Original NES Expansion Port Has a Peripheral After 37 Years
NES HUB adds wireless four-player, SNES controller, expansion audio, and Famicom peripheral support without soldering or modification.
Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to North America in 1986 and later to Europe. On the bottom of the wildly successful game system was a mysterious "expansion port." That port would have gone unused if it hadn't been for a German-based hardware engineer known as Time2Retro. Their project, the NES HUB, (finally) uses the port to connect up to four wireless controllers, provide access to expansion audio channels, support Famicom peripherals, and more.
In 1983, Nintendo introduced the Family Computer, or Famicom, to its domestic market in Japan. It had two controllers attached to the console, a 15-pin port for accessories, and support for a disk system that plugged into the cartridge slot. When Nintendo introduced the NES to the rest of the world, electronics like the CPU and picture processing unit (PPU) remained the same. However, there were other changes.
The NES sported a new case design, detachable game controllers, and a connector on the bottom labeled "expansion port." There are rumors about how Nintendo planned to use the connector. However, Nintendo never released it or licensed a third party to use it. The retro hardware community has known the pinout for the expansion port for years, thanks to reverse engineering efforts and repair schematics. However, the connector's non-standard nature slowed down add-on hardware development.
Time2Retro appears to have solved the connector issue. The result is a plug-and-play solution that requires no soldering. You can connect up to four Bluetooth game controllers once you connect NES HUB to the bottom of an NES — Time2Retro based wireless support on the existing BlueRetro kit. You can connect an SNES controller or a Famicom peripheral via physical adapters. The great news is that controllers added through the NES HUB work simultaneously with wired controllers attached to the front of the system.
Cartridges for the Famicom and NES differ in physical size and pinout. While most of the signals exist on both, the audio is different. The Famicom had two pins to input and output audio. Some games and peripherals made use of this connection. The NES lacks those pins. However, the signals are available on the Expansion Port. So, several mods exist to restore Famicom audio. NES HUB provides access to these signals without requiring soldering or other physical modifications!
Pricing for the NES HUB is currently unknown. Time2Retro wants to finalize the cost of the connector before setting a price. The NES HUB is still undergoing testing, but it appears it will be available soon. Check out this thread on X for more details.