# Making your SNES classic compatible with blutooth controllers



## The Frenchman (Oct 12, 2017)

When I got my SNES classic console I was sad to see how cheap the front panel looked when you opened it up, the little pins locking it in place will not remain firm for a long time, I knew I wouldn't let controllers plugged in all the time because, well because it's ugly and wires. I already had a 8bitdo NES classic Retro Receiver which I loved. (coupled with NES30 and SNES30 it's perfect for wireless retro gaming, also compatible with PS3/PS4/Switch Pro controller/Joycons)

So was born my desire to mod the console to be entirely wireless. I had a concept in mind, cloning the controller ports and making them internal so you wouldn't have two wireless dongles sticking out the front of the console.

As soon as 8bitdo updated their retro receiver to be compatible with the SNES Classic it was Go, I knew Hakchi would be out soond so it satisfied my need for tinkering with it!







Here's how you can do it:

Required:
-2X Wiimote "nunchuck" female connector (can use clone controllers)
-1 or 2 Retro receivers
-wires
-soldering iron
-rosin core solder

1- First you have to open up the console which is quite easy as it's only 4 philipps screws under each plastic pads under the console.

2- Unscrew the shielding/heat sink from the MB (same screws as the case)

3- Prepare your Wireless Retro Receivers;
 To be able to use the pair button (if you plan on using your controllers for other systems) place them in the top part of the console shell with the red button facing the rear of the console so you can see the blinking lights and have access to the pair button through the vents. (I personally used hot glue to stick them, didn't use much if I ever want to remove them) **place them facing the top of the shell because your connectors pins could touch the shielding/heatsink and could short, MAKE SURE THE BUTTONS LINE WITH THE VENTS






4- Start soldering wires to the Wii remote connector;
 Your connector will have 6 pins and 4 leg, solder a wire to one of the leg for ground.
The connector pins should look like this:

                     FRONT OF THE CONNECTOR
________________ leg°_________°leg

______________________°  °  °
______________________°  °  °
________________ leg°_________°leg

The remaining 5 cables should be wired to 5 of the pins, only the top middle pin is left empty, we'll label them like this:
1- Ground leg (any)
2- Top right
3- Bottom right
4- Top left
5- bottom middle
6- bottom left

Once your connector has it's 6 wires soldered I advice to secure everything with hot glue, you don't want wires to touch and short!!

5- You can now solder your connector to the board, it's an easy step, the reason I numbered the pins as such, that's the order they're in on the connector, you want to solder on the obvious traces next to the connector.





Once soldered it should look like this:






6- Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 for player two if needed!

7- Screw the shielding back on top of the board, keep wires out of it, I personally added hot glue to the soldered wires so they wouldn't touch either and also to protect your work. **don't put too much or shielding won't fit!

8- Connect your connectors to the retro receivers

9- Screw everything back together and pair your controllers through vents. (I marked the vents where the pair buttons are so it's easier to pair controllers)

You'll see the blinking light through the vent turn to solid light when it's paired!!





Visual quick guide:





ENJOY!!!

***NOTE***
If you want to use wired Wii Classic Controller/Wired Fighting pad (WiiU) or any wired controller which has a joystick it'll most likely be acting funny... (I tried many pads and they all went crazy even though they were in 100% working condition) This is most likely due to the fact we now have clone ports and the console might not like that. NO ISSUE WHATSOEVER WHEN USING THE ORIGINAL CONTROLLERS (SNES/NES)


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## Landbasered (Oct 13, 2017)

Nice
I wonder why 8bitdo or some other company doesn't just make a wireless receiver that looks like the front of the snes mini
since the plastic front piece is removable, all you should have to do is realign the pins so they're at an angle, and it would stay in place through the controller ports
I don't have the confidence in my abilities to copy your idea though


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## The Frenchman (Oct 13, 2017)

Yeah they could make a dual receiver that plugs in the front ports.


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## ital (Oct 13, 2017)

Is The dpad still crappy on those 8bit controllers? they just don't feel right to me even though I'd prefer wireless.


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## The Frenchman (Oct 13, 2017)

D-pads are just fine, a tad bit more responsive which can lead to unwanted ups and down if you have troll hands.


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## ital (Oct 14, 2017)

So still crappy then.


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## spotanjo3 (Oct 14, 2017)

Nice. Very interesting but we are not going to touch it. We are fine with classic version of 1990's. No bluetooth need for me. And it is a collector's item so we are cherish it with treasure of ours, thanks anyway.


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## The Frenchman (Oct 15, 2017)

It's a 100$ console... nothing worth saving in a fire. If you think the inflated demand and asking price is worth it you are as dumb as people paying triple the price for them.

"We", thanks for speaking for everyone. I'm sure you've installed Hakchi...

I don't care a single bit if it's rare, I bought mine to enjoy it not to keep it as some kind of sick investment. I'm a passionate gamer and I have one because I use it, not because it makes my e-penis that much longer.


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## ital (Oct 15, 2017)

Wait. It doesn't make your ePeen longer?

*takes Snes Magnum XL back to the shop and demands angry refund*


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## Athrocamtinian (Oct 18, 2017)

Love it man, great tutorial!


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## illadope (Oct 30, 2017)

Can controllers be plugged in still & function properly?


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## The Frenchman (Nov 3, 2017)

illadope said:


> Can controllers be plugged in still & function properly?


Yes! They work flawlessly like there was not tinkering. Since your new controller ports are grafted on the solder pads of the original ports they are "clones" of the original player 1 and player 2 ports. You can leave your controllers plugged in and still play with a wireless one.

I wouldn't have done it had it not worked because if you're out of battery you would be unable to play.


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## MrTea (Nov 4, 2017)

The Frenchman said:


> Yes! They work flawlessly like there was not tinkering. Since your new controller ports are grafted on the solder pads of the original ports they are "clones" of the original player 1 and player 2 ports. You can leave your controllers plugged in and still play with a wireless one.
> 
> I wouldn't have done it had it not worked because if you're out of battery you would be unable to play.



What firmware do you have for the pads and also the receiver?

 I just got a second sfc30 and retro receiver and although they play fine (button configs and pairing) after a short while I'm getting crashes using my snes mini and it's locking up? If I use just one pad and receiver then my snes mini works with no crashes but as soon as I use the two (using canoe or retroarch) then I get the crashing?


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## The Frenchman (Nov 5, 2017)

Are you using the included official power supply? If not then do so, or use an USB 3 port on your TV (if it has one) to power the SNES C, if you are using an old version of hakchi it used to have a power consumption issue and introduced a lot of crashing over time.

Haven't played extensively two player in wireless mode but never had an issue. Please give me more details, how long does it take to lock up?

If you have modded your snesc like I did, make sure the heat sink was put back in its right place, maybe the heat conductive pad is misplaced...


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## MrTea (Nov 6, 2017)

The Frenchman said:


> Are you using the included official power supply? If not then do so, or use an USB 3 port on your TV (if it has one) to power the SNES C, if you are using an old version of hakchi it used to have a power consumption issue and introduced a lot of crashing over time.
> 
> Haven't played extensively two player in wireless mode but never had an issue. Please give me more details, how long does it take to lock up?
> 
> If you have modded your snesc like I did, make sure the heat sink was put back in its right place, maybe the heat conductive pad is misplaced...



No I've not modded it like yours (yet). I'm using latest build of hakchi and retroarch and using this via a mains plug (I'm from the UK and it only came with a lead). I was previously using the USB lead connected to my uhd tv but was experiencing issues sometimes (not enough power) with random crashes and since moving to the direct power wall supply it's been completely fine and never crashes... Well until I plug in a second 8bitdo pad and receiver!?

It crashes when 2 pads are synced after about 5 minutes of play (sometimes more frequent)? I updated the retro receiver and sfc30 pads (I've also got the 8bitdo  nes30 and pro pads and the same issue happens with a second pad for them too)? 

Can you confirm what firmware you have on your pads and receivers?

If I can't get 2 8bitdo pads to pair nicely together on my snes mini then I guess  I'll just keep the second pad for my original snes as 2 pads and the classic retro receivers work fine on that?


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## The Frenchman (Nov 6, 2017)

I'll do some more testing on my side for you!

I'm using controllers on 3.00
my retro receivers are 1.07

Works flawlessly here, no problem using 2 controllers at once with the two wireless retro receivers...


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## MrTea (Nov 8, 2017)

The Frenchman said:


> I'll do some more testing on my side for you!
> 
> I'm using controllers on 3.00
> my retro receivers are 1.07
> ...



I'm also using the same firmware.   I've just found an official snes mini Nintendo plug for cheap online so I'll test that once it arrives and hopefully that will sort it? If it works I'm seriously thinking about doing the same mod as you too as I think the flap and controllers sticking out look horrible!


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## The Frenchman (Nov 9, 2017)

Hope it's just that!

All the people who come over are like how the f*** does that work??!! Haha!


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## MrTea (Nov 12, 2017)

Sadly after testing it also doesn't work with the official snes mini plug I just purchased.  Without even pairing the second controller just having a second receiver plugged in tends to make it crash after a shot while? 

I'll stick with 2 8bitdo pads with my original snes and just the one on the snes mini seeing there's issues with multiple pads/receivers on the mini (for me anyway).


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## sith (Nov 13, 2017)

what do u mean it doesn't work with offical snes mini plug? as in you ordered "official" plugs to do this mod and they are somehow different or incompatible with the OPs tutorial?

I was thinking of ordering plugs but now i think i'll just remove the receivers casing and solder jumper wires to the pads.

fyi I have no trouble using two receivers at the same time, latest hakchi2, receiver firm 1.08beta, sn30 and sfc30 controller latest pre-switch firm (not 4.0), also used ds4 and wii pro, no issues.


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## MrTea (Nov 13, 2017)

sith said:


> what do u mean it doesn't work with offical snes mini plug? as in you ordered "official" plugs to do this mod and they are somehow different or incompatible with the OPs tutorial?
> 
> I was thinking of ordering plugs but now i think i'll just remove the receivers casing and solder jumper wires to the pads.
> 
> fyi I have no trouble using two receivers at the same time, latest hakchi2, receiver firm 1.08beta, sn30 and sfc30 controller latest pre-switch firm (not 4.0), also used ds4 and wii pro, no issues.




By plug I mean wall outlet for power (the micro usb power lead to ac power adapter) as I wanted to be sure it wasn't my lead/adapter that was causing the crashes? With no second receiver plugged in I have no issues so sadly I've got to pass on this cool internal mod for the snes mini.


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## MrTea (Nov 13, 2017)

My original retro receiver was on firmware 1.07... Just updated this to 1.08beta and it appears to be working (it's not crashed at all for about 10mins)... So it looks like I will be doing this mod at some point after all!!!


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## The Frenchman (Nov 14, 2017)

Great news!


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## The Frenchman (Nov 21, 2017)

SNES30 and SFC30 controllers are now disocntinued so act fast before they're sold out everywhere!


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## MrTea (Nov 21, 2017)

The Frenchman said:


> SNES30 and SFC30 controllers are now disocntinued so act fast before they're sold out everywhere!


Ah that's a shame,  I presume ninty may have got involved due to copyright issues? I've already got 2 sfc30, a nes30 and a nes30 pro for my various consoles but I'll probably get another spare sfc30 pad as I think they are an amazing bit of kit. I'm not too keen on the new look snes pads they are releasing?

Thanks for the heads up
.


The Frenchman said:


> SNES30 and SFC30 controllers are now disocntinued so act fast before they're sold out everywhere!


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## The Frenchman (Nov 21, 2017)

Same for me. I'm a bigger fan of the classics than those with joysticks.


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## The Frenchman (Nov 23, 2017)

Spoke with our supplier in 8bitdo products and 8bitdo discontinued their Nes30 and Snes30 line because of Nintendo sending in a C&D. The design was too similar to the original controllers and that's a now with Nintendo reaquiring the patents for these design earlier this year.

So 8Bitdo are fine with their Snes30Pro controller since these have L1/L2, R1/R2 and joysticks with a slightly different shape too.

Again I would advce grabbing these controllers while the're available online before it's gone everywhere.


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## mmax2 (Oct 5, 2018)

I was trying to achieve the same but with SN30 and SF30 controllers with 2.4GHz receivers. It seemed that it was working, but when I connected original wired controllers at the same time, it went crazy (like left arrow was continuously pressed down). So I had to develop my own PCB board which was sensing if original controller is connected and route I2C signals accordingly


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## yadspi (Oct 5, 2018)

So this on Youtube but the guy just opened up the receivers and hid them in the case,it's ugly if you open the flap but that's why it's wireless now. You can also buy the DIY 8bitdo board and make the stock controllers bluetooth


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## The Frenchman (Oct 29, 2018)

yadspi said:


> So this on Youtube but the guy just opened up the receivers and hid them in the case,it's ugly if you open the flap but that's why it's wireless now. You can also buy the DIY 8bitdo board and make the stock controllers bluetooth



He opened the retro receivers to solder wires directly to the board...
I know there are kits on sale on line that is simply plug and play (plug on the board, then you can plug the receiver onto it and then the original port again directly on it.

a new edit was made to the original post to clarify on issue using wii classic controllers.


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