Imagine a gamepad that works on most classic consoles. We were lucky with those controllers that used a DE9 connector (also known as DB9) but then proprietary interfaces appeared, and the magic of swapping controllers was lost. However, modern technology makes the concept of a multi-console gamepad possible. Ben Heck carried out this project on his channel, and this little devil includes support for Nintendo NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, and the old Atari.
One of the first things that surprised me about the Commodore 64 was that I could use the controllers that came with my Atari 2600 clone on the computer, which I miss a lot. The DE9 interface, which I always called "DB9" and I imagine many of our readers did too, was very popular in those days, and even reached the 16-bit generation, since the Sega Mega Drive-Genesis adopted them for its gamepads. Of course, that didn't stop certain companies from applying proprietary adjustments to the interface, (the Apple II being a good example) and over the years, the DE9 became marginalized. Today, retrocomputing enthusiasts struggle with the scarcity of parts and the preservation of the "authenticity" of systems, but those who really want to play with them wouldn't have problems using a "universal solution". That's when Ben Heck appears.
Building the wireless gamepad
After studying several projects suggested by his fans, Ben and his team decided to work on a multi-console gamepad, mainly compatible with the gems of Sega and Nintendo. The entire wireless part was handled by the popular ESP8266 module, which experts and beginners alike are hacking non-stop. Ben used one as a transmitter inside the gamepad, which by the way recorded an impressive range, and another as a receiver, equipped with physical connectors for the different consoles. The modules were programmed with Lua, and the intervention of the NodeMCU firmware.
The duration of the video is a good indication of how complex the project turned out to be. The differences between the operation of NES and Super Nintendo gamepads, the checking of the registers in all cases, and the shortcut that added Sega compatibility (essentially cutting a generic gamepad and taking its ASIC) place it well above what would be appropriate for novices, not to mention the resources Ben Heck has access to in his show (oscilloscope, multiple 3D printers, etc.). Anyway, the result is excellent, and if anyone thinks they can do something similar, we'd love to see it.
