***New owners of the Boom PSX/N64 adapter*** [Archive]

Allnatural

October 23rd, 2003, 06:43

I'm getting tired of the constant questions regarding this thing, so I'm compiling all that I know into one thread. If someone sees a question concerning this adapter, please link to this thread.

As many have undoubtedly noticed, this adapter seems a bit dodgy, particularly when using N64 pads. PSX and PS2 pads seem to work flawlessly, but numerous people have problems with their N64 controllers. I recall reading somewhere that N64 support was added as an afterthought. Whether that is true or not, I can attest that the adapter does indeed work great with N64 pads with some caveats. I'll list what I know:

1. Drivers
Users of Win2000 and WinXP need not worry about installing the included drivers. Support is built into the OS, and installing the drivers from the installation disk is not likely to solve an issues you may face. Users of Win98 and possibly WinME will need drivers. Simply follow the instructions included on the disk.

2. Analog stick doesn't work
After installing the adapter you absolutely must calibrate the analog stick. If you notice that your game character barely manages a walk despite full motion of the stick, you need to calibrate it. This doesn't seem to be an issue with PSX pads, just N64. Go to your Control Panel and open Gaming Options. Highlight the adapter in the list. It should be "4-axis 16-button joystick" for Win2000/XP users, and "Monster Gaming Device" (or similar) in 98/ME. Click the Properties button, then the Settings tab, and finally Calibrate. Follow the directions and everything should be fine thereafter. Keep in mind that you may need to repeat this if the adapter is disconnected.

3. When I click Properties in Gaming Options, all the buttons go crazy, like they're all being pressed
This one is a bit mysterious. First, I don't recommend using anything other that genuine, first-party Nintendo controllers with the adapter. Third-party controllers seem to cause more than their fair share of problems, and in fact they may not be officially supported anyway. I've also seen some first-party controllers exhibit the same problem. I can only surmise that the adapter is tempermental with older N64 pads, even ones that otherwise work fine with the console or other adapters. I bought a brand new N64 controller with my adapter and have had no problems. Bottom line? If you experience this issue, buy a new controller. N64 pads can still be purchased new at Nintendo's (www.nintendo.com) site. You could also buy an Adaptoid, which seems to play nice with worn-in controllers.

4. Rumble and/or mempaks don't work
With the lower cost comes the absence of bonus features, namely rumble and mempak support. They simply won't work. If you really need the features, purchase an Adaptoid.

I bought a number of these adapters in bulk; kept a few and sold the rest. I personally have experienced no problems with those that I own using a variety of emulator/plugin combinations. I have seen number three above with one of the adapters I sold, but after swapping the controller for another, the problem ceased. Most issues are controller and/or configuration related.

magic stick

December 24th, 2003, 14:01

"2. Analog stick doesn't work
After installing the adapter you absolutely must calibrate the analog stick. If you notice that your game character barely manages a walk despite full motion of the stick, you need to calibrate it. This doesn't seem to be an issue with PSX pads, just N64. Go to your Control Panel and open Gaming Options. Highlight the adapter in the list. It should be "4-axis 16-button joystick" for Win2000/XP users, and "Monster Gaming Device" (or similar) in 98/ME. Click the Properties button, then the Settings tab, and finally Calibrate. Follow the directions and everything should be fine thereafter. Keep in mind that you may need to repeat this if the adapter is disconnected."

Maybe I am a complete idiot, but i bought the psx/n64 adapter and i'm too stupid to read this manual to fix the problem that my analog stick doesn't move the games fast enough. Where exactly are the "Gaming Options" or the "Control Panel" in Project 64 ? Can't find them. BTW: Which plugin do i have to use ? Right now I'm using the plugin that was included in Project 64.

Allnatural

December 24th, 2003, 17:01

Where exactly are the "Gaming Options" or the "Control Panel" in Project 64 ? Can't find them. BTW: Which plugin do i have to use ? Right now I'm using the plugin that was included in Project 64.
The Windows control panel.

You can use any plugin you want.

Hyper190

December 25th, 2003, 06:45

does this thing work with Gamecube Pads aswell???

Allnatural

December 25th, 2003, 08:17

does this thing work with Gamecube Pads aswell???
Why would a psx/n64 adapter work with a Gamecube pad?

The answer is no, but there are adapters (http://www.jandaman.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=gcsj13) specifically for the Gamecube pad.

Hyper190

December 25th, 2003, 08:34

Why would a psx/n64 adapter work with a Gamecube pad?

The answer is no, but there are adapters (http://www.jandaman.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=gcsj13) specifically for the Gamecube pad.

:cool: I see . I must say id probaly get this one instead because

i like the cube controller more than the others. ;)

not to bad for 15.00

By the way I just asking about the controller support of the boom. :cool:

magic stick

December 25th, 2003, 17:24

My N64 Controller is Working. Hoooray & Thank you very much (as always)

Jerek

January 4th, 2004, 06:41

I'm getting tired of the constant questions regarding this thing, so I'm compiling all that I know into one thread.
Thank you, that really helped. Now I know that my N64 adapter truly doesn't work. -_- Well, fortunately I just bought a PS2, and since all I play on it is DDR (using a DDR pad) and DVDs (using a remote) I can use that controller instead. But for some reason the analogue sticks don't work. The D-pad and other buttons all work fine, but the analogues don't seem to have give any input at all when I view the raw data on the calibration screens. When calibrating there's screens for calibrating the Z Axis and Z Rotation - are these for the analogues?

Also, do you know if there's an online manual, or even a website for this product? I ordered mine online, and it didn't come with a manual, or even a box, so I can't even tell who made this thing.

And here's all the info I could find about N64 compatibility:

Compatibility with Nintendo (original) controllers:
Gray - does not work
Black - works
Purple - works
Green - works
Atomic series (transparent) - does not work
I also confirmed that it doesn't work with either my red, yellow, or transparent controllers. Which are my only surviving N64 controllers. Joy.

malcster

February 6th, 2004, 20:34

I know this topic is pretty dead, but I feel this is relevant information.

The D-pad and other buttons all work fine, but the analogues don't seem to have give any input at all when I view the raw data on the calibration screens. When calibrating there's screens for calibrating the Z Axis and Z Rotation - are these for the analogues?

Okay. Well, to my experience, when I set up a PSX pad in the control panel, the X and Y axes are the horizontal and vertical of the left analogue stick. Then you have the two Z-axes, which are horizontal and vertical on the right analogue stick. The only problem I can think of for getting the axes to work is, have you pressed the analogue button so that the red light is on? If you've done that, and you've checked all the connections and installed the drivers properly (assuming your OS needs them) then I'm stumped. Sorry.

Also, do you know if there's an online manual, or even a website for this product? I ordered mine online, and it didn't come with a manual, or even a box, so I can't even tell who made this thing.

Not even a box? That's pretty shabby. I got mine from Lik-Sang, and I got a floppy disk with drivers, and a box. No instructions though.. although I RARed the contents of the floppy and stuck it here: http://www.1stbac.co.uk/users/malcolm/store/boomdocs.rar in case you haven't already got it. The box says nothing detailed, only "Connect any psx and n64 controllers to the USB port of your PC or MAC. No external power supply needed. Full compatibility with Win95/98/ME/2000 and MacOS".

And here's all the info I could find about N64 compatibility:

I also confirmed that it doesn't work with either my red, yellow, or transparent controllers. Which are my only surviving N64 controllers. Joy.

Well, I dunno what's up with your red controller, must be an older model. My red official controller works fine, as does my gold official controller. My third party Gamester jobby doesn't work, but it's such a bad pad (especially the analogue stick) that I'm not really bothered too much.

Hope some of this has been of use.

Allnatural

February 7th, 2004, 07:00

Compatibility with Nintendo (original) controllers:
Gray - does not work
Black - works
Purple - works
Green - works
Atomic series (transparent) - does not work

Interesting. I'll admit I've never seen the adapter work properly with a grey controller, but every "grey" I've tried was flaky to begin with. However, my Atomic Green controller has always worked quite well.

theglorious1

April 19th, 2004, 00:45

I'm using windows 98se. The problem I have is that I plug the controller into the adapter, and the adapter into the USB slot, and the PC brings up the 'add new hardware' screen. It installs the driver, adds a little volume icon to my system tray and then... nothing.

As advised in the (moderately-to-severely) useless readme file, I go into Control Panel & Gaming Options, and try to add a new 'monster gamepad' (the driver name I am advised to use). I am told that 'your gameport or gameport drivers are not properly configured. Please consult the device manager.'

Device manager has no problems listed, and the two new icons are in the 'sound, video and game controllers'; a 'monster gamepad' and an 'HID compliant game controller.' As previously mentioned, they are both fine. I've even been into the Gaming Options tab marked 'controller IDs' but it doesn't show any controllers in the top list, and the only gameport I can select at the bottom is the 'Standard Gameport'.

I haven't owned any gamepads until now, but a while ago I did install a Logitech Wingman Extreme via USB which worked OK. It's just confusing, because the Control Panel/Gaming Options screen is telling me something's wrong with the game controller, but the device manager says everything is fine. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

Managed to fix the problem somehow - unplugged everything and plugged it all back in. I have 2 rows of USB ports on the back, so I plugged the adaptor into a different row from the modem (which was taking up a lot of power) and it's all working now.

cloud1494

October 1st, 2004, 20:48

I'm using Windows XP SP1. Looking in Device Manager, the only devices in there that even closely resemble this controller adapter is:

"USB Composite Device"
"HID-Compliant consumer control device"
2x "USB Human Interface Device"

I've tried unplugging and replugging the device and I don't see anything in the "Game Controllers" part of Control Panel. Can someone help me?

SigmaXIX

October 23rd, 2004, 22:26

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You haven't been able to get it working with the original grey controller? Now, don't get me wrong, but I have 3 of these things, and gave the 4th to a friend. I have been able to get all my Grey controllers working fine, but maybe that's because I keep them in near-mint condition?? That's strange you haven't been able to get a grey one working!? Maybe they're selling newer models in the past couple of years or something?

spork9

February 25th, 2005, 23:33

my controller doesnt show up as a gamepad how do i fix this?

Allnatural

February 26th, 2005, 05:46

my controller doesnt show up as a gamepad how do i fix this?
What does it show up as? Is there anything in the Gaming Options applet?

spork9

February 26th, 2005, 08:09

under gamepads in the controll panel it doesnt show up at all. in device manager it shows up as an HID usb sunthin or another thing

Allnatural

February 26th, 2005, 16:15

And you did install the driver manually? You really shouldn't have to with XP, but if Windows refuses to set it up automatically...

spork9

February 26th, 2005, 23:32

compleatly uninstalled it. When i went to re-install i pick the drive that was on the disk it came with. it says "the specifyed location does not contain information about your hardware."

Heres the instructions

------------------------------------------------------------

Installation Manual for PSX/N64 to USB Cable

Step

1. Plug-in the Cable into the USB port of your computer and startup the computer. Since it is a plug & play device, Win95/98 should find a new hardware.
2. Choose Select the device driver by yourself and click OK
3. Select A:\ pc2004-drv from the box and click Next. (Assuming A: is your floppy disk drive)
4. Monster.inf should appear in the list, please select it and click OK.
5. Select Monster Gamepad from the list and click Next.
6. Computer will access the disk and may ask you to insert the win95/98 CD-ROM.
7. Click Next and wait for the computer to finish the job.
8. Go into the Control Panel and select the Joystick icon.
9. Select and add Monster Game Pad into the list.

End

I did all that but it juss says "the specifyed location does not contain information about your hardware"

Allnatural

February 27th, 2005, 16:03

One other idea...

Try the same procedure, but direct the driver installation applet to your WinXP CD (if it doesn't search there anyway) instead of the floppy. I've never had to use the drivers supplied with the adapter, so for all I know they're designed for Win9x.

If that doesn't work...I'm stumped.

otomo

March 17th, 2005, 04:32

Just a question, does this work with psx and n64 pads connectef at once?

spork9

March 17th, 2005, 06:38

ya, it has a switch button

Allnatural

March 17th, 2005, 06:49

Just a question, does this work with psx and n64 pads connectef at once?
You can connect both at the same time, but you can't use them at the same time.

madh83

April 7th, 2005, 06:57

I have this adapter and the analogue controls on my n64 pad don't respond quite right..., I was wondering how well the ps2 pad's analogue stick worked on this adapter, is there a specific model of the controller i should look for, and also does teh force feedback work?

Allnatural

April 7th, 2005, 07:08

Read my original post ffs...

madh83

May 19th, 2005, 08:14

does anyone use this adaptor with a psx 1 regular controller? If so I was curious about how responsive it is, I would like to buy one to play fighting games. The n64 controller seems to be somewhat lacking for doing the constant dragon punch motions, and somewhat uncomfortable too. And Allnatural your faq is good, but I would really like to know that the responsiveness of the psx or ps2 controllers in 2d fighting games is perfect.

Allnatural

May 19th, 2005, 15:55

If you're worried about lag, I haven't noticed any. That being said, I always use the N64 pad for fighting games (neo-geo, cps2, etc.) because of it's superior d-pad. It's matter of preference I suppose.

Smiff

May 23rd, 2005, 22:31

i'dd add (perhaps literally if i'm a moderator on this forum) to Allnatural's post:

Boom's QA is pretty terrible. From my experience with these and some of their other products i'd estimate 25-35% of the items they send out do not work. so e.g. if you want one, probably best to buy two or three. "not working" typically shows up as not installing properly in the OS.

Another interesting effect is that some of these adapters, even from batches bought at the same time, work with more pads than others (and i'm not even talking about 3rd party pads yet). Another reason to buy a load, or ask them to improve their QA.

On the other hand, it is the only cheap widely available n64-usb adapter on the market, so i'm glad they're made :)

Allnatural

May 24th, 2005, 07:08

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit the build quality is suspect. However, the batch of ten I bought all work fine. Maybe I'm just lucky. :P

Smiff

May 25th, 2005, 00:17

right, i have a batch of 10 where 5 work on anything, 4 work on some USB controllers and not others (! even on a machine with 4 identical USB2 controllers) and 1 doesn't work on any controllers... not a great success rate. in a way this makes the adaptoid better value.

smcd

May 25th, 2005, 00:24

I love my adaptoids :P I was going to go cheaper and get a boom but read this thread and decided against it.

Smiff

June 15th, 2005, 00:22

i was wrong in my posts above,
they do all work on all the USB controllers. However, there is a timing/init problem or some kind where they dont always work each time they're connected. they do work after two or more reconnects. this problem does seem to be unique to the Boom devices, as nothing else i've tried has this (and i've tried many other kinds of adapter).

another issue i can confirm: some are more picky about N64 controllers than others. about half the adapters i get work with some original N64 pads i have, and half don't. other controllers work on all of them, its definately a bug with the adapter.

Matts_User_Name

June 15th, 2005, 20:24

OK I clibrated the controller but how can i use it for project 64?
do u need to download a plugin?

Smiff

June 18th, 2005, 13:05

OK I clibrated the controller but how can i use it for project 64?
do u need to download a plugin?

don't double post, already answered in pj64 forum, which is where it should be.

ok, these Boom adapters are really starting to piss me off. i posted above that they don't always init, and that seems to be true. if you have a single adapter on an ordinary PC, this is a nuisance.

However, if you have a gaming/htpc setup with lots of controllers, and if that machine is regularly switched off or goes on standy and powers down the USB devices, it's a disaster. the Boom adapters randomly dissappear and this changes the ID of all controllers, breaking all games/emulators set up.
My Adaptoids which are ~4 years old never do this.

is there still a market for a new low cost N64-USB design? will the price of the Adaptoid come down? (spooky music).

Something else:
They don't seem to work properly with Playstation1/PSone controllers (original or dual shock). anyone confirm?

and another i meant to mention:
they don't identify themselves properly. so you either get "16 button 4 axis controller" or you get the name of some other controller on your system e.g. a Super Smartjoy. weird.

I should write all this up somewhere.

Allnatural

July 12th, 2005, 18:56

Thankfully I've experienced none of these problems with my batch. Like I said though, maybe I just got lucky.

Smiff

July 12th, 2005, 21:12

i've tried at least 6 Boom adapters from 3 batches over 3 months. the problems i'm describing are just from the good ones - i'm not even going into everything that's wrong with the bad ones lol. (i do not have it in for this company, i just know shit QA when i see it. and some of this is design errors so i can't believe you don't see any of it).

your PS1 d-pad/analogue sticks work properly? i have two genuine sony controllers and neither work with a stable -non-jittery stick (PS2 controller ok).

Allnatural

July 13th, 2005, 15:43

your PS1 d-pad/analogue sticks work properly? i have two genuine sony controllers and neither work with a stable -non-jittery stick (PS2 controller ok).
Yup. PS1, PS2, N64, all work fine. Were yours purchased recently? I bought mine two or three years ago, so perhaps it's just the newer batches that are really problematic.

Smiff

July 14th, 2005, 16:28

yeah, April-May-June 05

so it looks like these things are getting worse :(

Eck

August 2nd, 2005, 04:18

Strangely, I was having the same problems on my other pc with XPHESP2. The system would run my original grey N64 controller fine with the Boom adapter, then on reboot it wouldn't be able to initialize the driver (red X in device manager) and it would not show up in the game controllers panel. Other times the game character would jitter or move in a direction without my moving the joystick. Unplugging the adapter, rebooting and plugging it back in before the pc started up again would make XP detect things properly again, but it still had the jittering and wandering stick problem.

I wanted to try some stuff with Windows Me so I installed that on my other pc. Now, previously I had tried using the Boom on this machine with 98SE and the Monster Gamepad drivers would install and appear as functioning in device manager but nothing would be detected in the gamepad control panel. If I added it, it would say not connected. I wasn't able to get it to work on 98SE. But, with Windows Me a funny thing happened. I had noticed while installing my Sidewinder Gamepad Pro USB 4.0 that after the software install and a reboot and plugging in the pad, ZoneAlarm asked me for permission for some Windows Me process to access the internet. I allowed it, and what I think is the updated Sidewinder driver was quickly downloaded and installed. I had no idea Windows Me could do that!

When I plugged in the Boom adapter with the N64 gamepad plugged in, I was all ready with the driver when the New Hardware Wizard detected it but that didn't happen! Instead, ZoneAlarm popped in again and asked for permission for that Windows Me process. I allowed it again and zip, zip the 4 axis/16 button gamepad (like on XP) was installed!

I checked and it still had that crappy default calibration, so I calibrated it. I switched plugins in N64 to the P641.6 provided N-Rage one and did the little trick of holding down the gamepad's joystick direction before clicking the tab in N-Rage, and it did the tabs properly without calling them z-axis. Just -x,-y, +x,+y, like it should. I set the dead zone to zero and the usage to 100% with real N64.

In Windows Me there is no character jittering or trying to move when the stick is centered. And, on reboot the pad is recognized properly every time. And this, with a Sidewinder Gamepad USB on controller 1, a Sidewinder Gamepad Pro USB on controller 2, and the N64 pad on controller 3 in the gamepad control panel. All these pads and the thing is working perfectly.

So, what's with Windows XP? This may be an operating system bug and not a fault of the Boom Adapter. My soundcard is using WDM drivers on the pc and I did run the WDM and USB Microsoft updates before the soundcard or gaming stuff was installed. Maybe Windows XP needs some kind of bug fix too? Windows Me seems to be using the same drivers but fully successfully, unlike Windows XP.

KingVendrSnatch

August 25th, 2005, 08:32

I usually have problems with everything having to do with my pc but Ive been lucky so far with Booms adaptor. Hell, I didn't even have to calibrate my controller.

If you need rumble features as long as you have another controller that supports the rumble just use N64 virutal plugin and activate both controllers at the same time in Controller 1 like so (http://www.boomspeed.com/bigfatqueer/stuff.JPG). I use it for Zelda OoT.

I dont know if it works with any other plugins though.

Oh well just a cheap work around for those who dont know and arent lucky enough to have an adatoid.

Cheerio

Eck

August 25th, 2005, 21:15

Go figure. Now it's working on the XP machine.

Strangely, when I first installed it and rebooted I got a weird error box about a dos device and that more information was available. Only there was no more information as it only had an OK to click to close the box.

This happened intermittantly on startup until I disabled ZoneAlarm for an update. Then after ZoneAlarm was activated again it returned.

I found I needed to unplug it and boot without it to avoid the message. The only thing in error log was that a device was writing to memory and couldn't finish because I had shutdown.

After leaving it that way for awhile, I recently reconnected it permanantly and now I get no errors.

The system picks it up every time I reboot and it works perfectly in Project64.

Quite a flaky piece of hardware. But it's working now.

adambuckley

September 8th, 2005, 06:51

I have a genuine N64 grey controller, and the Boom PSX/N64 USB adapter.

After calibrating the controller in WinXP Control Panel, I tried to set the controller in PJ64 Controller Options. I was using the default "Jabo's DirectInput7 1.6" as the controller plugin. When trying to set the analogue stick controls, PJ64 seemed to get very confused and reported me pushing the stick left as "Zr+" or suchlike.

Then I switched to "N-Rages's Direct-Input8 V2 1.80a" plugin. This plugin correctly recognised me pushing the stick left as "X-" (or suchlike). I set the deadzone to 0%, and my N64 emulation works a treat!! 100 times better than the original console!!!

TheMuffinMan

September 11th, 2005, 03:31

I'm very terribly sorry if people are getting sick of these questions, but I just spent my money on this adapter and waited 13 days for it to get here. I finally got it, and I plugged it in. XP decided to install it automatically, so I forgot about the instructions it came with. I read through all of this already, and discovered that it shows up as 4-axis, 16-button controller. That's all there as it should be. I decided to calibrate it as has been said. (I'm not sure what Z-axis is, I assumed it was the d-pad). Once calibrated, I opened in P64k. I tried both Jabo's and N-Rage plugins, and neither one of them pick up the buttons whatsoever.

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!

Eck

September 11th, 2005, 04:48

Certainly do not install that old driver on the floppy on Windows XP. That thing didn't even work properly on Windows 98SE for me. Windows Me somehow finds the same driver XP uses on the internet when you plug the adapter in, and installs it. Just use the driver XP installs.

Did you select the controller in the drop down in N-Rage's plugin? The buttons should detect what your're pushing for each direction.

The Z direction in Window's Control Panel calibration is just something useless that doesn't really exist since there is no z axis, but you still have to calibrate it properly for the controller to be set right. The driver Windows uses thinks there is a z axis. The digital pad just is normal buttons, so there's nothing to calibrate in Windows except to check to see they work.

You just follow the directions there. When you get to the z axis, you move the analog stick again. I forget which way, but for the 2 z axis, you move the stick either up and down or left to right, whichever way the graphic seems to move properly.

The rest of the calibration is necessary because Windows by default reads the stick wrong. It severely limits the outer reaches, so you get just a small swivel when you go all around in circles. Calibrating it for the entire radius fixes this.

If the controller is calibrated properly you shouldn't have any problems setting it up in N-Rage's direct input plugin. One caveat is that when you get to the analog stick you should press the stick in the direction you want before you press the button, unlike all the other buttons. If it doesn't detect your move, jiggle it slightly and it'll pick it up. And, sometimes it detects the x asis as the stupid z axis that doesn't exist. When that happens just set the direction again like before. Move the stick, then press the choice in the program. It'll pick it up as x axis properly, most times.

I don't know what else to tell you. If the controller calibrates in Windows Control Panel, then the plugin should pick it up. Mine works, but there are some that are defective and there are also some controllers that won't work with the Boom.

Hey, I just got an Adaptoid from ZtNetStore this week! I won't mess with things until I get done with a couple of games I have saved to a mempack in the Save folder of Project64. I don't want to lose that save information until I'm done with the games. I'm not sure how the Adaptiod will react to the saved Mempack that isn't in the Adaptiod format.

skrilla

September 11th, 2005, 16:33

Got my BOOM converter and couldnt figure out HOw on earth to calibrate it. Everytime id go to control panel and try to set it right, it would zoom through the test not letting me press even press anything!

Anyway... my soloution?

Plug a PSX pad in as well as the N64 Pad and hey presto, everything was cool.

TheMuffinMan

September 12th, 2005, 00:11

Discovered my problem. I feel so stupid. I had the switch on the PS controller side!! >.<

But, as has been said, it's all jittery. Is it correct that PS controllers don't have this problem?

Eck

September 12th, 2005, 06:29

Yeah, that switch with no label confused me too.

I had a problem with it being jittery. When I would leave it centered it would want to go down. That was crazy. For example, I would halt Mario and he would start walking down.

It stopped doing that when I switched to a different N64 pad. My black one had the downwards problem and occasional jitter, but my original grey one did not.

I would say that was it, but my grey one started to have the same problem.

It was fixed when I went back in to Windows Control Panel and calibrated it again. I'm thinking my black one would have possibly been fixed by that as well. But it is known that some N64 pads work with it and some do not. Generally the ones that do not work with it are completely impossible to calibrate. The controller will just go nuts, moving in all different directions without touching it.

If yours is mostly calibrating then it probably is compatible. Just keep trying to calibrate it with the wizard until it stops jittering. I think you have to really set the Windows detected z-axis properly, as well as all the normal x, y directions. Keep at it and it'll probably work.

If not, you can try removing the pad from the Windows Gamepad Control Panel list, pull the usb plug out, reboot, and plug it back in so Windows will install the driver again fresh. Then try calibrating it properly with the wizard now that your more certain how to do it. Then it might take the first time. Once it's right you shouldn't need to fool with that again.

Allnatural

September 12th, 2005, 06:58

I've noticed some jitter with my PSX pad (in the control panel), but my N64 pad has always been rock-solid. *shrug*

Eck

September 20th, 2005, 23:19

Every so often Windows XP is unable to initialize the driver. It returns after I restart again, but I got kind of sick of this happening.

So I removed the Boom associated human interface devices from Device Manager and hooked up my new Adaptoid.

XP calls it the Adaptoid and everything just works. So far it hasn't had a problem running the driver at start up but it's early yet. That was the only problem I was having with the Boom. We'll see, as it seems to use the same Human Interface Controller stuff in Device Manager for the Adaptoid.

I found that as long as I set the N-Rage input plugin the same way for memory packs as I had the Boom, I'm able to use the same saved packs I was using before.

I haven't tried installing the Adaptiod software yet. I suppose I may if I want force feedback or the use of real memory packs at some point.

It's nice that I didn't have to calibrate the Adaptiod. XP runs it perfectly.

leetsauce

September 27th, 2005, 20:44

I just got this thing i was really hyped about putting it to use. I read before that it needed to be calibrated first. So i did that in XP Control Panel no problem. My only problem is that when i press any button or move the joystick, the emulator seems like its not reading it at all, although windows will read it fine. The button is switched to the n64 port, and ive messed around with all of the controller input plugins for Project 64. Please help me?

Eck

September 30th, 2005, 05:46

If the N64 pad works properly in the Windows calibrator then the N-Rage Direct Input plugin that comes with Project64 1.6 should run the pad fine.

Make sure you're selecting the N-Rage plugin in PJ64 (it's not the default).

Make sure you've actually used the Windows joystick calibrating wizard by clicking the advanced button in the control panel (not just the test).

Make sure you calibrate the fake z-axis while there. You'll never use it, but it must be calibrated properly. In the wizard, just move the stick so the bars on screen move the widest left to right it can. Then push next like it says.

Don't forget you need to setup the pad in the N-Rage plugin's setup pages. You select the name Windows gives it (4-axis, 16 button gamepad) in the N-Rage properties page's dropdown, then go through each button and direction on the pad and click the corresponding button on the properties page, push your pad's button, and wait until it sets it.

When you get to the control stick, you need to go backwards. I mean you must push your controller in the direction then click the button in the program. Sometimes you must wiggle the pad's stick a bit until the program recognizes it. When you go left-right, make sure it's y-axis and not z-axis! Do it a few times and the program will ignore z and report just x and y-axis properly.

Then it should just work.

egeekial

November 3rd, 2005, 07:37

3. When I click Properties in Gaming Options, all the buttons go crazy, like they're all being pressed

So after this long we still have no way around this? It seems that there has to be SOMETHING we can do to solve this problem...

Allnatural

November 3rd, 2005, 15:48

So after this long we still have no way around this? It seems that there has to be SOMETHING we can do to solve this problem...
It's likely a problem with the hardware, which we have no control over.

egeekial

November 3rd, 2005, 17:47

It's likely a problem with the hardware, which we have no control over.

But there's no driver/hardware hack we can come up with to get this to work? I just can't get the idea out of my head that there has to be a way to fix this. I mean it could be extremely difficult, but a plausible solution must exist...

Smiff

November 10th, 2005, 02:43

i've a couple more things :

1) Boom adapter works fine with Jabo's input every way i try it (all adapters/pads), don't know why people are having to switch to N-Rage for this (unless people are doing something stupid like setting the deadzone to 0 before configuring?) ideas? i can't replicate these problems.

2) the polling (way the adapter reads the pad) just doesn't work with some n64 pads and there's no fix (except for pluging in psx controllers, which leads me to think its some termination thing that you might be able to fix with different resistances?), someone would need to go back to the design (i forget the guy's name) and come up with some better timing or something. it's NOT reliably the colour of the controller - some people have grey controllers that don't work, i have a yellow that's very picky. i haven't taken them apart to see if there's some version number on the inside yet, someone should do that if they haven't already? there are several people making these and they are all clones of one guy's (free) design and he never got the polling quite right..
the other thing is these adapters are variable. the are very inaccurately made and they have a range of compatibility, even from the same batch etc. these if examined (compare a very good one to a very bad one for example) could lead to a proper fix, perhaps, i would guess.

3) there's a whole complicated situation with who has can make the Adaptoid, i started talking to Jandaman but didn't get to end of it, basically the problem seems to be the cost of starting up a run of the chips is thousands of dollars, even though i think you'd get that back, and the guy with the die (tool thingy you need) (Lev?) has disappeared, and the original Adaptoid guy went off to work for.. Intel or someone and no one can find him? something like that.

so yeah, its a crap situation. if some of us made an effort though we could probably get production restarted.

redeemer665

November 18th, 2005, 21:31

It could be a problem with the adaptors themselves but i've bought three of them only to find out they all work only with my original, first revision grey gamepad which came with the N64 console. it's really really sad they aren't making adaptoids anymore :(
actually it's the rumble support i'm searching for.. playing ocarina of time is not fun when you can't feel the rumble around secret holes and other stuff. does anyone know any external rumble devices I could use?

Smiff

November 19th, 2005, 00:59

@redeemer665
just get a PC force feedback controller.. or some PC USB adapters for console controllers support FF through drivers aswell, it won't be exactly the same as N64's rumble, but it should rumble... N64 rumble is pretty basic anyway.

BlackSabbatical

November 29th, 2005, 19:10

spent the equivilent of 32 bucks on this friggin thing, and I still say it sucks ass, and i say this because i cant get past the fact that the device manager still doesnt know what the hell this thing is (i.e. unknown device) and when i try to use the monster drivers.... no dice when i try to add from the game controllers in the control panel... no dice when i take a claw hammer to the pc to force it joe pesci style into submission.... well you get the picture, it seems like some people just connect it and go but when i do this my OS gives me the perverbial finger..... any ideas to a frustrated gamer? ARE there XP drivers? AND if there are WHERE THE THE SAM BLUE HELL ARE THEY?? thanks for taking the time to read my rant and for god sake PLEASE HELP

Eck

November 29th, 2005, 23:44

As soon as you plug it in, assuming you have a working one, XP detects it as a 4-axis 16-button gamepad and installs it into the game controllers control panel. No extra driver is needed.

Of course, it is really a 2-axis 14 button gamepad, but when you go into advanced calibration and set the imaginary z-axis to the directions that move properly the 2 axis (x and y) usually work properly. I don't know what happens to the extra 2 buttons it imagines it has. This thing detects very weirdly!

The monster gamepad driver is a really old driver that was made for 9x but messes things up if it's installed. Even Windows Me recognizes it as a 4-axis 16-button gamepad without installing a seperate driver. I couldn't get it to work in 98SE as that monster driver didn't work even after it said it was working properly in device manager.

I'm glad I got an Adaptoid in that last ZTNet Store batch. It has worked for me on any operating system.

Eclipse

December 19th, 2005, 20:19

Hey folks, I've just ordered one of these devices from Lik Sang.. thing is I don't have an N64 controller on hand, I'd like to get a brand new one.. I know that Nintendo of America are selling them on the site, but they don't ship internationally, which is a shame.. any ideas where I can get a new controller Im located in the UK? If not I'll have to chance it and get some second hand ones from the games shops I know.

Eck

December 21st, 2005, 05:27

I bought a couple on ebay a while back. There are also replacement's for the joystick part of the controller on sale often. I bought some of those too.

I wouldn't worry about buying used. The part that goes is the joystick part and even though one of the used pads I bought had a loose one, I easily replaced it.

I'd be more afraid of a standard game controller being used. Nintendo builds strong stuff! My original Nintendo controllers on all my systems are still fully operational and all I've done is wipe them clean once in a while. (They get dusty.) Regular computer gamepads seem to break more than the consoles pad's do.

I'd rather buy a used original Nintendo controller than a new third party one. You'll see those on ebay as "new Nintendo pads." But they're for Nintendo, not built by Nintendo. I can't critisize them though since I've never tried them.

Eclipse

December 21st, 2005, 19:59

Hmm looks like I will just settle on an offical second hand one, the thing is with the Boom adaptor is that it just seems like complete chance if the controller will actually work with the device.

RaptorHawk

January 11th, 2006, 00:35

Allnatural

January 11th, 2006, 00:49

I need help....I got the boom adapter and I got everything to work perfectly. I was even able to play online with it. The next day I tried to play with it and it wasnt working. When I try to test or calibrate it I get no response at all and I have NO idea why it just stopped randomly working like this. Any advice?
Could be nothing more than defective hardware I'm afraid. The only thing you can do right now is test with other controllers and on other computers.

Eclipse

January 13th, 2006, 17:56

I need help....I got the boom adapter and I got everything to work perfectly. I was even able to play online with it. The next day I tried to play with it and it wasnt working. When I try to test or calibrate it I get no response at all and I have NO idea why it just stopped randomly working like this. Any advice?

Sounds like hard luck.. things like that usually happen to me with hardware, thankfully I got my adapter recently and I've been well using it alot in the last 2 weeks and its been working great.

zazzyzulu

January 25th, 2006, 08:11

I can't get Boom to install on my computer correctly. Whenever I plug it in XP tries to install but it always says "problem installing, may not work correctly." I've gotten it working 100% on another computer running XP. Anything I can do to remedy this?

axcc123

February 28th, 2006, 00:16

Eck

February 28th, 2006, 01:27

That's "Adaptoid."

Hard advice to follow, since they are so rarely available.

axcc123

March 2nd, 2006, 00:20

That's "Adaptoid."

Hard advice to follow, since they are so rarely available.

got mine on ebay brand new :shifty:

sniper_112

March 18th, 2006, 00:43

Traiklin

April 7th, 2006, 20:54

well I finnaly got the N64 part of it working (never had a problem with the PS2 part) but the analog stick is still messed up (even using some tuturials that said how to set it up), it get's the left right part working perfectly but the up down is still really really jerky.

It might be the controller (it's rather old and beat up) but I know I need to get a new one, has anyone tried a controller from Nintendo's store? (cause $25 is a lot for me to spend right now only to find out it doesn't work with the boom adapter).

Lightbringer_x

April 20th, 2006, 15:06

i see that the boom adapter is supposed to install itself on xp but when i plug mine in it makes the noise that something was plugged in but nothing pops up. and in the control panle/game controllers nothing shows up.
make sure you've installed the latest updates (e.g. sp2).

That's a problem of windows xp in combination with usb 2!

Btw...

Just bought this adapter and after an hour of working with it (could't calibrate my controller, one of four wasnt working correct) i just figured it out!

And yes, it's amazing! It's better than the original n64 feeling!

dazey238

April 21st, 2006, 21:12

Just to add my experiences -

If it doesn't show up in Game Controllers when you plug it in, or Windows says 'Problem installing', try uninstalling all your USB ports in Device Manager, and then disconnecting and reconnecting any other USB devices you have. This cured the problem for me.

Also, the only problem I have on mine is the 'crazy' buttons problem with my N64 controller, which I can solve by plugging in a PS2 controller. As Smiff said above, this is probably some kind of termination (or grounding?) issue. I'm going to investigate this one and if I find anything out then I'll post it here!

A real shame that this is the only device still in production for N64 pads -> USB. I saw an Adaptoid go on eBay for £45 the other day, no joke.

StatusX

June 27th, 2006, 05:23

I just got a boom adapter and an old original gray N64 controller. When I first plugged it in and loaded up pj64, it worked, although the analog stick wasn't calibrated right and I moved and turned very slow. After going to control panel to try to fix this, it now doesn't work at all. All buttons are always registered as pressed in the calibration screen. I'm trying to retrace my steps and do whatever I did the first time, but nothing's working. I don't think I've damaged the device. Has anyone had this problem?

Eck

June 27th, 2006, 06:22

If you read this whole topic you'll see several tips on getting it to work. In Windows Control Panel you need to actually enter into the calibration process. You click the advanced button and calibrate, then you'll get the wizard. You need to make sure you get the 2 imaginary axis (the one's Windows thinks are there but aren't) to move as far left and right and up and down as they can. Once you've gotten all the pages set it should work.

You also switch to the N-Rage Direct Input Plugin in Project64's Properties. And when setting the directions for the analog stick you move the stick first, unlike all the other buttons where you click the mouse on the setting you want first. You set the sensitivity stuff to 0 and 100% (forget what they're called just now).

If your controller works with the Boom then these settings will get it working correctly. If you're using an original Nintendo grey controller it should work.

StatusX

June 27th, 2006, 16:20

I have read this whole topic, and a few others, and the only relevant tip I've found (besides buying a new adapter/controller) is to uninstall and reinstall the USB adapter, but this hasn't worked. I've been to the calibration screen, and all the buttons are locked on, and the analog stick is locked in the up position. Changing the plugin in pj64 also didn't help. I am seriously considering buying a new adapter, and the only reason I haven't yet is that this thing did work at one time, so there should be a way to get it working again.

Allnatural

June 27th, 2006, 17:03

StatusX - I've seen your problem before, with a grey controller incidently (probably mentioned earlier in the thread). In my case that particular controller never worked. The fact that yours did at one time has me stumped...

dazey238

June 30th, 2006, 16:32

Yeah, these Boom adapters really are a law until themselves. Since my post back in April, I managed to get hold of a cheap Adaptoid + Grey Controller, and this grey controller works perfectly with the Boom I have! So it really is a case of having a bit of luck with your Boom / N64 pad combination I think....

StatusX

July 1st, 2006, 18:44

Ok, I give up. Now the problem is, where can I get an Adaptoid?

axcc123

July 1st, 2006, 23:32

try ebay that is where i got mine

dazey238

July 2nd, 2006, 23:24

Mine too. Got it with pad for £15!!! Just keep looking and you should find a reasonably priced one I reckon.....

Architect

July 7th, 2006, 08:42

That's funny...I couldn't find an Adaptoid on Ebay anywhere...maybe I should search again.

And I'm just gonna say that the Boom is a piece of crap. It works for me, but only for like, a few minutes. I got my Boom fairly recently - a few days ago actually (ordered it off of Ebay which was probably a mistake). I was playing Perfect Dark earlier, and it was working perfectly at the beginning. Suddenly I notice the calibration starts crapping out on me, and it's like Joanna's twitching as I'm trying to walk. It keeps doing this for about 5 minutes with increasing movement to the right, then she starts going further to the right and I have less to eventually no control over the analog stick movements - she starts running around in place in circles LOL. I finally decide to press Start and quit. After I press Start and get to the pause screen, all the buttons don't work.

It's done this like...3 times...-_-

msw

July 10th, 2006, 19:24

Architect

July 11th, 2006, 06:38

My boom works flawlessly with a PSX controller, and I got it off ebay. Guess you got a bad one, or I got one of the few good ones, whatever.

It might have been my controller. Try it with an N64 controller and tell me how yours' works. I was using an N64 controller.

squeakypants

July 23rd, 2006, 02:16

It works perfectly for me, but is there any way to have 2 settings for the calibration, or another program the calibrate it? It's really annoying to have to recalibrate every time I change controllers...

gandalf

July 31st, 2006, 20:00

I saw this adaptoid in e-bay, but shipping it to my country makes it too expensive.
Someone knows if some stores sell the adaptoid (in miami?)

Other way, i´ll be forced to buy it at e-bay :(

FatJacky

September 3rd, 2006, 00:59

So in response to this one right here, I've got 4 N64 controllers. Two gray, a green and a yellow. All four do NOT work. I get the 'crazy buttons' problem. So I took AllNatural's advice and ordered a new one. It should arrive in 5 or so days. Aside from that, has this problem ever been solved without ordering a new controller? My controllers were all purchased in 1997, so I'm assuming that's what my problem is.

3. When I click Properties in Gaming Options, all the buttons go crazy, like they're all being pressed
This one is a bit mysterious. First, I don't recommend using anything other that genuine, first-party Nintendo controllers with the adapter. Third-party controllers seem to cause more than their fair share of problems, and in fact they may not be officially supported anyway. I've also seen some first-party controllers exhibit the same problem. I can only surmise that the adapter is tempermental with older N64 pads, even ones that otherwise work fine with the console or other adapters. I bought a brand new N64 controller with my adapter and have had no problems. Bottom line? If you experience this issue, buy a new controller. N64 pads can still be purchased new at Nintendo's site. You could also buy an Adaptoid, which seems to play nice with worn-in controllers.

qman

September 20th, 2006, 05:46

I own one of the older Boom adapters (the blue transparent one) and I have found that the only controllers that work with it are the two original gray controllers that came with my N64. I own black, red, and transparent green offical controllers and none of them work. My superpads don't work either, but that was expected. Thank you for informing me that Nintendo still sells the controllers on their site, I really need some new ones and I couldn't find them anywhere else.

Allnatural

September 20th, 2006, 07:50

I own one of the older Boom adapters (the blue transparent one) and I have found that the only controllers that work with it are the two original gray controllers that came with my N64. I own black, red, and transparent green offical controllers and none of them work.
Just the opposite with my adapters. I've used black and the atomic green, both of which work fine, but the grey controllers don't. I hate these things...caveat emptor.

gimmegmailemail

November 12th, 2006, 09:55

after reading this thread, i am gonna hold off on buying the Boom adapter
theres someone selling the adaptoid ones for starting price of 100, with 125 for buy it now option. too much for me, id rather just buy the game and play it on my tv instead.

slickallah

December 21st, 2006, 06:57

Allnatural

December 21st, 2006, 15:38

i'm playing around with the calibration right now and i was wondering what these directions meant:
"move the z axis all the way up and down"
and
"move the z rotation all the way up and down"

calibration worked to some extent, but can someone clear this up?
On dual-analog controllers it will be the right stick. On N64 controllers the single analog stick doubles as z-axis/rotation, but as far as I know you can ignore it as only the x/y axes are important.

Franklint

October 11th, 2007, 14:17

Hello all.

Just wondering if someone could please reupload the boomdocs.rar file, as the old link's dead and I'm trying to use the converter on a Mac OS 10.4 computer. I read a review by a guy who said he got it to work easily on OS 10.5, so it shouldn't be that hard.

Cheers,
Franklint

Ezekiel Brod

May 24th, 2008, 23:54

hey Allnatural and to anyone else,
my ps2 controller is plugged in to the boom adaptor, and you know how the analog light stays on?
well usually i remember to press it, to turn it off, but i forgot to last night

and the controller's been "on" for a day
is that bad?
will it drain the controller of it's juices if it has any

Agozer

May 25th, 2008, 03:18

No.

Ezekiel Brod

May 25th, 2008, 06:15

are u sure ?
doesn't the dualshock 2 have motors and batteries

Agozer

May 25th, 2008, 11:55

Motors, yes. batteries, no.

Allnatural

May 25th, 2008, 15:35

Just being plugged in means the controller's "on." There's no harm in it, whether the light's on or off.

EmuFan

May 25th, 2008, 18:36

Besides, LED lights use so little that it doesn´t matter at all.

LacWare

August 5th, 2008, 21:06

I'm having trouble with the analog stick, it jumps all over and wont go up, I tried calibrating it and it made it so it doesn't jump around but I still can't go up. I tried two different Nintendo brand controllers and neither of them are working.

Anyone have any ideas I'd be very appreciative

ajp66

December 17th, 2008, 21:08

I've read this this forum entirely and i am still having a problem with my boom adapter. I'm running on winwdows XP. When i first plugged the device in, my plug and play recognized it but i got the "problem during installation, your device may not work properly" popup. I uninstalled the device in device manager then reinstalled, shut the computer down, done everything and it wouldnt work. I've tried the device on every usb port on my computer as well, not just the one. I uninstalled the device again and shut the computer down and called it a night. Came back to the computer the next day and tried to run the device and it installed properly and i had no problems with it and was playing on pj64 emu without any problems. Next day turned on computer, received the problem during installation error again and now i cannot get the device working again. I am puzzled as to how it was working once, and now it refuses to start working again. I've run the device on another computer with vista os and it works fine. What could the problem be here?