Despina83 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 For some reason the difficulty switch always dies on my systems. Now the switch on my Vader stopped working..I'm just relieved it's not expert it's stuck on, as I'm not good enough for that and would almost always play on the regular setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mef Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Those are very easy to take apart and repair on Vader or Junior. You just need to gently bend out the tabs that are holding the switches' metal body and take it apart for some cleaning, then tighten again with some pliers. They're built so simply there's nothing to get broken really (unless a solder joint at their base cracks), they simply get clogged with dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_wizard_666 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'm going to bump this because I have the exact same issue, but after popping everything apart, cleaning it, and refitting everything, the switch is STILL stuck in Expert mode. Is there anything else that would do this besides needing a cleaning, because I don't think I can get it much shinier on the inside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'm going to bump this because I have the exact same issue, but after popping everything apart, cleaning it, and refitting everything, the switch is STILL stuck in Expert mode. Is there anything else that would do this besides needing a cleaning, because I don't think I can get it much shinier on the inside... Yes there sure is. A bad 6532 RIOT chip will cause this symptom. I've had to replace the chip on two of my 4-switch units, a Woody and a Vader. And on the Vader it was a real PITA because the chips on mine are soldered. I installed a socket when I replaced the chip in case someone has to fix it again down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_wizard_666 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Is that a problem that could affect a 6-switch by chance? I forgot to mention that mine is a 6-switch system. It's only the first player difficulty that has the issue, the second player one works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Is that a problem that could affect a 6-switch by chance? I forgot to mention that mine is a 6-switch system. It's only the first player difficulty that has the issue, the second player one works fine. Yes. The Difficulty switch signals are read by the RIOT chip on all 2600 models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennetzel Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I have the same problem with my Sears Telegame light sixer. It's the second player switch that is stuck in the expert mode. Are these easy to take apart and clean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 I have the same problem with my Sears Telegame light sixer. It's the second player switch that is stuck in the expert mode. Are these easy to take apart and clean? It's almost certainly not the switch; it's probably the 6532 RIOT chip. That said, the switches are small and a pain in the ass to take apart. You can squirt contact cleaner into the switch and work it back and forth vigorously a dozen times or so to do a decent job of cleaning it if that's what's actually wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahaT Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Thanks for tip DrVenkman. I have one console that player 2 switch works only in one difficulty. I'm gonna swap RIOT chip from other console and check if that is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 An easy way to test if the RIOT is causing this is to bridge the connections under the switch with a screwdriver and see if the setting changes. I use Space Invaders on 2-player co-op mode for this. If the settings do change, then you have either a dead switch or broken connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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