bigbee99 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Are there controllers from other systems that are compatible with the 3DO? I have never owned a 3DO. I'm looking at buying one that does not have a controller and noticed that the controller port was that same 'ol 9 pin jack. Will Genesis work with these? If not, maybe with a small switching of the wires they would work. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) NO!!! (Sorry, got excited there.. ) You need a controller that is designed for the 3DO. I've heard people say that you can damage something plugging in a normal controller. No idea if that's true.. I haven't tried it.. But I know you need a 3DO specific controller to work with the 3DO. Unless, you do what I JUST found when googling: http://www.atariage....-pinout-needed/ You can build an adapter and use an SNES controller?? (Scroll down a bit in the thread) Interesting... I haven't read the whole post, so I'm not sure how involved, but that's pretty interesting. (It's not "small switching" changes tho, it's somewhat involved) I love the 3DO controllers. I even really like the "link" for piggy-backing to get to 8 controllers. But I HATE the fact that they used a standard 9-pin when it's not compatible!!! (Grrrrr) desiv Edited October 9, 2011 by desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Yeah, do not plug a Genesis controller into the 3DO. You may very well fry it. First, the 3DO has a wide variety of controllers, many are relatively inexpensive to purchase online. Check eBay and other places to see what you find. I prefer the later Panasonic controllers that were bundled with the FZ-10, personally (they are like the larger headphone-enabled ones bundled with the FZ-1, but they are smaller and lack the headphone jack). Second, there are SNES to 3DO adaptors. I believe Gameexpress.com has them in-stock. About a year ago they were $8 NIB, but I think they have since raised the prices. Edited October 9, 2011 by Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Cool. I may get it, I may not. It's an "untested" boxed unit though. I don't want to put too much $$$ into it. We will see how it goes if I decide to pick it up. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 What kind of boxed unit and how much would you be paying? (just wondering) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 It's the one with the rounded corners. FX-1? I don't know a lot about them. Also has a nice crisp boxed Need For Speed with it. Price is not yet set. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaWarrior Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 How can a Genesis Controller Fry it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 It's the one with the rounded corners. FX-1? I don't know a lot about them. Also has a nice crisp boxed Need For Speed with it. Price is not yet set. B Hm.. Provided it's a Panasonic and it's a front-loader, it should be the FZ-1. The FZ-10 is the more console-like top-loader, and the other front-loader available is the Goldstar 3DO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) How can a Genesis Controller Fry it?? The 3DO joystick is wired differently. It's a serial controller (digital data is sent, not just wires connected for left/right/up/down/fire).. So, the question is, what would sending the wrong information and power do to the Genesis controller and what would the Genesis controller send back to the 3DO that it wasn't designed to handle?? Not sure. Haven't tried it, but 3DO sites say don't do it.. At the very least, it won't work.. I love the FZ-1. That's the model I have.. I like the looks of it, and it's been (knocking on wood) rock solid for me. Feels like it was built really well. (For a $700 list price, it should be!! :-) (No, I didn't buy it at that price....) and the other front-loader available is the Goldstar 3DO. I think the Sanyo Try is also a front loader, but it's pretty rare... desiv Edited October 10, 2011 by desiv 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Dart Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 How can a Genesis Controller Fry it?? Well, you'd be sending around 5 volts to "random" pins in the joystick port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I think the Sanyo Try is also a front loader, but it's pretty rare... True, true. I assumed we would just be speaking US versions. I think asides from the Try, there are some "Alive" models out there as well (Korean models, I think?). I believe at least one of them is front-loading as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 So how often are these FZ-1's DOA? B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Mine wasn't, but that doesn't help you too much.. If it's sealed and boxed, that's a great sign.. If not, and he doesn't have a controller, it's tricky. It's also a CD player, but the CD doesn't autostart, so you need the joypad to even test if it will read a CD. I suppose he might be able to tell you if the CD player screen comes up when a music CD is in. That way, you'd know it recognized a CD.. My guess is that it's being sold as is tho.. Tricky. They are well built, but there's no real "fixes" out there.. From what I hear, when they break, parts can't be found to replace them.. desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Well, with that being said, I think I will pass. I have a few other things I would rather pick up that I know would work and not roll the dice on a 3DO, something I know very little about and will more than likely get pissed off at it's CD read speed So here's the mystery link. Have at it ya'll http://www.shopgoodw...?ItemID=8683074 It's local for me. That's the only reason I found it. B Edited October 11, 2011 by bigbee99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 That's actually a great price at the moment regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 I know, I know... Who knows what it will end at but I'm not willing to roll the dice on one right now. I'm got my eyes one a RGB monitor at the moment. Maybe some here can steal it. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underball Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 if you do buy it, you can test if it's working with pretty much any 3DO game, for free. 3DO games didn't ahve any sort of copy protection on them, so you can download a ISO of pretty much any game you want, burn it to a CD, and you'll know if the system works or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Yeah, it's not such a good price anymore. It ended at about $44 prior to shipping. Meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbee99 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 if you do buy it, you can test if it's working with pretty much any 3DO game, for free. 3DO games didn't ahve any sort of copy protection on them, so you can download a ISO of pretty much any game you want, burn it to a CD, and you'll know if the system works or not. Does this for for any other earlier CD system? CD-i, SGCD, ect? B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Does this for for any other earlier CD system? CD-i, SGCD, ect? For several, yeah, as long as you burn them right. Neo-Geo CD, Sega CD, 3DO, Turbo CD/DUO, even the CD-i, although with that one, depending on the model you might try it on, it can be really finicky with burned copies. Edited October 12, 2011 by Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I did find that my wife's old computer, with it's older CD burner always burned 3DO games properly. My newer machine with the CD/DVD burner, almost everytime.. But a few hiccups... Could just be the burner I have tho.. Yeah, $40+ without a controller in unknown working state isn't that great. But if you keep your eyes open, you'll find one working eventually.. desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napabar Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 On 10/10/2011 at 12:15 PM, Rex Dart said: Well, you'd be sending around 5 volts to "random" pins in the joystick port. A controller doesn't "send" volts. A controller receives volts to power it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derSammler Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) On 3/6/2021 at 3:14 PM, napabar said: A controller doesn't "send" volts. A controller receives volts to power it. Then you have no idea how Atari and compatible 9-pin joysticks work. They don't use "power", as they are completely passive. If you press the fire button or any direction, a direct connection between 5V and one of the 5 pins for up/down/left/right/fire is made. So it *does* send volts back to the computer and can cause a short when used on an incompatible port. This is actually well-known. A 6-button Genesis controller can fry a C64, for example. Edited August 9, 2021 by derSammler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
napabar Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 On 8/9/2021 at 9:58 AM, derSammler said: Then you have no idea how Atari and compatible 9-pin joysticks work. They don't use "power", as they are completely passive. If you press the fire button or any direction, a direct connection between 5V and one of the 5 pins for up/down/left/right/fire is made. So it *does* send volts back to the computer and can cause a short when used on an incompatible port. This is actually well-known. A 6-button Genesis controller can fry a C64, for example. The controllers don't send power, ding-a-ling. You clearly don't realize how they work. The problem with the C64 is unique to how its internal circuitry works. You're not going to fry the 3DO if you use a Sega controller, and you're certainly not going to hurt the 3DO with a CX-40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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