button left & right 6 button Sega controller button B = 5200 Analog top button left & right 2 button Sega Master controller button 2 = 5200 Analog bottom button left & right 2 button Sega Master controller button 1 = 5200 Analog top button left & right 2 button Atari 7800 controller left button = 5200 Analog bottom button left & right 2 button Atari 7800 controller right button = 5200 Analog top button left & right The above modes are true when turbo is off. If turbo trigger is on then the button mapped to 5200 Analog bottom button left & right is pulsed at the rate selected via the pot. When turbo fire is on, the button mapped to 5200 Analog top button left & right is pulsed at the rate selected via the pot. For example while playing Xevious you can be firing in auto while using the other button to drop bombs. The Atari 2600 type controller is a little different, since there is only 1 button In turbo trigger mode the 5200 Analog bottom button left & right is pulsed while your single button is mapped to 5200 Analog top button left & right. In turbo fire mode the 5200 Analog top button left & right is pulsed while your single button is mapped to 5200 Analog bottom button left & right. In turbo is off then your single button is mapped to 5200 Analog bottom button left & right and also 5200 Analog top button left & right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Nice! Pity there's no way to switch which buttons are function control and which are fire buttons BTW, listing left and right on the 5200 fire buttons is redundant, as they're electrically identical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRetroGamer Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 Very nice work! When will this be available, and how much will it be priced at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 That is COOL! I want one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I agree that it would be very nice, but I wouldn't want to give up a nicely-working Trak-Ball controller to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8bitdomain Posted February 4, 2006 Author Share Posted February 4, 2006 Very nice work! When will this be available, and how much will it be priced at? 1012677[/snapback] I am not sure if there would be enough demand for a small production run (25-50pcs). I have enough parts to build two more, but I would want to send those to 2 beta testers to make sure all the game & controller combinations would be verified. I don't think that the resale price would be a whole lot more than a standard redemption controller assuming that the buyer already had a trakball unit to upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) looks like I might get a 5200 after all if it's gonna look like that!! EDIT: Any way to slap the 2600 adaptor into the god-like box? That would be the icing on the cake. Edited February 4, 2006 by Shawn Sr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 I'd like to see more game-specific functions in a contoller like Clay was going to do. http://www.multigame.com/mastercontrol5200.html http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12716 Not so much the Playstation controller use but just the finctions (trick modes) he was going to ad into it. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Coolest mod I've seen in a while. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Very nice work! When will this be available, and how much will it be priced at? 1012677[/snapback] I am not sure if there would be enough demand for a small production run (25-50pcs). I have enough parts to build two more, but I would want to send those to 2 beta testers to make sure all the game & controller combinations would be verified. I don't think that the resale price would be a whole lot more than a standard redemption controller assuming that the buyer already had a trakball unit to upgrade. 1012743[/snapback] Sign me up for one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerseydevil1953 Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Me To Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saccharin Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 What do you get when you combine a 5200 Trakball controller, Masterplayinterface, Redemption controller & autofire/autotrigger functions? Also digitally selectable on the fly, while playing your favorite game? While playing my Atari 5200 multicart one evening. I was getting tired of endlessly pluging and unpluging various controllers, adapters, joysticks, etc into my 5200. I thought, what if I could combine all the different peripherals into one box. And select any one that I wanted during gameplay with just the press of a couple of buttons. It would need to be simple and low cost yet provide all the features that I wanted. So, I decided to add all these new features to an existing device, the Atari 5200 Trakball. First of all I needed a simple way to select the various functions without comprimsing any of the features of the trakball. I noticed while looking through the service manual that the 2 keypads and 2 red buttons on the top of the trackball case are redundant. I can keep 1 keypad & set of red buttons as-is and use the other 2 red buttons to select the different functions. But how does the user know what function is selected? Easy, replace the right keypad with SMT led's. Cover them with a nice overlay similar to the ones used on the joysticks except use translucent legends that glow with the functions selected. (Button 2) selects type, mode or device. The led under the respective selection lights in sucession each time Button 2 is pressed. (Button 1) selects which type of digital joystick is used when the SELTYPE led is lit, either Atari 2600, Atari 7800 or Sega Genesis/SMS. If the SELMODE led was already lit then you select which autofire or autotrigger mode you want or if all auto functions are off. If the SELDEVICE was already lit then you select weather you are using a digital joystick, analog joystick, or the trakball. All of these can be changed during gameplay, and the controller has EEPROM so thatthe last functions selected remain even after powering off. Also by using the existing trakball enclosure I can use the power from the 5200 so no extra power adapter is required. On the back of the trakball enclosure I will use the existing cable from the trakball to the 5200, but I will need to add a new DB15 male connector (for an analog joystick), a DB9 male connector (for a digital joystick) and a small pot to select the autofire autotrigger rate, that way case machining would be kept to an absolute minimum. The trackball controller has two PCB's inside, one on the bottom for the trakball controller and the other on the top for the keypads and buttons. So I decided to produce a replacement PCB for the top board. Making it easy to upgrade with a simple snap-in board swap. I have added some pictures below...... 1012546[/snapback] My God that is bad-ass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I must hae been looking wrong, So that isn't all built onto the 5200 system it's built onto the trackball correct? I wonder if it would be possible to put it all on the actuall 5200 system ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I must hae been looking wrong, So that isn't all built onto the 5200 system it's built onto the trackball correct? I wonder if it would be possible to put it all on the actuall 5200 system ? 1017369[/snapback] Quite probably. There's a LOT of extra space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I'll just re-state my earlier post: is there a way to build the adapter so that it does NOT hack the Trak-Ball controller? Considering if something happens to it not only is your adapter shot, but the user just lost a perfectly-good Trak-Ball due to the mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRetroGamer Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I'll just re-state my earlier post: is there a way to build the adapter so that it does NOT hack the Trak-Ball controller? Considering if something happens to it not only is your adapter shot, but the user just lost a perfectly-good Trak-Ball due to the mod. 1017546[/snapback] I don't think there is a lot of risk involved with swapping a board into the trackball. Seems pretty straightforward and doable by anyone regardless of tech skill or lack thereof. The trackball is easy to open. Looks like you just have to make the openings on the back of the controller to match up with the connector ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsoper Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I'll just re-state my earlier post: is there a way to build the adapter so that it does NOT hack the Trak-Ball controller? Considering if something happens to it not only is your adapter shot, but the user just lost a perfectly-good Trak-Ball due to the mod. 1017546[/snapback] The beauty of the trackball is that it brings the 5v line out (which normal controllers don't) and the buttons are high quality, shouldn't wear out. BTW, that's one seriously demented project -- good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegamezmaster Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Sweet setup! Game On! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voiddweller Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Very creative solution. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonpatrol Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 If you sell it as an upgrade kit with instructions etc., I would definitely be interested in buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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