what about USB controller ???

[Pryonic]

:) hi all ;D

did anyone tried to interface an USB joystick (for example) to the DC controller port ???

coz it could be nice to use recent game pads on the DC

??? :o

regards

[semicolo]

What ?? you're trying it here too ?? ;D

[pboese]

It'a not going to work. Now if you want to tear it apart and remove all the USB stuff and insert the inerds of a DC controlller you might get somewhere. ;D Maybe :D

[Pryonic]

well
the idea was to make a com interface between

usb and the serial maplebus used on the DC

not just a hardware mess ;D :o

[Mental2k]

hmmm, wouldnt that mean, in theory, u could get an xbox controller workin on a DC?

[semicolo]

Well, yes, you need a chip with an usb hub in it to talk to the xbox pad and do maple bus talking on the other side.

[Mental2k]

yeah mental2k contributed to intellegent conversation :D

[Electric_Monk]

Indeed, what you'd need to do would be to build an adapter that featured a maple bus client chip (to communicate with the "host" Dreamcast), a USB host controller (like you'd have in a PC for connecting USB hubs/gamepads/etc. to) and some sort of microcomputer to tie the two together (it'd need to understand the maple bus packets from the Dreamcast, and also have a USB stack to deal with all the bus configuration/management that USB requires, as well as understanding Human Computer Interface-type class device messages for your gamepad - as these can describe any sort of gamepad, and keyboard and mouse, it'd also be quite complex in itself, particularly deciding how to map the currently connected gamepad on to the Dreamcast's expectations for a controller).

Dreamcast controller maple bus to USB would be much easier, which is something I've been working on myself (I realise you can buy such things, but I thought it'd be more fun/flexible to have a go myself). I'm using a USB PIC, but I've not got a circuit to read the Maple bus yet (it's a bit fast for the PIC to do in software, at least I've not had any flashes of inspiration to do as such, so I've been thinking about a dedicated circuit for receiving the packets).

[wraggster]

hmm ill try later but i have got the following

an adapter that lets you use a ps/2 mouse/ keyboard on a dreamcast

i also have a usb to ps/2 adapter

finally i also have a USB joypad

ill have a try when im not so busy and see if i can get it working

[SANiK]

I know that this may be old ... VERY old, but (I posted this on another forum)
http://www.national.com/pf/CP/CP3UB17.html

It's a 24 Mhz 16-bit CPU with USB support. I already made a programmer schematic for it:

http://jamesseph.phpwebhosting.com/users/sanik/downloader.png

[ptr.exe]

wraggs, i seriously doubt that will work, but give it a go and let us know. The maple bus of a DC controller is weird, doubt that the DC could interpret USB contollers at all.
Another possibilty would be those PS1 adaptors for DC as they convert the PS controller to be interpreted by DC then into that plug one of those USB converters for PlayStation, that could work.
The look at the two circuits and see if you could simplify it into one adaptor howver your still gonna have to use PIC.

[SANiK]

ptr.lynch, that's exactly what I said in my previous post...

That microcontroller that I posted has a built in USB chip and you can get 5 of them for free from the company.

[ptr.exe]

okay sorry, should of checked the link before posting.

[semicolo]

Maybe I missed something in the datasheet, but it seems that this microcontroller only contains USB endpoints, that would mean it can only be used to make a USB device not a host controller on which one could hook a peripheral like a gamepad.

Nice work on the programmer though.