SNAC Level Shifter Question That Came With Mister Pi Batch 2

[aapuzzo]

Sorry I am having trouble finding the answer to this question. I have been a Mister user for a few years and just purchased a Mister Pi for a friend which came with a SNAC level shifter. I understand it shifts voltages but as a long time Mister user I have never seen one of thee before and never used one. I've always used SNAC adapters from Ultimate Mister or Mister addons and never used one of these. Is this something that is needed when using a simple circuit that doesn't have extra circuitry added or is this needed all the time? Does only the Mister Pi need it?

I am guessing there are newer, cheaper, DIY snac pcbs that aren't using some extra circuitry for adjusting voltage and only they would need one of these since it is a way to not have to include all the circuitry on every DIY PCB? I have been recently been seeing pcbs that seem to be missing some onboard components and only map pins to the usb connector port. The ultimate mister and mister addons adapters definitely have more components.

[Missus]

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_Mi ... Serial-IO)

[Abibofile]

I have the same question, actually. The Wiki link is helpful for explaining why you need the level shifter but it doesn’t really answer the original poster’s question. Why does the Taki adapter require a level shifter but the ones from Mister Add-Ons or Ultimate Mister not?

I recently purchased a SNES and NES adapter from this Etsy seller - https://www.etsy.com/shop/akicus. I’m not sure if they require level shifters or not. Still waiting for them to arrive.

If you need a level shifter and don’t use one will it damage the board? Or will the controller just not work without any other ill effects?

[paulbnl]

Why does the Taki adapter require a level shifter but the ones from Mister Add-Ons or Ultimate Mister not?

Because Ultimate mister have designed theirs to already include the level shifters. It says so on their product pages:

This is a stand-alone device and should not be used with any other type of adapter level shifter board.

I recently purchased a SNES and NES adapter from this Etsy seller - https://www.etsy.com/shop/akicus. I’m not sure if they require level shifters or not. Still waiting for them to arrive.

They also have a shop here: https://akicus.shop/ Those seem to be the original snac boards designs so those need the level shifter.

If you need a level shifter and don’t use one will it damage the board? Or will the controller just not work without any other ill effects?

Without a level shifter the snac devices will receive 3.3 instead of 5 volts so there might be unstable behavior. The FPGA chip gets 5 volt instead of 3.3 volt so it may be damaged in the long term.

[Abibofile]

Thanks, really appreciate the detailed reply! The Ultimate Mister language wasn''t exactly clear to me - it says not to use a level shifter but not why. Unfortunately they're sold out of the SNES port, which is the one I am most interested in.

The seller got back to me and confirmed the same thing. I've also purchased one of their level shifters.

[rickdangerous]

Thanks, really appreciate the detailed reply! The Ultimate Mister language wasn''t exactly clear to me - it says not to use a level shifter but not why. Unfortunately they're sold out of the SNES port, which is the one I am most interested in.

The seller got back to me and confirmed the same thing. I've also purchased one of their level shifters.

Hello because all the Ultimate MiSTer SNACS have level shifter built in. We never had any SNAC that needed external lever shifters.