Atari Standard Joysticks

[JacobZu7zu7]

I have about 10 joysticks that almost work. Is there anyway, I can fix these?

[ATARIPITBULL]

I don't know if you already knew this, but there are Joystick repair kits for sale on Ebay and you might want to check www.atari2600.com or www.worldofatari.com

 

[A.J. Franzman]

Take them all completely apart, test all the parts and throw away bad ones (except circuit boards, which can usually be cleaned or repaired, and cables with broken connectors at the board end - good connectors can be salvaged from cables with broken/exposed conductors and spliced on to fix the others). Then put good parts together to make good joysticks. Save any leftover parts.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I don't know if you already knew this, but there are Joystick repair kits for sale on Ebay and you might want to check www.atari2600.com or www.worldofatari.com

 

 

 

Did I read the auction right, is there about 100 circut boards?

Are they easy to repair? The last working joystick I used, stopped after I put it back together.

Edited November 16, 2006 by JacobZu7zu7

[D.Yancey]

It's almost always the plastic ring that pushes down on the microswitches that cracks and causes unresponsiveness. The repair kits include a new one of these too.

[JacobZu7zu7]

It's almost always the plastic ring that pushes down on the microswitches that cracks and causes unresponsiveness. The repair kits include a new one of these too.

----

Is this a difficult task to take the plastic off the mircoswitches?

 

 

Problem with my 10 joysticks, is maybe 1 doesn't move to the left but all else is fine,

or it was working till i took it apart. or the fire button takes, poorly... or the angles are weak etc...

only one seems completley cashed...

 

They have eBay auctions like this...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ATARI-2600-JOYSTICK-JO...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

What would I get if I was to bid on this... ? I am not half-clear on what the sellers telling me.

Any other tips or help?

[Uzumaki]

First take it apart. You need to find out if the plastic part of the joystick (connects to the shaft, usually white) is broken, or if there are any loose wires before blaming the microswitches.

[A.J. Franzman]

The Atari CX-40 joystick doesn't use microswitches. A microswitch (also known as a "snap-action" switch) is a packaged device in a rectangular plastic housing which has a protruding button and often a lever which presses the button, and usually three terminals for normally open, normally closed, and common wire connections. The Epyx 500XJ, Mindscape PowerPlayer, and very few other home joysticks of the era (perhaps Wico? EDIT: not!) used microswitches. Many arcade video game joysticks and buttons use microswitches. The switches in a CX-40 are just metal "click" domes on a circuit board, held in place by a layer of clear tape. Atari used many variations of this board and styles of the domes (some of which did not "click" when pressed).

 

Wikipedia: Microswitch

The two at the top of the picture are the standard size, although black is a more common color. The miniature one at the bottom has a lever.

Edited November 21, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[starwardude]

Hmmm...this thread just gave me an idea...

I'll say more eventually.

[NightSprinter]

Wrong on the Wicos, I'm afraid A.J. The Wico sticks used leaf-switches (as Wico makes arcade stuff), they dit so to give their sticks a more authentic arcade feel. Hope that cleared up the confusion.

[A.J. Franzman]

I wasn't sure, as I've never owned a Wico stick and can't remember the last time I held one. I've edited the post.

Edited November 21, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[NightSprinter]

Not a problem, A.J. Just thought I'd throw in some info, given the fact I've owned a Wico since I was little.

[G.Whiz]

It's almost always the plastic ring that pushes down on the microswitches that cracks and causes unresponsiveness. The repair kits include a new one of these too.

----

Is this a difficult task to take the plastic off the mircoswitches?

 

 

Problem with my 10 joysticks, is maybe 1 doesn't move to the left but all else is fine,

or it was working till i took it apart. or the fire button takes, poorly... or the angles are weak etc...

only one seems completley cashed...

 

The plastic isn't attached to the switches, they just make contact with the board and press down to make the connection. There are four contacts altogether (plus one for the fire button), and diagonal movements are made when two contacts are pressed at the same time. Ingenious system, but crappy execution -- the plastic stick broke very easily. For example, for the joystick you have that doesn't move left, the left plastic contact is probably snapped or at least cracked. From my experience, no amount of glue/tape/fix-it materials of your choice will ever get it back to 100% since it really does rely on the integrity of the whole piece of plastic.

 

But take one apart, see for yourself. You can actually test the boards themselves by plugging the stick in after you take it apart and try clicking down the domes. If everything seems to work, then you know the board is fine. (But don't click too much -- not good after a while for the stick or your thumbs.)

 

Hope this helps.

 

~G

[Murph74]

Yep, those domes are a cheap easy fix if that's your problem. 100 will last you quite some time, too. I agree tho, if the ring is your problem, better off to just slavage the parts and move to the next stick.

[JacobZu7zu7]

 

The plastic isn't attached to the switches, they just make contact with the board and press down to make the connection. There are four contacts altogether (plus one for the fire button), and diagonal movements are made when two contacts are pressed at the same time. Ingenious system, but crappy execution -- the plastic stick broke very easily. For example, for the joystick you have that doesn't move left, the left plastic contact is probably snapped or at least cracked. From my experience, no amount of glue/tape/fix-it materials of your choice will ever get it back to 100% since it really does rely on the integrity of the whole piece of plastic.

 

But take one apart, see for yourself. You can actually test the boards themselves by plugging the stick in after you take it apart and try clicking down the domes. If everything seems to work, then you know the board is fine. (But don't click too much -- not good after a while for the stick or your thumbs.)

 

Hope this helps.

 

~G

 

Yes that helped 100%. I get it now, thanks.

I bought the switches off eBay.

Now I just need to have some passion to start fixing them.

[fire!fire!]

This is a really helpful thread. I have some joysticks that need to be fixed. I'll print this for my husband...

His honey-do list is waaaay too short.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I think I am going to do repairs to my Joysticks today,

any advice on what kind of Tape works best to tape down the domes?

what scotch, duck.. clear? packaging tape thick thin, sticky not sticky?

---

i did try to adjust, the wires for 1 joystick, now it completely dead.

how'd that happen? I guess its too loose somehow...

[JacobZu7zu7]

Yes, I have now been tesing and trying to fix all 10 joysticks.

Okay, one dome was cashed (fire button) used a replacement piece,

now it works! ( I only replaced one dome) the others seemed to start working on their own, i opened one joystick, a piece of plastic fell out and now it seems fine. Hmm.. still have 3 or 4 joysticks with problems.

With these 3-4 the domes seem fine.. its the timing that is messed up,

they STUTTER... like their outta gas.. and some times my

charecter, just stays still.. then starts walking again,

or it take a 1/2 second to go left.. but fast to the right, up and down etc.

Does anyone know what this is?

There's also a joystick i got which the dome replacementing made no difference and the problem was the same. (cant move left)

The wires seem attached well.. none are loose.. is it fully broke?

Well, thanks, and hope to get some info.

Happy holidays!

[A.J. Franzman]

Regarding the stuttering, this could be cracked contact domes, circuit tracks and dome undersides needing cleaning (use alcohol and a cloth), or weak connectors on the wires where they slide onto the circuit board. I have found an awful lot of joystick wires with cracked connectors on them lately. Fortunately, I'm a pack rat, and had some of the connectors that I saved along with a few inches of wire from joystick cables that were thrashed (animal chewed, broken wire inside at plug end, etc.) So rather than take the easy way out and solder the wire to the board, I cut off the broken connectors and neatly spliced on replacements with heat-shrink tubing insulation. This way the board or cable can still be removed easily if replacement is necessary later.

 

Regarding tape, use ordinary clear 2-inch wide packaging tape (not the heavy duty kind). I like to run it on a diagonal, and wrap it around the board edges by 1/2 inch or so to make it extra secure. Then I trim the holes clean with a hobby knife. I also like to slice a small "X" in the tape over the dimples in the tops of the domes. That way the nubs on the bottom of the stick and fire button will drop into the dimples, and tend to keep the domes in position and not let them wander around under the tape.

 

Regarding the stick that doesn't go left, it's probably a bad wire in the cable. Check it with a continuity tester. Every wire should have continuity to one of the holes in the plug. Left is the green wire, and it goes to the center hole in the top row (5 holes) of the plug.

Edited December 26, 2006 by A.J. Franzman