Gen-X system opened, pics!

Blank-Disk · Post by **Blank-Disk** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:52 pm

I purchased a Gen-X Dual Station console the other day, which plays Genesis and NES games, and got a nice suprise when I opened it up.

<img src="http://blankdisk.mervernation.com/portables/genx1.jpg">
The outside case of the system, sitting on top of an old Genesis board.

<img src="http://blankdisk.mervernation.com/portables/genx2.jpg">
The insides, and oh my! A for-real NOAC! Other combo systems have the actual NES chips on the main board, but these two boards have the chips seperate.

The problem with these systems from the Genesis standpoint is the controls. The controller plugs are shaped slightly different from a Genesis. I modified an old Genesis controller to fit in the Gen-X, and it didn't work for the most part. One of the directional signals registered as one of the ABC buttons, but the rest caused a "no controller" result. I HATE the Gen-X controller, so I'll need to modify it.

The other problem with the controls is how it interacts with add-on peripherals. My SMS adapter worked with it the system, but the controls were totally screwed-up. I don't have a 32X to test it with.

All that aside though, this would make for a great Genesis portable. Hope this info was helpful.

Dr. KillGood · Post by **Dr. KillGood** » Mon May 19, 2008 12:09 am

So you could make a Genesis AND SNES portable with this? Or what?

Dbstew · Post by **Dbstew** » Mon May 19, 2008 12:41 am

Dr. KillGood wrote:So you could make a Genesis AND SNES portable with this? Or what?

Genesis and NES, that is.

Dr. KillGood · Post by **Dr. KillGood** » Mon May 19, 2008 2:37 am

Dbstew wrote:
Dr. KillGood wrote:So you could make a Genesis AND SNES portable with this? Or what?
Genesis and NES, that is.

LAME!

Why did they not make it Genesis and SNES seriously WTF?

Dbstew · Post by **Dbstew** » Mon May 19, 2008 2:40 am

Genesis and Master System would have made more sense.. Since the FC Twin has SNES and NES..

Ace_1 · Post by **Ace_1** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:52 pm

What really leaves me scratching my head about this system is that TecToy chip on the Genesis board. Does TecToy have something to do with the manufacturing of this system?

@Blank-Disk: Happen to have any Master System controllers lying around? Maybe you could try to fit that in the Gen-X and see what happens with your Master System games. For the 32X, I'm sure that if you can get games to boot on it, if you find the RGB, Composite, +5V, Ground, audio L/R, and Composite Sync lines, you can get a 9-pin Mini-DIN from a Model 2 or 3 Genesis, wire it up, and attach it to the 32X crossover cable, you can get 32X compatibility on this thing. Speaking of compatibility, it's better than a Genesis 3, which is like an officially-licensed clone(at least, from my point of view). Lovablechevy had a thread on the Gen-X before it was lost during the transition on the forums showing that Virtua Racing works on this system, which already is a sign that this system should only be incompatible with games that require 3-button controllers, unless the Select button probably acts as a MODE button when playing a Genesis game. Who knows?

Bubbles · Post by **Bubbles** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:59 pm

Coolio, though I think Genesis Master System would be so much better.

Really interested in if it works with a 32x, probably not.

lovablechevy · Post by **lovablechevy** » Mon May 19, 2008 10:45 pm

if you want to get the best genesis/nes clone, get the gn twin. it has the best compatibility and the least sound issues. if you want the worst: sg/fc dual action. i had originally done a write up for the gen-x also, but it was deleted when the 2 week revert happened. it's basically between the gn twin and the sg/fc dual station. closer to the gn twin in quality.

Ace_1 · Post by **Ace_1** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:33 am

I think I may have figured out why original Sega accessories don't work on the Gen-X or any other Genesis/NES 2-in-1 for that matter. I have a Gen-X controller disassembled next to me, and I see some writing on the wires that lead to the DB9 plug on the controller that doesn't correspond to the Genesis' controllers' pinouts. Take a look at the pinouts here: http://pinouts.ru/Game/genesiscontroller_pinout.shtml

However, the Gen-X controller has VCC(+5V), G(Ground), those 2 which are connected the same way as a Genesis controller, DV(?), DO(?), OUTO(?), and CLK(I don't see a clock line on the Genesis controller pinouts)

CitizenSnips · Post by **CitizenSnips** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:48 pm

I realize this thread is a little old, but I recently did some research and tinkering with the Gen-X controller, because the stupid D-pad broke off.
It turns out, it uses the same protocol as a SNES controllers. I was able to take apart both the Gen-X controller and a cheapo SNES controller (a Superpad, I believe) and basically attached the Gen-X wires to the SNES pins as follows:
Gen-X SNES
VCC---------VCC (+5V)
CLK----------CLK (clock signal)
OUTO--------PL (latch signal)
DO-----------DO (data out)
G-------------GND (ground)
Note: I did not connect the Gen-X DV wire to anything; this did not seem to cause any problems.

And it worked like a charm. I was mainly concerned with NES playing, for which A was mapped to B and B was mapped to Y.
However, for Genesis games, I remember one of the ABC buttons got mapped to L which is pretty annoying. But it's great for NES games!

Hope this helps someone else with a similar issue.

Kyo · Post by **Kyo** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:17 pm

the good news is that you can build your own controllers with two 4021 then.

Ace_1 · Post by **Ace_1** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:34 pm

By the way, I may have figured out how to use original Sega controllers on the Gen-X(and GN Twin) - look at those 2 chips next to the voltage regulator under the GOAC(TecToy-580G chip in the center of the Gen-X motherboard). Those chips convert the NES controller signals from the Gen-X and GN Twin controllers to Genesis controller signals(sometimes with MASSIVE lag). Genesis(and Master System controllers) have 7 signals(5 for Master System), so if you look at the chips(they're covered with what seems to be white paste - they're actually TTR056 chips, or something like that), you'll see 7 traces running from each chip into the TecToy-580G GOAC. Those 7 traces are the Genesis and Master System controller signals, and since the controller signals are different between the Genesis and NES, the TecToy-580G won't understand them, so the TTR056(or whatever) chips are needed to convert the signals. You will need 2 switches in order to switch between the Gen-X and GN Twin's NES controller signals and the Genesis signals for the TecToy-580G. This will ensure that there's never any control lag in Genesis games and that you can properly play Sega Master System games through any Master System converter(though I've noticed the Gen-X seems incompatible with Four-Mega carts like After Burner and it displays graphical garbage on Two-Mega carts, which is carried over to Four-Mega carts on the GN Twin). The only question is: which traces register what signals? It may be best to try and fit a Master System controller into the port, cut the traces for the controller signals on Port 1(except VCC and Ground), and wire the controller signals from the end of the TTR056(or whatever) chips that lead to the TecToy-580G.

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Gen-X system opened, pics!

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