acharris Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Hi all, I need to know where I can get hold of some Atari Joystick contact domes to fix the controllers in the UK, as I have over the last few years picked up controllers really cheap, but some need the domes replaced on them. I bought some a few years ago on Ebay, but I seemed to have run out as I didn't buy that many at the time due to thinking I could get them when I needed them, and now I got some time on my hands to actually restore some, I got none left. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/ Great place to do business, they take phone orders. May want to order more, to justify shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acharris Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks for the link, but by the looks they no longer do the dome contacts, just replacement parts. Thanks again though, and will keep it in mind if I need to replace one of the sticks or PCBs to get a stick working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elthesh Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 You really should contact them. They do not list everything they sell on their website and have a massive catalog of items for sale not listed on the site. I would be surprised if Best couldn't get you those dome contacts as they manufacture a brand new designed dome for their replacement boards as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Moss Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Farnell have low profile dome keys which might work, enter Part Number 877-4455 (4mm) or 877-4471 (5mm) into the search box, price is £6.66 for a sheet of 25 + VAT + about £4 P&P for non account card purchases. Although not what you want but 16/32 Systems had some replacement PCB's for the old VCS joystick (square shape IIRC) which you could perhapse get some from if you don't want to replace the entire board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovalbugmann Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Best Electronics sells replacement 2600 joystick PCB's that of course are brand new, and guaranteed. And to replace the PCB no soldering is required. If your going to order the little domes it's probably not much more to get the whole new PCB after shipping. I just fixed an Atari 2600 joystick I got off ebay, it was dirty, very sluggish, wouldn't go down or right, & required a lot a pressure to go up or left. I fixed it, without buying any parts at all; I opened it, and on the PCB I lifted up the clear tape at all four directions and the fire button (one at a time) just enough to get to them. The domes will stick to this clear tape, by the tops when you pull it up. I took a small knife and scraped up the entire area (center & edges) that the little domes contact, on the PCB copper circuit paths, till it looked like new fresh copper, then I scraped up the underside center area (PCB contact area)of each dome also with my little knife and after I did all five domes one at a time, I pressed the plastic tape back to the PCB, ensuring each dome was in it's place. Re-assemble joystick. I now have a totally fixed and very responsive joystick, that requires minimal pressure to use while playing games. Took about 15 minutes. Now to do all my other 2600 joysticks like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oky2000 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 On 2/11/2008 at 10:37 AM, ovalbugmann said: Best Electronics sells replacement 2600 joystick PCB's that of course are brand new, and guaranteed. And to replace the PCB no soldering is required. If your going to order the little domes it's probably not much more to get the whole new PCB after shipping. I just fixed an Atari 2600 joystick I got off ebay, it was dirty, very sluggish, wouldn't go down or right, & required a lot a pressure to go up or left. I fixed it, without buying any parts at all; I opened it, and on the PCB I lifted up the clear tape at all four directions and the fire button (one at a time) just enough to get to them. The domes will stick to this clear tape, by the tops when you pull it up. I took a small knife and scraped up the entire area (center & edges) that the little domes contact, on the PCB copper circuit paths, till it looked like new fresh copper, then I scraped up the underside center area (PCB contact area)of each dome also with my little knife and after I did all five domes one at a time, I pressed the plastic tape back to the PCB, ensuring each dome was in it's place. Re-assemble joystick. I now have a totally fixed and very responsive joystick, that requires minimal pressure to use while playing games. Took about 15 minutes. Now to do all my other 2600 joysticks like that. Used to do the exact same thing with the contact domes on my VCS joysticks in the late 80s, I may have had an ST, Amiga and Megadrive by 1990 but I still looked after my VCS as it was a gift from the gods in my childhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bah Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 I have taken the top clear tape layer and contacts off the joystick board and soldered some thin tact switches onto the board. The switches were less than a mm tall so I did not even end up trimming the prongs on the white joystick insert. That stick is one of my favorites so you may want to consider eliminating the discs and going that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 18 hours ago, bah said: I have taken the top clear tape layer and contacts off the joystick board and soldered some thin tact switches onto the board. The switches were less than a mm tall so I did not even end up trimming the prongs on the white joystick insert. That stick is one of my favorites so you may want to consider eliminating the discs and going that route. @Osgeld used to sell premade drop in replacement PCBs with micro switches on them already for the standard CX-40 controllers. I think he posted recently that he might have some on hand still? That would be the best way long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 (edited) I have maybe 5 or 6 as I tend to keep some back just incase someone gets a dud. I did post that I am doing a huge batch but that's not until June at least as I have to secure funding and start prepping for long lead times and they use just stupid flat tactile switches not microswitches, which I used to use by soldering them on the OG board ... I just made the drop in's (to fund a computer build cough) so that the average joe doesnt need to fiddle with soldering switches on a board that was made for snap domes (as it can be fidgety) Edited April 21, 2022 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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