Anyone repair 70's handhelds? My Digital Derby don't work

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Just got one of these great machines and the seller assured me it worked.

 

 

Unfortunately only some of it works. The lap counter does not move and nor do the dashed lines in the middle of the road. The cogs make a bad grinding sound as well so my guess is something is either broken or at the very least caught inside there.

 

Anyone ever open one of these babies up before? I might give it a try but I don't want springs to pop out and destroy what little does work.

 

Anyone know someone who fixes it?

[Keatah]

There's a lot of plastic parts in these, of course. Sometimes "bearings" wear out, in which case you replace them with bits of brass tubing sheaths. Or gear shafts are bent or cracked. Sometimes those can be fixed. Sometimes gears aren't held in place and the teeth skip and grind. Levers and pressors are sometimes worn, or bent. Perhaps a spring is dis-located. All easy stuff to fix.

 

Sometimes it's best to get a donor and replace the parts, or if you're good with re-molding and re-shaping plastic, you can do that too. Lot's of things can be done. Even notched holes in a mylar/film sheet that are stretched or ripped can be fixed with modern materials that weren't available back in the day.

 

It's not about finding someone that fixes these, but more about finding someone that has the general skill sets to work on mechanisms like so.