• New York

After recently learning that the Atari 2600 Joystick ports can be configured to be either input or output, I was able to get the Atari to control a Nintendo NES without out any major modifications.  In this case I configured one of the Atari joystick ports to be input and the other port to output. 

In theory you should be able to connect the Atari 2600 to 8 separate devices at once, since there are 8 pins that you can control.

Possiblilties include:
Connect Atari to any other systems.
Sync 2 Atari 2600's to get 4 channels of audio.
Sync Atari w/ a NES to get 7 channels of audio.
Using Batsly Adams' algorithm that checks for the rising edge, can even use the Atari as a clock to sync multiple systems.

  • VAUCOUS INSIDERS

Wouldnt it make a pretty more clock master cause it has very few tempos it can use? Just gauging by synthcart.

  • WI

Syncing 2 2600's would be VERY relevant to my interests.

  • Australia
Theta_Frost wrote:

Syncing 2 2600's would be VERY relevant to my interests.

hahaha. Yeah.  I thought it'd be relevant to mine too - but I find just using one by it's self is enough out of tune note-swapping chaos let alone having two of the buggers running together.  I actually find you can power up both units together, turn them off, and back on at the wall again and they are usually within a frame of sync.

  • WI

Well I'm sure I can manage.  This would probably make building up my 2600 DJ set easier though... wink

  • United States

program it to control and beat marble madness on an NES

  • ad-hell-aide

Synthcart's tempo limitations are due to the fact that the 2600 is generating visuals and music tempo simultaneously.

If the Atari is not generating visuals, then the output clock from the joystick ports can be set to whatever you program them to be.

2 x Synthcarts would be cool indeed...

  • ad-hell-aide

You could also run 2 x Synthcarts from one power adaptor, and just plug that in whilst the two Atari's have their power switched to on.

  • England
little-scale wrote:

You could also run 2 x Synthcarts from one power adaptor, and just plug that in whilst the two Atari's have their power switched to on.

That's a great idea. I think I'll try that (still have 2xSC).

This is a really interesting thread. I might buy another NES.

Last edited by InactiveX (September 12, 2011 8:31 am)

  • England

It's just occured to me: the 4021 used in the NES controller has a data output - pin 3.

So you could get 2-way comms between NES and 2600. Or NES and ..........

Any bright ideas, folks?

Last edited by InactiveX (September 14, 2011 9:01 am)