Byte Knight Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Hey guys, I've got some Ultimate FB Interface boards in stock if anyone is interested. The cost is $60 shipped. This is an almost a drop-in controller board solution for Intellivision, ColecoVision, and Atari 3-7 Flashbacks and use the FB's existing PCB mounts and screws. This board then hooks up to your Raspberry Pi via a 6" USB cable. If you're putting it in an INTV FB, you'll need to remove the tiny horizontal tab behind the player1 port. If you're installing it in a CV FB, trim the tab behind the player1 port for the board to fit. Since the board is upside down in an Atari FB, player1 and player2 ports will be reversed. These boards work exactly the same as the Ultimate PC Interface and supported controllers / instructions on how to change controllers can be found here. I can provide a 6" USB cable for an extra $5 or you can use your own USB A male to B male like this one. PM me if interested. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SoulBuster Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 That is fantastic work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 sweet! i am going to have to get a couple in the future for my coleco fb and atari fb 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nurmix Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 We gave out A LOT of your business cards at PRGE, Todd. And your flyer for this board got a lot of attention. Really slick! Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I have one of these that is just waiting for me to have the time to pop into a new Intv FB (I think Thanksgiving week I will have time). For the sake of clarity, can you describe how the PI is being powered? Is it using the FB power how is it connected? Is it being powered via the two GPIO connections seen in the screenshot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 We gave out A LOT of your business cards at PRGE, Todd. And your flyer for this board got a lot of attention. Really slick! Cool - thanks for helping me with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 I have one of these that is just waiting for me to have the time to pop into a new Intv FB (I think Thanksgiving week I will have time). For the sake of clarity, can you describe how the PI is being powered? Is it using the FB power how is it connected? Is it being powered via the two GPIO connections seen in the screenshot? Yes, it's being powered via the GPIO. To hook up the power switch to the Pi, see the picture below. Hook up the topmost wire (red) to GPIO pin 2 (5V), middle wire (brown) to GPIO pin 6 (ground) and if you wish you can solder the bottom wire (yellow) to the "RUN" port on the Pi in order to reset the Pi (and not the game). If you're running a Pi 3, you'll need at least a 2A power supply like this one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Spear Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 What would it take to get this inside of a dead 2609 console? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 What would it take to get this inside of a dead 2609 console? This board is specifically designed to fit in the Flashback case, so it would be better to go with two bare (without cases) 2600-daptors that you can get here hooked up to a RPi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Yes, it's being powered via the GPIO. To hook up the power switch to the Pi, see the picture below. Hook up the topmost wire (red) to GPIO pin 2 (5V), middle wire (brown) to GPIO pin 6 (ground) and if you wish you can solder the bottom wire (yellow) to the "RUN" port on the Pi in order to reset the Pi (and not the game). If you're running a Pi 3, you'll need at least a 2A power supply like this one. IMG_2231.JPG Thanks for the reply. When you close up the case, how much clearance is there between the top of the case and the dupont cables on the GPIO pins? Do the top of the wires get pinched to a right angle or is there enough clearance such that the cable bends without crimping/pinching? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Thanks for the reply. When you close up the case, how much clearance is there between the top of the case and the dupont cables on the GPIO pins? Do the top of the wires get pinched to a right angle or is there enough clearance such that the cable bends without crimping/pinching? With the wires that I use, there's about a half inch clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mphokie Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 I'm in for 2 (payment sent). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vazquezrick Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 I'll take one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 I'll take one. PM sent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Yes, it's being powered via the GPIO. To hook up the power switch to the Pi, see the picture below. Hook up the topmost wire (red) to GPIO pin 2 (5V), middle wire (brown) to GPIO pin 6 (ground) and if you wish you can solder the bottom wire (yellow) to the "RUN" port on the Pi in order to reset the Pi (and not the game). If you're running a Pi 3, you'll need at least a 2A power supply like this one. IMG_2231.JPG Finally found some time to setup my latest Ultimate FB using an RPi3 and the drop in board. Board works great and it was really easy to splice in the FB power to the RPi GPIO pins using the connectors suggested. I also grabbed and am using the power supply suggested. I installed the latest version of RetroPie for my setup. In addition to the UPCI board/intv fb controllers, I also am using a bluetooth 8Bitdo NES30 Pro (http://www.8bitdo.com/nes30pro/) which works nicely. I have noticed however that an occasional 'lightning bolt' will flash in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Apparently this is an under voltage warning (not enough power) (https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/wiki/faq). I am now interested to find another adaptor that will fit the FB plug, but also supply enough power to avoid the 'lightning bolt' . Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Finally found some time to setup my latest Ultimate FB using an RPi3 and the drop in board. Board works great and it was really easy to splice in the FB power to the RPi GPIO pins using the connectors suggested. I also grabbed and am using the power supply suggested. I installed the latest version of RetroPie for my setup. In addition to the UPCI board/intv fb controllers, I also am using a bluetooth 8Bitdo NES30 Pro (http://www.8bitdo.com/nes30pro/) which works nicely. I have noticed however that an occasional 'lightning bolt' will flash in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Apparently this is an under voltage warning (not enough power) (https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/wiki/faq). I am now interested to find another adaptor that will fit the FB plug, but also supply enough power to avoid the 'lightning bolt' . Any ideas? So I did some checking and learned that the RPi3 should have a power supply of 5.1v/2.5A. The RPi kit I bought came with a 5v/2.5A supply so I replaced the usb connector on 5v/2.5A adapter with the barrel connector that was on the 5v/2A. Checked voltage with multimeter and it was actually a little above 5v. However, that didnt help. I turned off WiFi on the Pi and that appears to helped some (but not completely, like during boot up) and it doesnt appear to be happening when playing games now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 The low voltage indicator is probably because of the power going through the GPIO port and not the power port. There doesn't seem to be any ill-effects of doing it this way however as everything runs fine. You can at least get rid of the low power indicator on the screen by editing /boot/config.txt and adding the line "avoid_warnings=1" without the quotes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 The low voltage indicator is probably because of the power going through the GPIO port and not the power port. There doesn't seem to be any ill-effects of doing it this way however as everything runs fine. You can at least get rid of the low power indicator on the screen by editing /boot/config.txt and adding the line "avoid_warnings=1" without the quotes. Thanks for the feedback. Did more research and this 'low voltage' seems to be pretty common, especially on the RPi3. As best as I can tell and measure directly from the end connectors which plug into the GPIO pins (tricky getting the probes into those buggers), it looks like I am getting ~5.2 volts to the pins, unless my multimeter is a little off. Unless it gets really really annoying, I guess I will just have to live with it. I know I could disable the warning but I'd hate to miss a legitimate (one to be really concerned with) warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 I did another run of these boards so let me know if you're interested. BTW, this (and the UPCI) is a another great way to play 4-way direction Intellivision games, by using an Atari 2600 joystick. Since the ports are sensed independently, you can use a 2600 joystick in port1 and an Intellivision controller in port2 for the keypad functions. This will work very nicely for playing Sacred Tribe once the rom is released! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsp123 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Does anyone have a close-up pic of where the RUN port is on a pi3? I'm trying to figure out where to connect the reset wire. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Does anyone have a close-up pic of where the RUN port is on a pi3? I'm trying to figure out where to connect the reset wire. Thanks!There's one here. https://seeeddoc.github.io/Raspberry_Pi_3_Model_B/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsp123 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 There's one here. https://seeeddoc.github.io/Raspberry_Pi_3_Model_B/ That was perfect. Thanks mr_me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marioxb Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 (edited) I just found out about this. Awesome! I plan on using a Pi Zero. Should be enough for just playing the "golden age" games and using the original Flashback power supply. I don't have any Flashback units yet, but seeing this project made me wanna get one. Never even played Intellivison before. I used to have a Colecovison ADAM computer, but from what I read, the INTV FB comes with better controllers than the Coleco FB. Does the power button do the full Pi shutdown procedure and is the controller board still available? Edited April 1, 2018 by marioxb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byte Knight Posted April 1, 2018 Author Share Posted April 1, 2018 I just found out about this. Awesome! I plan on using a Pi Zero. Should be enough for just playing the "golden age" games and using the original Flashback power supply. I don't have any Flashback units yet, but seeing this project made me wanna get one. Never even played Intellivison before. I used to have a Colecovison ADAM computer, but from what I read, the INTV FB comes with better controllers than the Coleco FB. Does the power button do the full Pi shutdown procedure and is the controller board still available? The power button does not do a full Pi shutdown. That can be accomplished from within EmulationStation by going to Quit -> Shutdown System. And yes, the boards are still available and in fact have been revised. There's now a button on the board to change controllers "on the fly" (previously you had to reboot) and Atari 2600 paddles are now supported along with some more controllers. The cost is now $65 shipped. Additional controllers that are supported: Atari 2600 Joystick/Driving Atari 2600 Paddles, both paddles (paddle #1 button) Atari 2600 Keypads Atari 2800/Sears Video Arcade II (either side button, knob towards center) Atari 7800 Pro-line/CX78 gamepad Atari CX22 & CX80 Trak-balls, native mode (jack B, switches DN DN) Atari Flashback 1, AtGames Atari ST mouse (jack B, switches UP DN) Amiga mouse (jack B, switches DN UP) Bally Astrocade CBS Booster Grip (grip switch) ColecoVision original, SA including spinner, Driving, Roller ColecoVision Flashback, AtGames Fairchild Channel F (push down) Famiclone - NES, SNES & Famicom with adapter cables FM Towns Marty Intellivision original Intellivision ECS Keyboard (only on power up, "0" key) Intellivision ECS Piano (only on power up, left or right end key) Intellivision Flashback, AtGames Magnavox Odyssey 2 MSX, x68000 Sega Genesis: 3 & 6 button, d-pad & arcade stick (button "A", but can use "START" for backwards compatibility) Sega Master System 3DO TI-99/4A, both joysticks (jack A, joystick #1 button) PM me if interested! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marioxb Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 I'm definitely interested, but can't get one right now. The upgrades sound great! I'd wire my unit up to do a full shutdown (and add the code for that) as well as make sure the LED works. I also want to add a USB port without a cable hanging out. Hmm, since you have a way to power it from the GPIO, I can use both Pi Zero micro USB ports for data. The "data" one for the Ultimate FB and the "power" one as an external USB port for adding roms, using a keyboard, etc. Think that should work. 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.