+wood_jl Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 (edited) I did do a search and found some years-old threads on this, but they were not definitive in answering this. From what I gathered, the Sega Master system controllers will work on a 2600, or a 7800, but: (1) Being a computer, I am wondering if there are other things on some of the pins on the 800/XE that may be (detrimentally) bridged when you press the "wrong" button, or are the pinouts (all of them) identical between the 2600 (7800?) and the 800/XE?? (2) It seemed to talk about Master System controllers, but are Genesis controllers the same (at least the 3-button)? (3) Would a Genesis 6-button controller potentially introduce hazards over the 3-button? All of those added buttons must make additional connections, no? (4) Would Genesis cordless controllers work on 800/XE then? This would require a couple of joystick extensions since the infared transceiver is designed to plug into the front of the Genesis - with the ports at a fixed-distance apart. Has this been tried? (5) It was said the Sega (unclear which one) controller would damage an ST!! Is this correct? What is different about the ST joystick port? (6) Slightly different topic, so getting an ST mouse to work like an 8-bit trak-ball doesn't work, then? Is there any way to use a mouse (of any kind then) as an Atari trak-ball? (Other than Missile Command on A800win) Thanks; my apologies for the thousandth time on this one but I'm afraid to try since there's no 8-bit repairman around anymore and the answers were not crystal clear. Edited September 6, 2008 by wood_jl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmlloyd Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 I've successfully used a Genesis controller on my XEGS and 600XL. It didn't work in my 1200XL but I'm not sure whether that was a problem with the 1200XL itself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Sauron Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 I've used a Genesis controller quite extensively on my 7800 and 800XL. I've never experienced any problems with doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNerd Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) People with greater knowledge of and a penchant for accuracy will no-doubt tear me apart for this, but... It was the Master System controller that had a potential for a problem. From fuzzy memory of old magazine articles (which might be inaccurate) , it had to do with the voltage lines, which apparently there are two of. In the MS controller, the high/low lines were reversed, compared to just about everything else out there, which while it would be by all intents and purposes be compatible, there was a chance of static feedback, which the ST was particularly susceptible to.. ??? No such problem with the Genesis controller. There, that should get people with genuine knowledge to answer your post. Edited September 7, 2008 by AtariNerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Well, the Sega Genesis (named Sega Mega Drive here in Europe) 3-button and 6-button controllers both work fine on the A8. I am using a six-button controller on my A8 for several years now, without any problems. Since the A8 only supports one fire-button, one has to press the B-button on the Sega Genesis controller (all other buttons don`t do anything). Afaik, there is at least one program that supports Sega controllers (not sure which ones, Genesis or MS ?) and more than one button: Gem Drop by Bill Kendrick. One can select the controller (Atari-type, Sega) in the menu and, when chosen, use two (?) buttons with the Sega controller then... Since I never had a Sega master system nor its controllers I cannot comment on these... The trackball and the ST-mouse are slightly different. Most if not all A8 trackball games (there are very few) can be played with an St-mouse too (sometimes the program supports both devices, sometimes there are just two versions of the program). The reverse isn`t always true - most mouse games cannot be played with a trackball ! So I would suggest to turn a trackball into an ST compatible mouse. I have approx. 30 programs on my list, 5 of them can be used with mouse and trackball, 25 are mouse only programs. But you know, just like a trackball is different to a mouse, there are different types of mice, namely ST-mouse, Amiga-mouse, C64-mouse, PS/2-mouse, etc. and the 25 mouse games work with different types of mice (ok, ST-mouse is the most common, next comes Amiga-mouse, for C64-mouse and PS/2-mouse there is only one title each)... in the past we had mice that were switchable between Atari-St and Amiga, think the Abbuc hardware contest now contains an entry (an enhancement) that supports or better switches the connected mouse between ST/Amiga/PS-2... -Andreas Koch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) I use Genny 3 buttons on my 800xl. Never had a problem with any game. Strangely enough they don't work well with many Commodore 64 games. I would have thought the joystick ports were pretty much the same as the A8s Edited September 7, 2008 by joeybastard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ataridano Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Since I never had a Sega master system nor its controllers I cannot comment on these... The trackball and the ST-mouse are slightly different. Most if not all A8 trackball games (there are very few) can be played with an St-mouse too (sometimes the program supports both devices, sometimes there are just two versions of the program). The reverse isn`t always true - most mouse games cannot be played with a trackball ! So I would suggest to turn a trackball into an ST compatible mouse. I have approx. 30 programs on my list, 5 of them can be used with mouse and trackball, 25 are mouse only programs. But you know, just like a trackball is different to a mouse, there are different types of mice, namely ST-mouse, Amiga-mouse, C64-mouse, PS/2-mouse, etc. and the 25 mouse games work with different types of mice (ok, ST-mouse is the most common, next comes Amiga-mouse, for C64-mouse and PS/2-mouse there is only one title each)... in the past we had mice that were switchable between Atari-St and Amiga, think the Abbuc hardware contest now contains an entry (an enhancement) that supports or better switches the connected mouse between ST/Amiga/PS-2... -Andreas Koch. I've had good luck with a Sega controller, don't know which system it's from though. The way to use more than one fire button with the Atari is to use the paddle controller inputs, you have a resistor pulling the line high, and the button grounds it, so the computer basiclly sees the paddle going from one side to the other when the button is pressed. Some controllers not made for the Atari don't have that resistor. Two and three button mice are the exact same idea. The ST and Amiga mice are the most common for the Atari, though not a whole lot of software supports them (I'd love to see that list of 25 games). The only difference is a couple signals being swapped between the two. The C64 mouse is an interesting thing, it basically emulates two paddles, one X direction being one, the Y being the other, it didn't have much support because like a paddle, it goes so far in any given direction and then hits the "end". PS/2 use a serial communication, actually a serial mouse like you commonly see (well, used to) in the PC world would work great through an 850 or MIO, there's just no software support. A trackball should be the same as one of the various mouse protocols, though I have one that aparently emulates a joystick. Some of the old Commodore mice do that too, they work for games that have joystick support, but that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonman Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 In case anyone is still wondering.. you can use a Genesis controller on an atari 2600, 7800, Colecovision, SMS, and Vic-20, and probably a ton more that I can't think of I discovered to start a Colecovision game (1 player/normal diff) you have to press down/right. Or is it down/left... it's been a few years What I AM wondering is if you can use a Sega Master System Phaser light gun on an Atari 7800 to play the handful of light gun games. Anyone know? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 In case anyone is still wondering.. you can use a Genesis controller on an atari 2600, 7800, Colecovision, SMS, and Vic-20, and probably a ton more that I can't think of I discovered to start a Colecovision game (1 player/normal diff) you have to press down/right. Or is it down/left... it's been a few years What I AM wondering is if you can use a Sega Master System Phaser light gun on an Atari 7800 to play the handful of light gun games. Anyone know? The master system light gun will work, and is far more accurate than the atari light gun, however, you have to rerwire the trigger on the master system gun, as it's normally closed on the atari, and normally open on the master system.. Google it.. Theres several articles out there on how to do it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 The C64 mouse is an interesting thing, it basically emulates two paddles, one X direction being one, the Y being the other, it didn't have much support because like a paddle, it goes so far in any given direction and then hits the "end". Whoahh.. The C= 1351 mouse reads like paddles? Does that mean that it can be used on software written for the Atari touch tablet (It also reads like paddles?) Or are the X & Y reversed in relation to the touch tablet? I have a 1351 mouse.. Looks like an AMIGA mouse, but it's for the C=64/128.. I might load up Rambrandt and put it in touch tablet mode, and plug that mouse in and see what happens.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 My understanding of the 1351 mouse is that the paddle values it returns are either delta or velocity values. I don't think it'd work as a direct tablet substitute, since a tablet sends X/Y type values. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 (edited) Afaik, there is at least one program that supports Sega controllers (not sure which ones, Genesis or MS ?) and more than one button: Gem Drop by Bill Kendrick. One can select the controller (Atari-type, Sega) in the menu and, when chosen, use two (?) buttons with the Sega controller then... Since I never had a Sega master system nor its controllers I cannot comment on these... I wrote a Tetris game for the Atari 8-bit using the sega controllers ... one button rotated the piece left and the other rotated it right. I still have the program on disk, but it never got uploaded on to the internet, and unfortunately I don't have access to this program as my Atari died a few years back. (Maybe someone would like to help me convert my collection to .ATR's so they can be uploaded?) I can confirm that two of the three buttons are programmable, the "B" button is the regular atari joystick button, and one of the others (either A or C) is read from a hardware register somewhere in the 600 range (possibly PADDLE(0)?). Can someone with a Genesis controller confirm this? Edited July 5, 2009 by Synthpopalooza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 depends where in the world you are, if you are in the UK I would be happy to image the discs for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I wrote a Tetris game for the Atari 8-bit using the sega controllers ... one button rotated the piece left and the other rotated it right. I still have the program on disk, but it never got uploaded on to the internet, and unfortunately I don't have access to this program as my Atari died a few years back. (Maybe someone would like to help me convert my collection to .ATR's so they can be uploaded?) I can help with that... I am in US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthpopalooza Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I wrote a Tetris game for the Atari 8-bit using the sega controllers ... one button rotated the piece left and the other rotated it right. I still have the program on disk, but it never got uploaded on to the internet, and unfortunately I don't have access to this program as my Atari died a few years back. (Maybe someone would like to help me convert my collection to .ATR's so they can be uploaded?) I can help with that... I am in US. Not that far from me either .... I am in Tennessee. Check your e-mail. Bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druuna Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 On my XEGS seems not working. The only game working fine seems PacMan. But I have a clone not an original one. Any suggestion? I better get an original one and everything should be fine? But not sure it's the controller as works absolutely fine with a Spectrum and an MSX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Willy Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 While a Genesis controller might work on the Atari, it's better if you modify it specifically for the Atari. I did this myself some time back. Here's the topic I made on it: Two triggers compatible with the majority of Atari software, a separate jump button, and the ability to read the start button. What more could you want? 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.