Finished NOAC in NES controller

[blueskies]

I feel like I hijacked this thread a little with my project, and I want to show off a little, so I'm making this thread...
I hated the controls on my super joy3 and basically wanted to stuff the guts into an original NES controller. I didn't need the cartridge connector, or the second player port (kind of regretting this for light gun games, but I have an LCD so it's a moot point anyway). So here's my work.
stay tuned for copy/pasta action.

Hey G-force, I love this mod and want to try a simpler version for myself. I have a few questions though..
1) any tips on desoldering the 60 pin connector and the grey cable from the NOAC?

Use a desoldering braid or a desoldering iron. If you are discarding the 60 pin for a 72 pin connector, you may find it easier to snip the pins of the 60 pin above the board and then just de-solder the pins one at a time.

Yeah that's what I thought.. I don't need the connector though, so I may just snip it off.

2) could you post the wiring, or some tips, for the nes controller buttons to the NOAC?

There's a LOT of revisions of NOAC, some of which aren't even in the FAQ.

Best to look at YOURs and then follow the traces and label as appropriate. If you're using a Super Joy III, the player 2 controller board is a lot cleaner and may save you some space.

I guess what I'm curious about is, can I just find the wire for 'A' on the nes pad and connect it to the 'A' point on the NOAC main board? (and so on of course). If so, that means at least 8 lines for buttons, which doesn't add up. Maybe there's already a link or tutorial for this, but I can't find it (meaning I'll look after I post )

3) kind of offtopic, do you know what the little switch on the SJ3 button board does? it's labelled M and SW2...

thanks mcgyver for all the help.

I think the little switch disables the built in games when you want to play off of a cartridge.

yep, you're right. It threw me off because there's no way to switch it from the outside.

Anyway, here's what I'm working with.

A dismantled SuperJoyIII and an NES controller, and the main board (zoomed).

I want something similar to the original post (because it's awesome), but without the cartridge connector, led and finish (because I'm not). Basically slimming down the SJ3, and changing cases. I think all I need to do is separate the main board on the SJ3, remove the connector, wire 8 buttons from the nes controller, wire the power, wire the switch, and wire the audio/video.

Here's some notes, please if you can, help me before I destroy this cool toy trying to make it cooler .

1) audio/video need each: 1 line to ground, 1 line to audio/video points respectively.
2) labeling of the wiring is as follows:
3.3V (not used)
VDD
VIDEO
AUDIO
GND
RESET
P2D4
P2D3
OUT0
P1D0
P2D0
SCK1
SCK2

(not much, but at least I figured something out..

questions:
1) nes pad wiring (link or help)
2) how to wire the on/off switch
3) how to wire the power connector

Thanks to anyone who helps, I really appreciate it.
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control board, top
main board, top
control, bottom
main, bottom (blurry, sorry)

I hadn't even thought about space constraints yet, I just assumed since the main board on SJ3 is so small, it would fit. I think the OP removed the logic chip and rewired it to the other side.. I might need to do this if there's no other space, but I was hoping for a quick hack (as always).

I had another thought about this one last night.. I'm thinking of leaving the existing cord on the nes controller so it can still be used on the console, and just adding the switch/power and av ports to the side so it can be used as a SJ3. would it be possible to just add on to the nes controls without taking off the cord?

small edit:

chopped and cleaned up the main board, removed switch, outlet and av connectors from the other board.

Here's what I have to work with. Will probably scrap the cord idea, and just have the AV wired directly in with plugs coming out to TV.
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Done! Here's the final wrap up. Mods, let me know if I should copy this into a new thread, I didn't mean to hijack this one, I just had related questions, and it kinda snowballed from there.
final pics:


I ended up wiring the controls directly to the sj3.. there's no way anything else could have fit in that case. It barely fits now, as you can see I had to use the ol' hot glue gun riser trick to add about 3mm, then I murdered it out with some black duct tape to cover all the ugliness. Bottom line, it plays great, and the controls are so tight!

Also, I wired in the 2 capacitors, 1 resistor, and the 3 pronged D-thingy (zenier diode as I think you called it Gonzo). I just followed the traces and drew out the wiring before taking anything off. I was nervous hooking straight power to the thing without any regulation, and it seems to work.

And in case you didn't catch it, that 4021 did a little backflip, and works great from the other side of the board.

I know this isn't as cool as the OP's hack, but it's just what I want. Thanks for the inspiration and help (that's you Gonzo).[/url]

[GonzoMPM-1]

Here's the reply I posted in the other thread.

I think its very courteous of you to move everything here. Perhaps after this thread is going, we ought to go back into the other and delete our posts about your project, so that someone late to the other guy's thread does not think your project is his project or vice versa.

(I confess to being new here, and I do not know how up-tight people are with stuff like this).

[quotel]

Done! Here's the final wrap up.

Nice job. I'd guess when you're motivated enough you can take a grinder to some of the risers in the case, flatten / shorten the buttons and D/Pad and shave enough space that you won't have to rely on a hot glue bridge.

I'm psyched that the original NES controller board worked for you as it did for the opening poster.

Finally, the 3 pronged part is a transistor. The one with this symbol on your original board is a zenier diode (which is a diode with a precise reverse break down voltage that can be used for voltage constant circuits).

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[blueskies]

Yes, I was thinking about cleaning up the other thread, with links to this one, but I didn't know if it was necessary. I was just waiting for a mod to chime in...
Hey Gonzo, I didn't realize until yesterday that you made the NOAC in the light gun mod. That's so awesome! Seeing that on HackADay a few days ago is what brought me BACK to this site, and finally pushed me to make my controller mod. So, thanks for hacking!

[GonzoMPM-1]

Yes, I was thinking about cleaning up the other thread, with links to this one, but I didn't know if it was necessary. I was just waiting for a mod to chime in...
Hey Gonzo, I didn't realize until yesterday that you made the NOAC in the light gun mod. That's so awesome! Seeing that on HackADay a few days ago is what brought me BACK to this site, and finally pushed me to make my controller mod. So, thanks for hacking!

The spread of that mod over the 'net was nothing short of absurd.

It was a weekend project, not really a big deal, and nothing terribly innovative. It would have been cool had I figured out a screen for it, but as is, it was just away to lessen wires and increase portability for my munchkin when she plays duck hunt (mainly, she wanted a longer cord between the Super Joy and the light gun).

Heck, it wasn't even that tough of a cram job, once I spent the time laying everything out.

I think people just latch onto the weird mods. Mine seemed to pull the "but why" and "still, kinda cool" vibes all at once.

In a way, I'm a little embarrassed at how many sites picked up on the NOAC in a light pistol, but have not noted some of the better projects in this forum.

If you want to see some steller work, a guy named Bacteria has an amazing multi platform system, "Life of Brian" makes some of the cleanest and good looking portables, and there's a guy who just posted a pretty fantastic Nintendo 64 system in that forum.

[blueskies]

I feel I've only scratched the surface in the amount of amazing mods on this site. I saw a wooden portable snes in the works yesterday and almost crapped my pants with excitement (j/k of course). This forum rocks!

[WhatULive4]

I believe in clean mods. Congrats on the NOAC in a controller, but really, tape isn't the best use. Honestly, it's a good place to start, but I'm sure with a little more work you could have made it super clean.

You read the last few posts and it was all about super sweet "crap my pants" mods.

The way I see it, if your kids find this thing in 30 years, are they going to say, "this is sweet!!!!!!!!!!" or are they going to say... why tape?

I don't want to discourage you at all, because I am very impressed. I just want to say, it is worth it to go the extra mile!

[Life of Brian]

I think people just latch onto the weird mods. Mine seemed to pull the "but why" and "still, kinda cool" vibes all at once.

I think you hit the nail on the head there - I think it's also the same reason they post wacky stuff from Japan all the time.

Still, it's neat to get featured on a site read by thousands, isn't it?

[blueskies]

I believe in clean mods. Congrats on the NOAC in a controller, but really, tape isn't the best use. Honestly, it's a good place to start, but I'm sure with a little more work you could have made it super clean.

You read the last few posts and it was all about super sweet "crap my pants" mods.

The way I see it, if your kids find this thing in 30 years, are they going to say, "this is sweet!!!!!!!!!!" or are they going to say... why tape?

I don't want to discourage you at all, because I am very impressed. I just want to say, it is worth it to go the extra mile!

Well, I like duct tape, and I'm not very good at clean cuts and builds. I just want something functional and unique.
In fact, I doubt the original sj3 would last 30 years, so i'm not worried about someone finding my work years later. It's just for me.

Maybe when I get good and bored with the internals, I'll start focusing on the external.

[G-force]

Sweet job! There is something just plain cool about having the whole system in your hands, aint it neat?

[vancurenw]

I am working on a somewhat similar project, and had a question about your wiring. I am using a Super Joy 3 as well, but my PCBs are a little different. The controller/power/AV PCB is not labeled, although it appears to be very, very similar. My question is, is this how you wired the controller to the NOAC PCB:
Red Controller: SCK1
Yellow Controller: PID0
Orange Controller: Out0
White Controller: VDD
Brown Controller: Ground

Thanks!