Best USB N64 adaptor

[theboy181]

Hey Guys & Gals!

I own, and use two Adaptoid's. I have been waiting patiently for a (miracle) 64bit driver update so we can all use the features it once supported. Rumble, and Memory Pak's.

I don't think we are ever going to see this happen, so I am wondering what everyone else is currently using as their primary controllers, and their opinions on them.


I'm going to reach out to the author of the Adaptoid again, but don't have my hopes up.

Wayback Machine contact info.. http://web.archive.org/web/200003020...contact_us.htm

Anyone here remember how to send a letter via snail-mail?

Wish Technologies, Inc.
PO Box 1496
Cupertino, CA 95015

Last update to their address

Wish Technologies, Inc.
PO Box 2371
Menlo Park, CA 94026

Any social engineers lurking around here, to find out if we can get an actual contact?

UPDATE:

I started emailing and looking for any clues that might lead to the source code. This morning I received an email that has lead to some more information about the Adaptoid. I figured that the author of this website was the founder, but I was mistaken.

Does anyone here know the author of he Adaptoid plugin? Was the source used?

Hello!

I only made a fan page for Adaptoid because it was awesome. I own 2 Adaptoids myself btw.
Its years since last time i used Adaptoid now, and i wonder why all other newer adapters is inferior in size and hardware features. How could they make a proper adapter 15 years ago, and not now?
I don’t think that many of these adapters were ever made, so they are quite limited. The official site only lasted for 1-2 years i think, then Adaptoid became history.

I have the original old drivers myself, and i don’t remember if the source was released or not. Since there is native Adaptoid plugins for emu’s, i think the source was released.
Kinda funny that my Adaptoid page is the only one existing on google search. Its maybe the only place to get the old drivers in the world now.

There is a devkit here, which maybe have source code too. Looks like i have newer drivers there than on the official closed site.
http://adaptoid.amiga32.com/files.htm

I’m not a programmer, so i can’t do much with it. Most programmers in the emu scene quitted years ago. MAME, ePSXe, Raine and a few others is among the few old things thats still updated.

You already posted on the forum on which is probably the best place in the world to ask for Adaptoid drivers. Its the one i would recommend too.
http://www.pj64-emu.com/

Good luck on finding someone to make the drivers.

Regards, Robert


From: Jason Daigle
Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2015 6:58 PM

Subject: Adaptoid's Future

Hello,


I understand you probably get a ton of email regarding the Adaptoid, and Windows 7 64bit drivers. The N64 community is wondering if this is a hardware limitation, or software.

I'm a proud owner of two of these adapters, and the common belief is that the Adaptoid is still the best adapter. I have been offered over $100.00 from people to sell them mine.

At this point I'm looking for a solution for my Memory Paks, and rumble support. I might sell them and buy 4 raphnet adapters.

Is there still any interest from you in updating these drivers? Is it possible that the source for the drivers still exists, and that they might become open source?

Thanks for so many good years with this adapter! Best accessory I have bought for emulation ever!!

Jason Daigle

[dsx_]

mayflash are garb

boom is great but no rumble

raphnet supports rumble and works good

[theboy181]

Originally Posted by dsx_

mayflash are garb

boom is great but no rumble

raphnet supports rumble and works good

I keep hearing about Mayflash being garbage, why?

Do you have links to the others you described? I have never heard of them.

[HatCat]

Maybe because every single time I open a thread on this board that is about controller hardware failures, buttons not working as they should, etc. they always specify that they're using Mayflash.

[regifang]

I am a programmer. The adaptoid source code does not have to be public for an emulator developer to support it.

Wishtec basically just releases information on how to hook into functionality of the adaptoid. The emulator calls these hooks, and then the adaptoid talks to the controller, memory pak, VRU, etc. The data is sent back to the emulator and that is deciphered as button presses, movement, save data, or whatever other info was requested by the emulator.

I have no experience with adaptoid drivers so I do not know how the data is formatted nor whether the OS prevents / alters the adaptoid data in a way that it can't be read properly. I think the devs behind these emulators are pretty smart so I don't believe getting the adaptoid to work on 64-bit OSes properly (not what n-rage is doing) is possible, considering the time that has passed. I could be wrong but I believe the original source code needs to be released, modified to work on 64-bit OS, and then built as a 64-bit driver.

Considering how new adaptoids are not being released and there are few out there and even fewer being used, chances are slim that emulator developers even care. It would be a great courtesy if the thought crossed the minds of the original creators.

[p_025]

I own one of these myself. It worked great with their drivers back when I used Windows XP. But now, it's five years later. 64 bit OSes are common, and a compatible driver is needed. It works as an HID device for the time being (hell, I even used it on my Android phone). But it'd be nice to use the extended features without using VirtualBox...

[ulao]

The Adaptoid lives on.
bliss-box net / adaptoid
That is all.

[ExtremeDude2]

Nice work

[Glycocide]

I started my emulation journey (I prefer using OEM controllers paired with USB adapters so even though I'm emulating on a PC, I still get the same feeling as when I would play these consoles as a kid) with an OEM Nintendo 64 controller paired with a cheap Mayflash dual N64 port USB adapter.
Found it on Amazon, reviews were alright, and best of all, it worked. Had to calibrate it once via windows controller test in windows system settings, but otherwise worked fine.

I realized later, after doing hours and hours of reading and research that Mayflash, while it works, is bottom of the barrel type of hardware when it comes to emulation. Mayflash lacks direct controller communication, thusly not enabling the use of OEM peripherals such as the Rumble pak and Memory pak.
Finding this out after I had ordered a Rumble pak, Memory pak and a second OEM Nintendo 64 controller made me realize I needed a USB adapter that would support all the attachments, and allow direct controller communication.

That's when I came across the Raphnet adapters. This person (I believe they're also located in Quebec, Canada) has made several custom adapters with direct controller communications for console controllers from the NES/SNES all the way up to the GameCube (don't think Raphnet does anything outside Nintendo controller adapters though).
I bit the bullet after reading all the articles on the website (search Raphnet and you'll easily find the official website, where he elaborates on the tech, how it works, images included, etc) and even though the Raphnet adapters cost quite a bit more than something like Mayflash, when the Raphnet adapter (I bought the dual N64 version 3+ Raphnet USB adapter) arrived and I started using it I couldn't be happier.

First thing I did was get the software for the adapter (big bonus is the upgradeable/downgradeable firmware) and make sure it read the OEM N64 controllers I had. I then tested the software with both a Rumble pak and Memory pak inserted, worked flawlessly. You're able to also set the controller poll interval in (ms), to as low as 1ms. With USB also adding it's own poll interval of 1ms which is simply a byproduct of using USB, you can get a poll interval as low as 2ms (1ms+1ms). The poll interval is also adjustable as I believe native Nintendo 64 hardware used 16ms for the majority of the games released (based on the articles I read on Raphnet).

The one downside with Raphnet (if you want the direct controller access) is only if you're using RetroArch, as you cannot (far as I know at least) use plugins, which is required the the Raphnet adapter, but ONLY if you want direct controller access. To clarify, this adapter works fine without using the DLL, but without it, you will be lacking Rumble/Memory pak support and no direct controller access. The DLLs also have no configuration to be done, as the emulator is able to read directly from the controller, just like on real hardware.


To keep this long-winded post a bit more concise for the TL : DR persons:

Raphnet dual N64 USB adapter works perfectly, has custom software for firmware updates, direct controller access, custom controller poll intervals, Rumble pak/Memory pak support (Raphnet even claims the Bionic sensor works, so if you own of those, have at it). The software also allows you to manage the memory pak, which can use legitimate save files that you can find online, allowing you to backup your real hardware saves for posterity/sharing.



Sorry if this is reviving a dead thread, I've had an account here since 2015 and this is my first post as I wanted to relay this information for anyone that is curious in the future.
If I decide to get more Raphnet adapters for things such as the GameCube or SNES, I'll update with a separate post if there's anything more of note, but as of right now, if you are using Mayflash adapters, give these a shot, the difference in quality is noticeable.

I didn't post any links to external websites as I was not sure if that is allowed, suffice to say this adapter is easy to goolge/bing/duckduckgo.

edit: changed the tldr so it wouldn't be an emoticon