nes/snes retro duo! pics, review, hacking info 7/27/10

[Life of Brian]

Rats! Time to repost! And I was so productive over the last week, too...

Here's a tip if you're connecting just the SNES portion of the Retro Duo. The pinout is mislabeled, so follow what the pictures say:





Also, here's a pinout of the Retro Duo's controllers:



I'm not even going to try rebuilding that thread I had going in the case construction section.

[lovablechevy]

ugh...

moderators, can this be restickied, please?

[Torokun]

LOL.

This last page has been sort of a dejavu experience for me last few days.

I just received my Retro Duo.

Looks like a very solid piece of hardware. I can't wait to get the NES controller adapter though.

I emailed Innex and they said they are planning on releasing it sometime soon.

[Joel Schmidt]

[quote="lovablechevy"]
* super mario bros/duck hunt - smb is good no way to test duck hunt


There IS a way to test to see if Duck Hunt is liked by the Retro Duo or not. You can at least see if you can use a controller in port 1 to control the duck's movements.

And if you are REALLY adventurous, you try to make your own adapter for the zapper. Here is a link to the controller pinouts for the Nes http://nocash.emubase.de/everynes.htm#c ... erspinouts.

hmmm.... think I might try it myself.... I need to run to Play N Trade anyways to get a copy of Mega Man.

[lovablechevy]

There IS a way to test to see if Duck Hunt is liked by the Retro Duo or not. You can at least see if you can use a controller in port 1 to control the duck's movements.

i did not know this! i'll have to try that!

And if you are REALLY adventurous, you try to make your own adapter for the zapper. Here is a link to the controller pinouts for the Nes http://nocash.emubase.de/everynes.htm#c ... erspinouts.

i've been informed that this will not work. but what's the harm in trying? i've already modded an nes controller to work on the retro duo. i would try it with my light gun, but it would be pointless since i don't have a tv it would work with... but wait! my brother does! this site is also helpful in matching up the pins.

[Joel Schmidt]

There IS a way to test to see if Duck Hunt is liked by the Retro Duo or not. You can at least see if you can use a controller in port 1 to control the duck's movements.

i did not know this! i'll have to try that!

It might not have been intentional, but it is/was a way of making the game harder by allowing one person to use the zapper and another to control the duck. No idea if it works in the two duck mode though... probably not.

And if you are REALLY adventurous, you try to make your own adapter for the zapper. Here is a link to the controller pinouts for the Nes http://nocash.emubase.de/everynes.htm#c ... erspinouts.

i've been informed that this will not work. but what's the harm in trying? i've already modded an nes controller to work on the retro duo. i would try it with my light gun, but it would be pointless since i don't have a tv it would work with... but wait! my brother does! this site is also helpful in matching up the pins.

I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work, especially if the second site is correct and the NES and SNES controllers/guns/etc ARE in fact color coded the same. I'm betting that people that tried in the past probably went for a straight through adapter/mod and didn't take into account that the Zapper uses Data 2 and Data 3 instead. The easiest method would probably be to splice the cable used in the Super Scope receiver to the Zapper since, in theory anyways, it would then already be setup to use the additional Data line(s).

Update: Okay, an original Zapper WILL work with a Retro Duo. I have no idea what I did: I was over at PnT and had connected the VCC and GND lines to the unit and was testing various combinations of the Zapper's Data 2 and Data 3 lines. I had just plugged in D2 and was still holding D3 when the screen flashed, there was the gunshot sound and the menu switched from one duck game to two duck game. And the Zapper was sitting on the counter a good 2 feet away from me and the owner (it was just us there at the time). So, now we just need to figure out the combination needed.

I saw a post on a site that talked about SNES controller pinouts. It stated that the SuperScope receiver uses Pin 6 on the Snes controller port. Through patient testing, I know that on the NES, the blue and purple wires in the Zapper control the sending and receiving of the needed signals for games like Duck Hunt to work. I am wondering if maybe soldering the two wires and connecting them to the Snes style pin 6 might have the desired effect on the system.

[lovablechevy]

Update: Okay, an original Zapper WILL work with a Retro Duo. I have no idea what I did: I was over at PnT and had connected the VCC and GND lines to the unit and was testing various combinations of the Zapper's Data 2 and Data 3 lines. I had just plugged in D2 and was still holding D3 when the screen flashed, there was the gunshot sound and the menu switched from one duck game to two duck game. And the Zapper was sitting on the counter a good 2 feet away from me and the owner (it was just us there at the time). So, now we just need to figure out the combination needed.

I saw a post on a site that talked about SNES controller pinouts. It stated that the SuperScope receiver uses Pin 6 on the Snes controller port. Through patient testing, I know that on the NES, the blue and purple wires in the Zapper control the sending and receiving of the needed signals for games like Duck Hunt to work. I am wondering if maybe soldering the two wires and connecting them to the Snes style pin 6 might have the desired effect on the system.

very very interesting... *waits impatiently for ebay auction to end for super scope receiver*

i know i could do it by dissecting an snes controller... but... i'd rather have it nice and neat looking by simply switching the snes cord off the super scope receiver for the zapper's nes cord.

btw, i'm adding this to the front page, but here is a helpful link to make nes controllers usable on the retro duo. (yes, i do realize that the link is for actually making snes controllers usable on the nes... but it's reversible to.)

[Joel Schmidt]

very very interesting... *waits impatiently for ebay auction to end for super scope receiver*

i know i could do it by dissecting an snes controller... but... i'd rather have it nice and neat looking by simply switching the snes cord off the super scope receiver for the zapper's nes cord.

That's the spirit. Also, I found that attaching the Zapper's pins to the snes style connector on pins 1, 3, 4, & 7 (going from squared off edge to rounded edge), the zapper will function as a start/select button

Btw, the controller trick does work with Duck Hunt on a Retro Duo. So aside from the issue with the Zapper, it is fine

[Torokun]

Man...

I am so sad that Actraiser is not working on Retro Duo...

That is one game I really really wanted to play at my office...

Anyone tried that game on Retro Duo?

[lovablechevy]

Man...

I am so sad that Actraiser is not working on Retro Duo...

That is one game I really really wanted to play at my office...

Anyone tried that game on Retro Duo?

sorry, i don't own actraiser... it's a game i've always wanted, i just haven't gotten my hands on one yet.

hey mods! can this please be restick'ed like it was before the crash? thanks!

[xnatex]

hey. i recently got a retro duo. when i put in zelda for nes it doesnt work correctly. i press start to go to the inventory menu. then when i press start again to play more the inventory menu stays in the back ground until i walk to a different area. ive cleaned the cartridge. tonight i tried it on my buddies original nes and it works fine. anyone else have this problem?

[Sharp Sapphire]

hey. i recently got a retro duo. when i put in zelda for nes it doesnt work correctly. i press start to go to the inventory menu. then when i press start again to play more the inventory menu stays in the back ground until i walk to a different area. ive cleaned the cartridge. tonight i tried it on my buddies original nes and it works fine. anyone else have this problem?

Try wiggling it. Some NOAC's have a little play in the cartridge connector.

[xnatex]

wiggling didnt work. i cleaned it again and still nothing. any more ideas? anyone else have success with zelda on the duo?

[lovablechevy]

hey. i recently got a retro duo. when i put in zelda for nes it doesnt work correctly. i press start to go to the inventory menu. then when i press start again to play more the inventory menu stays in the back ground until i walk to a different area. ive cleaned the cartridge. tonight i tried it on my buddies original nes and it works fine. anyone else have this problem?

nope! definitely do not have that problem. in fact, i made a video to prove it.

legend of zelda video

zelda ii video

i added zelda ii just in case.

sorry about the quality of the videos. it's kinda late and i'm tired. and i don't have good lighting in my living room. hope this answers your question!

[xnatex]

thanks for the response. looks like i will be returning that game to the store i bought it from. i had a bad feeling about that one when i bought it anyways.