PS2 to Atari 5200 Controller Adaptor

[antonio]

About a year back, I bought the PCB's and components to make two of Dr. Scott Baker's PS2 to 5200 controller adaptors for using both PS2 analog sticks on Space Dungeon and Robotron 2084. Being wowed by the experience of playing these games with the PS2 Dual Shock controller, I took little time to check out full functionality. My friend who I made the second adaptor for just recently noticed that none of the number pad buttons register inputs in either game on his two port 5200 console. I then tried it on my own two port console, and sure enough, none of the number buttons, * or # buttons, register inputs to these games.

 

I have tested both adaptor assemblies with my multimeter and register continuity on all twelve number pad buttons when they are depressed, so the components are, in fact, good.

 

Has anyone seen similar behavior from their SM Baker controller adaptor, or have any idea about what is possibly causing this issue?

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I have not seen nor heard of those adapters.  You say you checked the adapters for continuity but did you check the cable between your adapter and console for any bad wires?  I'd check there if you haven't.  One bad wire going to the keypad can kill all 12 buttons.  Even on original controllers without an adapter.  So my suggestion would be to check wires next because it sounds like you may have a bad connection somewhere if they are registering but the 5200 is not seeing them.

[antonio]

Thank you for replying. Do you know which pin number of the DB15 connector affects the number pad button inputs? The odd thing is my friend and I get the same result on two different consoles with two different cables.

[RickR]

Question:  Do the num pads on those controllers work without the new board?  (With no pictures, I assume the real 5200 joystick is still involved here for the usage of the num pad). 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

13 hours ago, antonio said:

Thank you for replying. Do you know which pin number of the DB15 connector affects the number pad button inputs? The odd thing is my friend and I get the same result on two different consoles with two different cables.

You need this.

PIN   FUNCTION

1     Keypad -- right column
2     Keypad -- middle column
3     Keypad -- left column
4     Start, Pause and Reset column
5     Keypad -- third row and reset
6     Keypad -- second row and pause
7     Keypad -- top row and Start
8     Keypad -- bottom row
9     Pot common
10    Horizontal Pot (POT0, 2, 4, 6)
11    Vertical Pot (POT1, 3, 5, 7)
12    5 Volts DC
13    Bottom side buttons
14    Top side buttons
15    0 volts -- ground

That's the 5200 controller pinout.  The keypad connections are marked.  Avoid pin 12 during your tests because that is reserved for the trackball controller.  Standard controllers don't use that pin.

[antonio]

Here is an image of the Dr. Scott Baker PS2 to 5200 controller adaptor:

As you can see, it has its own PCB, and does not use the original stock 5200 controller number pad flex circuit.

Also, I have my doubts about a DB15 cable wire being bad, because my friend lives a state away, and we both saw the exact same issue with our own unique setups, adaptors, consoles, and cables.

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Well then.  Now that I have seen one that explains a lot.  I was under the impression that a standard controller was connected to it to provide access to the keypads.  Some do that, some don't.  

I see a switch that I have to ask what it is for.  I see three red switches for START, PAUSE, RESET and white buttons for the 12 button keypad, but what is the black switch for?

 

[RickR]

That is a cool board and I'm glad you shared it! 

I have questions too.  Using real 5200 sticks, those games can use two controllers to move and fire.  That means two plugs plugged into the 5200.  This one only has one plug.  How does that work with two analog sticks on the PS2 controller?  Is it possible that black switch makes the second stick emulate the keypad for firing?  Maybe there's some button combo to disable analog stick 2 and re-enable the keypad?

 

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

4 hours ago, RickR said:

That is a cool board and I'm glad you shared it! 

I have questions too.  Using real 5200 sticks, those games can use two controllers to move and fire.  That means two plugs plugged into the 5200.  This one only has one plug.  How does that work with two analog sticks on the PS2 controller?  Is it possible that black switch makes the second stick emulate the keypad for firing?  Maybe there's some button combo to disable analog stick 2 and re-enable the keypad?

 

 

Hey @RickR.  Look to the right of the black button I was asking about.  There is a series of jumper pins there.  Reminds me of the old motherboards where you had to put a jumper to change settings.  I wonder what those six pins are for.  I also checked out the website mentioned on that board and could not find anything on it.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

18 hours ago, antonio said:

Here is an image of the Dr. Scott Baker PS2 to 5200 controller adaptor:

As you can see, it has its own PCB, and does not use the original stock 5200 controller number pad flex circuit.

Also, I have my doubts about a DB15 cable wire being bad, because my friend lives a state away, and we both saw the exact same issue with our own unique setups, adaptors, consoles, and cables.

 

Have you used a standard 5200 controller by itself with you and your friend's 5200 systems to make double sure the keypads are working?  If not I would try that to make sure that works.

[RickR]

Maybe we have it wrong...Those two silver ports on top go into the 5200 and then the black cord at the bottom is for the PS2 controller.  Check out this video here to see how it works:
 

 

Given that, I'd check for continuity on whatever 5200 extension cords you are using.  And possibly even sending a question to the maker of that video with your issue.

 

 

[RickR]

Also check out the questions at the bottom of this page.  Others have similar issues.  Could it be a broken trace?  It may be worth looking under a magnifier.

https://www.smbaker.com/atari-5200-playstation-2-dual-shock-controller-adapter

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

1 hour ago, RickR said:

Also check out the questions at the bottom of this page.  Others have similar issues.  Could it be a broken trace?  It may be worth looking under a magnifier.

https://www.smbaker.com/atari-5200-playstation-2-dual-shock-controller-adapter

 

I'd like to see the backside of that board.  I'm a little worried but I'm assuming the voltage regulator is to power the support ICs on that board and the PS2 controller.  But I am betting what @RickR is suggesting:  a bad trace or I'm suggesting something on the board is not right, like a missing trace or a trace going somewhere it shouldn't.

My main concern is making sure that this board hasn't created a problem on the console and which is why I was recommending tryIng the standard controllers directly on the console to ensure everything on the console is working properly.  Process of elimination.  Make sure the console is able to read those joystick inputs before going in another direction.  

[CrossBow]

Yeah... good point @Atari 5200 Guy about the regulator? The ports only provide +5 to begin with so I can't see how that regulator would be doing anything?

 

[antonio]

Standard controllers work fine on both of our consoles with all number pad buttons registering. This is mainly an adaptor for being able to use the twin analog sticks on Playstation 2 controllers to play twin-stick 5200 games like Robotron 2084 and Space Dungeon. The jumper pins to the upper right of the PCB are for using a USBasp programmer to program custom hex code to the on-board I/C. Continuity of the cables is a non-issue since I have tried it with two different DB15 extension cables at my house, and my friend had the exact same result with his DB15 cables at his house in another state.

My suspicion is that the hex code developed by Dr. Scott Baker is somehow flawed.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

3 hours ago, antonio said:

Standard controllers work fine on both of our consoles with all number pad buttons registering. This is mainly an adaptor for being able to use the twin analog sticks on Playstation 2 controllers to play twin-stick 5200 games like Robotron 2084 and Space Dungeon. The jumper pins to the upper right of the PCB are for using a USBasp programmer to program custom hex code to the on-board I/C. Continuity of the cables is a non-issue since I have tried it with two different DB15 extension cables at my house, and my friend had the exact same result with his DB15 cables at his house in another state.

My suspicion is that the hex code developed by Dr. Scott Baker is somehow flawed.

I watched his video on the board and how it was suppose to perform.  I do like how he allowed for flexibility with both sticks but the regulator is overkill in my opinion. He did say the microprocessor he used he discovered was a pain in the tush to work with.

[CrossBow]

12 hours ago, Atari 5200 Guy said:

I watched his video on the board and how it was suppose to perform.  I do like how he allowed for flexibility with both sticks but the regulator is overkill in my opinion. He did say the microprocessor he used he discovered was a pain in the tush to work with.

Did he explain what the VR is for? Again, there is only +5 coming off the controller port in the first place? Does this VR regulator +5 down to +3? That would make sense if the parts used are only 3v parts? I just can't imagine there is enough omph through the +5 on the controller ports to power a VR?

 

[RickR]

According to the schematic, the PS2 controller needs 3.3 V.  That's why the voltage regulator is there. 

If only a row of buttons does not work, it's almost certainly a broken trace or continuity issue. 

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

1 hour ago, RickR said:

According to the schematic, the PS2 controller needs 3.3 V.  That's why the voltage regulator is there. 

If only a row of buttons does not work, it's almost certainly a broken trace or continuity issue. 

 

That's why I would like to see the backside of that board.  

What does the cable look like connecting the board to the machine?  One end is obviously female... what is the other end?

[antonio]

I think broken trace might indeed be the issue. I bought bad boards from him before, and it wouldn't be the first time, unfortunately. I just have to get my magnifier out and start looking at all the PCB traces.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

7 hours ago, antonio said:

I think broken trace might indeed be the issue. I bought bad boards from him before, and it wouldn't be the first time, unfortunately. I just have to get my magnifier out and start looking at all the PCB traces.

I would concentrate on the keypad matrix traces first.  I know that's obvious.  I bet you knew that though.