SNES pad via Control Block V.S. USB SNES adapter

[GaryLovesAsh]

Hello,
I don't have a control block or a RPi yet but I was wondering if you guys could answer some questions for me?

If the same SNES controllers were used via control block and USB adapter, would there be any difference?

I was looking at a component out adapter for the RPi (http://www.retrotink.com/)
If I purchase control block and the adapter above, would either interfere with each other's connection to the board?

Lastly, does the control block work with other emulation distributions besides RetroPie?

I forgot to ask, the Control Block comes pre-assembled, is there any soldering required to connect 2 SNES pads to the RPi?

Thanks

[ortsac]

Hi.

I will try to answer your question as best as I can. If anyone out there can provide a better answer, please chime in.

1. I use the original SNES controller with the ControlBlock with RPi3 built into a NES console. I use the original NES controller adapter but remap the connection of the SNES controller functions into it. It works perfectly well with the ControlBlock without lag or hesitation during game play. I cannot say whether a USB adapter will be better or not as I have not used one.

2. The ControlBlock uses some of the GPIO pins for power and microcontroller communications with the RPI and the external game pads that are attached to ControlBlock. I do not know the GPIO pin usage of the Retrotink board. If this video adapter do not use the same pins as the ControlBlock then there should be any interference. However, the software that interfaces both boards must be written well such that both boards are communicated properly without interfering with each others protocol during game play.

3. I do not know of other emulation distributions, other than Retropie that communicates well with the ControlBlock. The ControlBlock was designed and its firmware was written specifically with the Retropie in mind. They are seamlessly integrated.

4. There is no soldering required. Connections to the ControlBlock are made through the terminal blocks where the wires the controllers are inserted into the terminal blocks and held in place by tightening the screws on the block.

I hope I have answered your question. My advise is for you to further research the Retrotink board to find out if the GPIO pins it uses are used on the ControlBlock as well. Otherwise, a conflict will occur between boards.

[GaryLovesAsh]

@ortsac
Re: SNES pad via Control Block V.S. USB SNES adapter

Thanks, that was very informative.
I'm trying to contact the creator of the RetroTink to see if it would conflict with the control block's connections.

I'm still having a hard time trying to picture how to physically connect a SNES pad to the control block though.
I'm viewing petrockblock's video demonstration, and it has a purple panel that has multiple wires that lead to the control block.

Is the purple panel needed? Or is there a SNES port on the control block I'm not seeing?

[ortsac]

Question: Why do you need the Retrotink board? Will you be using an old CRT monitor to play the games on?

The video shows an adapter board or "purple panel" to easily connect the SNES controller to ControlBlock. I do not know who makes it but it looks homemade. That would be the best way to do it if you have all the parts to make one. The other way would be to cut the SNES connectors and stripping out the wires and connecting the stripped wires to the ControlBlock directly. The ControlBlock instructions on the petrocklog.com show the pinmap connection for an SNES or NES connector and that's the way I did mine without an adapter panel.

[Darksavior]

@GaryLovesAsh I'm a cheapass and I connected my snes pads with the gamecon schematic/driver. Wires soldered from snes controller ports to gpio. It works only in retropie unfortunately. The driver is broken as of Retropie 4.2.2. Stick with the current distro of 4.2 and don't update it until there's a fix if you choose this route. Do a search for gamecon in the forum for some other users experiences.

[GaryLovesAsh]

@ortsac
Damn, I don't want to strip the wires to my SNES controllers or take apart my console to make a panel.

I'll be using an HD CRT TV. It'd be if a more straightforward adapter was invented. But oh well.

Thanks for the help.