Super Action Controller Dis-Assembly?

[Bartsfam]

Hello;

I received two super action controllers, that work horribly. I thought I would start by taking them apart and cleaning them.

 

I found 4 screws, two on the bottom, and two on the hand grip. The thing is still solidly together.

 

Any hints to pry it apart?

[+Yurkie]

Hello;

I received two super action controllers, that work horribly. I thought I would start by taking them apart and cleaning them.

 

I found 4 screws, two on the bottom, and two on the hand grip. The thing is still solidly together.

 

Any hints to pry it apart?

 

Take the 2 screws out of the bottom piece and remove.

 

Pull the part around the the front of the controller off, it is locked into the rear half, you have to squeeze and pry with your fingers and pray you don't break off the tabs.

 

Take the screw in the front that is now uncovered along with the 2 on the handle. If you have the controller laying on its right side the left side will lift off with little effort. Edit: There are tabs act as a hinge to hold the left and right side together but if you lift and from the front and move your arm to the right like turning a page of a book backward this will not be difficult.

You can now see the insides.

 

Here is a pic of the front pulled away from the controller.

 

The biggest issue I have found with these is the white joystick piece that transfers movement to the contacts often has 1 or more of the 8 legs broke off. I don't know what kind of adhesive would work for gluing these or if there is one that would work. The fire buttons can be desoldered and refurbished the same way the buttons on the standard controller are.

[Bartsfam]

Thanks for the advice.....it was a b*tch to open!

 

It was a little easier once I saw which way it was supposed to come apart.

All of the little white legs are fine, but the controller is still off. The keypad numbers are mushed in, and have no play in them.

 

I also suspect this may have been taken apart before, as all four screws were different sizes! Maybe there supposed to be that way.

 

I'm afraid it's another bad purchase on EBay for "tested" in "good condition" controllers.

 

These are JUNK!!

Edited March 9, 2011 by Bartsfam

[Armonigann]

It's been awhile, but I don't remember them being to hard to take apart.

 

Putting 'em back together was a little harder.

[+Yurkie]

 

 

I also suspect this may have been taken apart before, as all four screws were different sizes! Maybe there supposed to be that way.

 

 

 

There is a bolt and a short screw holding bottom plate on. The 3 screws in the left side of the housing are the same, but different than the one holding the bottom plate on. This was the case with the one I dissembled yesterday to post the pic.

[SlowCoder]

I agree they're a bear to disassemble and reassemble. There are multiple points where you do think you're going to break it.

 

I had keypad problems with my first one too. None of the keys functioned. I cleaned the contacts quite a few times. Then when it still wouldn't work I doused the white board connector with alcohol and inserted a small paperclip into the holes. After that it worked.

 

These controllers are surprisingly comfortable to hold. If Coleco had packaged these instead of the standard controllers, I think they could have made a killing.

Edited March 10, 2011 by SlowCoder

[Armonigann]

I agree they're a bear to disassemble and reassemble. There are multiple points where you do think you're going to break it.

 

I had keypad problems with my first one too. None of the keys functioned. I cleaned the contacts quite a few times. Then when it still wouldn't work I doused the white board connector with alcohol and inserted a small paperclip into the holes. After that it worked.

 

These controllers are surprisingly comfortable to hold. If Coleco had packaged these instead of the standard controllers, I think they could have made a killing.

 

A killing?. I don't think it would have sold that much more if those were stock.

 

But who knows.

[Trent555]

The SAC's are great, they are the only controllers I use for my CV, surprisingly comfortable.

[Nebulon]

One thing to watch out for when pulling these apart is the tabs that hold the guard in place. In my case, I pulled really hard until the guard (the curved thin plastic 'shell') disengaged. Problem is, it cracked one of the two tabs.

 

I imagine if you're careful with a blade or thin screwdriver, you might be able to press the tabs inwards while pulling. Could be tricky though.

 

I took mine apart since the diagonal down-left direction doesn't work. The white plastic piece that surrounds the base of the stick is fine. It appears to be the contact points on the circuit board. Either they're poorly aligned or not enough solder was put down when it was manufactured. Over time it wore and now the metal-to-metal contact is crappy.