Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is the first prototype of an Atari 2600-compatible drum machine controller that I had designed and made. It utilizes 5 buttons ( one for each direction and fire), 5 1/8” jacks (corresponding to each button), and 4 sensitivity dials. The sensitivity dials are supposed to prevent accidental triggering of a sound should an adjacent sound be activated.
This design is 90% operational. It appeared that the buttons and jacks work but when it comes to drum pads and triggers, things don’t work quite like they should. When a drum pad was plugged in the sound was continually triggered. This may have more to do with the internal electronics of the drum pad I had tested. The second test using the trigger was more successful but even with sensitivity turned all the way down the trigger required a forceful hit to sound.
If I had to guess, I would estimate that the sensitive dials need to be less. I may have mixed up my values when I calculated the resistance since my previous test used some random resistor in my breadboard. As for it not working with the drum pads, I think that I may have to add a tiny resistor on the jacks just to prevent some pads from continually triggering. My Pearl pads seemed to trigger once when plugged but my Yamaha pad kept triggering.
I will do some more testing but not bad!
This is the first prototype of an Atari 2600-compatible drum machine controller that I had designed and made. It utilizes 5 buttons ( one for each direction and fire), 5 1/8” jacks (corresponding to each button), and 4 sensitivity dials. The sensitivity dials are supposed to prevent accidental triggering of a sound should an adjacent sound be activated.
This design is 90% operational. It appeared that the buttons and jacks work but when it comes to drum pads and triggers, things don’t work quite like they should. When a drum pad was plugged in the sound was continually triggered. This may have more to do with the internal electronics of the drum pad I had tested. The second test using the trigger was more successful but even with sensitivity turned all the way down the trigger required a forceful hit to sound.
If I had to guess, I would estimate that the sensitive dials need to be less. I may have mixed up my values when I calculated the resistance since my previous test used some random resistor in my breadboard. As for it not working with the drum pads, I think that I may have to add a tiny resistor on the jacks just to prevent some pads from continually triggering. My Pearl pads seemed to trigger once when plugged but my Yamaha pad kept triggering.
I will do some more testing but not bad!
