Attn MKL: Neo to USB Controller Adapter

This is a question directed at MKL. You said in that thread on the Selling board for Seen's Neo to USB adapter that you would be more than happy to go into detail on how to construct one if someone just opened a topic for it, so here is the topic. Anyway, if you could share this information with me and the rest of the users, I am sure that we would be eternally grateful. Thanks!

@ MKL :
you really need the chip only and solder the wires straight to the pins?
soldering to a pad's pcb ain't a big deal, but such a small solution would be nice.

how about drivers? do you need to activate any of win xp's native drivers?

as for the pad itself ...
i looked it up un ebay, but what i found looked different to the pic you posted.

might just pick up a cheapo pad fron saturn ...

When I make these, I use the "Microsoft Plug and Play" USB gamepad. I usually trim the PCB down (cut off the button and directional pad wings) with a dremel tool and place it into a small project box. You'll need to pick up a PC joystick extension cable. I usually cut it about 6 inches from the female end and wire it to the pcb.

The next time I do one of these, I'll document it if someone else doesn't do one by then. It's very easy and takes about 1/2 hour.


Jeff

I'll try to make pics tomorrow and make a detailed tutorial.

Thank you, kind sir!

i made a neo to gameport adapter a few years ago, which is based on a sidewinder pad. just wondering about the size of yours ...

The adapters I make are based on a Trust Sight Fighter Action USB gamepad:



Someone mentioned these are not available in the US. I have no idea if it's true or not. Other gamepads may or may not be as suitable for the present project, so if you can't find a Trust Sight Fighter Action you're on your own. Maybe the pad mentioned by jeff Kurtz will do as an alternative. I use this Trust pad because:

- it's plug&play
- it's compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
- it's cheap
- it's easily available
- it's very easy to work with

As the following pics show the PCB inside the pad is ridiculously simple: 1 IC, 1 resistor, 1 crystal, 2 caps:



On the solder side the various inputs (directions, buttons) can easily be traced to the pins of the IC:



Understanding where to solder is therefore a no-brainer but I'll provide the pinout of the IC just in case:



Since we are going to solder the wires directly to the pins of the chip we may well cut the PCB around the circuit so that it fits a small plastic enclosure. The dimensions of the enclosure I used are 92mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.6" x 2.3" x 0.86"). The important is that one side of the enclosure is wide enough for a DB15 connector which is about 40mm wide (1.57"). Let's cut the PCB and sand the edges so that it fits exactly into the enclosure:



The most difficult part of the project is making the hole for the DB15 male connector where the Neo Geo controller will plug. Making a perfect hole for rear-mounting the connector is not easy (it would require a separate tutorial which I might do in the future):



If you don't manage to cut a smooth hole you can always front-mount the connector: the frame will hide the imperfections of the hole. This is by far the most common method (see all the supergun projects). If you think you're going to totally fuck up the enclosure while attempting this you can try the poor man's method suggested above by Mr. Kurtz: the male part of a joystick extension cable comes out of the enclosure and provides an in-line connection. I don't like this method because it doesn't look professional (commercial adapters are not made like that) and it will cost more because of the additional expense of the extension cable ($5, $10, ?). Here's an example of the latter method (perhaps made by Kurtz himself?):

http://www.nickthfury.com/images/usb_neo1.jpg

For mounting the DB15 connector I use screws with a black finish (not painted!), spring washers for added stability and bigger hex nuts:



As for the wiring, it's just a matter of connecting with wires the pins of the pad IC (pinout above) to the pins of the DB15 connector (pinout available here): very simple. I'll add pics of the wiring tomorrow, just in case.

Brilliant, that's a huge help! Thanks a bunch!

Jeff, I was curious about using the Sidewinder. All the ones I have seen only have four buttons, so what would you do for enabling the Start and Select buttons? Or do you just forgo them for buttons on the keyboard? Regardless, I think that this is more than enough help for me to put one together myself. Thanks MKL!