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                      Ŀ
                              Circuit Diagrams         
                      
 
 The circuits described in this document, and others within this package, 
 are free to be used by any person or business.

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 I authorise any person or business to distribute this software with 
 adapters they produce.

 I do, however, request;
 
   1) That the software is not altered in any way.
   
   2) to be informed, by mail, of their intent to manufacture these 
      adapters.
   3) regular updates on the number of adapters they sell.
 
 I don't require payment, now or at anytime in the future. I simply wish to
 keep track of its popularity.

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 I expect that adapters for SNES PRO! may come in three forms. 
 
 1) External - Attaching to a printer port.
    This will be the first type available from Able Solutions. It will           
    allow you to first connect one, three or six gamepads. An option will 
    be to use the host printer port as normal.
 
 2) Internal - Attaching to a printer port.
    This will work identically to 1) except that it will neatly slot 
    inside your computer. It will include the option to use the host 
    printer port as normal.
 
 3) Internal - On a dedicated board. With no printer port required.
 

 The INSTALL program will have loaded a series of .GIF files during 
 installation. These are graphics images containing complete circuit 
 diagrams for the adapters mentioned above, along with design ideas in 
 640*400*256 VGA format. 
 
 All the previous adapters work in the same way, in order to maintain 
 compatibility. The only difference may be the BASE ADDRESS. This will 
 only have to be setup once, during installation. Any game author that 
 decides to use this format, will simply include an option for the user 
 to tell the game which BASE ADDRESS they are using. The game will the
 use the interface directly and not even use SNES PRO!. Easier than
 setting up a sound card. That's for sure!
 
 Following, are two basic circuits to get most enthusiasts started.

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 Ŀ
  Single Player Adapter. 
 
 The Single Player Adapter allows one SNES gamepad to be connected to a PC's
 parallel port. With the addition of a 'Y' cable it will allow a total 
 of three. This adapter will is the least expensive to buy or build. Our 
 version has the appearance if a 'dongle'. Read above to find out how to
 view other circuits which will increase the number of gamepads further.

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        PARALLEL                GAMEPAD                                      
          PORT                     1                   
         Ŀ                                        
   Data3  05 >Ŀ           
     |    |  >Ĵ          Ŀ               
   Data7  09 >Ĵ 1  +5Vcc                          
   Data0  02 Ĵ 2  Clk                             
   Data1  03 Ĵ 3  Reset                
   Ack    10 Ĵ 4  Data In 1                 
   Slct   13 Ĵ 5  Data In 2
   P.Out  12 Ĵ 6  Data In 3  
   GND    18 Ĵ 7  GND      
    |     |  Ĵ                                      
   GND    25                                          
                                                                               


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 Ŀ
  Y Adapter Cable. 
 
 The Y Adapter Cable connects to the SINGLE PLAYER adapters and provides a
 a total of three gamepad connections.                       
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                          Gamepad       Gamepad       Gamepad                         
                             1             2             3
             Ŀ         Ŀ         Ŀ         Ŀ               
       +5Vcc  1 Ĵ 1 Ĵ 1 Ĵ 1  +5Vcc                         
         Clk  2 Ĵ 2 Ĵ 2 Ĵ 2  Clk                                
       Reset  3 Ĵ 3 Ĵ 3 Ĵ 3  Reset                              
   Data In 1  4 Ĵ 4       Ĵ 4       Ĵ 4  Data In          
   Data In 2  5 Ŀ    5          5          5              
   Data In 3  6 Ŀ     6          6          6              
         GND  7 ĳĳĴ 7 ĳĴ 7 ĳĴ 7  GND          
                                                   
                                   
                      


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 Ŀ
  N O T E S   
 


 NOTES: 1) Power is supplied via; 
            1) Diodes from pins 5-9 of the IBM parallel port. These can be 
               any type (but preferably a Germanium Type).    
            2) or an external power cable
        
        2) All Able Solutions adapters will have a 100 to x00 uf     
           Electrolytic capacitor across pins 1 and 7 of the SNES connector.
        
        3) Pin 1 of the Nintendo connector is the FLAT end. Pin 7 is the 
           ROUND end. 
        
        4) When using an external adapter without a power source, problems  
           may arise under the following conditions.
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                1) Using Infa Red (IR) type controllers.          
                2) Using certain Arcade type controllers.
                3) Connecting too many hand controllers. 
                   NOTE: This would be rare if using the circuits above.
                   I've tested most handheld controllers and have had any 
                   three working at the same time with no problems.
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 If any problems are experienced you can can bet it will be with a lack of
 power. This is because the standard IBM printer port does not have a 
 dedicated power supply pin. 
 
 As the circuit explains, power for the SNES Gamepads is taken from six of 
 the data pins. Three problems may accompany this approach.
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    1) The output volatage of these data pins may not reach 5V. (Which is
       the standard supply from a SNES games console). 

    2) The diodes will drop an extra .2V (Germanium) or .6V (Silicon) off 
       that total.
       
    3) The current from these pins may not be enough, even after chaining 
       five pins together.
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 While all this is starting to sound a bit disappointing, the good news is 
 that the majority of gamepads use very low current (3 to 6 mA). Even
 better, the IC's (little black thingies) inside are CMOS and only require
 about 3V to work OK.

 So if your printer port only puts out 4V and you use a silicon diode, 
 your still .4V ahead. Yes thats pushing your luck, BUT I haven't had 
 problem running three regular handheld gamepads on the several printer
 cards that I've tried. My larger games console used a little more power 
 than the handheld (only due to the LEDs) on the front but it still didn't
 present any problems.

 Also, the majority of users will only be using one gamepad. Many may
 use two (for fighting games etc.). So that will also be in your favour.

 Infared devices, those cordless jobs that work in a similar way to your
 video's remote control, may have a problem. I haven't tried one as yet
 but I expect that their power requirement will be 5V, more mA's and won't 
 except any less. 
 
 ALL THIS CAN BE SOLVED by building, or buying, one of the external power
 cables above. They simply plug into the gamepad adapter and source their 
 power from 1) the GAME Port or 2) KEYBOARD connector. Another option is 
 using the internal version (if it's available yet). Read INT6.GIF for 
 further information on this.

 Initially, only the Single player adapter (with optional power cable) will 
 be available from Able Solutions. I have the first version available as 
 this software is released. It is a little primitive (not as professionally 
 finished as I would have liked) but it is solid and will work forever. I 
 have parts for the 'Y' cables and adapters on the way from an Asian 
 supplier and should be in production by mid July.

                        * * E N D   O F   F I L E * *                          

