Repairing an Intellivision controller cable?

[Tavi]

I recently bought a Tandyvision off eBay, and I was taking it apart and giving it a good cleaning. Plus, there was a worrying rattle to the case when you shook it, which ended up being a small toy that somehow was stuck inside the main unit ?

I had put the console back together and was doing the controllers next when I found a wad of black electrical tape on the cable inside one of the controllers.

I removed it and discovered that the protective casing had split just past the grommet exposing the wiring, which the wire looks perfectly fine thankfully.

I certainly do not want to leave them exposed, but am not terribly keen on making another wad of tape to patch it either. Unlike other controllers I have worked on, the cable on the Intellivision is fixed into the console so replacing it I assume would be a royal pain.

As I am relatively new to actually owning an Intellivision (35 years late to the party, but better then never!) I am wondering if there are any recommendations for a decent, or at least nicer looking fix then a ball of electrical tape?

Many thanks!

 

[mr_me]

It looks like the grommet slipped off the cable casing.  You should be able to slide it back on.  And on the console side you'll find a 9-pin connector.  So you can replace the cable and reuse the connector if needed.

[Tavi]

Well, if I can just move the grommet that certainly would make it a lot easier. I just assumed the cable casing broke just past it (Wouldn't be the first time I saw that on a controller cable)

I will have a look at it again tomorrow morning and see; the controller casing is drying out right now so I am in not a huge hurry to re-assemble it. This was going to be my weekend project, but I decided to get a head start on it tonight.

I am also a bit surprised to hear there is a connector for the controllers. The biggest complaint I always heard was the controllers were non-removable, so I guess I had it in the back of my mind they were likely soldered right to the console board; I never even thought to look.

It is good I have a few options to tackle this with tomorrow. Thanks Mr_Me!

[mr_me]

Usually the cable just slips through the grommet without breaking, exposing the wire.  I now see the broken bit at the end, you can just remove and discard that piece.  If you decide to replace the cable you could get a genesis extension cable, cut it in two pieces and give the intellivision an external controller port.

[Tavi]

I did have a better look at it this morning, and it is indeed broken off inside the grommet.

Some pulling and wiggling did move the broken piece a tiny bit so I am thinking I will try your suggestion and see if I can remove the broken bit and move the grommet down.

It is a long weekend so thankfully I will have a lot of time to fiddle with it.

[Tavi]

I pulled both controllers apart today, and I snipped about an inch off the wire of the frayed one and moved the grommet down to the unbroken cable casing.

Which seemed to have helped a bit, the controller is now working except the 1, 4, (I am presuming 7) and clear buttons are non-functional. but the disc and other buttons are working, so I will call that a partial win.

The other controller is a complete write-off I am thinking though. Upon dissembling it I found considerable wear on the disc controller contacts (worn through entirely at a few points) and it looks like it also has shorted out at some point (possibly from the wear) and some of the electrical traces look scorched on the disc and keypad.

Ah well. It was 35$ with 23 games so I can hardly feel ripped off. I enjoyed taking it all apart and working on it, plus the console itself works perfectly so in theory all I should have to do is find a non-functional Intellivision and move the controllers over to have myself a functional Tandyvision.

[frdarryl]

42 minutes ago, Tavi said:

The other controller is a complete write-off I am thinking though. Upon dissembling it I found considerable wear on the disc controller contacts (worn through entirely at a few points) and it looks like it also has shorted out at some point (possibly from the wear) and some of the electrical traces look scorched on the disc and keypad.

About a month ago I managed to find someone making new controller membrane sets in the UK. They were 10 pounds each (plus shipping) and actually arrived pretty quickly for me in Canada.

https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/brand-new-mattel-intellivision-1-controller-mylar-set-38583

[Tavi]

1 hour ago, frdarryl said:

About a month ago I managed to find someone making new controller membrane sets in the UK. They were 10 pounds each (plus shipping) and actually arrived pretty quickly for me in Canada.

https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/brand-new-mattel-intellivision-1-controller-mylar-set-38583

Nice!

Finding a cheap non-functioning console, yet with the controls remaining in decent shape was I think going to be a bit of a challenge. If my experience with Atari 2600's is anything to go by, the controls tend to take a lot more of a beating then the consoles ever do. This will certainly be the much better way to go at it. Buying brand new controller membranes takes all the luck and guesswork out of shopping around for some used parts.

Thanks for the link, I will give him a shout next week and order myself a set.

[mr_me]

22 hours ago, Tavi said:

I pulled both controllers apart today, and I snipped about an inch off the wire of the frayed one and moved the grommet down to the unbroken cable casing.

Which seemed to have helped a bit, the controller is now working except the 1, 4, (I am presuming 7) and clear buttons are non-functional. but the disc and other buttons are working, so I will call that a partial win.

If the first column of the keypad is not working that should also mean two of three side buttons don't work because they share the same circuit/pin.

[Tavi]

7 hours ago, mr_me said:

If the first column of the keypad is not working that should also mean two of three side buttons don't work because they share the same circuit/pin.

Ick.

I will have to give it a try tomorrow and see if this is correct. I had plugged in Mouse Trap and other then selecting players and difficulty (both at 2, as 1 was non-responsive) I never had tried the side buttons; I just ran the mouse around the maze a while to test that the directional disc was working properly.

Ah well, I guess 50$ CAD or so is a bit of a hit (The UK seller has increased his prices to 12 Pounds each membrane; just my luck!) but at least I know they will work being brand new.

[mr_me]

If the flex-circuit looks to be in decent shape the controller should be fixable.  I'd check each wire for continuity; with the original it's the last wire on the connector that signals that keypad column.  And I'd check all 16 disc directions to determine the disc is functioning.  If one of the wires is bad, a new flex-circuit won't fix it.

Edited February 17, 2020 by mr_me

[Tavi]

Just a bit of an update.

I bought two sets of controller mylars from SellMyRetro, and they arrived Wed. I installed them today and it seems that was at least one of the problems with the Tandyvision. Both controllers work perfectly now!

Now I am going to settle in and play me the hell out of some Cloudy Mountain and Lock and Chase :D

Thanks to everyone for all the help, I am up and running 100%.