one controller for nes / turbo grafx

[mjsbbs]

After poking around on the site here, I was thinking about things that might be nice to do. I enjoy using my turbo grafx and nes systems. The nes advantage is an outstanding joystick. The turbo stick is pretty lousy. The nes and tg16 both have the same number of buttons. How feasible would it be to 1) Modify a nes advantage to work on either system  2) If 1 was too hard or impossible, modify a nes advantage so that it would work on the tg16 (and only the tg16, ie: wouldn't work on nes anymore)?

- Mike

[NFG]

They're not directly compatible.

Controller gut swapping is a question that comes up a lot.  The simplest method from a THINKING point of view is to remove the chip from one and slap it in another.  Trying to move different shaped PCBs and expecting them to line up and work after the fact is madness.

Typically removing the guts of one stick means that it no longer performs the original function.  You could use it as a dual-purpose stick, but then you're left with making a switching mechanism of some sort, as usually the two logic systems will interfere when connected at the same time.

[mjsbbs]

You could use it as a dual-purpose stick, but then you're left with making a switching mechanism of some sort, as usually the two logic systems will interfere when connected at the same time.

Thank you. Could you tell me more about this concept? Are you saying that it would be feasible, but very difficult?

- Mike

[phreak97]

should it not work if you have diodes coming off each of the chips? that way you would need no switching mechanism, and the chips shouldnt interfere with one another. you would need two cables coming from the stick. or four if you want to keep the 1p/2p switch working. the only other thing, is that i doubt the turbo functions will work, unless the turbo circuitry is seperate to the shift register which sends the data to the nes, then you could intercept the signal and input it anywhere.

in short, Yes, you CAN use an advantage on a tg16, and NO it is not terribly difficult if you just want its elemental functions(no turbo etc). but if you want it set out for you step by step to have it run on both consoles, with all its functions, get me on a good day and i might help...

i might post back later confirming some of this info, as i need to clean out the buttons on my advantage anyway, so may as well investigate a bit of this while im at it.

edit: ok i have my advantage in front of me, and there are two ic's one has MC14021BCP on it, and the chip in a regular nes con (mine anyway) has D4021BC on it. so im assuming this is our shift register:) that means turbo etc is probably by the chip labled MC74HC04A meaning you should be able to use the turbo functions with the tg16, but it might take a little experimentation..

also, something of interest: the pcb has JAKING printed on it, which is unusual, as nintendo generally have their products made by mitsumi.. i hope they didnt use these jaking people for much else, cos the overall quality of the pcb and soldering is fairly bad..

[mjsbbs]

I was thinking about what you said about the two cables. That's a feature I had forgotten about. A nice way of doing this might be to give up the 2 player feature and use the second cable and the switch, if being able to use both chips without a switch isn't an option.

I think I'm deffinetly going to need a lot of help if I want it to work on two systems. Even transplanting a turbo controller / stick into it would be tough for me. That would still be an acceptable outcome though. Basically I just don't like the turbo stick at all.

I took mine apart as well, but the board seems to be stuck near the turbo dials. I removed the six screws, and undid the two twists, yet it will not come loose. What did I miss?

- Mike

[phreak97]

the variable resistors are attached on the other side , by nuts under the grey plastic knobs (gameplay side of the controller).
those knobs are hard to pull off without damageing them. i put  piece of cloth in some pliers and got them out that way, dont squeeze too hard even then, or youll cause a little damage to each side.