My TurboTap (Tg-16) won't work with a custom TurboPad extension cord..hmmm

[Anthony1]

Quite awhile back, I had DP member FABombjoy make me a super long extension cord for use with my TurboGrafx-16. For use with the controllers. As most fans of TurboGrafx are aware, the controller cords are ridiculously short. At first, I was using regular TG-16 controller extensions, but even those aren't that long, and they are hard to find. To make a super long TurboGrafx-16 controller extension, you would have to find like five or six of those freaking extensions and link them all together to get a really long cord.

So FABombjoy made me a custom TG-16 controller extension. 20 feet long! One of the reasons I wanted such a long one, was because in my Front Projection room ( my Garage, lol), I have the electronics crap sitting very far away from where I actually sit to play or watch movies. So I either need wireless controllers, or a super long extension cord. So anywho, he made me this 20 foot long cord, and it works great.

For single player.


Yesterday was the first day that I tried a TurboTap with it. I don't know why it took me a year to finally try a TurboTap on it, but I finally got around to trying. My little boys are starting to get into video games now, and I was thinking it would be really cool for all 3 of us to play Dungeon Explorer together. Dungeon Explorer allows up to 5 people to play simultaneously with the TurboTap. So I got out the TurboTap and 3 controllers, and I hooked the TurboTap to the end of the 20 foot extension, but only player 1's controller would work. I tried all kinds of different things, but to no avail. I tried 2 player games, to see if a 2 player game would work, but it just wouldn't work. So then, I thought that maybe my TurboTap was broken, so I hooked the TurboTap directly to the TG-16, without the extension, and it worked just fine. Problem is, it only gives you like a 4 foot leash, and I can't play that close to the damn machine. At least not in that room.

Also, since getting this super long 20 foot extension cord, I figured that I didn't need my official NEC made TG-16 extensions, so I sold them. I'm pretty sure that the TurboTap did work with the official TG-16 extension cords, but I'm mystified why it won't work with this custom one.

Anybody have any idea why the TurboTap won't work with this custom one? I can play as 1 player with the TurboTap connected, but player's 2 thru 5 don't register. I use the custom extension all the time with a regular TurboPad and it works just fine with a single TurboPad. hmmm.

Damn, now if I want to get my multiplayer action on, I guess I'm going to have to head to Ebay and track down like 6 of those freaking NEC extension cords.

[FABombjoy]

Try this little test:

Plug the turbo tap in first, then try the extension & a controller in each port of the turbotap.

I'm not sure how the signalling protocol works, but there might just be too much signal lost for a full multiplayer signal. It might require a fully shielded cable at that kind of distance (IIRC, I used cat5 to make that one).

[Anthony1]

Try this little test:

Plug the turbo tap in first, then try the extension & a controller in each port of the turbotap.

I'm not sure how the signalling protocol works, but there might just be too much signal lost for a full multiplayer signal. It might require a fully shielded cable at that kind of distance (IIRC, I used cat5 to make that one).


Ok, I'll try that test tomorrow. But if it does work, it doesn't really help me, because I would need 2 more extensions. But it would be a good test anyways.

Also, FABombjoy, I'm not upset with you at all over this, to be honest, it never even occured to me that the extension might not work with the TurboTap, and it's definitely my fault that I've had the thing for a freaking year and haven't tried it with a TurboTap till now.

[Bratwurst]

Anthony1, bringing the context of private message material to you, John Q. Public since 2003.

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[rbudrick]

My guess is attenuation due to the resistance caused by wire length. How to fix it? Dunno. Waybe some electronis components added to the cord. However, I would try a 19 foot cord, then 18, then 17, etc, until you found the best length (pain in the ass, yes, I know). My guess is 15 feet is probably the max. Hell, try adding an official extension to the end or beginning of the 20 footer you have...it's worht a shot.

-Rob

[cratermaze]

I dont think it will work with any extension cord between the TurboTap and the system, even the official ones. When I got my TurboGrafx originally in 1990 I remember I bought a TurboTap at a store that was going out of business, plugged it into the official extension cord and none of the ports 2-5 worked, I thought it was bad, couldnt return it because all sales were final, so I went and bought another one, both were brand new, and the second one did the same thing, but when I plugged them in direct they both worked fine. I still have the one TurboTap because I wrote BAD in ink pen across the box so I wouldnt get them mixed up when I got the new one lol

[Anthony1]

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Yeah, I was going to just PM FABombjoy about it, but I thought that other people might have some insight into this, so I figured I would address the whole collective. In hindsight, probably a bad move on my part.

cratermaze: I'm 98 percent positive that I've used the normal NEC extensions with a TurboTap and they work fine. Now, having said that, I'm not sure how many of those extensions I linked together with it still working, but I'm about 99.9 % positive that it works with at least one official extension. I no longer have my official extensions, so I can't test that out. That's part of the reason I posted this instead of just doing a PM, because I was hoping some of the other TG-16 guys could run some tests with their own TurboTap's and extensions and I could understand what I need to do.