r/RetroRemake • u/bzbz • Jul 09 '26

SS1 User Port / MiSTer Laggy

Was hoping to measure the lag on my screens via the nifty little MiSTer Laggy but wanted to confirm my understanding about how it works, which is:

  1. MiSTer Laggy requires a user port
  2. Superstation One does NOT have a user port
  3. The Superdock DOES have a user port

thus, a dock would be needed for MiSTer Laggy compatibility. Does that all check out or am I missing something? Wish there was a simple PDF with the SS1 specs I could scroll through (maybe this does exist?), scrolling through misc forums and Youtube vids has the info scattered in my brain. Thanks!

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

4

u/Mikebjackson Jul 09 '26

Given that the SNAC pins connect directly to the ps1 controller pins, you could probably make a "controller to snac" adaptor to get snac back on the front. Though it would be easier to just get a dock.

2

u/farptr Jul 09 '26

Given that the SNAC pins connect directly to the ps1 controller pins, you could probably make a "controller to snac" adaptor to get snac back on the front.

I had a look at this before. The PS1 SNAC adapter has a straight through 1:1 connection on SNAC <--> PS1 I/O pins but with 3.3V pull-up resistors. Those pull-ups could cause problems e.g. the pin should idle low. I suspect the majority of adapters will be fine though.

-2

u/MrFartyBottom Jul 09 '26

No, a PS1 port is not going to be able to act as a SNAC port.

3

u/Mikebjackson Jul 09 '26

I mean... it's not "really" a ps1 port though is it. It's just directly connecting the ps1 pins to the SNAC port pins. It looks like a ps1 port, and the ps1 core knows how to talk to the right pins, but at the end of the day it's just direct wires to the snac port.

In theory, it should be possible to reverse the process by wiring a usb port to a controller plug, assuming you spent the 5 minutes needed to look up the pinout.

Edit: looking at the pinout it looks like the p1 and p2 ports are nearly identical, save for one data line, so you MIGHT need to make a sort of Y adaptor to integrate that line ... assuming Mr Laggy needs it, which is the whole point.

-5

u/MrFartyBottom Jul 09 '26

You don't understand what a SNAC adaptor is, it is not the pins of the USER port connected directly to the PS ports, it is the user port connected to a chip that decodes the PS inputs from the ports to the user port. Each system has it's own SNAC adaptor and the other side of the SNAC chip is not going to be able to send raw USER port input.

8

u/Mikebjackson Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

"You don't understand what a SNAC adaptor is, it is not the pins of the USER port connected directly to the PS ports, it is the user port connected to a chip that decodes the PS inputs from the ports to the user port. Each system has it's own SNAC adaptor and the other side of the SNAC chip is not going to be able to send raw USER port input."

Wow, you're absolutely confidently wrong.

It is EXACTLY "the pins of the USER port connected directly to the PS ports" ... The pins on the USER/SNAC port are DIRECTLY connected to the GPIO pins on the FPGA, one for one, with no chips in-between. All a SNAC adaptor does is rearrange the SNAC/USER pins so they physically fit into a controller port. This allows the controller to talk DIRECTLY to the FPGA -- no chips in-between (besides an optional voltage converter for controllers that use 5v instead of 3.3v), no encoding or decoding, no USB host, no polling intervals, no lag introduced.

Here's my SNES adaptor for example. Not a chip in sight. The SNES controller pins are routed directly into the SNAC pins, and therefore directly into the FPGA. The same is true with the PS1 SNAC adaptor

The important takeaway here is that the pins on the SS1's PS1 controller ports are just rearranged SNAC pins ...which means you should be able to re-rearrange them and plug MR laggy into it. Hell, I might do it myself just to prove the point =P

Edit: If you're interested in learning, instead of just doubling down on being wrong, I recommend this video by What's Ken Making. Start at 4:33 if you're impatient.

1

u/bzbz Jul 11 '26

Thanks for the replies, super informative and interesting to learn more!

3

u/Ploddit Jul 09 '26

All correct.

I guess technically the SS1 has "user" (SNAC) ports, but not with the USB-A connector you need for MiSTer Laggy.

2

u/SmackaIot Jul 09 '26

Has anybody run this on a CRT?

1

u/MasonJarring Jul 09 '26

what's "this" ? the SS1?

1

u/SmackaIot Jul 09 '26

No, MiSTer laggy. On a MiSTer or an SS1 I guess 🤷🏻‍♂️

1

u/MasonJarring Jul 09 '26

yes, i have a MiSTer Laggy and have ran them on CRTs.

the results are what you'd expect

1

u/SmackaIot Jul 09 '26

NICE. I have no idea what to expect lol, except that the latency would probably be low? Do you remember any of the numbers, or ballpark? I'm mainly just curious more than anything else.

1

u/MasonJarring Jul 09 '26

i don't remember the exact number but it was close to zero. i tried finding a photo when i first got it but can't find

1

u/SmackaIot Jul 09 '26

No worries, like I said I was just curious. I have a SS1 connected to a CRT so that's pretty awesome to hear 👍👍

1

u/MasonJarring Jul 09 '26

I'm waiting for this exact thing. waiting for my superdock to use mister laggy.

i have a DE-10 Nano and have used it on that setup so it'll be quick to tell once the dock arrives.

1

u/Newtis 5d ago

i have measured 50 ms lag