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He was making the various adapters for over a decade, so I guess it couldn't last forever.
Even so, it sucks that he's not making them anymore. I have the 2600-D9 adapter but was hoping to pickup a few more liked the Astrocade and PDL.
I really hope something else comes along to replace the awesome service he was providing.
Wow, that's bad news.
I know these adapters could be a bit fiddly sometimes with the MiSTer core, but I currently have them working perfectly in my setup for Atari joysticks, paddles, trackball, numpad, and Intellivision controllers. I don't think that there are currently any adapters on the market that can replicate the full functionality of the 2600daptors.
The recent RetroFi 2600 joystick and paddle adapters are also no longer available; the iCode ones appear to still be for sale for now but the creator seems to be MIA.
We have a lot of open source alternatives for other console controllers (Timville, Daemonbite, Retrozord, etc.) but nothing really for 2600 controllers, which is a shame. Especially considering that new joysticks and paddles are available via the 2600+ (CX40+ and CX30+).
Lightwave wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 12:33 amWe have a lot of open source alternatives for other console controllers (Timville, Daemonbite, Retrozord, etc.) but nothing really for 2600 controllers, which is a shame. Especially considering that new joysticks and paddles are available via the 2600+ (CX40+ and CX30+).
Don't forget the upcoming CX78+. Yeah, it's kinda tragic.
I did get your PM - work has been hell for months but I'm going to get back to you hopefully this week so I can hopefully finally have mine working as well as yours. I have all the same controllers. =) I didn't know the numpad even worked - Star Raiders, here I come! LOL Maybe a driving controller someday...
rhester72 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 2:40 amLightwave wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 12:33 amWe have a lot of open source alternatives for other console controllers (Timville, Daemonbite, Retrozord, etc.) but nothing really for 2600 controllers, which is a shame. Especially considering that new joysticks and paddles are available via the 2600+ (CX40+ and CX30+).
Don't forget the upcoming CX78+. Yeah, it's kinda tragic.
I did get your PM - work has been hell for months but I'm going to get back to you hopefully this week so I can hopefully finally have mine working as well as yours. I have all the same controllers. =) I didn't know the numpad even worked - Star Raiders, here I come! LOL Maybe a driving controller someday...
Yeah, I have a pair of driving controllers but they still need support from Kitrinx in the core. I hope that's still possible now that the 2600daptors appear to be EOL, as there were firmware adjustments made for the paddles specifically for MiSTer.
The best case scenario here would be that the creator generously open-sources the adaptor design (or at least the firmware code). One side benefit of this would be that the paddle code could possibly be reimplemented to be seen as 2 separate devices as with the RetroFi paddle adapter, allowing them to work out of the box without requiring the current core hack and tricky mapping.
I don't think the paddle adjustments in firmware were anything more than sensitivity. As the driving controllers aren't actually analog and are simply absolute positional, we shouldn't need any firmware changes for support.
qq for anyone who's done so with this core - for just bog-standard Atari joysticks, what is the SNAC adapter required? Will any 9-pin SNAC adapter (nee Genesis/Megadrive) work?
The Genesis adapter will work for the regular joystick. There is a special Atari SNAC adapter that has a headphone jack on it and a switch. It connects to the ADC for other functionality (SuperCharger, and hopefully maybe someday paddles. Earlier in this thread, there is a link to another Atari 2600 core that supports paddles via the ADC port).
Thank you! I did observe (and it wasn't at all unexpected) that the Genesis SNAC port puts +5V on the 'wrong' pin for Atari, thus things like autofire adapters won't work, but yes...basic 1-button joystick functionality works exactly as expected.
Interesting! Which pins are swapped for +5V? I will test the Atari SNAC and see if it is any different.
On Genesis, pin 5 is +5VDC and pin 7 is ground.
On Atari, pin 7 is +5VDC and pin 8 is ground.
According to the D9 image here https://www.consolesunleashed.com/tech/sega-genesis-3/ pin 5 is +5VDC and pin 8 is ground. I measured this to be the case on the Genesis SNAC adapter. When I measure these on the Atari adapter, I get 0V.
With both SNAC adapters when measuring Pin 7 (+5V) and Pin 8 (Gnd), I get 5 volts. Pin 7 on the Genesis is the Select signal. Pin 7 on the Atari is 5V. I also get +5V when measuring between Pin 1 and Pin 8 on both adapters. Pin 1 is Up.
Conclusion: The two SNAC adapters are indeed different, but both work with Atari 2600 Joysticks. I also flipped the Paddles switch, and it made no difference on the pins I measured.
They do indeed work on joysticks, but will not support powered accessories like autofire adapters.
I am not sure about that when it pertains to Atari controllers on the Genesis SNAC adapter because the Genesis SNAC adapter supplies +5V on Pin 7. The other way around, the special Genesis controllers would NOT work on the Atari SNAC adapter because it does not supply +5V on Pin 5.
thorr wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 12:05 amI am not sure about that when it pertains to Atari controllers on the Genesis SNAC adapter because the Genesis SNAC adapter supplies +5V on Pin 7. The other way around, the special Genesis controllers would NOT work on the Atari SNAC adapter because it does not supply +5V on Pin 5.
I'm quite sure about that, because the autofire adapters require +5V to operate the 555 timer chip. I can't speak for a proper 2600 SNAC adapter (yet - it will hopefully be here Monday!), but I will say that only the CD32 adapter here has the correct pinout for proper operation (as a USB controller):
https://ultimatemister.com/product/daem ... miga-cd32/
I've read anecdotal evidence that SMS autofire adapters and controllers work as well, but I'm 100% certain any proper Genesis controller port will not power such a device.
Being clear, by 'autofire adapter', I mean something along these lines (and MANY other variants):
I understand, but what I am saying is that there IS +5V on the Genesis SNAC pin that the Atari joysticks use to get power (pin 7) (unless I am missing something). I measured it. So therefore it might work. However, there may be other pins that mess it up and cause it not to work.
thorr wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 5:24 amI understand, but what I am saying is that there IS +5V on the Genesis SNAC pin that the Atari joysticks use to get power (pin 7) (unless I am missing something). I measured it. So therefore it might work. However, there may be other pins that mess it up and cause it not to work.
I tried the autofire adapter and it didn't work. Atari joysticks don't require power to work, they work off a combination of the directional pin and GND. That being said, I haven't actually brought my multimeter to the party...will take a look.
I believe Pin 7, while measuring 5V, is an input pin, just like a direction pin measures 5V, so perhaps under load it won't supply steady power. Also try it with or without the SNAC board that converts the voltage. The autofire device may work at 3.3 volts or it may require 5.
Just got my generic 2600 SNAC adapter in from China, and sure enough, the Pointmaster autofire works perfectly. The pinout for Genesis is definitely different (and not compatible with powered Atari accessories).
I'm also now doing my level best to convince MisterAddons (hi! 
to do a HDMI version of a 2600 (paddleless) SNAC adapter because that would be as close to perfection as things are ever likely to get.
It would be nice if the combined 2600/7800 core, which is clearly the better choice for VCS right now, was fixed to make the ADC working with SNAC, because I have to use an old unofficial version of the previous 2600 core which was patched to support SNAC, only to play Paddle games, which work perfectly there, but not on the new core, even if everything suggests (I checked the source code, and from my very limited knowledge of Verilog/VHDL it seems it's supposed to work) it should work, so it's likely a bug.
Yes, of course this is not a big issue in the grand scheme of things and there are alternatives, but it would be nice if the core could be fixed. Maybe there isn't much interest in using Paddles with SNAC because there are alternatives ?
That's great that it works with the autofire. SNAC perfection in my opinion would support paddles but not have a switch, and would work with any kind of Atari 2600 joystick, Atari 7800 joystick, keypad, driving controller, etc. Fortunately in the meantime between SNAC and the 2600dapter D9 (which is no longer sold) nearly everything is covered.
virtuali, if you want some heavy reading, read all the pages of this thread. I pushed and pushed for SNAC support of the paddles and you can see the reasoning against it. Now that the 2600dapter D9 is no longer sold, perhaps this reasoning will be revisited.
I did more SNAC testing this morning, with surprising results.
Keyboard controllers work, except the center vertical row. I tested multiple controllers, so that's not the problem...completely mystified as to why that would be.
I also tested the Driving controller, and to my slight surprise - it worked perfectly!
EDIT: Tested the keyboard controllers with the 2600-daptor II and they work correctly, so it's definitely something about SNAC. I wonder if there's an unconnected matrix pin...
EDIT2: Pin 9 is associated with the center vertical of the keyboard controller, I wonder if there's a fault with my SNAC. I tried the legacy Atari SNAC core from 2020 and it won't read the KB controller at all.
I will try to remember to test mine tonight to see if the keyboard controller works or is missing the middle row. One thing I know doesn't work is the Atari 7800 joystick's second button. That also is using pin 9. I remember the Driving Controller working with SNAC, but if I recall correctly, it doesn't work with the 2600daptor D9 on the MiSTer which would be needed for two players. I might be wrong though.
It's possible there's a small bug in the core causing both issues by having pin 9 miswired (or not wired at all), which is why I'm chasing this.
See the post here: viewtopic.php?p=55209#p55209
Here's hoping we can get a redesigned SNAC adapter for Atari that supports everything properly and doesn't require a switch. Also, if there is a way to have 2-player SNAC, that would be great too.
She's brilliant and the core author, but I'll be honest...I don't see why a new SNAC would be required. It's a digital input pulled high like any other, at least in the case of the keyboard controller (and being the same pin managing a digital input from a 7800 button, I don't see why that condition would be different). The ADC solution for paddles is obvious because there was extra hardware in the 2600 to act as a DAC...that's not what this is at all.
rhester72 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2024 6:47 pmShe's brilliant and the core author, but I'll be honest...I don't see why a new SNAC would be required. It's a digital input pulled high like any other, at least in the case of the keyboard controller (and being the same pin managing a digital input from a 7800 button, I don't see why that condition would be different). The ADC solution for paddles is obvious because there was extra hardware in the 2600 to act as a DAC...that's not what this is at all.
You are too fast, I keep editing my posts and there are already replies from you, lol. Yeah, there still would need to be an ADC jack, but maybe there doesn't need to be a switch. The Atari doesn't have a switch and works with paddles and joysticks. As I edited into my last post, I would love to see a 2-player version of the SNAC, as well as no need for a switch. The Driving controller would be a great reason for 2-player SNAC as well as two joysticks. 4-player paddles wouldn't work probably, but maybe it's possible somehow.
She's actually right - the answer is right there in the SNAC circuit design. More details soon.
@thorr One more thing - if you look at the bottom of your 2600 SNAC adapter, are there two (unconnected) jumper pads marked 7GPIO (just past the ADC jack)?