Ikrananka Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 (edited) For some time now I have been using the Stelladaptor to allow me to play ColecoVision games on emulators using CV compatible joysticks. However, as great as the Stelladaptor is it only supports a single fire button and does not support the CV joystick number pads. Now, for some years RetroZone has been selling ColecoVision joystick "RetroKits" that work in much the same way as the Stelladaptor, but provides support for more than one fire button and also the CV joystick number pads. I delayed buying one of these for some time due to the fact that the adaptor is sold as a kit. The kit format allows great flexibility for the user to utilise the adaptor in whichever way they want, e.g. cutting off the 9 pin plug on a controller and replacing it with the RetroKit, building a CV joystick port directly onto your computer, or creating your own CV version of the Stelladaptor. However, the need to solder and, in most cases, provide additonal parts has, I believe, put off a lot of people buying these kits - myself included. Having recently been dabbling with soldering and electronics I decided to bite the bullet and buy a couple of the CV retroKits and create a standalone adaptor that I can plug any 9-pin CV compatible joystick into. I wanted something comparable to the Stelladaptor and so after some research ordered up some standard parts from Digikey.ca. I also used some flat computer cable and heat shrink tubing that I had in my spares box. The results can be seen in the following photos with some taken before I closed up the adaptor so that you can see the internals. It works a treat with ALL functions on standard CV joysticks working in blueMSX. It also works with the CV SuperAction controllers, however in this case the keypad doesn't seem to work and the spinner isn't supported by blueMSX. I'm considering offering a service to create more of these for those who may be interested (assuming RetroZone has no objections). This would be at cost plus a nominal fee to cover my time and effort. Let me know if you're interested. Edited July 15, 2009 by Ikrananka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I am interested to buy one or two Never had the chance to test this adapter... Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph74 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I am interested to buy one or two Never had the chance to test this adapter... Looks great! I'd be in for a pair as long as the 'time and trouble' is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Yurkie Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Is the other end a male USB plug? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 (edited) Have added a picture of the complete adaptor and cable as well as the USB plug. Edited July 15, 2009 by Ikrananka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 I am interested to buy one or two Never had the chance to test this adapter... Looks great! I'd be in for a pair as long as the 'time and trouble' is reasonable. I obviously want to keep the cost to a reasonable level. The more demand there is the cheaper it will be. I'd estimate that the cost would be around US$25 + shipping each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Yurkie Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 That thing is sweet. I love the idea of not having to mod the original controller. 6 Foot Cord? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 (edited) That thing is sweet. I love the idea of not having to mod the original controller. 6 Foot Cord? It's around 6 foot USB plug tip to adaptor tip. Edited July 15, 2009 by Ikrananka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledown Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I made one of those for a member here some time back. I think I only remember using a standard CV hand controller with it, but it worked perfectly fine. It's definately the way to go if you "have" to use an emulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 I'm about to head away on holiday for two weeks and so there will be no progress made with these adaptors while I'm away. I've sent some emails to RetroZone and need replies before I proceed anyway. My plan would be to buy a batch of the RetroKits, build the enclosures, and then offer them for sale once I've got them ready. Give me around 6 weeks and I should have a batch ready by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph74 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I'm about to head away on holiday for two weeks and so there will be no progress made with these adaptors while I'm away. I've sent some emails to RetroZone and need replies before I proceed anyway. My plan would be to buy a batch of the RetroKits, build the enclosures, and then offer them for sale once I've got them ready. Give me around 6 weeks and I should have a batch ready by then. Yeah, pencil me in for a pair if you could. I'm also curious if the SA controller issues were related to the retrokit hardware, or the reading of the emulator... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 I'm about to head away on holiday for two weeks and so there will be no progress made with these adaptors while I'm away. I've sent some emails to RetroZone and need replies before I proceed anyway. My plan would be to buy a batch of the RetroKits, build the enclosures, and then offer them for sale once I've got them ready. Give me around 6 weeks and I should have a batch ready by then. Yeah, pencil me in for a pair if you could. I'm also curious if the SA controller issues were related to the retrokit hardware, or the reading of the emulator... ? The problem could have been the SA controller I was using - it was one that came with a bundle of games that I bought off of eBay and it never performed quite right. I'll check it out on my real CV tonight. I'll also try a different SA controller once I'm back from holiday. I've also asked RetroZone about this issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I would be in for two if you do it. Would also be interested in some of the other kits (intellivision, Sega etc...) if you plan on doing them as well. Wow... you will have a nice part time job going there! On another note... I have a pair of Bally Astrocade controllers that I planned on doing this same mod too, However they discontinued the Astrocade kit. Would it work with a different wiring setup, as it is the same 9 pin connector as Atari and Coleco used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Quick update. Continuing to have problems with the keypad on the SA controller. 1. Broke out a “brand new” SA controller from a sealed box and tried it only to find that half of the keypad buttons did not register in the Control Panel > Game Controllers > Retr > Properties screen.2. Switched back to a standard controller and ALL signals registered including the keypad.3. Decided to dismantle and clean up my old SA controller (the one where none of the keypad buttons worked). Gave it a good clean including deoxidising the keypad circuit contacts and used a contact cleaner on the rubber keypad conductive carbon disc that press onto the keypad PCB contacts.4. Tested the controller again and now around half of the keypad signals work with some of the others registering if I press really hard on the button. One or two still do not register at all. I did notice that when pressing hard on some buttons ultimately the correct one was registered, but only after another button fleetingly registered.5. Wired up the second adaptor and so now have two completed - tested with my cleaned SA controller with the same results.6. Tested the SA controller on a real CV using the controller diagnostics program embedded in the 128-in-1 multicart - ALL keypad presses were registered. So, my SA controllers work on a real CV but via the adaptor the keypads are temperamental. Could this be due to the keypad conductive carbon discs deteriorating with time and that the USB adaptor is more senstive to this than a real CV? Any other suggestions? I'd like to bottom out on this issue before I proceed with ordering more parts and selling the adaptors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph74 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 So, my SA controllers work on a real CV but via the adaptor the keypads are temperamental. Could this be due to the keypad conductive carbon discs deteriorating with time and that the USB adaptor is more senstive to this than a real CV? Any other suggestions? I'd like to bottom out on this issue before I proceed with ordering more parts and selling the adaptors. I'm not an Electrical Engineer by any means, but I'm pretty sure you're dealing with an adapter issue-- either hardware or driver. Not sure of the differences between how the SA controller sends info for the extra 2 buttons and spinner vs the stock controller, but I'm going to guess an issue of interrupts that the USB adapter is not handling properly. Have you tries the Exp Module #2 or Roller Controller on the adapters? They very likely will be flighty too. After all, there isn't very much that can be sensitivity based with a 1/0 situation of the button either being pushed or not pushed. Also, you may want to try running a game in Meka with the SA controllers-- you can see the input stream in real time there in a window, to see what is registering and what isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 (edited) I think that only the Standart Controller work with this USB Adapter You can't use any other ColecoVision Controller/Expansion with this EDIT: No emulator support: SA Controller, Steering Wheel & Roller Controller Edited August 15, 2009 by retroillucid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 Okay - finally got the Super Action controller keypad to work with the adaptor. I dismantled the controller again and this time burnished the keypad PCB contacts, deoxidised them again and then applied a contact conditioner. Now the keypad works fine with the adaptor - so must be that the adaptor is more sensitive to the voltage of these signals than a real CV is. I think that only the Standart Controller work with this USB Adapter You can't use any other ColecoVision Controller/Expansion with this No - the adaptor responds to ALL functions of both of the Standard AND Super Action controller including the SA controller's spinner. Correct - it does NOT work with the driving and roller controller expansion units. EDIT: No emulator support: SA Controller, Steering Wheel & Roller Controller The problem in the past is that we've had no means for a PC to recognise all of the SA controller's signals (e.g. I have been using a Stelladaptor but it only handles joystick position and one fire button.) But with these RetroZone adaptors we now have a means of using SA controllers with an emulator, if only the emulator supported the additonal inputs. I intend to contact both the MESS and blueMSX development teams with a view to incorporating SA controller support. One question I have though is what data they would need, specifically with regard to the extra two fire buttons and the spinner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 With my success with the SA controller in mind I now intend to order a batch of the adaptors and housings and build the ready-to-use adaptors. Give me a few weeks and I'll post back with details once I have a batch ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 you may also want to consider this circuit board, does the same thing only it allows for more than one controller so you could do a two player adaptor with ONE board http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/atari_usb/index_en.php raphnet is, in my mind, superior to retrousb due to the fact that the one board supports so much more, so check it out for parts you should consider two very reliable and very cheap sources: http://dealextreme.com/ http://www.mouser.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Yurkie Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I would like to buy one of these, if you have any available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 (edited) I would like to buy one of these, if you have any available. I decided to put this on hold for a while. I confirmed that the issues with the keypad of the SuperAction controllers was an adaptor issue. I contacted retrousb and they indicated that it probably needed a change to the firmware, however they have not answered my last two emails and I can only consider this to now be a dead-end (although I'd be delighted if they did contact me back as I'd order these in bulk if they made the change). No big deal you may say considering the lack of emulator support for the SA controller's two extra fire buttons and spinner. Well there is a beta version of blueMSX that does indeed fully support the SA controller. In fact the spinner works for driving in Turbo and I have tested the driving controller and that works too. I do intend pursuing the raphnet solution, but just haven't had the time yet. Despite the above issues, the retrousb adaptors work perfectly with the CV's standard controllers. So bearing in mind the adaptor's current limitations I'd be willing to purchase the parts and assemble a minimum of 10 adaptors if the demand was there. So PM me if you're interested and if the interest reaches 10 or more then I'll go ahead. Otherwise it'll be at least a few months before I even get a chance to look at the raphnet option. Edited January 29, 2010 by Ikrananka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X90 Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Hello, I see this is an older thread. If this is still active and is available. I am interested in purchasing this adapter. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swami Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/17/2020 at 11:01 AM, X90 said: Hello, I see this is an older thread. If this is still active and is available. I am interested in purchasing this adapter. Thanks. http://www.2600-daptor.com/Vision-daptor.htm The D9 on the same site may also be a better deal. So many options for 3 switches. May work great, but I haven't tried the D9 yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/17/2020 at 10:01 AM, X90 said: Hello, I see this is an older thread. If this is still active and is available. I am interested in purchasing this adapter. Thanks. Unfortunately, not long after I did this project, they stopped making and selling the RetroUSB. So, I moved on to the Vision-daptor linked above by Swami which is excellent. In more recent years I moved onto the Ultimate PC Interface, first version 2 and now version 3, and have not looked back. I consider the version 3 to truly be the ultimate interface currently available. It works with so many systems and with so many different controllers - just awesome. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TF14 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 On 10/20/2020 at 8:57 AM, Ikrananka said: Unfortunately, not long after I did this project, they stopped making and selling the RetroUSB. So, I moved on to the Vision-daptor linked above by Swami which is excellent. In more recent years I moved onto the Ultimate PC Interface, first version 2 and now version 3, and have not looked back. I consider the version 3 to truly be the ultimate interface currently available. It works with so many systems and with so many different controllers - just awesome. Hello @Ikrananka! Do you know if the Ultimate PC Interface is designed to work just with a PC or will it work with a RetroPie? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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