ColecoVision controllers

ColecoVision Controller ColecoVision super action controller

These controllers are witnesses of the golden age of 8-bit gaming! Kind of a “one-size-fits-all” controller, the Super Action Controller for the ColecoVision console/computer is the master; Sword handle shaped, 4 action triggers, 3×4 keypad, ball stick and roller. Maybe they designed this one to make their customer forget about their telephone-like keypad/joystick from the original console.  Using a “Waco” grey code type coding via a diode swamp, we had so much fun to implement this firmware!

Here is the schematic of a telephone-like keypad/joystick:ColecoController

On the Super Action Controller, two more triggers are added:
Purple trigger: Combines pin 1,3 and 4 with diodes to pin 5 (as a key)
Blue trigger: Combines pin 1,2 and 4 with diodes to pin 5 (as a key)

There is also a roller that is read in quadrature via pin 7 and 9 (unused for the telephone-like controller). Coleco preferred to use the quadrature instead of the analog method to read the roller. This is clever.