Help needed, spinning ship issue

[JoMa]

Hi Vectrex fans,

I got a Vectrex I was asked to repair and I'm currently investigating the issue it has. It seems to permanently get a left joystick input. The ship in minestorm always keeps spinning counterclockwise, even when the controller is disconnected. The action buttons on the controller work fine but moving the joystick does nothing at all. I can confirm the issue is not with the controller as I have a known-good controller to test with from my own Vectrex.

I shot a short video showing the issue: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xdVaCcbBGYaxQXZ58

 

After looking this up,  I found a video suggesting that IC302 is the issue and should be replaced. IC302 is not socketed on this unit however, so I wanted to ask the people here first for a second opinion on this being the issue before I go through the whole process of desoldering the chip. Scrolling through the comments, people seem to be mixed on whether this is the correct fix.

I already tried reflowing the pins of IC302, as well as the controller port, so I can rule out that being an issue

I'd love to hear some thoughts on this, any help is appreciated!
 

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

I would (carefully) desolder that IC, socket it and try another chip. IIRC, if the ship is spinning CCW, the problem is IC302 (4052). If the ship is spinning CW, the problem is IC207  (VIA chip - SY6522A).  Just like in the video, avoid the TI branded 4052B's and get the NTE version if you can.