SNES Controller PCB

About This Project

PCB Preview

The original SNES controllers are pretty bullet-proof: Their plastic and rubber parts tend to last through the decades, but when they do fail it's usually due to a failed component on the circuit board inside the controller.

This project is my answer to that.

If your trusty SNES controller is dead due to a failed PCB component, and you're pretty handy with a soldering iron, don't throw it out! This project can provide you with a solid, reasonably ESD-protected, replacement controller circuit board that uses common, affordable, readily available off-the-shelf components.

Features

  • Drop-in replacement. Fits all original Nintendo SNES controllers, and probably many modern clones.

  • (NEW in rev_4a!) Has a footprint for the original wire connector harvested from a broken Nintendo SNES controller PCB, which makes this truly a drop-in replacement that doesn't require you to modify the original controller cable!

  • Compatible with European SNES consoles!

  • Double-sided PCB with large ground fills to help protect ESD sensitive components from the inevitable static shocks.

  • Future-proof: Uses commonly available components that should not be obsolete for a very long time.

  • Hand-soldering friendly footprints for all SMD/SMT components.

  • (NEW in rev_5j!) LIGHTED BUTTONS! A SNES controller with lighted buttons has been my dream ever since Nintendo released N64 controllers with transparent shells in the mid-90's. I'm so excited to finally make this dream come true! This kind of bling is completely optional, of course, and you might want some transparent buttons to go with that (I cast my own, but I hear good things about the ones sold by Kitsch-Bent).

  • (NEW in rev_5j!) Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions (SOCD) filter circuit. This is an optional feature that cancels out simultaneous LEFT/RIGHT or UP/DOWN D-pad inputs, for all you crazy speedrunners out there who want to build completely custom controllers.

Assembly Instructions

Main Repository

Downloads