bradhig Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I have two sets of paddles and the right paddle on both are a little shaky even after I cleaned them. I need new knobs one for each set such I get them or new paddles? I am not fond of Best Electronics cause they want me to spend $20 just to get parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Moss Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 From the schematic diagrams here on AA they are just 1M ohm, single turn potentiometers, you should be able to pick them up for a couple of pound ($3 - $4) each from any electronic component retailer such as Radio Shack or Newark (RS, Farnell, Maplin in the UK). However postage cost my be significant if there is not a local outlet. Been a long time since I have used a VCS and never have paddle controllers however, the fact that only the right one seems to be effected on both sets may be coincidence or it may indicate a problem with the 2600 itself. As a simple test if you have a 4 player paddle game such as Warlords available and the right paddle is jumpy on both controller ports then it is probably the potentiometer, however if it is only jittery in one controller port then perhaps there is a bad solder connection on pin 9 of that controller port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I haven't done a comparison myself, but as I understand it the shaft is a bit unusual so you may have to do some modification if you plan to use a standard 1M ohm pot. Aside from that, any typical linear taper pot should work. I would clean the shaky ones again. If you really do have two bad potentiometers, you still have enough good ones to make one good set. If I had paddle controllers that needed new potentiometers and new knobs, I'd look for a different set of paddle controllers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari-Collector Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I would suggest using contact cleaner on the pots inside the controllers. And decent auto parts store will carry it, make sure it comes with the attachable straw to aim in inside the parts. Spray and rotate the knobs. good contact cleaner works far better the rubbing alcohol. I've used it on ham radio gear that was bad, and fixed the problem. I bough a set of paddle a year ago that were flaky, turned out it was a break in the cord need the plug. Luckily I had the matching connectors on hand and was a simple job to put a new connector on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yes, clean them again with contact cleaner. If you want a cheaper alternative to the Best Electronics Pots, you can change to these 500k ohm pots with compatible shafts but you may lose some range of movement on certain games. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/450D504F7/450D504-6-ND/183319 I recommend prying up the tabs and replacing the collar with the one from your original paddle pot as that will reduce the amount of necessary case modding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 You van buy a brand new set for $19.99 here: http://www.atgames.us/ATARI-Paddle-Controllers-for-Atari-Flashback-4-ARC200.htm These are better than the originals IMHO. No brittle plastic and they have a little resistance to them to make being more precise easier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Are you taking apart the pots? You need to really get in there with a q-tip and some cleaner and get rid of all that build up. Some people say spraying a bit of WD-40 in the pot does the job but I don't think so. My paddles work perfect after a thorough cleaning on the inside of the pots. Clean them, then add a tiny bit of lube to the contacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhig Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 I cleaned them a while back and the problem was the posts on the metal cover needed to be hammered down more to hold them in place. I took a knob off another paddle and have a working set now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) I think the common wisdom is to avoid WD-40 in favor of contact cleaner. Although I think rubbing alcohol is also considered okay. Those tabs can be tricky. My needle nose pliers have earned their keep time and again. Edited April 21, 2014 by yell0w_lantern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 You van buy a brand new set for $19.99 here: http://www.atgames.us/ATARI-Paddle-Controllers-for-Atari-Flashback-4-ARC200.htm These are better than the originals IMHO. No brittle plastic and they have a little resistance to them to make being more precise easier! Any other reviews of these? Sure would be an easy solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Any other reviews of these? Sure would be an easy solution. I recommend them as well. Here's a link to my review of them at Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Victims of their own success? Shows out of stock again as of this posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) I recommend them as well. Here's a link to my review of them at Amazon.I generally pay heed to negative reviews on amazon, and I read some lag issues exist but if YOU are endorsing them, programmer of my fave homebrew, then I will follow your lead! Sold! just a few last questions, though. Are they more stiff to turn than the originals? Thats why I haven't bothered with Best paddles, I really like the feel. And will these eventually go shaky at some point and require cleaning, or have they come up with a way around the that like with my jakks paddles? Thanks in advance! Edited April 21, 2014 by atarilovesyou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Atari 2600 paddles are always on ebay. Get a nice set cheap, take 'em apart, clean the hell out of them, and you'll have yourself some paddles that work as if they were brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Victims of their own success? Shows out of stock again as of this posting. They've been out of stock at Amazon for quite some time. Order them from AtGames instead. I generally pay heed to negative reviews on amazon, and I read some lag issues exist but if YOU are endorsing them, programmer of my fave homebrew, then I will follow your lead! Sold! just a few last questions, though. Are they more stiff to turn than the originals? Thats why I haven't bothered with Best paddles, I really like the feel. And will these eventually go shaky at some point and require cleaning, or have they come up with a way around the that like with my jakks paddles? Thanks in advance! The lag issue has nothing to do with the paddles, it's a problem with the FlashBack 4's emulation of the 2600. Yes, they're stiffer than the originals. Of course the originals have 30 some odd years of wear and tear on them, so it's entirely possible they're exactly as stiff as stock paddles were when they were brand new. As far as going shaky and future cleaning, have no idea. The main reason I picked them up is my old paddles had become brittle and this happened the last time I cleaned paddles. Cleaning the pots is pointless if you can't put the controller back together again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) Atari 2600 paddles are always on ebay. Get a nice set cheap, take 'em apart, clean the hell out of them, and you'll have yourself some paddles that work as if they were brand new. Last time I cleaned paddles this happened: The 30+ year old plastic is now becoming brittle. No point in cleaning them if you can't put them back together. Edited April 21, 2014 by SpiceWare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Was that from screwing it back together? Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Was that from screwing it back together? Ouch! Yep, I was cleaning a bunch of paddles and it happened to 3 of them. And I was careful, especially after the first one shattered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Wow, that plastic is brittle! But atgames doesn't appear to want to ship to Canada, at least not to my address. I think that this would still be a good route to take as perhaps they won't need cleaning, due to 30 years of paddle advancements, lol. I've read that the Best paddles don't suffer from jitters for that reason. I just don't wanna go through the hassle of taking my old ones apart, bending metal tabs, soaking the pots, do it again in a year, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I've bought 4 pairs of the new AtGames paddles and I'm super happy with them. I've been using them now for a year and no sign of jitter thus far. Highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 How are the AtGames joysticks, anyone buy these too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+xucaen Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I took apart and cleaned my paddles today. I used rubbing alcohol and an old tooth brush. I basically followed this guy's video. http://youtu.be/Fm-L4fda8MQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 That video is perfect... exactly what I did with mine. And he's right, if they break... they break. Go buy another set off ebay. These things are plentiful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhig Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Has anyone used the Super Pots from Best Electronics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 How are the AtGames joysticks, anyone buy these too? I bought 2 - they have more throw than the Flashback 2's had. I've heard people say they are the same joysticks that came with the FB3. Definitely decent controllers but wish they had stuck with the 2s design. I primarily use my TAC-2s still but run the AtGames sticks from time to time. Best regards, Scott 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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