I never had trouble with the original 5200 controllers as far as the potentiometers going bad. I have repaired dozens that have the typical mylar flex circuit problem. The real problem is with the Wico 5200 joysticks. The potentiometers in them are horrible and it's very hard to find one of these joysticks that doesn't have a bad one. I have searched forever and have made many calls to electronic stores/ manufacturers with no success.