Author Topic: Other CD-i controllers?  (Read 174 times)

April 04, 2014, 12:34:50 PM
Read 174 times

Megatron

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Hey guys,

Does anymore know of any mods or cables that exist that will allow you to use other controllers (like genesis or snes) with a CD-i ?  I have a CD-i, a decent library of games, but my 3-button controller has officially crapped out.  It sucked anyway.  And while I have another one, it's the presentation controller, so not much use for games.
And while I could just buy another controller, the prices are astronomical for something I will hardly ever use.  But I just feel wrong not having a way to play a game if I want to.

I have read about people modding things themselves, but unfortunately I am not a tech guy, so anything other than replacing screws is over my head.

If anyone has heard of or seen anything (or better yet, used something) I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!
« Last Edit: April 04, 2014, 12:49:25 PM by Megatron »

April 05, 2014, 12:26:26 PM
Reply #1

Ozzy_98

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Gen's controllers and many of these early consoles are simple systems, each button has it's own pin.  The CDI has a serial connection, one pin has all input encoded, so you'd need a lot of hardware trickery I don't think you want.  Best bet would be to try to find an adapter, they used to be kind of cheap.

April 05, 2014, 01:41:15 PM
Reply #2

Madducky

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I have been looking for a CD-I adapter like that for years!!
Do you happen to know which company manufactured it?

Thanks.

April 05, 2014, 01:57:25 PM
Reply #3

Ozzy_98

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ones I remember seeing were ebay homebrews.  I'm not sure if people were using a real controller for the guts of it, doubt it, but they might have been.

April 07, 2014, 09:55:49 AM
Reply #4

Megatron

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Thanks for the tip about the insides.  Looks like I won't be attempting that route.
In my research, I keep coming across people talking about a Genesis to CD-i converter.  This seemed relatively cheap about 10 years ago, but now (if it exists) is reportedly just as expensive as CD-i controllers.  The company that made it apparently stopped, and I can't even find them on eBay.
Oh well.  Looks lie if I ever feel like torturing myself with a bad Zelda game, I'll have to go back to the DS.