How do I make a NES controller to SNES adapter?

[GOTHCLAWZ]

I want to be able to plug my NES controller / Nintendo Zapper into my Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

 

I would like to make the adapter so that I may possibly sell them for a cheap-ass price in the near future. Is it just a case of re-arranging the pins from the NES socket to the SNES plug or do I also have to insert power converters too?

 

Here's a diagram of what I want to do:

 

So if I am to make this adapter, do I just connect the pins from 1 to 7 on the NES controller to the SNES's 1 to 7 pins?

[Wickeycolumbus]

Here is the pinout for a SNES controller. That page states "The SNES pad works exactly the same as the NES controller, except it has two 4021"s inside, and there are sixteen pulses on the CLK line," so you might have to modify a NES controller further to work on a SNES (I have never tried this myself). Edited May 6, 2009 by Wickeycolumbus

[GOTHCLAWZ]

Here is the pinout for a SNES controller. That page states "The SNES pad works exactly the same as the NES controller, except it has two 4021"s inside, and there are sixteen pulses on the CLK line," so you might have to modify a NES controller further to work on a SNES (I have never tried this myself).

 

I don't want to edit anything other than the connection, so I must know how to edit the voltage, ect.

[Wickeycolumbus]

Here is the pinout for a SNES controller. That page states "The SNES pad works exactly the same as the NES controller, except it has two 4021"s inside, and there are sixteen pulses on the CLK line," so you might have to modify a NES controller further to work on a SNES (I have never tried this myself).

 

I don't want to edit anything other than the connection, so I must know how to edit the voltage, ect.

 

I'm sorry, you completely lost me now.

[Quadhorn]

I don't want to edit anything other than the connection, so I must know how to edit the voltage, ect.

I'm sorry, you completely lost me now.

#pragma boolEngageBrain false
cout << "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.";
#pragma boolEngageBrain true

 

Childish mocking aside, so far as I can tell, it's possible to swap the connector and get something that will partly work but most likely would screw everything up. The page Wickeycolumbus pointed you to shows that the SNES expects 16 bits back per poll cycle and the NES pad only provides 8 bits; the "missing" bits may result in some strange behaviour. In particular, after the SNES clocks in the first 8 bits:

* If the NES pad Serial Data line defaults low or high, the SNES will interpret that as A, X, L and R as "always on" (if low) or "always off" (if high)

* If the NES pad Serial Data line stays at whatever the last set level was, the SNES reads the A/X/R/L levels as whatever the last level was for "East"

 

[...] so you might have to modify a NES controller further to work on a SNES (I have never tried this myself).

 

What games are you intending to play that'd work with most of the buttons missing...?

[GOTHCLAWZ]

What games are you intending to play that'd work with most of the buttons missing...?

 

For one thing, I want to use a NES controller in a Retro Duo console because it uses SNES ports, the other is that I want to try & use the NES Zapper as a Super Scope.

[+remowilliams]

For one thing, I want to use a NES controller in a Retro Duo console because it uses SNES ports, the other is that I want to try & use the NES Zapper as a Super Scope.

For the purposes of using a NES pad with the RetroDuo (in NES mode) you can make a NES socket to SNES plug adapter, as long as you tie the correct signal lines together.

 

However, the Zapper will not work.

[NinjaWarrior]

with that NES to SNES adapter you could play Ninja Gaiden Trilogy right

[GOTHCLAWZ]

For the purposes of using a NES pad with the RetroDuo (in NES mode) you can make a NES socket to SNES plug adapter, as long as you tie the correct signal lines together.

 

How do I get that to work exactly?

 

However, the Zapper will not work.

 

Well that's a pisser.

 

with that NES to SNES adapter you could play Ninja Gaiden Trilogy right

 

Never heard of that game.

[Crazy Climber]

Never heard of that game.

It's all three of the NES Ninja Gaiden games on one SNES cart

[Wickeycolumbus]

For the purposes of using a NES pad with the RetroDuo (in NES mode) you can make a NES socket to SNES plug adapter, as long as you tie the correct signal lines together.

 

How do I get that to work exactly?

 

Here is how you connect the pins:

 

NES Pin #		 SNES Pin #

1---------------------7
2---------------------2
3---------------------1
4---------------------3
6---------------------4

[GOTHCLAWZ]

NES Pin #		 SNES Pin #

1---------------------7
2---------------------2
3---------------------1
4---------------------3
6---------------------4

 

Is it honestly THAT simple? Just re-arranging the pins in that order?

[Wickeycolumbus]

NES Pin #		 SNES Pin #

1---------------------7
2---------------------2
3---------------------1
4---------------------3
6---------------------4

 

Is it honestly THAT simple? Just re-arranging the pins in that order?

 

Yes

[GOTHCLAWZ]

Yes

 

Right! I'm gonna try this.

[Crazy Climber]

Yes

 

Right! I'm gonna try this.

Are you going to pick up Ninja Gaiden Trilogy

[Video]

How many games exactly would be compatible with it? I mean, most the games I own use all, or most of the SNES buttons, so....

 

As for the Zapper, maybe if you had one of the NES adaptors to let you play NES games on there or something, otherwise, I don't think it can be moded.

[+remowilliams]

How many games exactly would be compatible with it?

Making an adapter makes little sense for use on a SNES. On the RetroDuo though it's very handy.

[GOTHCLAWZ]

Are you going to pick up Ninja Gaiden Trilogy

I'll look into it. To see if it's a good game.

 

How many games exactly would be compatible with it? I mean, most the games I own use all, or most of the SNES buttons, so....

 

It's for the Retro Duo.

 

As for the Zapper, maybe if you had one of the NES adaptors to let you play NES games on there or something, otherwise, I don't think it can be moded.

 

Zapper for the Duo.

 

Making an adapter makes little sense for use on a SNES. On the RetroDuo though it's very handy.

 

Quite, there's a chance that this could even work! If not on my SNES, then when I get a Retro Duo I'll try it out on 8-bit mode & also use the doubtable Zapper.

[Ian Primus]

A simple socket adapter as proposed will work on the Retro Duo. The Zapper, however, will not work. It requires additional lines that simply are not provided for in the Retro Duo. Similarly, the Arkanoid controller will not work. But the real NES pad will work just fine - and it'll be much nicer than those nasty pads the Retro Duo came with.

 

-Ian

[NinjaWarrior]

What's the Pin Layout for the Zapper??

 

I seen those FC Twin Zappers on ebay

[Asaki]

On 5/6/2009 at 4:34 PM, Quadhorn said:

The page Wickeycolumbus pointed you to shows that the SNES expects 16 bits back per poll cycle and the NES pad only provides 8 bits; the "missing" bits may result in some strange behaviour. In particular, after the SNES clocks in the first 8 bits:

* If the NES pad Serial Data line defaults low ..., the SNES will interpret that as A, X, L and R as "always on" ...

I know I'm digging up an old thread, but I just figured this out the hard way

I thought I would be clever and make a little adapter to play Super Game Boy with the NES Advantage...nope!

 

Oh well.

[emerson]

13 hours ago, Asaki said:

I know I'm digging up an old thread, but I just figured this out the hard way

I thought I would be clever and make a little adapter to play Super Game Boy with the NES Advantage...nope!

 

Oh well.

 

nes_advantage_snes_mod.pdf

 

Something like the schematic above should work for what you are trying to do. It's actually quite simple. All you would need to do is lift a few pins on the existing 4021 shift register, piggyback a second 4021 on top of it and run some jumper some wires. If you cut the traces around the 1/2 player switch you can use that as the DPDT and switch between NES and SNES modes. You may not need to remove the A and B resistors, just cut the traces at the right spot. The resistor tied to U2 D7 is still required. You will want to tie U2 D4-D6 high to represent unpressed X, L, and R buttons, and tie U2 D0-D3 low to identify this as an SNES controller. This circuit has not been tested and you are doing this mod at your own risk. If you would like it done but don't have the means, shoot me a pm.

 

This is a rom I wrote that tests SNES controllers on the NES. You could use this to determine which button presses the SNES would see and verify the modded joystick works as intended.

http://www.romhacking.net/homebrew/136/

[Asaki]

On 2/16/2021 at 7:07 PM, emerson said:

This circuit has not been tested and you are doing this mod at your own risk.

Yeah, I don't know about that kind of surgery I just had some parts lying around, and thought I'd give it a try. I had read about it many times before, but nobody ever mentioned that it doesn't actually work (at least not in any of the games I tested).

Besides, this gives me more incentive to actually finish my iCade conversion. I'm putting a DB-15 connector on it so I can plug it into different console controllers. Right now it's kind of...covered in cobwebs

  

On 2/16/2021 at 7:07 PM, emerson said:

This is a rom I wrote that tests SNES controllers on the NES. You could use this to determine which button presses the SNES would see and verify the modded joystick works as intended.

http://www.romhacking.net/homebrew/136/

This doesn't read the extra buttons as well, does it?

[emerson]

Yeah, I had to make that disclaimer since I just whipped the circuit up while I was at work, came home and drew it in kicad.

 

The rom is designed for full SNES controller support, so yes the extra buttons work correctly. You can try it out with fceux as that emulator has SNES controller support. The rom has been tested on a real NES and it works. It would allow you to visualize what buttons the SNES would see from the modded joystick in SNES mode.

[Asaki]

14 hours ago, emerson said:

The rom is designed for full SNES controller support, so yes the extra buttons work correctly.

Oh cool. Any plans for homebrew to support it, or are you just putting this out there for others to play with?