external NES controller w/video and tutorial (and snes tutorial)

[thecauseandeffect]

is there a pin out diagram for slot 2? or should i just make the mini usb port?
im sure it has been done before, but i want to make an external NES controller so i can play roms on my ds
thanks for any help guys!

-------------------------------------------------
so it is time for me to sell my project!
its in the auction section here:
https://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=29902.0
go check it!

[Tri-edge]

I don't have a pinout diagram for the slot two, but I do have the pinouts for everything else
https://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=21933.0

[thecauseandeffect]

suppose i can always solder the lines from those points to the slot 2 and use that as my "usb" connection
these pin out connections, is it as simple to just hook up a button to them, and it triggers them, or do i have to hook 2 wires up with a button, how does that work, so far i havent found explanations

[Tri-edge]

you can hook them by connecting the button to the point and a ground.  you can get an ipod connecter at sparkfun.com and wire it all up to a common ground if you want

[thecauseandeffect]

oh
so the buttons are just open connections to a ground, and when you press the button all you are doing is closing the connection?
i never knew that...this is going to be easier than i thought

[aquatsr]

OK what's the point of this? You do know that the DS Lite has all the functionality of a NES controller and more? Sorry, but it seems ridiculous to make a external controller for a HAND HELD device that has BUILT IN buttons.

Good luck, though.

[PspKicks316]

OK what's the point of this? You do know that the DS Lite has all the functionality of a NES controller and more? Sorry, but it seems ridiculous to make a external controller for a HAND HELD device that has BUILT IN buttons.

Good luck, though.

Who cares if it does the same thing.
He wasnt the original look and feel of a classic NES controller while he's playing his roms. Personally, I'd love that too.

[thecauseandeffect]

maybe this will clear it up, i used to own over 600 nes carts...i sold them all because i have every rom on my ds, but i prefer the original controller

[PspKicks316]

Yeah just like I said ^_^

But dude, WOAH that's a lot!!

[thecauseandeffect]

i thought i would give a little update
so far everything is tested and is working through the gba filler cart, i will just wire the controller into the corresponding pins and yeah, simple as hell
this afternoon i will be getting a nes controller to finish it up
i think im also going to led mod the nes controller just for the hell of it, haha

[PspKicks316]

Do gba games still work with it or did you cut the slot traces?

[thecauseandeffect]

i dont see why the gba slot wouldnt still work, i didnt do anything else to the slot 2,  although i dont know for sure because i dont have gba games to test with.  the only way i could see it interfering is if a gba game tells the pinouts to do something crazy.

[Tri-edge]

Do you mind if i remake this pic so it is clearer? i will give you due credit, and i am also going to add some other points i found poking around.

Go ahead, just make sure you give the others credit too.

i thought i would give a little update
so far everything is tested and is working through the gba filler cart, i will just wire the controller into the corresponding pins and yeah, simple as hell
this afternoon i will be getting a nes controller to finish it up
i think im also going to led mod the nes controller just for the hell of it, haha

Why don't you do the last 4 buttons that way you can hook a different controller up later, if you wanted to.

[thecauseandeffect]

because im an idiot... making that change tonight! haha
thats good because i was thinking about doing an snes controller in the future.

[aquatsr]

Who cares if it does the same thing.
He wasnt the original look and feel of a classic NES controller while he's playing his roms. Personally, I'd love that too.

Ohhh ok. Well in that case, something for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/20/modder-shoves-emulator-roms-into-actual-nes-controller/

[thecauseandeffect]

YES!
finished!
it works beautifully too!  i will upload pics later, although i can imagine you all know what it is supposed to look like.
time to finally sleep


ps: i bricked my third touchscreen 
why the hell are these things so fragile?

[PspKicks316]

ps: i bricked my third touchscreen 
why the hell are these things so fragile?

Congrats!
And uh. You can't "Brick" a touch screen. You can break one...
They're not that fragile, They're kinda flexible too...
How did you break them?!

[thecauseandeffect]

for some reason they always become unresponsive.
they still display, but the touch part doesnt work anymore

[PspKicks316]

Probably not in all the way...
And that looks awesome! Now take a gba card and make a little addon at the top of the controller so it fits into the DSL. Then the DSL will sit on the controller like it's a real addon or part of it. That would be awesome.

[MARIOPARTY53]

for some reason they always become unresponsive.
they still display, but the touch part doesnt work anymore

lets see a video!!!

[thecauseandeffect]

i would love to make a video, but i dont have a video making device at the moment.  i will make one soon though

@PspKicks316
i think that would be way too awkward and unplayable.

[PspKicks316]

Maybe, but I guess it all depends on your personal style of play. Or something xD

[thecauseandeffect]

http://
for some reason embedding isnt working, if anyone could fix my post i would appreciate it

System: if you edit this post you will loose embed

[eddieluu]

can u put a tut on how 2 do the external controller with a SNES controller?

[thecauseandeffect]

yeah, ill make one tonight

edit:
and here it is, at least from the way i did it, but ported to a SNES controller

run the wires from each pin out to a GBA pin, it doesn't matter which order you do it, i did every other pin just to make sure they didn't short out when soldering and such, but you don't have to.  starting from anything after the third pin on the left and second pin on the right, be sure to write down which button those will represent.  just name them by the

on the controller find the ground that connects to all of the buttons, then run a wire from there to the ground on the GBA cart (2nd pin from the right). then find where each button is running to.  from that, wire the the button in the SNES controller to the corresponding pin on the GBA cart. 

same thing to do the NES controller except from my start button on the controller.  the DSTT requires you to push "a" on the NDS to start the games, and the NES emulator uses "b" and "y". so i made my start button also trigger the NDS' "a" button so that i could completely control the DSTT menu from the controller.



so yeah, its all very simple


props:
dslitemodder for his images
google images
acidmods for all the help and such
a store by my house selling controllers for $3
slops:
0603 smd leds, i hate working with these things
nes wire for being totally crappy
spending an entire night hunched over my desk

[thecauseandeffect]

a GBA game still remains untested.  although my ezflash 3in1 works perfectly fine still.  i know its not the same, but its all i have to confirm with right now.

[LocalToast]

a GBA game still remains untested.  although my ezflash 3in1 works perfectly fine still.  i know its not the same, but its all i have to confirm with right now.

If your EZ Flash 3-in-1 can play GBA ROMs (try GBA Exploader), then a regular GBA cart will work.

I'm actually interested in making an SNES controller adapter now. There's just something about the classic controller's button positioning that I prefer over the DS's button layout. (Playing Super Metroid on SNEmulDS is harder with the DS than a SNES controller)

[thecauseandeffect]

well thats crappy
 i finally got around to testing gba games
as loaded with my with my dstt through 3in1 expPack tools, on an ezflash 3 in 1
gba games do not work with this mod
they load, but every time i press start, they freeze
it seems this mod would be a lot easier if we could map out the pin connections that are natural to the gba slot instead of making new connections

[BiiPiiGii]

It would be really interesting to see how it all turns out.  Man that dude's DS looked super crazy with that custom case.  I've been wanting a different case for my DS.  It's black right now....  I think the external controller idea is pretty awesome.  Pointless as it may sound to some, the challenge of it all is what you truely have to respect.

[nytos]

Hi causeandeffect, just saw your mod, great work!

I've just done a similiar one, but using a SNES controller.

Your wiring is so neat! *envy*
Mine is messy as hell, not to mention I had to use 13 pins and wires, so it started  getting a little chunky under the touchscreen.

The good news is, now that I've wired up all the DS buttons to the GBA port - now I can attach any type of controller using a dust cover.

Man, you must have got heaps of $$$$ for your nes carts! I reckon you should have kept them, but then if they sat in a box you could probably use the money from them.

I find it is gettin depressingly harder to find older SNES/Genesis/Gameboy/NES equipment.

[Elitestar]

Awesome!