So this KS campaign got me thinking: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1247448559/next-gen-nes-nintendo-8-bit-video-game-controller

How cool would it be to get a modern 3rd party controller for the VB that included a built in AC adapter? Maybe even a version that is more portable, by being rechargeable? I contacted the guy behind the 8 bit controller campaign, and he expressed interested in the VB community. However, contingencies revolved around the successful funding of the 8 bit controller, which never came to fruition. Still, it got me thinking…. hoping….

Lester Knight wrote:
How cool would it be to get a modern 3rd party controller for the VB that included a built in AC adapter?

I have thought of this very thing before. In fact, I’ve come up with not one but two backward-compatible schemes for getting “analog” information into the VB through the existing controller port. My first idea has been on the Wiki for a few years, and I just posted the other one.

Thanks to crowdfunding, 3D printing, cheap low-volume PCB fabrication, falling LiPo battery costs, ubiquitous and easy to use microcontrollers, and the availability of cheap replacement parts for commercial controllers; this is an idea whose time has come.

I really like the idea of having controller integrated power. Un-tethering from the AC adapter without having the heft of 6 AA batteries is an attractive feature. And I think our community would support crowd-funding, but the question is: is our community large enough to generate enough of a fund?

Yes, these all sound like good ideas. To simplify even further, couldn’t a rechargeable battery pack be installed into the VB unit itself? Along the inner side of the front panel seems like it has enough room for such a mod. The system may be a little front-heavy, but that would be easy to find a solution for. Then maybe you could plug in the system and still play while charging, all without that pesky second cable on the controller.

Or, what about a combination weighted base/stand and rechargeable battery? I saw a base like that for the GameCube for the first time the other day- kind of resembled the GameBoy player but was a travel battery. The heavy part keeping the system’s stand from toppling over could itself be a (large) rechargeable power pack. I’m picturing something like a desktop lamp might have.

The internal battery version would need a new plug for charging installed, or maybe the EXT port could be repurposed as a charger since it’s not of much use anyway.

It might also be feasible to just 3D print the back of a controller with a hole for an adapter. Might take some soldering, but one could take an existing controller and power supply and make an integrated unit…

…but I don’t think I like that it would destroy some parts.