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Wireless Sega Genesis Controller for Wii

All > Tech > Hacks/Mods > Wireless Sega Genesis Controller for Wii by emptyset

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Many of you may have seen the wireless SNES and NES controller designed by Mark Feldman (available at http://www.ppl-pilot.com/) which was amazing but, unlike like many unfortunate souls out there, I was blessed to have a Sega genesis as a child. I was inspired by his hack, and went out and learned to program and use PIC microcontrollers so that I could play the Sega games I enjoyed so much as a child on the Wii's virtual console with the controller they were designed for. This project is the fruit of my labors, allowing you to use your old Sega genesis controller with the wireless receiver designed by Mark Feldman.

**I have uploaded a new creation detailing an improved method of making this controller which uses a custom circuit board: http://cre.ations.net/creation/custom-circuit-board-for-wireless-sega-genesis-controller-for-wi **

**I have uploaded the receiver/charger that I use for all my controllers: http://cre.ations.net/creation/recievercharger-for-wireless-genesis-snes-and-nes-controllers **

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For this project I used a PIC16F84A, an iPod mini replacement battery, some bits of perfboard, a small slider switch, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a panel mount LED, a 434 MHz wireless transmitter, a 4 MHz crystal, and a sega genesis controller with a surface mount circuit board. It is important that you use a surface mount style board because the battery won't fit under the thru hole type.

The PIC, transmitter and Crystal are from http://www.sparkfun.com/
The headphone jack, LED and perfboard are from http://www.radioshack.com/
The battery is from http://www.batteriesplus.com/
I would try ebay for a controller.

The source code is available at http://www.ppl-pilot.com/sega_transmitter.asm
and in hex: http://www.ppl-pilot.com/sega_transmitter.hex

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The wiring is pretty straightforward. You should note that the pin numbers for the controller in the schematic DO NOT correspond the the plug on the cord, but the order left to right of the wires coming off the circuit board.

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First I figured the placement of all the components and drilled holes for the LED and power switch. Then I wired the grounds together for the battery, the 3.5 MM jack, the transmitter and left a wire to go the PIC and LED, and another for the controller. Next I wired the positive together for the battery, charger, and switch. Then the other side of the switch to the PIC and LED and transmitter, and left a wire for the controller. **The Transmitter came with four pins soldered to it, I desoldered these and soldered new wires directly to the board**

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Solder the PIC **Make sure you programmed it first**, crystal, and LED in place. Run a jumper from Pin 14 (VDD)on the PIC to Pin 4 (MCLR). Attach a wire from the data pin on the transmitter to Pin 18 on the PIC.

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Remove the original pin header from the controller and solder wires directly to the board, including the ground and positive you set aside earlier. (The battery wont fit if the pin header is used). I recommend taping them down to keep them straight.

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Solder the wires from the controller to the PIC. **The pin numbers for the genesis controller in the schematic correspond to the labels in the picture above**

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Glue the battery, switch, 3.5MM jack, and transmitter in place. I used super glue on the jack and switch, and hot glue for everything else. Put all the buttons back together. Position the PIC so that it fits in the controller like shown.

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Put the circuit board in. I found that tacking the corners with hot glue made the next step easier.

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With everything glued in place, put both halves of the controller back together and enjoy your new controller!

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