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    GPIO Adapter Help Needed

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    ControlBlock, PowerBlock & Co.
    gpio adapter nes controller p1 b+
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    • O
      onesojourner
      last edited by

      Cliffsnotes: I am trying to get 2 NES controllers working with a pi 1.

      I got the GPIO adapter for Christmas last year and I have not been successful in getting it functioning. I have spent many frustrating hours trying to get this to work, ultimately putting everything back in a shoebox for months at a time. I have checked and rechecked things on the hardware level and I am confident I have things setup correctly.

      I have attempted to install/select the snesdev and gamecon drivers trying to get any kind of a response from any of my 3 NES controllers. I have checked the controllers and they are working on an old NES. I have never gotten any response from any controller that I have tried when plugged into the gpio adapter. I am setting this up on a pi 1 b+. It is almost as if they gpio is not functioning at all. Is that possible? before getting the gpio adapter I tried to use a controller directly on the gpio with no success. I am I missing a key software step?

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      • I
        illuminerdi
        last edited by

        Forgive me if this is an obvious answer but: do you have a multimeter? If so, have you tried checking the GPIO pins with it?

        I can't help you get this adapter working but I can tell you this: if the GPIO pins aren't showing voltage across the lines, then you can ignore the adapter and focus on why the GPIO isn't working. I'm not sure what voltage should be on what pin, but a quick google search will turn up the pinout for the GPIO for your model RPI, and from there you can start with the basics such as testing the 3.3V or 5V pins to ground to see if they are even outputting voltage. From there you can work on turning various pins on/off to see if the GPIO is responding to commands from the OS, which will help you narrow down areas to focus on.

        That should be your first step: narrow it down. If you don't know what the issue is, or where to start, then start by testing. And if you can't test, consider investing in a (decent) multimeter. You can get a decent one for $30-40 and they are indispensible if you plan to do hobbyist projects such as this in the future. Don't get the cheapest one you can find. Trust me when I say multimeters are one of those products where you get what you pay for, and the cheaper it is, the worse it will work, and that can be dangerous. A poorly functioning meter giving you bad reads could lead you to doing things that fry your electronics (or give you a nasty shock).

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        • O
          onesojourner
          last edited by

          I have 2.

          @illuminerdi said in GPIO Adapter Help Needed:rom there you can work on turning various pins on/off to see if the GPIO is responding to commands from the OS

          Is a guide out there on doing this with the retropie image? Or do you mean I need to grab raspbien and go from there? I have some experience with arduino but I don't know much about the RP.

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          • I
            illuminerdi @onesojourner
            last edited by

            @onesojourner Retropie runs on top of Raspbian, so you can basically just follow any Raspbian-based guide.

            Just quit emulationstation by hitting F4 on your keyboard (you'll need one hooked up anyway to type in commands to the GPIO pins).

            I have no idea how to manipulate the GPIO pins at all yet though. I've never done it. I just know they exist and that you can manipulate them, turn them on/off, etc.

            So, uhhh...good luck?

            Sorry, lol, I'll be learning about them in a month or so when I go to hook up a fan but for now I've never touched them.

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            • O
              onesojourner
              last edited by

              Alright quick update.

              I went back through the SNESDev github page. https://github.com/petrockblog/SNESDev-RPi#snesdev-rpi

              I was able to get my first controller to be recognized and it seems to be working correctly but I had to use putty to ssh in and run sudo SNESDev. If I close putty it stops working.

              On the github page it says to run:
              sudo ~/SNESDev-RPi/bin/SNESDev &

              This fails. I am am not sure what is going on.

              I also tried to run:
              Running SNESDev as a service

              SNESDev-RPi comes with a script that allows SNESDev to be run as a service. The installation command for that is

              sudo make installservice

              and that fails. I think I am close but I am still missing something here. Can someone who has set this up chime in?

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