Atari 5200 Playstation 2 Adapter

[smbaker]

 

I wanted 2, please.

 

Ah, I thought you were only interested in a completed adapter. If you're fine with just the pcboards, I'll move you to the head of the list as I think you were first to respond.

 

New list is:

 

swami - 2

protestari - 2

rayik - 2

john_q_atari -2

 

waitlist (for next run of boards)

 

gaztee - 2

 

Scott

[Swami]

 

Ah, I thought you were only interested in a completed adapter. If you're fine with just the pcboards, I'll move you to the head of the list as I think you were first to respond.

 

New list is:

 

swami - 2

protestari - 2

rayik - 2

john_q_atari -2

 

waitlist (for next run of boards)

 

gaztee - 2

 

Scott

 

Thanks!

[fandenivoldsk]

I would like two completed adapters

Edited September 30, 2018 by fandenivoldsk

[fandenivoldsk]

Ah, I just read that you only sell them as bare pcboards. Well, I will still take two of them then

Edited September 30, 2018 by fandenivoldsk

[rayik]

Received the 2 PCBs. I've ordered parts from DigiKey. Will post after making them.

[Swami]

It's possible, in theory, but you would need a different adapter than the current bohoki. The 15-pin PC gameport connector has pins for two sets of analog x- and y-axis outputs, four fire buttons, three VCC, three grounds and MIDI. Since it comes with no instructions, I'm not sure if it has the ability to enable both thumb-sticks to the two controller ports or not. You would need need some sort of splitter cable that would send the right pin signals to the right ports. I occasionally think about checking it, but have too much going on and forget.

 

Quoting myself, lol, but did want to say, I built an adapter tonight for the Innovation Smart Joy PS2 to PC adapter and it does let you use both thumb sticks on a dual shock for robotron. Also works with one stick for player one on centipede and the other stick for second player with different button for each for firing.

[CopterCommando]

if you or anyone else can make me 2 completed ones i'd like them ha

[cyd]

Put me down for 2 as well please

[smbaker]

Updating this list:

 

gaztee - 2

fandenivoldsk - 2

cyd -2

 

Cyd, can you confirm you're looking for the bare pcboards, not completed controllers (there's been talk of both in the thread, and I only have available the bare pcboards, and have no plans to make completed controllers)

 

I do have a new shipment of pcboards that just arrived, I need to check them out this weekend and build one up. Made a few small changes from the first prototype.

 

Scott

[cyd]

Bare boards and a bom are good enough for me:) (and the microcode would be nice

[smbaker]

Bare boards and a bom are good enough for me:) (and the microcode would be nice

 

The source code and the hex files are up on github.

 

Scott

[john_q_atari]

I completed final assembly on one of the adapters tonight. Unfortunately it is not working properly. I suspect a problem with the microcontroller as the response is delayed or sporadic and the test cartridge usually reads approximately the same values for both analog sticks and I get no response from the dpad. I'll check all my connections against the schematic for continuity tomorrow. I assume there is no special startup sequence for the adapter to work properly? I might try reprogramming the chip tomorrow from the command line with avrdude. Has anyone successfully programmed the AVR in circuit? I suppose I could try that or a different programmer if necessary...

[smbaker]

*Critical* update to the BOM and the Schematic.

 

R5 should be 1K, not 10K.

 

john_q_atari, I think this is probably the same problem you ran into.

 

Scott

[john_q_atari]

Well that's a lot better. The analog joysticks are working much better now. But they are centered at 80/255 for both H and V instead of 106/255 for H and V like they were on the previous controller design of yours I built. Not sure why this is yet, I haven't hooked up the scope yet. Using the smartjoy adapter the same PSX analog controls are centered at 106 H 103 V with the bohoki, smartjoy combination. Also the analog left and analog right are reading identically on both 5200 joystick ports (they are working in tandem instead of individually.) Is that some sort of software setting? I haven't looked through your code yet.

[Swami]

Well that's a lot better. The analog joysticks are working much better now. But they are centered at 80/255 for both H and V instead of 106/255 for H and V like they were on the previous controller design of yours I built. Not sure why this is yet, I haven't hooked up the scope yet. Using the smartjoy adapter the same PSX analog controls are centered at 106 H 103 V with the bohoki, smartjoy combination. Also the analog left and analog right are reading identically on both 5200 joystick ports (they are working in tandem instead of individually.) Is that some sort of software setting? I haven't looked through your code yet.

 

You can see how far negative and positive the stick moves the V and H values. If it doesn't move close to 100 (or 80 negative in this case) but only 40 or 60 or something like that, it is probably a capacitance issue. If it moves 80-100 in both directions, it is probably a resistance issue.

[john_q_atari]

The LCR meter reads 219nF or there abouts for all 4 capacitors in circuit after I removed the programmable resistor chips. Resistance from the female DB15 connectors for potc, potx, poty, potx1, and poty1 is slight over 0.26 ohms to the appropriate DIP 14 socket terminals. I swapped the programmable resistor chips for fresh ones and I got the same behavior. I'll have to study the datasheets and AVR code now.

 

Has anyone other than smbaker built this yet and have it working properly?

[smbaker]

Well that's a lot better. The analog joysticks are working much better now. But they are centered at 80/255 for both H and V instead of 106/255 for H and V like they were on the previous controller design of yours I built. Not sure why this is yet, I haven't hooked up the scope yet. Using the smartjoy adapter the same PSX analog controls are centered at 106 H 103 V with the bohoki, smartjoy combination. Also the analog left and analog right are reading identically on both 5200 joystick ports (they are working in tandem instead of individually.) Is that some sort of software setting? I haven't looked through your code yet.

 

Checking the one I just built, it reads somewhere between 95 and 105 on the x-axis, and 95 and 115 on the y axis. The PS2 controllers seem to have a little bit of slop where they land in the middle.

 

There are some functions in the code that control the mapping of PS2 inputs to 5200 outputs:

 

#define XFUNC(v)  ((v-128)*16/20)+128-10
#define YFUNC(v)  ((v-128)*17/20)+128-10

You can play with these to tweak the mapping a bit. The key is to get all parts of the axis to line up where you want them (minimum, center, and maximum).

 

Scott

 

[CZroe]

FYI to anyone having range/centering problems:

If you or a previous owner ever had to adjust your console to get your controllers working it may have actually put the console out of spec. Let me explain:

Over the years the controllers that use US-made “CTS” brand pots have dropped to a much lower max resistance... about 350K ohms max in my box of four NOS CX-52 controllers.

 

With Best Electronics and others telling people that it’s the console and not the controllers there are going to be a lot of misadjusted consoles out there and, thus, potential to cause issues with controllers like these. I’ve seen threads here and YouTube videos where this advice directly led to misadjusted consoles even though it appeared to work... for those bad controllers. Obviously, if it’s adjusted to work with bad controllers then it isn’t going to work right with new controllers like these.

[john_q_atari]

 

Checking the one I just built, it reads somewhere between 95 and 105 on the x-axis, and 95 and 115 on the y axis. The PS2 controllers seem to have a little bit of slop where they land in the middle.

 

There are some functions in the code that control the mapping of PS2 inputs to 5200 outputs:

 

#define XFUNC(v)  ((v-128)*16/20)+128-10
#define YFUNC(v)  ((v-128)*17/20)+128-10

You can play with these to tweak the mapping a bit. The key is to get all parts of the axis to line up where you want them (minimum, center, and maximum).

 

Scott

 

 

Thank you for the response and code snippet. I will look through the AVR code in the morning. I tried 2 different sony branded playstation controllers and they read the same as far as the diagnostic cart centering value is concerned. I also noticed the "slop" in their centering. Any thoughts on both the left and right analog controllers acting on both of the 5200 joystick ports simultaneously as opposed to individually?

[CZroe]

 

Thank you for the response and code snippet. I will look through the AVR code in the morning. I tried 2 different sony branded playstation controllers and they read the same as far as the diagnostic cart centering value is concerned. I also noticed the "slop" in their centering. Any thoughts on both the left and right analog controllers acting on both of the 5200 joystick ports simultaneously as opposed to individually?

They must somehow be connected in parallel. Is explains the output being off-center, since parallel resistors will half the resistance.

[smbaker]

 

Thank you for the response and code snippet. I will look through the AVR code in the morning. I tried 2 different sony branded playstation controllers and they read the same as far as the diagnostic cart centering value is concerned. I also noticed the "slop" in their centering. Any thoughts on both the left and right analog controllers acting on both of the 5200 joystick ports simultaneously as opposed to individually?

 

By default it starts in ambidextrous mode. Either ps2 thumbstick can be used, and they control both 5200 controllers.

 

If you press select + square, then it'll enter left-joystick mode where the left stick controls the primary controller and the right stick controls the secondary controller.

 

Scott

[+DrVenkman]

With Best Electronics and others telling people that it’s the console and not the controllers there are going to be a lot of misadjusted consoles out there and, thus, potential to cause issues with controllers like these.

 

Just out of curiosity, what does Best tell people to do to "misadjust" their consoles? Are people replacing or adding discrete components internally on the controller input lines or something?

[smbaker]

I spent a few minutes this morning trying to tweak XFUNC and YFUNC to get the joystick centering a bit closer to my handheld controller. The new source and hex files are checked into github. john_q_atari, if you get chance please give the new hex file a shot and let me know if it improves your performance.

 

Scott

[rayik]

There are no lablels on the pcb for:

 

C1, C2, C5 and C6 (0.22 uf)

C3, C4, C7 and C8 (0.1 uf)

 

Which caps go where>

 

I watched the utube video in the first post to try to copy that. However there are only seven caps on that board and the layout is slightly different. I think I have it following the schematic but am not 100% sure.

 

Thank you

[smbaker]

Here's a component placement diagram:

 

 

The 0.1uF capacitors are not marked. They're each immediately adjacent to an IC. The microcontroller has two.

 

Scott