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Coleco Gemini Paddle Cleaning with pics


iesposta

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I was playing Jr Pac Man with the Coleco Gemini Atari 2600 clone joystick / paddle and decided to try a paddle game, Circus Atari.

The short throw joystick is great for quick turns and reverses.

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The paddle, however, was jitter city. The second controller did not jitter so I decided to clean or replace the paddle part.

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Remove the four corner screws and the Center screw. Five screws. They sure didn't go cheap here as there is a sixth screw, but that is for the joystick. Leave that one in.

No clips, it just opens.

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OMG, there is no potentiometer! Well, not completely true - it is like a big exposed potentiometer.

It is just a circuit board with a carbon strip that will change the resistance value.

I have seen them smaller, used for volume knobs on radios. If used a lot they wear down and cause noise when moving.

Is Coleco cheap, or brilliant? I am still not sure, but this makes cleaning a breeze, and replacement impossible.

So, out comes my ancient "Realistic® Tape Recorder Head Lubricant" and a bit of paper towel.

A quick wipe, put it back together...

And it is rock steady! A fixed paddle controller.

Tip: when using with Harmony cartridge, holding down the fire button changes the way the stick / paddle is read by the menu software.

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Nice Summary!

 

 

I was playing Jr Pac Man with the Coleco Gemini Atari 2600 clone joystick / paddle and decided to try a paddle game, Circus Atari.

 

 

One day you'll be able to play Circus AtariAge too. However, I don't know if it will be compatible with the Gemini. I bought a Gemini a couple of weeks ago to test with the latest build of CAA, but I found some odd effects. I also noticed that my Gemini was incompatible with a lot of different games (including homebrews), and showed odd effects. I have no idea if it is just my Gemini though.

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I know you wanted me to test your project my Gemini but so far I have never hooked it up.

A eagerly await your remake of Circus Atari.

The original is an example of the great gameplay the Atari can do.

A remake of it will be as loved as Medieval Mayhem, I predict.

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