Vectrex controller question

[+save2600]

Just received what looks to be a nice Vectrex controller, but noticed the joystick is a little "loose". Kind of like how an N64 thumbstick is a little loose. Is this normal or natural for a Vectrex? It auto centers just fine and the spring action feels good. Just wondering about the play on it...

[Plink]

yeah don't worry,

if it autocenters ok then it will be fine....

 

most sticks tend to incline towards the down side of the controller, as years go by.

[+save2600]

yeah don't worry,

if it autocenters ok then it will be fine....

 

most sticks tend to incline towards the down side of the controller, as years go by.

 

 

Thanks much! Joystick does seem to work fine, so figured as much. Seems to always be a little play in most all analogue controllers. Not those Kraft ones for the Apple from the 80's though! I always liked how you could manually adjust the X-Y spring tension on them.

 

 

[klausien]

Hyperchase might have been the best home version of Turbo if it weren't so damn twitchy! >:\

 

I have two controllers that are in pretty nice shape. The one stick feels a little looser than the other, but they both actually control about the same. Like Plink said, as long as it auto centers, you are good. I once played a Vectrex with a pretty severely bent stick that was uncomfortable, but auto-centered fine.

 

I love everything about the Vectrex except the sad fact that no one makes repro overlays. They really do enhance the experience considerably, but it is an expensive machine to collect for, and that doesn't solve the homebrew overlay problem. And well, I guess maintenance can be an issue too.

 

Mine is in beautiful physical shape, but aging electronics do occasionally stop working. I've already had to replace one of the chips to fix an issue. At least I lucked out and found I had one with socketed chips. It could still really use a cap replacement though, and some monitor tweaking, but I just haven't gotten around to it (I need to search out a parts list). I also generally don't like to do elective surgery on hard to replace hardware. I am considering adjusting the monitor pots soon though.

[Plink]

Hyperchase might have been the best home version of Turbo if it weren't so damn twitchy! >:\

 

I have two controllers that are in pretty nice shape. The one stick feels a little looser than the other, but they both actually control about the same. Like Plink said, as long as it auto centers, you are good. I once played a Vectrex with a pretty severely bent stick that was uncomfortable, but auto-centered fine.

 

I love everything about the Vectrex except the sad fact that no one makes repro overlays. They really do enhance the experience considerably, but it is an expensive machine to collect for, and that doesn't solve the homebrew overlay problem. And well, I guess maintenance can be an issue too.

 

Mine is in beautiful physical shape, but aging electronics do occasionally stop working. I've already had to replace one of the chips to fix an issue. At least I lucked out and found I had one with socketed chips. It could still really use a cap replacement though, and some monitor tweaking, but I just haven't gotten around to it (I need to search out a parts list). I also generally don't like to do elective surgery on hard to replace hardware. I am considering adjusting the monitor pots soon though.

 

yeah, its a lovely machine by far my favorite..

and collecting it totally worths the cash ...for me at least..

 

the recap is a must! It's not that difficult, if you're a bit experienced with electronics you can even do it without dismantling everything. However, none of the parts list you can find online is actually trustworthy since there are many variations in the actual production runs.

When I did my first recap...i bought all parts according to the lists i found online, but while I was in the process of changing the caps I found a couple that were different...

 

check both of the following links, but be aware there might be some differences.

 

http://girasoli.org/arcade/?p=331

 

http://lukesandel.com/techgallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=906

[Mirage]

I hope you have that multicart soon so I can try this puppy out sometime I've actually never played a Vectrex!

[+save2600]

I hope you have that multicart soon so I can try this puppy out sometime I've actually never played a Vectrex!

 

That multi-cart is coming from Poland - so it'll prolly be a month before it arrives. The Veccy though DOES have a built in Asteroids rip-off you can check out though when you pick the Miggy up :-) Then you can see the 'ACE' job I did of resurrecting/cleaning and restoring that sorry POS. lol (works great and looks decent now)

[Richard H.]

I love everything about the Vectrex except the sad fact that no one makes repro overlays.

 

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/vectrex_overlays/

[VectrexMad!]

I love everything about the Vectrex except the sad fact that no one makes repro overlays.

 

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/vectrex_overlays/

 

We haven't reached a stage where we are in a position to produce overlays yet but we are hoping to have them ready sometime this year.

The idea is to produce a set of four overlays (Mine Storm, Pole Position, YASI and Protector). These were chosen by popular vote. Although YASI and Protector will have artwork inspired by the original Space Invaders and Defender respectively. We did get permission to make a replica of Protector from the original game author but after much discussion we decided to make our own artwork (some collectors complained that their limited edition possessions would loose value if we were to make replicas).

The overlays will be produced in the same way the original overlays and so should be of the same quality. All overlays will be clearly marked that they are new edition - so there will not be any issue of confusing between the new and the original.

 

We purposefully do not have any deadlines. This is a side project for most people involved and setting deadlines would make this project less fun. As such Peteski who is drawing all the overalys is still doing the artwork for YASI and Protector games.

 

Come back to http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/vectrex_overlays/ to get the latest status.

 

VectrexMad!

Edited January 24, 2010 by VectrexMad!

[boxpressed]

Just received what looks to be a nice Vectrex controller, but noticed the joystick is a little "loose". Kind of like how an N64 thumbstick is a little loose. Is this normal or natural for a Vectrex? It auto centers just fine and the spring action feels good. Just wondering about the play on it...

 

Reviving an old thread to answer a question and to ask a new one.

 

The stick is loose because the spring for that axis is isn't as tense as it could be. Using the 2600 Combat cart method, I just repaired a controller that wouldn't center on the X-axis. That replacement spring isn't as tense as the original, although it is very close, so the stick is a little loose in the direction. If the spring is very tense, it will push nicely against the opening in the metal pot. If it isn't, it will not touch the opening of the metal pot but will be close enough.

 

So, after thinking that I'd repaired my controller, I discovered that I could not get objects to move up and down (the X axis works like a charm). I'm pretty inexperienced with this stuff, but I don't think that I broke any solder points during the repair. Any ideas?