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- I wrote this guide to give step by step instructions on how to make your own
- controller input display. This setup currently works with NES, SNES, N64, and
- GCN controllers. First I wanted to give a big thanks to cylon13 for writing the
- original software for both the Arduino and PC controller display and providing
- some basic instructions (https://github.com/jaburns/NintendoSpy). You can
- check out what the final product looks like in some of cylon13's or my video
- history:
- (http://www.twitch.tv/cylon13/profile, http://www.twitch.tv/evilash25/profile)
- Components and Equipment needed
- 1) Arduino Uno (http://amzn.to/1SpylBc) you might be able to find this cheaper
- elsewhere
- 2) USB cable to connect the Arduino to your computer (http://amzn.to/1prgj9F)
- 3) controller extension cable (NES, SNES, N64, or GCN)
- 4) (optional) male/female connectors with 5 pins minimum for easy controller
- switching
- 5) wires to solder into the controller extension cable to go to the Arduino
- (the Arduino sockets are very small, so you will need some smaller gauge wire
- to fit, so it might be best to pickup some wire after you see the socket size)
- 6) wire cutters/strippers
- 7) exacto knife or box cutters
- 8) soldering iron and solder
- 9) electrical tape
- 10) digital multimeter or a cheap continuity tester (http://amzn.to/1WifixE)
- Software
- 1) the latest Arduino software (https://goo.gl/F3iH)
- 2) software to program into the Arduino
- (https://goo.gl/rd1mch look for firmware.ino(files included in NintendoSpy
- folder))
- 3) PC software to connect to the Arduino and display the controller
- (https://goo.gl/rd1mch)
- Instructions
- Wiring
- (this is the most time consuming piece, especially if you have never done any
- wiring/soldering before)
- 1) First you will need to cut your controller extension cable so you can splice
- into the wires (consider which spot in the extension cable to cut, game system
- side, controller side, middle) (https://goo.gl/kiHkok (images/1.jpg))
- 2) Use your exacto knife or box cutters to very carefully cut away and peel
- back the plastic covering on both halves, about 2-3 inches should be good
- enough
- 3) Use wire strippers to strip back about 1/2 an inch of the plastic covering
- on each wire (https://goo.gl/eszBKZ (images/2.jpg))
- In my case I had to carefully use my exacto knife because the wires were too
- small for the stripper, I rotated the wire against the blade until I could pull
- the plastic off the end.
- 4) Next you will need to use a digital multimeter or continuity tester to
- figure out which pin on your controller plugin goes to which wire in the
- extension cable, make sure to write down your findings. A quick google search
- of "<system> + controller pinout" should give you the information you need.
- 5) Here are the minimum pins we are interested in for each system
- (I actually spliced/wired them all in case I needed them, which I found out
- that I did not)
- NES - Latch, Data, and Clock
- SNES - Latch, Data, and Clock
- N64 - Data and Ground (there are only 3 wires, so it's pretty obvious
- here)
- GCN - Data and (any non-shield)Ground
- 6) Figure out the length you need between your controller extension
- cable/Arduino and cut and strip a wire for each wire you are going to splice
- into.
- 7) Solder each wire back together with your spliced wires, here's what mine
- looked like when finished (https://goo.gl/2p9g7O (images/3.jpg)) I soldered
- them this way (instead of end-to-end) because this will provide more strain
- relief against the small controller extension wires possibly breaking with use.
- 8) After soldering everything back together, test out your extension cable with
- your game system to see that it still works before proceeding.
- 9) Use electrical tape to tape up each wire separately
- (https://goo.gl/Z8YqvK (images/4.jpg)).
- 10) Again use electrical tape to tape all the wires back together, make sure to
- tape all the way back up to where the extension cable covering starts
- (https://goo.gl/UZVun4 (images/5.jpg)).
- 11) (optional) Wire the spliced cables to a connector
- (https://goo.gl/UZVun4 (images/5.jpg)) to make easy swapping between
- controllers, you will need the opposite gender connector, pins, and more wires
- to go to the Arduino.
- 12) Hook up the newly spliced extension cable to your Arduino according to this
- pinout (https://goo.gl/4d7C8Q (images/6.jpg)) or whichever pinout you plan on
- using, it is changeable in the firmware.ino file.
- Here is what mine looks like all hooked up (https://goo.gl/Hvr3YA
- (images/7.jpg), https://goo.gl/rHEiE5 (images/8.jpg)) note I am using a
- breadboard here to just jumper the wires over to the Arduino, it is not needed.
- Software and Setup
- (once the wiring is done, hook everything up to your game system and computer,
- now for the easy part)
- 1) Plug in the USB connector to your Arduino and PC.
- 2) Install the latest Arduino software (https://goo.gl/wEo96s), download the
- Windows Installer option.
- 3) Once installed, open the Arduino software, you should see "Arduino Uno on
- COMX" at the bottom right corner if everything is working
- (https://goo.gl/qmj6Ew (images/9.jpg)). If not, you may need to restart and/or
- replug the USB connector.
- 4) Select File->Open and open the firmware file provided here
- (https://goo.gl/0JKe5c look for firmware.ino).
- 5) Now uncomment the option for the operation mode (which controller) you will
- use (https://goo.gl/zqwKYz (images/10.jpg)). Note I am using a SNES controller
- here.
- 6) Hit the upload button (right pointing arrow) located just under the 'Edit'
- menu, this will upload and run the software on the Arduino. It should look like
- this (https://goo.gl/ECk7ZO (images/11.jpg)). Once successfully uploaded, you
- won't have to upload software again to the Arduino again unless you want to
- change controller modes.
- 7) Open the NintendoSpy controller input display software provided here
- (https://goo.gl/0JKe5c (included in NintendoSpy folder)).
- 8) The selection here should be pretty straightforward, select the 'COMX' port
- that the Arduino is on, select the controller and profile you are using, and
- hit 'Go'. If everything is hooked up correctly you should see your controller
- and inputs displaying.
- 9) Celebrate with a cold drink and a playthrough of your favorite game :>
- Special notes
- 1) I found that the N64 display will not work correctly if you have a memory
- pack plugged into the controller. I haven't tested, but possibly the rumble
- pack could do this as well.
- 2) For my wiring guide, I moved the GCN signal pin to share with the N64, as I
- only have one controller plugged into the Arduino at a time and this requires
- less pins to be wired. This is an easy change to make in the firmware.ino file.
- Troubleshooting
- 1) The most common problem is likely to be wiring, so if the input display
- isn't working I would double check that
- a) The controller is working with your game system.
- b) The correct pins are wired between your extension harness to the
- correct pins on your Arduino.
- c) Your PC can see your Arduino on a COM port (i.e. you are able to
- upload the firmware.ino to your Arduino)
- 2) If you are having trouble getting the Arduino programming software working
- or getting it to see your Auduino on a COM port, try this guide
- (file:///C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/Arduino/reference/Guide_Windows.html) This
- file is automatically installed on your computer when you install the Arduino
- Software.
- Change Log
- v1.0 - Initial document
- v1.1 - Added wiring for the CLOCK pins of NES and SNES controllers, as it is
- now required in the software
- - Updated images to include the CLOCK Pins
- v1.2 - updated a few links, and cleaned up some explanations, added
- Troubleshooting
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