Ultimate PC Interface for Classic Consoles / Intellivision and Colecovision

VERSION 2 (2012)
supports the following systems:


Atari 2600, 7800, Amiga/Commodore, Channel F, Colecovision (all), Genesis, Intellivision (all), Odyssey 2, MSX, Sega Master System, TI-99, X68000, and 2014 Intv/Coleco Flashback


rev2-small.png

VERSION 3 (2018)
supports the VERSION 2 controllers PLUS:


3DO, Amiga CD32, Amiga mouse, Atari 2600 Paddles, Atari CX22 & CX80 Trak-balls, Atari ST mouse, Bally Astrocade, CBS Booster Grip, FM Towns Marty, Gemini Dual Command


Classic Game USB Interface 2.png


Click here to see a full list of all supported controllers


Get the latest FIRMWARE by CLICKING HERE.

Additional Purchasing Options
If you are interested in an interface for only ONE controller, check out other interfaces at 2600-DAPTOR


http://2600-daptor.com/USB%20cable%20B%20Male.jpg
Do you need the USB cable to connect the interface to the PC?
Click the Add to Cart button below.


intfc8a.jpg
Are you using Intellivision 1 controllers? You will need the Inty 1 dongles.
Click the Add to Cart button below.

Product Description

The original purpose of this interface was to support the expansion controllers of the Intellivision and Colecovision consoles. With the release of the VERSION 3 interface, the purpose is to support as many 9 pin controllers and paddles as possible! This site focuses on the Intellivision and Colecovision but MANY other controllers are supported also.

The only way to play Intellivision and Colecovision games is with their unique and original controllers using the real hardware produced in the 80's. The second option would be in emulation on the PC but the PC keyboard has no way to reproduce the Intellivision 16 direction disc, the Coleco rollerball, or the feel of the controllers.

Enter the Ultimate PC Interface. Available ONLY here. It allows you to connect two (2) controllers and the PC through a USB connector. The controllers can be a combination of any supported controller.

intfc3a.jpg

What makes this the Ultimate PC Interface? It supports the Intellivision ECS keyboard! Play the ECS games as they were meant to be played. Learn to type 80's style with Flintstones Keyboard Fun. There is no other way to type a Basic program other than with the ECS keyboard!

intfc2a.jpg

The Music Synthesizer is also supported! Melody Blaster must be enjoyed with the Music Sythesizer.... and now on your PC. Ultimate PC Interface is the only interface that supports both ECS interfaces!

intfc1a.jpg

And there is more! Support for the Colecovision, Coleco Rollerball, Coleco Driving Wheel, Coleco Super Action controller, Atari 2600, and Atari 7800 Proline controllers! (see support section below) is also included....along side with the Intellivision controller! Even though there are two connections to one interface, you can still mix and match controller types. A majority of controller buttons are mapped the same making it easy to define one controller type in an emulator and then change controllers without having to redefine it.

intfc7a.jpg

Wait! And there is even more! Support for the Atari 2600 Driving, TI-99, Sega Master System, Fairchild Channel F, Magnavox Odyssey 2, and Sega Genesis 3/6 controllers is also included.....

... and more!!! If you have a 2014 Intellivion or Colecovision Flashback controller and want to play more games, there is also support for those controllers! (See support section below.)

Supported Controllers (see autosense mode)

Revision 2 (2012)

• the Atari 2600 joystick, 2600 keypad (older firmware), 2600 driving controller (paddles NOT supported)
• the Atari 7800 Proline joysticks
• Original Colecovision controllers, Coleco Super Action controllers with spinner support, Coleco Steering Wheel, Coleco Rollerball, and Colecovision Flashback controllers,
• the Fairchild Channel F joysticks (push down)
• Original Intellivision controllers (with dongle), Intellivision 2 controllers, Sears Arcade controllers, Intellivision Flashback controllers, Intellivision ECS Keyboard, and Intellivision Piano/Synthesizer
• the Magnavox Odyssey 2 joysticks
• the MSX joysticks
• the Sega Genesis 3/6 controllers (VERSION 2: use "START" button, VERSION 3 use "A" or "START)
• the Sega Master System compatible joysticks
• the TI-99/4A joysticks
• the X68000 joysticks (jack A, joystick #1 button)

Revision 3 (2018) All controllers listed above plus those listed below

• the 3DO (one controller in extension jack)
• the Amiga CD32 only on jack B
• the Amiga mouse (jack B, switches DN UP)
• the Atari 2600 Keypads
• the Atari 2600 Paddles, both paddles (paddle #1 button)
• the Atari 2800/Sears Video Arcade II (either side button, knob towards center)
• the Atari CX22 & CX80 Trak-balls, native mode (jack B, switches DN DN)
• the Atari Flashback 1, AtGames
• the Atari ST mouse (jack B, switches UP DN)
• the Bally Astrocade
• the CBS Booster Grip (grip switch)
• the Famiclone - NES, SNES, Famicom, Super Famicom gamepads with adapter cables (A+B for button A/B X/Y swap)
• the FM Towns Marty (FMM-PAD301, maybe others? - also press shoulder button)
• the Gemini Dual Command (knob towards center)

Specifications

• Supports 2 different controllers simultaneously with the DB9 connectors

• All Intellivision controllers are fully supported by the jzIntv Intellivision emulator (see support section below). Emulators such as Nostalgia and MESS that support joysticks and mouse, will support the controllers but not the Music Synthesizer or ECS keyboard.

• CoolCV, AdamEM, and MESS supports the Colecovision spinner (Super Action spinner, steering wheel, and rollerball) through mouse and joystick support. BlueMSX supports the Colecovision controllers.

• Dongle for connecting the original Intellivision controllers without modifying the cord is available separately (see photo below)

• Supports all 16 directions of the Intellivision DISC

• Supports all 8 directions of the Colecovision, Atari, Genesis 3/6 controllers, and all other 8 direction controllers.

• Supports the Intellivision ECS keyboard. It works natively in the operating system. Use it in your word processor!

• Supports the Intellivision Music Synthesizer. Currently only supported by the jzIntv emulator

• Supports the Colecovision spinner which is used by the Super Action Controller, the Steering Wheel, and the RollerBall through the emulator's mouse and joystick support. (see support section below)

• USB 2.0 and backwards compatible with USB 1.1

• Compatible with Windows/Mac/Linux - any O/S that natively supports USB HID devices

• Data transmitted 1000 times a second for minimal delay

• Firmware is upgradable (Windows O/S required) - CLICK HERE to view firmware upgrades and instructions on how to apply.

Support
The Ultimate PC Interface is 100% supported by the Intellivision jzIntv emulator (Available HERE), the Colecovision CoolCV emulator (Available HERE) and all other emulators that supports USB devices as the interface presents itself to the operating system as a joystick. The Intv ECS keyboard and Intv Music Sythesizer modes may not be properly recognized by all emulators. An example would be Nostalgia where it does recognize the ECS keyboard but Nostalgia uses the computer's ESC key to exit a game so Flintstones Keyboard Fun will not be playable.
Using the Ultimate Interface - VERSION 2

The interface unit has 4 modes. Use the switches to change the mode. See the interface label for reference. The side with the label is considered the TOP / UP side.

Auto Sense Mode - left switch UP, right switch UP
   - for ALL controllers excluding the ECS Keyboard and Music Synthesizer

Intellivision Hand Controllers (non-Flashback) - left switch UP, right switch DOWN

ECS Keyboard - left switch DOWN, right switch UP

Music Synthesizer - left switch DOWN, right switch DOWN

NOTE: The interface (VERSION 2 only) MUST be unplgged from the USB and reconnected when switching modes.

intfc6a.jpg

Using the Ultimate Interface - VERSION 3

The interface unit has 4 modes. Use the switches to change the mode. See the interface label for reference. The side with the label is considered the TOP / UP side.

Auto Sense Mode - left switch UP, right switch UP
   - for ALL controllers excluding the controllers listed below

Amiga Mouse - left switch DOWN, right switch UP

Atari ST Mouse - left switch UP, right switch DOWN

Atari CX22/CX80 Trackball - left switch DOWN, right switch DOWN

NOTE: The switches can be changed while the USB is plugged in (VERSION 3 only). After making the changes, press the black button. THere is no need to hold any mouse/trackball button. Switches affect jack/controller B only.

rev3-1a.jpg

Using the Autosense Mode

Autosense Mode supports all supported controllers.


The GENERAL RULE for all controllers is to hold first option below that applies while triggering AutoSense:
• Gamepad "A" (VERSION 2 - for Sega Genesis use START)
• Keypad "0"
• Button #1 (top/left)

The default mode (if no buttons are pressed when pluggin in the unit) remembers the last controller last recognized.

To have the VERSION 2 interface recognize a controller below, press and hold for 5 seconds the required key/button while plugging in the USB or turning on your system if the USB is already connected.

To have the VERSION 3 interface recognize a controller below
• press and hold the required controller key/button • press (& release) the black button • keep holding the required controller key/button until the LED is flashing regularly (should not take more than a second or two)

rev3-2a.jpg


Autosense for specific controllers


Amiga/Commodore controller, press fire button or button #1 on 2 button controllers.

Atari 2600 Paddles - hold paddle #1 button

Atari 2800/Sears Video Arcade II - hold either side button, knob towards center

CBS Booster Grip - hold grip switch

Coleco Rollerball: the switch should be set to Rollerball (not Joystick)

Coleco Steering Wheel: connect a Coleco controller and press zero. Connect the steering after the controller is recognized.

Fairchild Channel F - push down

All Famicon, NES, and SNES - hold A+B for button A/B X/Y swap

FM Towns Marty - press shoulder button

Gemini Dual Command - knob towards center

Intellivision ECS Keyboard - only on power up, hold the "0" key

Intellivision ECS Piano - only on power up, hold the left or right most end key

MSX and X68000 controller, press fire button or button #1 on 2 button controllers.

TI-99 controller, press button #1. Only one controller in port A is recognized. Port B will not work with TI-99 joystick.

AutoSense special notes


•Analog controls (2600 paddles, 2800/SVAII knob, Bally Astrocade knob) turned full right can cause the controller to be miss-detected. Turn towards center.

•Atari 2600 Driving may be miss-detected - use joystick or paddles for AutoSense, then change to driving

•Trak-ball/mouse can only be used in jack B. Set switches, then trigger AutoSense by power up (VERSION 2) or press black button (VERSION 3)

•The Atari 2600 paddles are part of a "2600-daptor" mode. When in this mode, you can freely switch between 2600 paddles, joystick, and driving just like you can with a 2600-daptor - no need to use AutoSense. You can also AutoSense into this mode with 2600 joystick pressed right. AutoSensing with the 2600 joystick fire button will actually select Sega Master System mode, but this works just fine with the 2600 joystick & driving (but not paddles).

•To activate the joystick mode for the Coleco Rollerball and Steering Wheel, hold ONLY the asterick (*) key on both controllers.
What is mouse and joystick mode? There are no emulators that natively support the Colecovision spinner. Emulators will interpret the PC mouse input as the rollerball/spinner. The interface interprets the Coleco Rollerball and Steering wheel as a mouse allowing them to work in these emulators. Some emulators do not have mouse support or you may want to use the rollerball as a joystick. You need to have the joystick version of the games when in this mode. (Example: Turbo and Slither standard controller versions)

Special Keys

The Intellivision and Colecovision controllers support 3 additional keys. To activate them, press two keys at the same time.

With the Intellivision controllers, holding down the 4 and the CLEAR buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 4. Holding down the 5 and the ZERO buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 5. Holding down the 6 and the ENTER buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 6. With the jzIntv configuration below, the emulator will PAUSE, RESET, or EXIT.

With the Colecovision controllers, holding down the 4 and the right fire buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 7. Holding down the 5 and the right fire buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 5. Holding down the 6 and the right fire buttons on the controllers, the interfaces returns to the emulator button 6. With the CoolCV configuration below, the emulator will FAST DISK, RESET, or EXIT.

For the Sega Genesis, MODE + any other button (A, B, C, X, Y, Z, START) activates PC joystick buttons 9 & up.

Important Connection information
The two DB9 connectors are labeled "A" and "B". "A" is for the left controller and "B" is for the right controller. Connect the ECS interfaces as shown below.

intfc5a.jpg
Connecting the ECS Keyboard or Music Synthesizer


intfc8a.jpg
You may need to remove the shield from the dongle if the controller connector is backwards

Suggested configuration file for Colecovision's CoolCV
Holding the right fire button and pressing the 5 button will reset the emulator. Holding the right fire button and pressing 6 will exit the emulator.

' CoolCV mappings for Colecovision controllers to keyboard and joystick
up_1 key1073741906
right_1 key1073741903
down_1 key1073741905
left_1 key1073741904
left_button_1 key32 joy0_0
right_button_1 key109 joy0_1
button3_1 key1073741939 joy0_2
button4_1 key1073741939 joy0_3
key1_1 key49 joy0_8
key2_1 key50 joy0_9
key3_1 key51 joy0_10
key4_1 key52 joy0_11
key5_1 key53 joy0_12
key6_1 key54 joy0_13
key7_1 key55 joy0_14
key8_1 key56 joy0_15
key9_1 key57 joy0_16
key*_1 key111 joy0_17
key0_1 key48 joy0_18
key#_1 key112 joy0_19
up_2 key119
right_2 key100
down_2 key115
left_2 key97
left_button_2 key9 joy1_0
right_button_2 key113 joy1_1
button3_2 key1073741939 joy1_2
button4_2 key1073741939 joy1_3
key1_2 key114 joy1_8
key2_2 key116 joy1_9
key3_2 key121 joy1_10
key4_2 key102 joy1_11
key5_2 key103 joy1_12
key6_2 key104 joy1_13
key7_2 key118 joy1_14
key8_2 key98 joy1_15
key9_2 key110 joy1_16
key*_2 key106 joy1_17
key0_2 key107 joy1_18
key#_2 key108 joy1_19
key_save key1073741882
key_restore key1073741883
key_exit key1073741939 joy0_5
key_pause key1073741884
key_reset key8 joy0_4
key_rolling_controller key1073741886
key_record_video key1073741887
key_record_audio key1073741890
key_screenshot key1073741891
key_fast_disk key1073741889 joy0_6
How to configure Intellivision's jzIntv
The jzIntv emulator supports mapping the controllers, PC keyboard, and Music Sythesizer. This is accomplished by using a "hackfile". To use the hackfile, you need to append the swith "--kbdhackfile" to the command line. An example is:

jzIntv --kbdhackfile=C:\jzIntv\hackfile.cfg c:\jzIntv\roms\demo.bin

jzIntv supports multiple input configurations, F5, F6, and F7. F5 is the default mapping and F7 is used for the ECS keyboard.
F6 (map 1) will be used for the Music Sythesizer.

You may either use this HACKFILE.CFG which contains comments or you may configure your own hackfile using the settings below. If you have not upgraded your unit to include Coleco/Atari support, use this HACKFILE.CFG.

The jzIntv GUI could be configured as shown below. (Click on the images to zoom in)

NOTE: The GUI does not handle long directory names that have a space (e.g. Program Files). It is best to place the hackfile.cfg in the BIN direcotry where jzIntv.exe is located at and not specify a path as shown in the image below.

cfg1_tn.jpg cfg2_tn.jpg cfg3_tn.jpg

Testing the interface
Use these Intellivision test roms to confirm that the controllers, keyboard, or piano are responding correctly. CLICK HERE to download.

jzIntv supports 4 controllers but not 4 joysticks. If you wanted to use 4 controllers, you would need a CGC.
If you have 2 interfaces and want to use 4 controllers, use the Nostalgia emulator which properly supports 4 joysticks.
Manual modification to HACKFILE
- Mapping the ECS Keyboard - Nothing needs to be added to the hackfile for the ECS keyboard. Just press F7 to put the emulator in ECS mode.

- Mapping the Controllers - Add the lines below to map controller "A"

; maps for the Ultimate PC Interface - joystick #0 - left controller

JS0_BTN_00 PD0L_A_T
JS0_BTN_01 PD0L_A_L
JS0_BTN_02 PD0L_A_R
JS0_BTN_08 PD0L_KP1
JS0_BTN_09 PD0L_KP2
JS0_BTN_10 PD0L_KP3
JS0_BTN_11 PD0L_KP4
JS0_BTN_12 PD0L_KP5
JS0_BTN_13 PD0L_KP6
JS0_BTN_14 PD0L_KP7
JS0_BTN_15 PD0L_KP8
JS0_BTN_16 PD0L_KP9
JS0_BTN_17 PD0L_KPC
JS0_BTN_18 PD0L_KP0
JS0_BTN_19 PD0L_KPE
JS0_N PD0L_J_N
JS0_NNE PD0L_J_NNE
JS0_NE PD0L_J_NE
JS0_ENE PD0L_J_ENE
JS0_E PD0L_J_E
JS0_ESE PD0L_J_ESE
JS0_SE PD0L_J_SE
JS0_SSE PD0L_J_SSE
JS0_S PD0L_J_S
JS0_SSW PD0L_J_SSW
JS0_SW PD0L_J_SW
JS0_WSW PD0L_J_WSW
JS0_W PD0L_J_W
JS0_WNW PD0L_J_WNW
JS0_NW PD0L_J_NW
JS0_NNW PD0L_J_NNW
JS0_BTN_03 PAUSE
JS0_BTN_04 RESET
JS0_BTN_05 QUIT


- Mapping the Music Synthesizer - Add the lines below to map piano. Use "map 1" and press F6 in the emulator to activate.

; -----------------------------
map 1 ; activate with F6
; -----------------------------

; maps for the Ultimate PC Interface - piano interface

- SYNTH_00 ; C
PERIOD SYNTH_01 ; C#
SEMICOLON SYNTH_02 ; D
P SYNTH_03 ; D#
= SYNTH_04 ; E
0 SYNTH_05 ; F
RETURN SYNTH_06 ; F#
[ SYNTH_07 ; G
COMMA SYNTH_08 ; G#
M SYNTH_09 ; A
K SYNTH_10 ; A#
I SYNTH_11 ; B
9 SYNTH_12 ; C
8 SYNTH_13 ; C#
O SYNTH_14 ; D
L SYNTH_15 ; D#
N SYNTH_16 ; E
B SYNTH_17 ; F
H SYNTH_18 ; F#
Y SYNTH_19 ; G
7 SYNTH_20 ; G#
6 SYNTH_21 ; A
U SYNTH_22 ; A#
J SYNTH_23 ; B
V SYNTH_24 ; C
C SYNTH_25 ; C#
F SYNTH_26 ; D
R SYNTH_27 ; D#
5 SYNTH_28 ; E
4 SYNTH_29 ; F
T SYNTH_30 ; F#
G SYNTH_31 ; G
X SYNTH_32 ; G#
Z SYNTH_33 ; A
S SYNTH_34 ; A#
W SYNTH_35 ; B
3 SYNTH_36 ; C
2 SYNTH_37 ; C#
E SYNTH_38 ; D
D SYNTH_39 ; D#
SPACE SYNTH_40 ; E
' SYNTH_41 ; F
/ SYNTH_42 ; F#
Q SYNTH_43 ; G
1 SYNTH_44 ; G#
` SYNTH_45 ; A
\ SYNTH_46 ; A#
A SYNTH_47 ; B
] SYNTH_48 ; C
Credits
Created by
Hafner Enterprises LLC