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I have an NES system embedded into a full standup arcade cabinet. Is there any solution that will allow me to keep the zapper gun plugged into the NES and usable while the other 2 controllers are also still plugged in? I don't want to have to unplug a controller and then plug in the zapper each time I want to use it. I'm okay with flipping a switch to make this happen. What if I take 2 NES splitters, splice them and wire them together?

Frank
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David Graham
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  • AFAIK there's no official accessories. If you're willing to have a switch (or even some software mode), then consider looking into building it yourself. I have made a MIME arcade with a software-based switch that used a serial port to interface with my microcontroller to switch between several physical controllers based off the emulator loaded. There's plenty of info available online if you're looking in that direction, and electronics.SE is a good place to look if you have any questions about such a build. –  Jan 15 '15 at 01:19
  • If I just wire the zapper and player-2-controller into a single wire, would that work? – David Graham Jan 15 '15 at 02:20
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    this isn't a recommendation, its a question about if something can be used at all. voted to re-open – Ender Jan 16 '15 at 05:37
  • @Ender This very much is a shopping recommendation; it's not just asking if it exists; the question carries the implication of pointing at accessories that meet his requirements. – Frank Jan 16 '15 at 13:45
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    @frank asking if something exists and asking which one he should buy are not the same thing – Ender Jan 16 '15 at 20:59
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    @Ender Think about it; you literally can't answer a question with just a yes or no. Even if you could, well, it's not a very good answer at all. But since there is a minimum character limit, what do you think answerers are going to do? They're going to point at a device that meets the criteria. That is why this is a shopping recommendation. Just because it doesn't directly ask for an item doesn't preclude it from a shopping recommendation. Just look at the answers; you're going to tell me that's not what the asker wants, are you? – Frank Jan 16 '15 at 21:03
  • @Frank put that way, I do see your point. I'm still undecided though, I strongly feel questions of this type should be on-topic, worded the way he did it. :-\ – Ender Jan 17 '15 at 04:40
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    @Ender Questions that ask us to point them at products that meet certain criteria should be off-topic. That said, though, if there's a way we can edit the question to focus on the actual problem the asker is having that he thinks this product or software will solve, we will have a rather decent question; answers can still point at products, but it will ensure that the question is much more useful to future readers. For this one, it seems to be wanting a way to plug in more than two periphials into a NES. I believe that might be a question worth keeping, if that's the focus. – Frank Jan 17 '15 at 04:47
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    I updated the question to allow for any solution – David Graham Jan 19 '15 at 14:53
  • Did you ever try just splicing them? In theory it should work, as long as neither zapper nor controller would send input when not in use. – trlkly Feb 15 '18 at 06:26
  • Nintendo had the NES Four Score which allowed for four controllers to be connected to a single NES. Perhaps you can modify it. – SQB May 15 '18 at 11:43

2 Answers2

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According to what I can find online the NES controller port has 7 pins, power, ground and 5 data lines, but only three of those data lines are used by the controller and only two of them are used by the zapper.

http://www.taylorbooth.com/NESController.htm

https://www.beardypig.com/2015/12/11/nes-zapper-experiments-1/

We don't need to switch the ground line, we definately need to switch the two data lines that are used by both zapper and pad and it's probablly a good idea to switch the power line and the data line only used by the pad.

So that is four lines that need to be switched, four pole changeover switches are readilly available and it should be easy enough to cut up a couple of controller extension cables, use a multimeter to identify the wires and then solder them to the switch.

Peter Green
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You could get an NES four score-it allows up to 4 players-though other than OFF ROAD and Gauntlet there isn't much reason to. You can add a zapper and it will work too.

King of NES
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