Help! Tototek PS2 to Genesis adapter \ Cthulhu Board

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:17 am

Bumping this thread:

I just recieved a pair of Tototek adapters, PS2 to PCE and PS2 to Genesis\MD

PCE works great, seems that the Genesis one doesn't like the Cthulhu board inside my sticks....it works fine with a wired PS2 pad....

Anybody else had this issue?

The Pc Engine adapter works flawlessly with all my stuff including all my sticks with Cthulhu boards in 'em.

Anybody?

Zapf · Post by **Zapf** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:45 am

Unless something has changed recently, the mc cthulhu does not support sega genesis (it supports sega saturn though)

cyborc · Post by **cyborc** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:52 am

that's right, mc cthulhu doesn't support md/genesis

however, perhaps you could use a ps2 cable and use one of those tototek ps2 to genesis adapters?

mrsmiley381 · Post by **mrsmiley381** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:34 am

Here is a plan I came up with for the same situation:

Make yourself a PS2 cable for your Cthulhu board if you don't have one already.
Get a FGW Converter from Toodles, who of course also did Cthulhu and Kitty boards. Wire the FGW Converter for PS2 input.
Wire the converter's individual button outputs to a padhacked six-button Genesis controller.
If you just want to use three buttons, you can wire it to a small circuit. Apparently replicating Genesis controller circuits is easy, I just don't remember the IC's you need at the moment.

You can fiddle with this if you want. Hell, you could run your RJ45 cable straight to the FGW Converter matching the PS2 pinouts, then wire that all together into one small box with wires coming out of either end. Get creative.

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:29 pm

I'm realizing now that there's a good reason I haven't seen any pinouts for the Genesis\MD!

I'll just do a padhack and put the PCB in one of my many cases.

Thanks guys! Anybody know why toodles didn;t include Genesis\MD support?

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:44 pm

It should be possible, but I believe he has said a number of times that he is still fine-tuning the existing support before adding more.

I would also suspect that there isn't a great deal of demand for Genny support, and there are PSX->Genesis adapters available if you need it. $16 from Tototek:

http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php? ... ucts_id=54

mrsmiley381 · Post by **mrsmiley381** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:26 pm

Well, the biggest problem is that the Sega Genesis transmits data over nine pins and RJ-45 cables do eight pins at max. It's one advantage the Universal PCB had over the other stuff Toodles did. The other was out of the box supergun/Neo Geo support. Downsides included randomly broken Saturn support, randomly broken piggyback support, and some other things that had no explanation.

Call me crazy, but I think I prefer the six-button Genesis pad to even the legendary model 2 Saturn controller. Hell, I think I prefer it over a stick, even.

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:35 pm

Thanks everyone for your input!

I'm going the adapter route. Thanks for the Tototek link, shmuppylove!

-M

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:56 pm

Bumping this thread:

I just recieved a pair of Tototek adapters, PS2 to PCE and PS2 to Genesis\MD

PCE works great, seems that the Genesis one doesn't like the Cthulhu board inside my sticks....it works fine with a wired PS2 pad....

Anybody else had this issue?

The Pc Engine adapter works flawlessly with all my stuff including all my sticks with Cthulhu boards in 'em.

Anybody?

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:14 am

I know the Cthulhu boards are supposed to autodetect which system they are connected to and automatically switch modes based on that.

Sounds like it's not properly switching into PS2 mode when the Genesis adapter is connected ... but no idea what would cause that.

I'd post in the Cthulhu thread on SRK forums and ask -- might be others that have had the same issue? At the very least, Toodles might have some way (special firmware?) of probing the Cthulhu to find out what it's trying to do, maybe get some diagnostic info out of it.

The other option might be forcing the Cthulhu into PS1/PS2 mode, if that's possible (or if that's even what the problem is).

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:41 am

shmuppyLove wrote: I'd post in the Cthulhu thread on SRK forums and ask -- might be others that have had the same issue?

Dude...I tried that.

SRK has become like, on the same level as ... YouTube comments. It's a bunch of children\manchildren posturing like their fighting game skills translate into desirable traits IRL...oh and posting pics GOBBING SOLDER ALL OVER SHIT and asking "Why ain't this wurk?"

Grrrr. I got physically angry and frustrated trying to read that garbage.

(I got started on SRK years ago...haven't been back in AGES....and WOW. It's pretty bad IMHO.

Poor toodles....Maybe I'll email him and skip the forum altogether.

In the meantime...anybody else used a Tototek MD adapter with a Cthulhu based arcade stick? Successfully? Unsuccessfully?

cyborc · Post by **cyborc** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:01 am

my tototek ps2 to genesis adapter does work with my mc cthulhu. However, I've only tested a handful of games and streets of rage 3 wouldn't work in 6 button mode. I really hope toodles can eventually add genesis support.

viletim · Post by **viletim** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:35 am

Matskat wrote:I just recieved a pair of Tototek adapters, PS2 to PCE and PS2 to Genesis\MD

PCE works great, seems that the Genesis one doesn't like the Cthulhu board inside my sticks....it works fine with a wired PS2 pad....

A better test would be with a PS1 digital pad, as that's what the MC Cthulhu board emulates (unless this has changed in th last year or so).

Matskat wrote:Anybody know why toodles didn;t include Genesis\MD support?

It is a limitation of the MC Cthulhu hardware. The Megadrive does not talk a nice MCU friendly serial protocol. It expects a bank of multiplexed latches at the end of of the controller line and they have to respond at real logic speed. The simple fact is you can't talk Megadrive over the wire without using logic and this would require significant extra hardware for an "MCU + fiberglass" device.

Would you care to open up the Tototek to Megadrive converter you bought and take a photo of the guts? I would assume there a programmable logic device and perhaps a MCU. Though if it doesn't support six button mode, it must be pretty rough design.

slk486 · Post by **slk486** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:34 pm

I have a DB15 jamma style connector in my MC Cthulu based stick so I could use it with my supergun and have made console hack converters for unsupported consoles like the MD. However I just tried my Tototek adapter and it works fine. I did use my stick with a PS2 last, so the MC Cthulu would already be in PS2 mode. Have you tried connecting it to a PS2 first then swapping out the cables?

Matskat · Post by **Matskat** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:29 pm

viletim wrote:
Would you care to open up the Tototek to Megadrive converter you bought and take a photo of the guts? I would assume there a programmable logic device and perhaps a MCU. Though if it doesn't support six button mode, it must be pretty rough design.

Yeah. I'll do that tonight.

Kez · Post by **Kez** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 2:11 am

Sorry to necro an old thread but my Googling led me here. I also have a tototek PS2 -> Genesis adapter, as well as MC Cthulhu with a PS2 cable... and it does not work at all. The stick works in a PS2, and other PS2 controllers work on the Genesis with the adapter. I have tried going straight from PS2 to the adapter with no luck. Was wondering if anyone else has had this problem/solved it?

NoAffinity · Post by **NoAffinity** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 4:16 am

Correct, it doesnt work. I bought a tototek adapter for the same purpose and sold it a week later. I then pad hacked a genesis 6 button pad into a mayflash case (with sanwa parts repalcements of course). Beware, 3rd party genesis pad hacks dont work for some reason. Results in button ghosting and other randomness. Verified by others as well. The big official genesis fight stick pcb's work and one of the official sega 6 button controller pcb's work also. Google some more, you may find a post by me here or elsewhere with the pad part number. Sorry, i'm too lazy too find it for you.

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slk486 · Post by **slk486** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:49 am

Kez wrote:Sorry to necro an old thread but my Googling led me here. I also have a tototek PS2 -> Genesis adapter, as well as MC Cthulhu with a PS2 cable... and it does not work at all. The stick works in a PS2, and other PS2 controllers work on the Genesis with the adapter. I have tried going straight from PS2 to the adapter with no luck. Was wondering if anyone else has had this problem/solved it?

Did you try what I suggest above?

Kez · Post by **Kez** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:24 am

NoAffinity wrote:Correct, it doesnt work. I bought a tototek adapter for the same purpose and sold it a week later. I then pad hacked a genesis 6 button pad into a mayflash case (with sanwa parts repalcements of course). Beware, 3rd party genesis pad hacks dont work for some reason. Results in button ghosting and other randomness. Verified by others as well. The big official genesis fight stick pcb's work and one of the official sega 6 button controller pcb's work also. Google some more, you may find a post by me here or elsewhere with the pad part number. Sorry, i'm too lazy too find it for you.

Okay, good to know. Thanks.

slk486 wrote:Did you try what I suggest above?

If you mean using it on Genesis directly after PS2, yeah I have tried that. Shows no signs of working unfortunately. Perhaps your MC Cthulhu or your tototek adapter are different in some way, it has been some time after all!

slk486 · Post by **slk486** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:41 am

Indeed. Was worth a short

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