Vectrex Controller Question! HELP!

[ciderman]

HI,

I have owned my Veccy now for about 13 years, bringing it to Ireland from The Isle of Man via titchy airplane in a dodgy field in Ulster somewhere... long story.....

Anyways, a couple of months ago I plugged it in and the buttons on the controller refused to respond to anything.

The stick still works just fine but none of the buttons seem to work at all.

The Veccy suffered no bumps, trips or falls, it has sat in the same spot for some time, the controller buttons simply ceased to respond one day, despite having worked the previous time it was turned on.

So,

Big Question.

 

Before I open the controller up,

Has anyone else had this problem?

I was thinking it might be something simple, seeing as all the buttons are not responding, like the ground wire being broken in some regard.

But the stick still responds.....

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance!

[VectrexMad!]

You could run the test cart binary, and the plug your joystick into joystick controller 2, to see if the controller is functioning correctly. If it works (all buttons activate the animated button on the screen) in controller port 2, then there's something wrong with controller port 1. Have you checked for bent pins in port 1?

 

If the controller buttons do not seem to work, when the controller is plugged in controller port 2, then it is the controller, and yes, you have to take apart to have a look. By the sound of it, it does sound like a common signal has broken.

Its quite an art to remove to take the controller apart. You need to get a hair dryer, and gently heat and prise up the overlay where the screws are placed. I've seen a YouTube video on this process in the past.

[Richard H.]

You could try replacing the AY-3-8912. It's the sound chip, but also contains an 8-bit I/O port used to read the buttons on the controllers.

[ciderman]

Thanks, I'll try both.

Both ports are reporting the pad buttons as not working.

I'll try the controller opening before mounting an expedition into the Veccy itself

[scalpel]

I have 5 or 6 Vectrex pads with a problem with the 4th buttons only... I tried once with a hair dryer and I removed the overlay and cleaned the pad. It works ! BUT the overlay is a little damaged now 'cause as VectrexMad! said, it's really an art to remove it.... :/

[Richard H.]

Just seen the chip on EBay -

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AY-3-8912-AY38912-AY3-8912-Sound-and-ADC-for-VECTREX-ORIC-Consoles-etc-/201128438488?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item2ed4306ad8

[ciderman]

Thanks, I'll have a look at the ground wire and then try the chip solution, thanks again.