Sega Genesis Controllers?


Guest gonzosmoonwomb

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Guest gonzosmoonwomb

is the Arcade Kit able to use Sega Genesis Controllers? here is some info on how they work:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/infopg/segasix.txt

it would basically require being able to use pin 7 as a Select signal switching between 0V and 5V... also, I was wondering are the 8 VGA colours selectable, or is it 8 set colours?

Thanks for any answers!  :)

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Hello,

It looks like there shouldn't be any problem using Sega Genesis Controllers, it will probably just require making a harness connecting a DB9 connector to a surplus Sega Genesis connector. Only obstacle is if it the 3.3V output from the FPGA is high enough to drive the 5V logic the controller is expecting.

The 8 colors are going to be defined by the VGA monitors I believe, whatever color they display when the RGB pins are .7V or 0V. So we don't have any real ability to use colors other then that. The good news though is that VGA Wings and an Arcade Wing with 4096 colors should be arriving soon. Anyone that has bought the Papilio Arcade kit already will get a discount on the updated Wings.

Jack.

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Guest gonzosmoonwomb

It looks like there shouldn't be any problem using Sega Genesis Controllers, it will probably just require making a harness connecting a DB9 connector to a surplus Sega Genesis connector. Only obstacle is if it the 3.3V output from the FPGA is high enough to drive the 5V logic the controller is expecting.

Sega Genesis connectors are DB9 connectors though, aren't they? would there be an easy way to boost the 3.3V up to 5V if it does present an issue? Cheers!

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The datasheet says "Operating Voltage Range: 2.0 to 6.0 V", so I'd say there is a 99% chance that it works at 3.3V without extra logic, just by plugging it to the DB9 socket.

BTW, the 3-button version of the Genesis controller should not cause any  trouble at all (as there is no logic inside, only switches and pullup  resistors)

 

I'm interested to know if you could make it work -- I'm developing a Master System implementation, and the Genesis controllers are much easier to find (and much cheaper) than the vintage 2-button SMS ones...

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Ok, Excellent, it looks like this will not be very hard at all. :-)

I agree with Ben, that 7400 series chip should work fine with 3.3V logic driving it so driving the select pin is no problem.

I didn't realize it was a DB9 connector! That is excellent.

For a game like Pac-man that only uses left, right, up, down, and A button we would just need to add one line of code to the VHDL to drive the select pin to always select "B".

I just bought a sega genesis controller off ebay to test with, but if someone has one on hand and can do testing with it I'd be happy to update the Pac-Man project to use it.

Jack.

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