The multi-system compatible NES Advantage.

[XYXZYZ]

I haven't shared any projects here for awhile, and those of you who have a talent for remembering completely insignificant moments on internet forums may remember my 1,000th post, which I spent showing off my SEGA Genesis cabinet thing. And I shall now spend my 2000th post showing off another handy gaming gadget I made a while back, the PSX Advantage- an NES advantage compatible with PS1 and PS2, a system which has several converters available making it compatible with a wide range of systems. The Advantage was one of my favorite controllers, so I get quite a lot of use out of this little guy.

It's a quite simple project really, I just took the board out of a PS1 controller (not a Dualshock) and wired the switch contacts to the contacts on an NES Advantage board.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/XYXZYZ/projects/adv1.jpg
I simply desoldered the joystick wires from the board and soldered them to the PSX board, and bridged the button contacts together using B and A for X and circle, and the turbo switches are square and triangle. Start and select are still start and select, the slow button is R1. Notice that I removed the Advantage's IC, it would cause loading issues and the joystick wouldn't function if I left it on.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/XYXZYZ/projects/adv3.jpg
The PSX controller board is actually quite compact and I had no trouble packing it in with the Advantage's board.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/XYXZYZ/projects/adv4.jpg
Using a PS2>Xbox adapter, now I can play the NES emulator on a modded Xbox with an original joystick. I use slow (R1, or Black) to call the menu, the turbo buttons help me navigate it. (square and triangle, or X and Y.) I can also use it with Sega Master System emulator, which I find much better than the original SMS controllers like that fuckered up backwards joystick. (http://www.8bitjoystick.com/2009/03/sega-master-system-control-stick-will-be-my-new-logo.html) Turbo Grafx / PC Engine games are also quite nice to play with it. I can also use it on the PC with a USB adapter, and the Wii when I get around to getting an adapter not made by Pelican.

I'd like to find a PSX controller with autofire, maybe I can figure out how to use that player 1/2 switch to activate it, and put those LEDs to use.


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/XYXZYZ/projects/adv5.jpg



You know, all my projects seem to be padhacks and MAME cabinets. I'll have to do something different someday.

[skaar]

I applaud this use of the NES advantage, the king of all controllers.

Kings to you.

*bow*

[Atari 5200]

You're taking advantage of the nes advantage.

[Icarus Moonsight]

IDK, playing Phantasy Star with an NES Advantage is like tongue kissing your sister... You crossed the streams man! LOL

[Ed Oscuro]

I applaud this use of the NES advantage, the king of all controllers.
Not quite. Still, nobody will cry if an Advantage bites the dust, so it's as good a place to start as any.

I've got a couple Advantages and they're staying original for use with NES / A/V FCs. Of course, if I ever have to pilot the Statue of Liberty...

Nifty project, definitely less expense than hunting down the amazingly expensive PlayStation-compatible controllers made with arcade (or close) spec parts.

[ubersaurus]

I have heard that the Cthulhu multiconsole PCB is probably going to be adding in NES and SNES support on the next firmware update (it already covers the Playstations, Xbox, and Gamecube) so if you ever fry an Advantage PCB, there ya go ;p

[Ed Oscuro]

Meant to post this last night but the board was down:


much better than the original SMS controllers like that fuckered up backwards joystick. (http://www.8bitjoystick.com/2009/03/sega-master-system-control-stick-will-be-my-new-logo.html)
For the Master System you can use this (http://www.ncsx.com/2009/060809/xe-1st2_joystick.htm). There's some more information about that and similar sticks here (http://magweasel.com/2009/07/16/i-love-the-pc-engine-xe-1-pro-he/). One problem though - on my unit there's some ancient grease around the joystick, so even though it's supposedly arcade-spec and the like it's been really slow about centering. Needs to be regreased. I've not had that problem with Advantage sticks, at least.