• Log #5

    Ryan • 06/07/2016 at 09:12 • 0 comments

    Project is now complete. I fixed the ports in with some hot glue to allow for safe removal and attachment of the controllers. II added some Sugru around the ports to tidy them up a little. Here are some images from the final product:

    Some feet:

  • Project Log #4

    Ryan • 05/30/2016 at 16:48 • 0 comments

    Player 2 port now wired up. Tested and working however I don't currently have a 2nd controller for multiplayer gaming although this is coming soon! All that is left to do is to setup a way to exit games as all controller buttons are mapped. Currently thinking of wiring an extra button on the game itself to achieve this or adding a button combo in the config.

    Here are some pictures from the almost finished project so far:

    Player 2 port wired up (black):

    Case closed with player 1 controller connected:

    Game cartridge rear:

    All connected:

    Just a few bits left to polish off the build. Controllers ports need gluing in and the Pi needs fixing down. Almost there

  • Log #3

    Ryan • 05/29/2016 at 08:08 • 0 comments

    Pi Zero has been setup and Retro Pie installed along with the relevant gpio drivers for the mega drive controller. Player 1 port soldered to the main board  and tested. All working!

    Here are some pictures from the project so far:

    Just need to wire up the Player 2 port and fix everything in place and test :)

  • Log #2

    Ryan • 05/29/2016 at 08:07 • 0 comments

    All additional components purchased and ready to go. So far I have prepared the game cartridge cutting all required holes for ports and trimmed some plastic from the bottom to make the Raspberry Pi . First time cutting plastic to create port holes so it's a little rough but not bad for a first attempt.

    I opted to use a larger EA game cartridge rather than the smaller Sega. Here are a few images:

    Game cartridge port holes cut:

    Rough internal layout:

  • Log #1

    Ryan • 05/29/2016 at 08:03 • 0 comments

    Simple project to fit the Pi Zero and 2 Mega drive controller ports into an original mega drive game shell. So far I have managed to get 1 controller port wired and configured for use with Retro Pie using a Pi2 for prototyping. The 2nd port will be added as soon as it arrives!

    The pin out for Mega drive controller to the GPIO took a while to figure out, always seemed to be one or 2 buttons that didn't seem to register. After a day of tinkering around I managed to get all buttons working using the following Pin to GPIO:


    1. Pin 1 - GPIO 4 (UP)
    2. Pin 2 - GPIO7 (DOWN)
    3. Pin 3 - GPIO 8 (LEFT)
    4. Pin 4 - GPIO 9 (RIGHT)
    5. Pin 5 - 3.3 V
    6. Pin 6 - GPIO 10 (FIRE 1)
    7. Pin 7 - GPIO 14 (FIRE 3)
    8. Pin 8 - Ground
    9. Pin 9 - GPIO 11 (FIRE2)

    Hardware so far:

    Next Steps:

    • Add and configure 2nd port for 2 player games.
    • Wire both ports to perm-proto board for final installation
    • Setup and configure Pi Zero for Retro Pi
    • Install final hardware into Mega Drive game cartridge.