2600 aftermarket wiring harness

[Allen Schweitzer]

I don't like starting forum topics, but here goes. I have 4 non-working Atari 2600 controllers, all mechanically broken, all aftermarket. Do the color codes match if I were to use these wiring harnesses in an original Atari 2600 joystick (with bad wiring)? Has anybody tried this? And is is worth my effort?

Thank you.

[Osgeld]

Colors are a bad way to match wires. You may get lucky but a simple continuity meter only takes a few seconds and you dont have to guess

 

Keep in mind a continuity checker could be a battery a flash light bulb and a couple bits of wire

Edited December 17, 2017 by Osgeld

[Allen Schweitzer]

I have a meter, but is this even worth my time? Or should I just put them in the dumpster?

[RamrodHare]

I have a meter, but is this even worth my time? Or should I just put them in the dumpster?

In my opinion, it's always worth my time to repair something, as long as the cost of parts doesn't exceed the value of the item. I've repaired a lot of joysticks and controllers. Even though I rarely use most of them, I'm still glad I got them working again. There's also the option of salvaging parts from them to repair others. If you don't want to fix them, you should post some pics and see if anyone here might take them off your hands before you throw them away.