PCE Controller Variations

[crazydean]

Hey gents, does anyone know of a site with all (or most) NEC controller variants? I wouldn't be surprised if they were all posted on here in different threads, but may YOU know of somewhere that's more concise?

Thanks.

[CrackTiger]

Yes:

http://pc-engine.co.uk/?section=controllers

[crazydean]

Yes:

http://pc-engine.co.uk/?section=controllers

Thanks a lot!

[esteban]

[JAPJAC]

What's the deal with the connectors on the 'PC Engine Pad (White)' & 'PC Engine Turbo Pad (White)'?  Were they both issued with the two different designs of connectors?  Why the changes?  Presumably the less bulkier design came first as seen on the 'PC Engine Pad (White)' on the original PC Engine's box?

[esteban]

What's the deal with the connectors on the 'PC Engine Pad (White)' & 'PC Engine Turbo Pad (White)'?  Were they both issued with the two different designs of connectors?  Why the changes?  Presumably the less bulkier design came first as seen on the 'PC Engine Pad (White)' on the original PC Engine's box?

Are you referring the plastic housing surrounding the male mini-DIN plug on the PCE cables?

In general, I have noticed that some designs for the plug (the part you hold) are basically "round" while other designs are "square-ish" ... I don't have all the controller variations but I can take reference photos of the ones I have.

The problem with the "square" design is that is does **not** work with the 4-player battle tap (the plug is too big)...

Sorry if this is a tangent from your initial query.

——
Q: Why go for the "square" plug?
A: I think it helps a user quickly orient the plug the proper way to insert the finicky mini-DIN plug. It provides obvious, easy visual + tactile cues without having to strain your eyes and worry about "lining up arrows".

[JAPJAC]

.

[esteban]

The order of the male DIN plugs match the order of the pads on the ground:

L to R: PCE Master Blaster 3-button, White PCE Turbo, Core Grafx, TurboDuo, TG-16.



NOTE: the plastic housing for TG-16 is *not* bigger than the PCE counterparts...it's an illusion due to the DIN vs. mini-DIN...



...again, it looks as if you could use the square-ish PCE plug for the BattleTap, but you can't use it (and I tried to jam it in there like a fool one day).



Not surprisingly, the BattleTap itself uses the "tiny round" plug (seen adjacent to Tap).

NOTE: I use a TG-16 —> PCE adapter to use the TG-16 pad with BattleTap.

[JAPJAC]

.

[SignOfZeta]

No. It's just the cable. Everything is compatible with everything. None of this info is so important.

They made them bigger after the original pad so you could more easily tell which way was up.

Then they made the TG-16 pad for the US extra big and dumb and non-compatible just like US.

[esteban]

No. It's just the cable. Everything is compatible with everything. None of this info is so important.

They made them bigger after the original pad so you could more easily tell which way was up.

Then they made the TG-16 pad for the US extra big and dumb and non-compatible just like US.

Well, I found it interesting that the although the DIN connector itself is larger than the mini-DIN (duh!) the plastic housing (the plug you hold) for PCE and TG-16 are identical. See, I always thought everything about TG-16 was bigger.



Also: BattleTap isn't compatible with all controllers, so I wonder if some of the other early accessories (the 2/3-player taps) suffer the same fate...