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Modded my Odyssey 2 to use Atari Joysticks


toymailman

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Well I only know one way to AV mod an Odyssey 2. I didn't know there were other methods?

 

The one I know seems to work very well. I haven’t done it personally (yet) I used to have the URL for it but that went when my laptop HD broke the beginning of this year :(

 

Luckily I printed out the directions so I have a paper copy of it

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@toymailman: can you post instructions on your joystick mod?

No problem. :)

 

Step 1) was to map the functions of the Atari joystick (did this years ago) and the functions inputted on the Odyssey 2 motherboard.

 

If you are looking into the DB9 female end of the Atari Joystick with 5 holes on top (1-5 left-to-right) and 4 holes on the bottom (6-9 left-to-right) then the following are how the functions are mapped.

1 - unused

2 - RIGHT

3 - LEFT

4 - DOWN

5 - UP

6 - unused

7 - GROUND

8 - unused

9 - FIRE

 

The Odyssey 2 motherboard has six inputs for each controller that correspond to the four directions, fire (aka "Action") and ground. Looking at the top of the motherboard with the connections toward you, then the following is how it is mapped (from left to right).

1 - GROUND

2 - FIRE

3 - LEFT

4 - DOWN

5 - RIGHT

6 - UP

 

My ultra-detailed schematic is below.

post-10944-0-04862200-1310529836_thumb.jpg

 

Step 2) was to configure a couple of serial cables with a DB9 male end. I cut them about 2' in length and then exposed the individual wires. The pins here are essentially a mirror image of how the Atari joystick maps from above. So, with 5 pins on top (1-5 left-to-right) and 4 pins on the bottom (6-9 left-to-right) then the following are how the functions are mapped.

1 - UP

2 - DOWN

3 - LEFT

4 - RIGHT

5 - unused

6 - FIRE

7 - unused

8 - GROUND

9 - unused

 

I used a multimeter to find which color wire of the serial cable goes to which specific pin. There is apperently no standard as both of mine were different.

 

Step 3) was to attach the crimp-on connectors to the cable wires. After these were crimpped I also used a small amount of electrical tape to secure it better. Below is a picture of the connectors I used and found at Radio Shack (part# 276-1430).

post-10944-0-50532100-1310530424_thumb.jpg

 

Step 4) was to simply plug the correct connector onto the Odyssey 2 motherboard. I used some more electrical tape to secure this after all six were in.

post-10944-0-36250600-1310530541_thumb.jpg

 

Step 5) was to cut out a part of the Odyssey 2 top case to mount the ends of the serial cables (I used super-glue to secure it).

post-10944-0-70334100-1310530639_thumb.jpg

 

Let it dry, then viola!

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Thanks for sharing the instructions for the mod, very nice! :thumbsup:

 

If I run into the instructions on how to do the AV mod I'll post them here....in the meantime here is a few sites to get you on the right path of where I found the 'good' AV mod...

 

http://yagrs.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/odyssey-2-av-mod/

 

http://videopac.nl/forum/index.php?topic=20.0

 

http://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=38027.0

 

http://www.videopac.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7598&sid=16f7d9afc5a0baab73b77232d6c7846b

 

Hope that helps somewhat, lol

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Nice work.

I recently modded my g7000 to take atari compatible sticks. Also added a a/v mod and a power switch. Last step i need to take is to remove the power cord and replace it with a powersocket.

 

looks great, can you post directions for A/V mod?

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I'm kinda surprised one wouldn't prefer the Oddysee 2 controllers. I mean I like the atari joysticks, but the O2 controllers are much better IMHO

 

 

It isn't the originals I like. It's all the other DB9 controllers you can use if it is pinned out correctly. Not sure if anyone recalls but I'd suggested this about 2 years ago when I did mine. It was received poorly. Glad to see that a few people here can see the merits of using other controllers on OD2. It's a great little system that could. One that I cut my gaming teeth on in the early 80's.

 

AX

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It isn't the originals I like. It's all the other DB9 controllers you can use if it is pinned out correctly.

 

OK, I can see that.

Like Itchy, I loved my O2 controllers. When my O2 died (a sad day in history...) and i eventually got a Vic-20, I moved one of my O2 sticks to the Vic-20...

(Then again, that triangular Vic-20 stick was awful!! IMHO.)

 

Nice hack, especially as it's reversible.. ;-)

 

desiv

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I did the controller mod on my O2 a couple of months ago. The reason I did it wasn't so much that I didn't like the O2 controllers, but the cords were way too short. I wish that I had thought of adding the controller ports to the front of the O2 when I did the mod. I don't know why that didn't dawn on me.

 

The A/V mod I completed on my O2 is very simple and didn't work well when the O2 was attached directly to my TV. The picture is fine when fed through my DVD/VCR combo, though. I actually found a different mod that I plan on switching to in the future.

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Do you have links to the AV mod you plan on using?

 

I did the controller mod on my O2 a couple of months ago. The reason I did it wasn't so much that I didn't like the O2 controllers, but the cords were way too short. I wish that I had thought of adding the controller ports to the front of the O2 when I did the mod. I don't know why that didn't dawn on me.

 

The A/V mod I completed on my O2 is very simple and didn't work well when the O2 was attached directly to my TV. The picture is fine when fed through my DVD/VCR combo, though. I actually found a different mod that I plan on switching to in the future.

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Just finished the last mod on my g7000. It now has a detachable power cord. So now i can store it easy without cables getting tangled.

I also put a female dsub onto my videopac controllers, so now i can use them on a atari 2600 compatible system as well.

I put all sockets on the bottom of the system so that i can swap the bottom to a other system in case it breaks down.

I tried glueing the cables to the bottom, but the glue won't hold. So now i used cable routers. This is a first, quick mod. I will add shielded cables to the av-outputs and fix the av board better. I may also add a +5v to the joystick ports so you can use auto fire joysticks.

The female dsub on top of my g7000 is from the videopac joystick.

post-5654-0-03262800-1310676146_thumb.jpg

post-5654-0-78528500-1310676164_thumb.jpg

Edited by Seob
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I used this, but it is for the g7000. Don't know if it will work on the o2.

 

On this site there is a step by step guide for the 02: http://solarfox.tril...wh_o2avc_p1.php

 

many thanks, that link did the trick!

Great link. I think my next project will be the APF controller mod. If anyone tries this O2 A/V mod, let me know how it goes.

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