Intro

Tonight we are building an SNES input reader to read the controller buttons pressed, in order to display then on screen.

You may have seen this kind of display on popular channels and interested in how to build your own.

You'll need some of the wiring instructions from the Nintendospy Github page:

https://github.com/jaburns/NintendoSpy

Note: I originally based this guide on a github repo for NintendoSpy, after checking out RetroSpy and testing their arduino code with my setup, I now recommend them. you can get the latest from their github at this link. The rest of the guide here is based on the nintendospy guide to building the reader.

retrospy/RetroSpy

I'm using an arduino uno compatible board called the Metro Mini from Adafruit. Their page shows out of stock but there is a site called Digikey they link to that has them in stock ready for immediate shipping.

Adafruit Metro Mini 328 - Arduino-Compatible - 5V 16MHz

And I combine it with an SNES controller extension cable to capture the 3 wires needed, the clock, data, and latch pins.

In order to keep the project nice and tidy, I'm enclosing it inside a gum tin replica from Adafruit.

Altoids Gum sized tin

Step 1 - cut, strip, test

First, we need a diagram to let us know which pins are which. I found this out there by looking for "SNES Controller Pinout". we're interested in the 3 pins in the middle in blue, yellow, and red.