Retro-bit's Sega controllers

[mario64]

@Retro-Bit Any update on black 2.4ghz Saturn controllers?

[Retro-Bit]

Hey everyone, apologies for the long blackout. As I'm sure you're all very aware of the current climate. We've converted to working from home and we're very busy with loads of projects that we're doing out best to complete, despite the circumstances. We appreciate everyone's feedback but also ask for patience as we all work through this time. To address some of the questions and issues we've seen here lately:

1) We aren't ignoring customer support! We apologies for any delay in responding to anyone who has e-mailed within the past week or so. We will do our best to get you everyone.

2) If you are having any battery charging issues, please contact us at info@retro-bit.com if you are unable to get a replacement/refund from where you purchased it from. We will do our best to find the source of the issue as we haven't had more than a few faulty ones come through our customer service reports. The batteries on the 2.4 GHz should last at least 20-30 hours on a full charge and were quite durable in our testing. We will do our best to help you.

3) "When is _______ coming out?" When something is close to release, we will post it on social and our website.

4) "I can't find _____ on your site!" We have a new website we are finishing up that we hope to launch soon.

Honestly, we hope everyone is keeping well. We at Retro-Bit value everyone's feedback whether good or bad, it will help make us better. We have some firmware updates we are working on for Bluetooth and classic shmups we will release this year.

[Sargon]

2) If you are having any battery charging issues, please contact us at info@retro-bit.com if you are unable to get a replacement/refund from where you purchased it from. We will do our best to find the source of the issue as we haven't had more than a few faulty ones come through our customer service reports. The batteries on the 2.4 GHz should last at least 20-30 hours on a full charge and were quite durable in our testing. We will do our best to help you.

Can you clarify on this one? I don't have any issues charging the battery, but I DO have issues with the battery draining when not in use. Is that what you meant here?

[Retro-Bit]

2) If you are having any battery charging issues, please contact us at info@retro-bit.com if you are unable to get a replacement/refund from where you purchased it from. We will do our best to find the source of the issue as we haven't had more than a few faulty ones come through our customer service reports. The batteries on the 2.4 GHz should last at least 20-30 hours on a full charge and were quite durable in our testing. We will do our best to help you.

Can you clarify on this one? I don't have any issues charging the battery, but I DO have issues with the battery draining when not in use. Is that what you meant here?

Strictly speaking on the controller's battery performance. Right now, it is difficult to diagnose whether or not it is draining improperly without testing it first hand ourselves. We want to make sure about an issue before acting on it. We can further support through info@retro-bit.com if anyone has an issue.

Normally, the 2.4 GHz controllers will go into Sleep Mode after no connection is detected and then shut off.

[Sargon]

Normally, the 2.4 GHz controllers will go into Sleep Mode after no connection is detected and then shut off.

That doesn't seem to be happening, at least for me. I have a fully-charged controller fresh off the charger. If I play for 10 minutes on my Genesis, then turn the system off, then come back a week later, the controller battery is low and it won't stay paired until I charge it again.

[arovane]

Normally, the 2.4 GHz controllers will go into Sleep Mode after no connection is detected and then shut off.

That doesn't seem to be happening, at least for me. I have a fully-charged controller fresh off the charger. If I play for 10 minutes on my Genesis, then turn the system off, then come back a week later, the controller battery is low and it won't stay paired until I charge it again.

Same thing here. Looks like battery drains when not in use.

A marketing coordinator from Retro-Bit told me to try to reset the controller using the tiny button on the back, charge again, and see if it still drains when not in use. I still have to wait a bit to see if it did the trick or not.

[BrianC]

I'm under the impression that the controllers don't always shut down properly when the system is turned off.

[Guardian's Heart]

Currently, we have been working with Brook to update their dongles to allow our controllers to function across a variety of platforms. They have been very cool about it all. To my knowledge:

- SEGA Wired USB and 2.4 GHz USB receivers are able to work with their PS3/4->Xbox One Converter (red)

Hello again, Retro-Bit.

Since ^this post, I have purchased that red Brook adapter along with another one of your Saturn controllers (USB version this time). The buttons seem to register when connected to Xbox One, however the Dpad is totally unresponsive. Any suggestions? It seems that trying to do a firmware update on the converter requires the controller to have a menu button... and as you know, Saturn pads do not. Any help would be quite greatly appreciated.

I wish this controller worked on both the XB360 and the XB1 to be honest.

[Konsolkongen]

How do I get the USB controllers working on Mac? I have both the old versions and the new ones that work on Switch. Both should support Mac, but no emulator can register the inputs? No drivers are available on Retro-bits website :/

[Retro-Bit]

Currently, we have been working with Brook to update their dongles to allow our controllers to function across a variety of platforms. They have been very cool about it all. To my knowledge:

- SEGA Wired USB and 2.4 GHz USB receivers are able to work with their PS3/4->Xbox One Converter (red)

Hello again, Retro-Bit.

Since ^this post, I have purchased that red Brook adapter along with another one of your Saturn controllers (USB version this time). The buttons seem to register when connected to Xbox One, however the Dpad is totally unresponsive. Any suggestions? It seems that trying to do a firmware update on the converter requires the controller to have a menu button... and as you know, Saturn pads do not. Any help would be quite greatly appreciated.

I wish this controller worked on both the XB360 and the XB1 to be honest.

I believe you will need to update the firmware on the Brook device. You might also need to enter the macro for X-Input (analog control) for it to work as you need

EDIT: Depending on which version of the Saturn controller you are using, there should be a button macro for Menu. I believe Brook may have added it in the firmware if it isn't present.

How do I get the USB controllers working on Mac? I have both the old versions and the new ones that work on Switch. Both should support Mac, but no emulator can register the inputs? No drivers are available on Retro-bits website :/

It should be plug and play, no drivers needed. You might encounter issues using a USB 3.0 port but it is very rare. What Mac are you using?

[Konsolkongen]

I needed Emulator Enhancer installed to use gamepads. Works fine now

[jwrose]

I’m having issues both with the wireless and wired Genesis Retro-bit controllers I ordered last fall. I’m going to contact support.
I first had an issue with the wired one where only the start button seemed to work. Now, after doing a full charge and playing about 90 min on it the other day- it’s dead now. After only having to charge it sparingly, it seems to be a regular thing now.

[Steddyman]

Hi retrobit

I wonder if you could help me. I hope you and your family are safe and well in these challenging times.

I've purchased a couple of your wireless 2.4ghz controllers with both the DB9 and USB receivers. I want to use them with my trusty Commodore 64 computer (and also an Analog Mega SG).

The C64 cannot take MegaDrive controllers natively, without an adaptor. I am using the following C64 Sega Genesis Adaptors (red) called 64JPX from here: https://www.64hdd.com/64jpx/64jpx.html

These adaptors work fine with regular Sega Genesis wired 3 and 6 button pads. They also work fine with an 8bitdo wireless Megadrive controller designed for the Mega SG.

However, with the Retrobit controllers they do not operate correctly. Button B rather than Button A is always the fire, and about 20% of the time when you press it, it also sends a left direction press. Pressing C should be the same button but auto fire, and instead it just nudges the direction right. You are supposed to be able to press the Start button to switch between input modes on the 64JPX but it is like that button is never sent to the 64JPX. This is the same in both Joystick ports and with both Joysticks and receivers tested.

I've spoken to the makers of the 64JPX and they have seen this same issue with other customers with the Retrobit controller. The developers have a receiver and controller themselves and are also seeing the issue. It is like the receiver is not sending compatible responses for a MegaDrive controller.

This is the defined protocol for controllers of this type that the 64JPX expects:
https://github.com/jonthysell/SegaContr ... ontrollers

Can you give me any help and advice to fix this? Maybe a firmware update?

Also, can you confirm how many mA of power the DB9 wireless receiver consumes? The standard DB9 ports shouldn't draw more than 100mA.

I did email support about a week ago but got no response. Thanks.

[Retro-Bit]

Can you give me any help and advice to fix this? Maybe a firmware update?

Also, can you confirm how many mA of power the DB9 wireless receiver consumes? The standard DB9 ports shouldn't draw more than 100mA.

I did email support about a week ago but got no response. Thanks.

Heya, I've given all this information to our development team. It's difficult to cover so many consoles and adapters but we will look into it.

[Guardian's Heart]

Currently, we have been working with Brook to update their dongles to allow our controllers to function across a variety of platforms. They have been very cool about it all. To my knowledge:

- SEGA Wired USB and 2.4 GHz USB receivers are able to work with their PS3/4->Xbox One Converter (red)

Hello again, Retro-Bit.

Since ^this post, I have purchased that red Brook adapter along with another one of your Saturn controllers (USB version this time). The buttons seem to register when connected to Xbox One, however the Dpad is totally unresponsive. Any suggestions? It seems that trying to do a firmware update on the converter requires the controller to have a menu button... and as you know, Saturn pads do not. Any help would be quite greatly appreciated.

I wish this controller worked on both the XB360 and the XB1 to be honest.

I believe you will need to update the firmware on the Brook device. You might also need to enter the macro for X-Input (analog control) for it to work as you need

EDIT: Depending on which version of the Saturn controller you are using, there should be a button macro for Menu. I believe Brook may have added it in the firmware if it isn't present.

Update: First, I'd like to thank you for the reply and assistance, Retro-Bit. I finally had a moment earlier today to try again with the setup... and I "thought" I had figured out what the issue was. To get the dpad working, I just had to change macros to D-pad mode. However, I've found that the Z button on my USB Saturn controller does not work at all, tested with various games.

Do you have any ideas regarding why that single button doesn't respond at all? I'm glad the dpad is operational now, but this is rather strange.

[Retro-Bit]

Update: First, I'd like to thank you for the reply and assistance, Retro-Bit. I finally had a moment earlier today to try again with the setup... and I "thought" I had figured out what the issue was. To get the dpad working, I just had to change macros to D-pad mode. However, I've found that the Z button on my USB Saturn controller does not work at all, tested with various games.

Do you have any ideas regarding why that single button doesn't respond at all? I'm glad the dpad is operational now, but this is rather strange.

That shouldn't be happening. Did this happen immediately after you switched to DPad mode? Does it still work in the previous mode?

If not, maybe something is blocking the contact from the button to the PCB? You will need to open up the controller to verify it. Please let our support team know if they can help.

[it290]

Any updates on the battery issues? I have two controllers and they both drain battery rapidly when not in use. Per the earlier post, they do seem to properly go into sleep mode/turn off when not in use — LED goes off in a few minutes when no connection is found — but once this happens if I turn them back on again 4/5 days later they'll be dead or near it. Happy to send in for a replacement, but wondering if it's really necessary as this seems like something that could be fixed via firmware.

[H6rdc0re]

Will you please millennium style transparent colors for the wireless Dreamcast controllers and 2.4GHz wireless?

Those would go great with these great Dreamcast console shells:
https://www.ebay.nl/sch/i.html?sid=hdzo ... rue&_pgn=1

[strygo]

Will you please millennium style transparent colors for the wireless Dreamcast controllers and 2.4GHz wireless?

Those would go great with these great Dreamcast console shells:
https://www.ebay.nl/sch/i.html?sid=hdzo ... rue&_pgn=1

That would be awesome.

[bobrocks95]

Any updates on the battery issues? I have two controllers and they both drain battery rapidly when not in use. Per the earlier post, they do seem to properly go into sleep mode/turn off when not in use — LED goes off in a few minutes when no connection is found — but once this happens if I turn them back on again 4/5 days later they'll be dead or near it. Happy to send in for a replacement, but wondering if it's really necessary as this seems like something that could be fixed via firmware.

Wanted to wait to confirm I had the issue as well after two charging cycles, and yes, I also have the battery drain issue.

[Retro-Bit]

Any updates on the battery issues? I have two controllers and they both drain battery rapidly when not in use. Per the earlier post, they do seem to properly go into sleep mode/turn off when not in use — LED goes off in a few minutes when no connection is found — but once this happens if I turn them back on again 4/5 days later they'll be dead or near it. Happy to send in for a replacement, but wondering if it's really necessary as this seems like something that could be fixed via firmware.

We're unsure why that's happening on your controllers. We tested with ours at our offices and asked our testers to verify on theirs but we aren't running into the same issue you are. If you contact our support team at info@retro-bit.com, we may be able to further assist you.

Will you please millennium style transparent colors for the wireless Dreamcast controllers and 2.4GHz wireless?

Oh, we're quite aware of all the available colors and styles of the Dreamcast controllers. We are big fans of all of them. We can't comment on any of that at the moment but we're always happy to hear everyone's recommendations or ideas.

[arovane]

Hi! A little update on my controllers.

It looks like the "reset" method (press the tiny button on the back) and charge fully did the trick, for now. It seems the controllers didn't charge well out of the box, maybe the battery had to warm up a bit I don't know. But the first time I charged them, the battery drained in a couple of days without being in use. Same after second and third charge, only a slight improvement each charge. And after the reset and a 4th full charge, it seems to hold well. Now it's been a week and both Saturn and MD controllers are still solid red.

I'll come back to you guys to confirm.

[Rahndail]

Hi there - I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with using controller adapters to get the 2.4Ghz controllers working on a PS4? Since they support PS3 I'm guessing a PS3 to PS4 controller converter (such as the Brook one) might work. Pretty unfortunate that Brook doesn't offer general master converters, would certainly be nice to connect all my Switch controllers (including the Retro-Bit, 8bitdo and Nintendo Pro) to the PS4 with one dongle.

[SLS4001SS]

All the bad battery posts on the clear 2.4ghz Saturn controllers are making worry about ordering one. I want one for the better shoulder buttons and the select button.

[bigbadboaz]

Just order from someplace with a good return policy. We've got a lot of reports of battery issues here, but there are also lots of reviews with no mention whatsoever.

[Link83]

@Retro-Bit I saw the new designs for the Retro-Bit Dreamcast controller, and I just wondered if you could pass on one suggestion to the development team.

Since Retro-Bit are using the Sega Saturn D-Pad design on the Dreamcast controller, could they please also use the original Sega Saturn D-Pad PCB contact shape and layout?

Sega themselves actually made a mistake with the Dreamcast controller PCB design and switched the cut/split orientation of the D-Pad contacts, which causes them to respond differently to all the earlier Sega D-Pad designs:-
Original Sega Saturn controller PCB
Original Dreamcast controller PCB, or here's a clearer photo of a slightly later board revision.
Notice how the Dreamcast D-Pad contacts have been rotated by 90 degrees and are no longer 'split' along the cardinal directions like the earlier Mega Drive/Saturn D-Pad designs.

This design mistake actually first occurred with the Saturn 3D pad, but hardly anybody used that controller for its D-Pad. The design mistake was then carried across to the Dreamcast controller, which is not exactly well regarded for its D-Pad quality. Here's hoping Retro-Bit can fix this error with the redesigned Dreamcast controller.

[Konsolkongen]

Good suggestion

[bigbadboaz]

How did this change actually affect the performance of the Dpad? I'm one of the few who had zero issue with the DC Dpad, and since you mention it I thought my 3D Controller Dpads were all fine as well.

[Link83]

How did this change actually affect the performance of the Dpad? I'm one of the few who had zero issue with the DC Dpad, and since you mention it I thought my 3D Controller Dpads were all fine as well.

The change makes the Saturn 3D pad and Dreamcast controllers D-Pad's overly sensitive to diagonal movements when compared to the earlier Mega Drive/Saturn D-Pad design. It changes the exact points on the board where a given direction can be triggered.

Think of it as being similar to the D-Pad change going from the OG Xbox controller (S Model) to the Xbox 360 controller, since its basically the same issue (Change of D-Pad PCB contact shape/design/layout) This image might help explain - it shows what happens when you press 'Up' and accidentally press slightly 'Right' at the same time on each controller. Its the exact same press on the D-Pad, but a totally different input is recorded.

[bigbadboaz]

Huh. Can't say I had a sensitivity problem myself.