7800fan Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I have 11 controllers that all has issues. Keypad on all of them works 100% but all of the controllers have problem with either 1 direction or a fire button. I took one apart, it had issue with right direction (no response) and when I looked, the metal leaf was bent out of place. I had just touched it when it popped out so it seems it may have broken loose due to metal fatigue and was barely hanging on. I have no doubt that some other controllers are not this bad, a little bending and slipping thin file under to clean corrosion. Or has someone found alternative solution like using thin push button in place of leaf switch? What about fire button? It looks like regular momentary push button and I don't see an easy way to clean it. Lastly, how can I fully check the roller controller? When I have it set to roller, I can get response from all 4 fire button and it shows roller direction like SAC rollers. But when I set it to joystick mode, the ball does nothing. Maybe I need a different test ROM or a game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I took one apart, it had issue with right direction (no response) and when I looked, the metal leaf was bent out of place. I had just touched it when it popped out so it seems it may have broken loose due to metal fatigue and was barely hanging on. I have no doubt that some other controllers are not this bad, a little bending and slipping thin file under to clean corrosion. Or has someone found alternative solution like using thin push button in place of leaf switch? I always desolder those leave switches so I can get a better cleaning under them. One upgrade I like to do is add solder to the middle contact, then file it flat. Gives it a fresh new clean surface. There is a mod you can look up on youtube that replaces the leaf switches with microswitches - looks interesting, but requires some irreversible mods/changes. What about fire button? It looks like regular momentary push button and I don't see an easy way to clean it. For the fire buttons, I spray some DeoxIT in the little opening on top of the switch and press the switch a bunch of times. Works every time for me - some people use wd-40, or other solvents, but these can leave behind residue and are not necessarily designed for cleaning switches. The is also a mod out there that replaces these with microswitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoNoob Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 The (irreversible) mod is quite easy to perform if you have ever had a soldering iron in your hand. Desolder all the plates and solder little tactile switches in place. Bridge the contacts with short wire, cut the plastic ring in the middle and remove the spring. Reassemble and enjoy. Only annoying thing might be the click of the switches. One can also cut the fire buttons down to the metal housing and hotglue tactile switches as well. These then have to be soldered also to get contact and the buttons have to be a bit "refurbished" to work. A video of this can be found on YouTube. I guess it's from a member of this forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleconut Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 For joysticks with keypad issues, I imagine one should first try cleaning the contacts and looking for broken traces or cold solder joints but I have not really found anyone documenting troubleshooting diode issues and the idea of having to desolder them to test seems a little daunting. Anyone had success with fixing keypad issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800fan Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 I haven't experienced any issue with keypad but I did see something about using heat to soften the glue in the keypad to make it easier to peel the layers apart. But that is assuming the contact somehow got dirty or oxidated, if there's internal break in the circuit, it's hard to repair those on plastic sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPowe41 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Anyone know what can be used for inside the controller, the 4 metal pieces for the joystick? I have one that is missing half the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildOfCv Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 (edited) One possibility is to adapt a tactile dome switch. Solder a lead to opposite legs and use them to reach the original holes (or drill new ones at an appropriate distance and run the leads through the PCB there) https://www.amazon.com/10pcs-switch-membrane-Momentary-Tactile/dp/B0951NW4GJ Maybe others here will have cleaner ideas, but this could work. Edit: 20mm is just over 3/4". So maybe no adaptation would be necessary.... or maybe it's too big and you need to get the next smaller size. Edited October 7, 2021 by ChildOfCv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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