dphirschler

Yes! CPU. Congrats on socketing the chips. Not a task for the novice. I forgot the Vaders were soldered in. TIA could be bad, but not sure about this one. How is sound? How's the 7805? Replaced it yet? Check the color/bw switch. dirty? Darryl

It's a heavy sixer. Pretty one too. Don't peel off the sticker. Darryl

One of the chips needs replacing most likely. CPU is most common (middle) followed by TIA (front). I've seen RIOT (back) go bad too, but only once. All three had the same looking screen. Darryl

I decided to desolder the contact switches and clean and reshape them. After removing them, I discovered some of the contact switches were just not in very good shape. The mashed ones weren't pretty, but it was the cracked ones that concerned me a little. So I decided to remove the contact switches from my other CX10 and choose the five best ones for this restoration. In the mean time, I will have to try to find replacement contact switches. Here is the underside of the board after desoldering the contact switches. Here is the top side after removing the contact switches. I cleaned the contacts on the board. Here are all ten contact switches. I put the best ones on the top row and the worst ones on the bottom row. New contact switches soldered into place. Finished restored board with new contact switches soldered in place. Here it is all cleaned up and put back together. And the good news... it works 100% now! Darryl

The Vader consoles got even cheaper by not socketing the chips. Darryl

Cool! I googled a little bit about vinegar used as a later paint remover. Going to experiment with this!

Here are some more photos and new part numbers. Rubber boot part number C010710 This internal plate in white has a slightly different part number. C010714-C And here is the different style circuit board. These have the triangular dome contact switches. Looks like it is not made by Atari, as there is no Atari logo on it. There is only the text "Santa 88". However, it has an Atari-style part number on it. C011655-3 The good news on this CX10 is that it works completely. So I guess the triangular dome contact switches are superior to the rectangular ones. Darryl

Anybody have tips on how to get this paint off? I tried paint thinner to no avail. Guessing it's latex. Are there products that won't melt my plastic? Darryl

The Sunnyvale L6er is the same as a heavy, you mean?

So I just got a light sixer and of course I had to take it apart and clean it and replace some missing screws. (There was evidence it had been opened before).. When I turned it over to take out the screws, I noticed the Manufactured in Sunnyvale, CA sticker. This would be my first Sunnyvale L6er. What really surprised me though was the internal board was a heavy sixer! So my question is, were all the Sunnyvale L6ers made with H6er internals? Darryl

I am repairing one for my friend. At the moment, I have it working with some wires that I soldered in place. I just press them down to ground to trigger them. Lol

It's gorgeous! I love that silver heatsink. I've only seen black. Wait a sec, That second pic of the switchboard is different. The CX10 sticks are gorgeous too. Do they work? Darryl

Here is the inside of the fire button, including the elusive part number. C010713 Darryl

Try swapping out the cpu or tia. You have other consoles lying around to borrow parts from? I don't think it's TIA anymore. CPU maybe. Or dirty/bad connections on the cart port. Darryl

Nothing wrong with getting a light sixer. But if you think you will still be wanting a heavy even after you get the light, then just get a heavy and save yourself some trouble. You can save yourself a little expense if you know how to repair them. Are you good with a soldering iron? Darryl

Was gonna guess TIA too. Do the games play normally otherwise? Could be CPU if not. Darryl

Those sticks are CX10's too. Darryl

I am always wary of "untested" or broken Vader units because the chips are oftentimes soldered in (not socketed). So if one needs to be replaced, although not impossible, much more difficult. But he does sound legit. Darryl

Go ahead and peel the label plate right off there. Flatten it real good. I used j-roller. Then I got some double-sided adhesive tape and put it back on the TI. Looks like new. The adhesive came in a roll and was made for holding cellphone glass in place. Peel the back off, stick it on the plate, then peel the front off. It's all adhesive (no paper). Darryl

I still find it hard to believe this game is playing on a 2600. The speech and the gameplay are amazing! Darryl

2600 Daptor is awesome and works so well with Stella. Darryl

Here are a few more photos, taken while I cleaned it. Here it is fully disassembled, ready for a bath in the kitchen sink. Here is the top piece, top and bottom view. Part number C010717 3. The internal plate, top and bottom view. Part number C010714-D. Here is the base, top and bottom view. Part number C010716. Here is the joystick shaft with springs, top and bottom view. Part number C010715. Fire button with spring. I could not find a part number on it. It should be noted that the springs for the joystick and the spring for the fire button are all identical. Rubber boot before cleaning. Man, I wish I had taken this same shot after I cleaned it. It'd be a lot easier to read the part number. Looks like it reads C010710. I'll get a better shot when I clean my other CX10. Here is the cable plug. It's skinnier on the CX10. The CX10 cleaned up nicely! Next I will test and repair the circuit board. Darryl

I recently got a pair of CX10 joysticks and I thought I would share some photos. I initially took a set of photos comparing them to a CX40 joystick. Then later I took them apart and took several photos of it disassembled. I posted many of these photos to the AtariAge FB group, but I figured this forum is a more permanent place for these photos. If you are curious about what CX10's look like inside, read on. CX40 on left, CX10's on the right. From this shot, you can observe a few subtle differences. I'll address them in more detail below. Here is a shot of the undersides. Again, CX40 on left, CX10's on the right. The keen eye will observe the screw holes are not as deep on the CX10's. You may also notice that both my CX10's are missing two screws each, which indicates somebody has probably had these apart before. Here is a pretty good view of where the Atari logo "hex disc" would go. Right on top of the shaft, there is an indentation for it. Unfortunately, the discs are missing on mine. Top of the CX10. Notice the CX10 does not say "TOP". Also notice the paint color is more yellow on the CX10. Notice the CX10 has no ring holding down the rubber boot. At first I thought it was missing on mine, but now I believe it was not designed as part of this joystick. The fire button has more travel on the CX10. The CX10 has a skinnier plug. First look inside the controller. This shot allows a look inside the mechanism to see how the joystick works. Here is the PCB. Notice the "Innovative Leisure" slogan under the Atari logo. The board number reads "C010712 REV 5" Removing two screws allowed me to detach the PCB from the top half. Notice each direction on the joystick and the fire button gets a spring. There is an intermediate plastic piece that holds the springs in place and presses down on the "dome" contacts on the top of the PCB when the joystick is moved. Joystick shaft removed from inside the rubber boot. It just slips right out. Four springs are attached to the shaft. Closeup shot of the top half of the PCB. Notice on mine, the "dome" contacts are pretty worn out and appear to be somewhat crushed. I may need to replace those. The CX10 in these photos did not work when I did my first tests. I took it apart to clean it and photograph it. These photos are more or less considered "before" photos. I hope to post more after the joystick is repaired, cleaned, and is functioning. My conclusion about the CX10 joystick is that is feels a bit looser than the CX40. The joystick seems to have more movement and is easier to push in the directions. The fire buttons definitely has more travel to it. I am curious how it feels in actual gameplay. The design seems pretty robust with the exception of the "dome" contacts on the PCB. Lastly, if anybody has a source for parts or any tips on restoring these joysticks, post them here. I'd love to hear it. Darryl

Here's my latest Heavy Sixer... It was dirty as hell when I got it, but now she's a beauty! SN 47299G Darryl

I'm rooting for him. I want to see it happen on Ben Heck's show. Darryl