Tutorial: How To Make An Authentic Famicom USB Controller

[Geruta]

This is a tutorial on how to make an authentic Famicom USB Controller for use with a NES emulator. (or any emulators for that matter)

I first started playing the NES when I was around 4 years of age. Back then Super Mario Bros. 3 and Metroid were my past times. Today I still enjoy this gaming system as much if not more then current video game consoles.

I learned about the Japanese version of the NES a few years back and one day I decided to shell out some cash for a famicom on ebay. It was great but it didn't come with the power adapter and I already was playing many NES games on the PC via an emulator. So why did I buy it? The controllers looked WAY better than their NES equivalents. The buttons popped better and the controller was easier to hold and play with. I had been using an original NES controller with a NES to USB adapter to play NES/FDS ROMS. So I decided to connect the Famicom controllers to the USB adapter.

However, there was one problem. The Famicom controllers were built directly into the console. With a bit of tinkering, I was able to disconnect the Famicom controller and swap the motherboard of the NES controller and implant it into the Famicom controller.

With a bit of patience and the right tools you too with be able to enjoy the almighty controller with your emulator.

OK Here's how to do it.


First these are the items you will need.

1.  Small screwdriver


2. Original NES Controller (If you don't already have one, search ebay)


3. NES to USB adapter (I bought mine from retrousb.com)


4. Famicom OR a Famicom replacement controller (can be bought from ebay)







OK lets get cracking. If you have a Famicom replacement controller please skip to step #5.


Step 1. Get your beloved Famicom and flip it upside down. Unscrew with your screwdriver the 6 screws on the bottom of your unit.


Step 2. Remove the red bottom plastic and you will reveal the internal organs of this beauty. You will see the two controllers wrapped around from the back of the unit to the front. The 2nd controller is unusable. It has a mic that isn't supported by a NES controller motherboard. What were looking to get here is the prime 1st player controller. Its wires are connected in the area circled.


Step 3. Disconnect the wires from the motherboard. It should just pull right off with little force. Note, Please grab from the plastic tip and not the actual wires to avoid damaging the cable.


Once done will it look like this.



Step 4. Remove the plastic retaining clip. It will come out very easily. Once out it will open up and remove from the controller cable.


Step 5. So now your at step 5. This means you should have a bare Famicom controller whether you bought one this way or you disconnected it from your Famicom. If you do not have something that looks like the controller pictured below, you did something wrong.


Step 6. Get your Original NES controller and unscrew the 6 screws on the bottom.


Step 7. Remove the backing and remove the Circuit Board from the NES Controller.




Step 8. Unscrew the 6 screws on the back of the Famicom Controller and remove the backing.




Step 9. Swap the Circuit Boards (Motherboards) of the two controllers by placing the NES motherboard inside the Famicom Controller.



Step 10. Weave the controller wire back into the controller and screw back the Famicom Controller backing. Connect to a NES to USB adapter and that's it!.



I hope many of you will enjoy this tutorial. I put a lot of work into it. Just in case it isn't obvious, this will destroy a Famicom console and an original NES controller. For me this was a small price to pay for a such a classic controller. Please everyone enjoy. If you have questions or comments please post them! Thanks!

[nintendodork]

I think there's an easier way to remove the Famicom controller from the Famicom, as I've seen replacement controllers on eBay.  I've never tried to remove one personally, but I'm just saying you might look into a different way to remove the controller, so the port isn't permanently unusable.

[Xious]

Ahem... Sure, you can skip all the way to the step where you remove the maroon casing from the Famicom controller and slap it over a NES controller PCB. Opening the system and removing the controller cable are completely unnecessary for the swapping of the controller shells. From there, you can always place the NES controller casing back on the PCB from the Famicom controller, as I did on one system (for the completely similar and totally unlike reason of making a custom Famicom NES and a custom NES Famicom).

Then again, this doesn't actually convert a Famicom controller to USB: Rather, its a tutorial for how to swap the cases. If you want to convert a Famicom controller to USB, you can do so wit both controllers, a PLD, a piece of Vero board, a USB cable and a plastic project box. This would require understanding how to program the PLD (though the source for this is readily available).

If you want to use the RetroUSB adapter, you can still wire it to a true Famicom controller, without cutting anything, short-cord and all. The connectors inside the Famicom, by which the controllers mate with the CPU-mainboard, are both standard, inline Molex couplers. that you can buy at electronics shoppes (or via on-line electronics parts firms) You can solder those to a piece of Vero, and the other end of the RetroVideo kit to the Vero, all inside a project box. You can even build it all inside the Famicom system case shell.

That way you can place the FC system, controllers and all, wired to your whatever-emulation-box and pretend the FC wasn't gutted and dead as a doorknocker. Haven't I seen this somewhere already? I could swear that someone already turned a system into that...probably on this forum, but I don.t recall if it really happened or if I dreamed it into being... 

[Geruta]

Post Merge: July 16, 2011, 07:43:02 pm

I think there's an easier way to remove the Famicom controller from the Famicom, as I've seen replacement controllers on eBay.  I've never tried to remove one personally, but I'm just saying you might look into a different way to remove the controller, so the port isn't permanently unusable.

The port isnt unusable. It uses a molex connector that easily unplugs without causing any damage. As long as you have a replacement controller, you will still be able to use the famicom. However, if you had a replacement controller it would make more sense to just use that in the first place.
Post Merge: July 16, 2011, 07:59:26 pm

"Ahem... Sure, you can skip all the way to the step where you remove the maroon casing from the Famicom controller and slap it over a NES controller PCB. Opening the system and removing the controller cable are completely unnecessary for the swapping of the controller shells."

In order to free the Famicom controller without breaking the wires, yes this is necessary.

"Then again, this doesn't actually convert a Famicom controller to USB: Rather, its a tutorial for how to swap the cases."

In a sense your half right and half wrong. Yes this tutorial shows you how to swap the casing. But consider this. The internal PCB of both the NES and Famicom controllers are 100% identical. The button configuration, the wires, the screw hole positions, everything. The only exception is the other end of the wire where one tip (NES) is intended to be unpluged and the other (Famicom) not intended to be unpluged/repluged. No company makes an adapter for Famicom to USB. So this is the only logical choice.

"If you want to use the RetroUSB adapter, you can still wire it to a true Famicom controller, without cutting anything, short-cord and all. The connectors inside the Famicom, by which the controllers mate with the CPU-mainboard, are both standard, inline Molex couplers. that you can buy at electronics shoppes (or via on-line electronics parts firms) You can solder those to a piece of Vero, and the other end of the RetroVideo kit to the Vero, all inside a project box. You can even build it all inside the Famicom system case shell."

The problem with this is that the bare wires would be exposed. Look at the pics above and you will notice that the famicom controller doesnt have the black sleeve covering the smaller wires inside all the way down. Also the PCB is again 100% identical to the NES. It would be a waste of resources and less ascetically appealing to wire a Famicom controller to a molex adapter to a retroUSB adapter.

[Xious]

My wording is at fault: I didn.t mean the port would be broken, but until you either get another FC controller on the system, then the port is unusable. In other words, you need to either buy another FC controller, modify the one you removed by swapping another case onto it, or wire-up a generic controller (or third-party controller) to have a molex termination, and finally install it back into the system, all of which can simply be avoided by not opening the FC at all, as all you need for this project is the case.

You're really making a two-step process into a long, seriously over-worked project simply by opening the Famicom, much less disconnecting the controller.  The point again, is that the premise of your idea is to put a FC controller case on a NES controller, and there isn't any reason to remove the FC controller from the system--no reason whatever--in order to do this.

For controller-I, the internals are identical, but not Controller-II. The tutorial shows how to remove the controller from a FC, and then swaps the case to a NES controller and uses the NES controller (wearing its new red and shiny-bronze case), plugged into a RetroUSB adapter on a PC.

No, you certainly don.t need to remove the controller from the system to remove the plastic shell, and as you aren't actually using the controller PCB, wires or connections, then removing the controller from the FC logic-board has no purpose.

Again, it's still not a FC controller, even if the PCB is identical. A Famicomcontroller has a shorter cord with specific termination. The NES controller has a far longer cord with its own unique termination. Thus, it's not an 'Authentic Famicom Controller', though it's an authentic shell from one. Yes, it looks and plays the same. If you want to use a genuine FC controller (for those who have a spare and want to do this), then you can wire it through a project box, whether via a RetroUSB adapter or a hand-made adapter. There is no need for bare, loose wires: That's exactly why you use a Vero board and a project box.

The Vero-board will have either:
a PLD, a USB cable, and a Molex connector or;
the RetorUSB adapter and a Molex connector.

The project box will contain the Vero board,, the cables will go into the project box (through drilled holes) and be secured inside, then the box is screwed closed around them and it's all nice and tidy. I think that would be 26 solder-pints at most. No bare wires.

Honestly, if you just want to swap the casing, that's all you need to do. If you want to make a Controller-II work on an emulator (with MIC-input), then you'd need to modify the PLD code... I don't even know if any emulator out there supports this function.

You can also use a plastic-shell from a Famiclone controller on the original FC controller or NES controller casing: I did this to modify a Famicom (for a customer) to have four built-in controllers... Two rested on the sides, and two coming out the front. Then I used SEM dye to give the FC system NES colours, and reused the red casings for NES controllers on a NES that I made for myself in Famicom colours.

SEM is brilliant. 

[Geruta]

My wording is at fault: I didn't.t mean the port would be broken, but until you either get another FC controller on the system, then the port is unusable. In other words, you need to either buy another FC controller, modify the one you removed by swapping another case onto it, or wire-up a generic controller (or third-party controller) to have a molex termination, and finally install it back into the system, all of which can simply be avoided by not opening the FC at all, as all you need for this project is the case.

You're really making a two-step process into a long, seriously over-worked project simply by opening the Famicom, much less disconnecting the controller.  The point again, is that the premise of your idea is to put a FC controller case on a NES controller, and there isn't any reason to remove the FC controller from the system--no reason whatever--in order to do this.

For controller-I, the internals are identical, but not Controller-II. The tutorial shows how to remove the controller from a FC, and then swaps the case to a NES controller and uses the NES controller (wearing its new red and shiny-bronze case), plugged into a RetroUSB adapter on a PC.

No, you certainly don.t need to remove the controller from the system to remove the plastic shell, and as you aren't actually using the controller PCB, wires or connections, then removing the controller from the FC logic-board has no purpose.

Again, it's still not a FC controller, even if the PCB is identical. A Famicomcontroller has a shorter cord with specific termination. The NES controller has a far longer cord with its own unique termination. Thus, it's not an 'Authentic Famicom Controller', though it's an authentic shell from one. Yes, it looks and plays the same. If you want to use a genuine FC controller (for those who have a spare and want to do this), then you can wire it through a project box, whether via a RetroUSB adapter or a hand-made adapter. There is no need for bare, loose wires: That's exactly why you use a Vero board and a project box.

The Vero-board will have either:
a PLD, a USB cable, and a Molex connector or;
the RetorUSB adapter and a Molex connector.

The project box will contain the Vero board,, the cables will go into the project box (through drilled holes) and be secured inside, then the box is screwed closed around them and it's all nice and tidy. I think that would be 26 solder-pints at most. No bare wires.

Honestly, if you just want to swap the casing, that's all you need to do. If you want to make a Controller-II work on an emulator (with MIC-input), then you'd need to modify the PLD code... I don't even know if any emulator out there supports this function.

You can also use a plastic-shell from a Famiclone controller on the original FC controller or NES controller casing: I did this to modify a Famicom (for a customer) to have four built-in controllers... Two rested on the sides, and two coming out the front. Then I used SEM dye to give the FC system NES colours, and reused the red casings for NES controllers on a NES that I made for myself in Famicom colours.

SEM is brilliant. 

I don't know why I didn't even think about that but your right. The controller doesn't need to be removed from the Famicom. Just the pastic casing that surrounds it. Perhaps this is a bit more drawn out the need be but I wanted to make sure everything was as clear as possible. At the time I did all this about 2 years ago, I didn't own a project box or Vero board. These were the tools I had to make it work and they did just that, work. I don't want to revoke the "Authentic" part of this project because we are using official Nintendo parts here. We can argue back and forth how "Authentic" this really is but since its my tutorial I want to argue it in my favor 

As far as the Famicom cord being shorter than the NES... This is a positive outcome from what i see. The longer NES cable makes it easier to use the controller. Right? 



At any rate wether this be an authentic or "unauthentic" method, this is an inarguable way to play Famicom/FDS roms with a controller that looks, feels, sounds, smells, and taste like a Famicom controller.

Just my two Cherries

[crade]

The project box will contain the Vero board,, the cables will go into the project box (through drilled holes) and be secured inside, then the box is screwed closed around them and it's all nice and tidy. I think that would be 26 solder-pints at most. No bare wires.

Last time I did this I just chopped the end off the famicom controller and the nes controller, soldered em together and wrapped it in electrical tape

[eadmaster]

Instead of swapping the PCBs,
is it possible to replace just the mobo connector with a NES one?

If i ain't wrong they use the same color scheme for wires:

Code Select Expand


Ground -> Brown
+5v    -> White
Clock -> Red
Latch -> Orange
Data -> Yellow


[Xious]

Yes, you can wire a NES-type connector to a Famicom, if that's what you are asking. You can also do the reverse; in fact, IIRC the internal NES connectors are identical to the FC P1 connector. I think that you can remove the 7-pin cable from the NES mainboard and plug a FC controller directly onto it; or possibly plug that cable directly into a FC mainboard. I'm pretty sure bot use the identical Molex connector.  

Again, this topic is essentially pointless: If you want to convert a NES controller to the FC or vice versa, simply:

Remove the red plastic shells from a FC controller.
Remove the grey plastic shells from a NES controller.
Place the red plastic shells on the NES controller, in place of the grey ones.
Done.

If you want to use genuine FC controllers on anything else, buy the correct inline Molex connector, solder it to a piece of Vero, then add the USB micro-controller of your choice:

Zero Soft NES USB Controller (Open Source)
RetroSone RetroKit (Commercial)
Using Off-the-Shelf Keyboard Parts  

None of the other 'proceedure'. is required at all. There's zero reason to open the FC case, or to solder any wires or cables, and honestly, I don't understand the point of this. It somewhat reminds me of the parts of manuals that instruct you as to how to plug an AC-Adapter into a wall socket. Oh my, I'd never have figured that out!

Well, I don't mean to tear the OP to ribbons, but this is simply far overcomplicated and doesn't even achieve the stated goal. The FC P1 controller is not only electronically identical to the NEW controller, but it uses the same logic board. Just about everyone knows this, or would if they ever opened either controller to look at them. Additionally, for those curious, the NES-2 and 'New Famicom A/V' cotrollers are identical, with exception f the cord length and the embossed part numbers (an maybe the silkscreen; I don't recall if it is the same off-hand). The guts are the same for both, in any event, in all aspects.

They are electronically identical tot he NES and FC P1 controllers, although their logic boards have different dimensions. You can also wire any joystick or joycard--by hand--to a 4021B to achieve the same result. The FC controller is merely a normal 4-way joystick with four additional lines and CE, connected via a 4021B  (parallel to serial) static shift register.

You can buy that part for 50p/$1/.€0.35/¥45 from any electronic parts outfitter in the world, then build your own controllers. You can use arcade controls like punkpolitical has shown--I've made similar items from a PC-10 control panel--or get creative and modify Atari joysticks, or even trackballs (as I did), or go nuts and make something that you need to work with your feet.

Here's how it works. and here's a second rendition if you need one.

The FC P2 controller is different though, as it has the microphone circuit; however, no emulator supports this to my knowledge, and there is no straightforward way of converting it to USB. (That would, of course, be interesting, although I'd not need it, as I only use real hardware; interesting nonetheless.)

Here's a bonus schematic of the Famicom Microphone circuit, in full, glorious detail. There is one slight problem on it, which I will eventually fix. The error is on the controller-side, not the connection (internal) side, so it's not a huge problem. The schematic, including the aforementioned problem, is annotated.

Finally, here is an extra-bonus schematic detailing how to convert a NES controller to work on an Atari 7800/2600, in case you ever wondered.  

[eadmaster]

Well, thanks for your feedback!
I prefer the NES mod-idea because I don't own a Famicom and I have a spare female NES connector laying around.
Also, there are other possibilities, like making a controller with 2 connectors...

Now i'd like to add my own (still untested) solution on to "How To Make An Authentic Famicom USB Controller":
- get a Mayflash Dual SNES Controller Adapter for PC USB (easier than building an USB adapter yourself and quite cheap too!)
- built a NES-2-SNES adapter
- mod your Famicom controller with a NES connector
That's it, now you can use SNES, NES and Famicom controllers with a single adaptor!

[Xious]

Hmm? Do you have a Famicom controller, also loose?

Yes, you can build a converter between SNES/NES, and then connect a Famicom controller, or put the FC case on a NES controller. I suggest soldering botht he female NES connector and the male SNES cable to a 1cm square piece of Vero and enclosing them in a tiny, plastic project box for maximum security / build quality. This will ensure that you never pull wires loose, or end up with shorts. It also makes it easier to correct any errors, if you have problems when building it, not that it's in any way difficult.

You could also put a SFC/SNES connector on a NES or FC controller, if you're so inclined, thus allowing you to use it without a bridge adapter on a SFC/SNES or on a PC using that USB converter. I've made many off controllers for consoles. 

Good luck with your project.