Dirt Cheap edu Controller!

[Sachiel7]

Hey guys!
So, I was digging around my sister's closet the other day, when I stumbled upon her sega genesis ( ) and it had both controllers with it. I unplugged a controller and noticed...It was a DB9 Serial connector!
So, I rushed to my PC in search of the Genesis Controller pinouts, and lo-and-behold there they were. It was at this point I realized that the Genesis controller could wire into the eduBot!!!

So, Here's how to do it:
First, find an old serial cable you don't need. Cut off about 3-6" away from the Male connector. Strip out the individual cables.
Here's a Diagram of the DB9 male connector:

1 2 3 4 5
__________
| o o o o o |
\_o_o_o_o_/

6 7 8 9

and this is the Genesis controller:

5 4 3 2 1
__________
| o o o o o |
\_o_o_o_o_/

9 8 7 6

Next, you need 6 3-hole connectors, like those on your switch input. We'll use digital inputs 3-8 for the controller.
Here's What each Digital input will be:
3: UP
4: DOWN
5: LEFT
6: RIGHT
7: BUTTON1
8: BUTTON2

The first connection(dig_in3) will supply the + 5v power to the controller.

So here's the connections:
PIN 3 4 5 6 7 8
SIG 1 2 3 4 6 9
+5V 5 X X X X X
BLK 8 8 8 8 8 8

So, Connect all the BLKs from the 3-slot connectors into pin 8 on the DB9 connector
Plug the +5V pin on Input #3 into pin 5 on the DB9 connector
Plug the SIGs into the pin number listed above for the appropriate button

Now you're ready to roll!
Plug your connectors into the right input pins, and connect your genesis to the male adapter, and you're done!
In your program, make sure pins 3-8 are set for input.
You can set up an 8 way directional pad by checking to see if 2 directional buttons are in: eg up + left = upleft

Anyway, I'm still putting the finishing touches on mine! I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done!!!

(PS:
http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=900145
)

[IMDWalrus]

That is seriously cool. Great job.

Next question (when you're finished, of course): how well does it work?

[Sachiel7]

I just finished it.
It works GREAT!
I guess I get pluspoints for the oldskool factor
Instead of using a bunch of 3 pin terminals, I just took 2 of my old floppy drive cables out of my ol 486 (ah, the days) and used them as a terminal strip of sorts.
One was used for the top 2 rows of pins, and the second for the bottom row. The sizing was uneven on the heads though, so I had to bend down the bottom row of pins for it to fit
But it's ok
If you've got a few bucks, I'd recommend building it.
I'm scanning a pic of it now, I'll post a link in a while.

[kevin.li.rit]

Sounds good.

[Elgin Clock]

Sorry for bumping this thread.. but I wanted to link the sega pic in the gallery to the thread for future ease of searching for this subject..
So.. Yeah..

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pictures.php?s=&action=single&picid=5818&direction =DESC&sort=date&perrow=5&trows=5&quiet=Verbose