5200 joystick

[peedenmark7]

man I love the 5200 system and the controller...

 

I just bought 3 supposedly fully functional controllers, 1 worked briefly , the other 2 were DOA.

 

on a hunch I took one apart, cleaned the flex card as well as the carbon contacts, put it back together and still DOA.

 

 

As a guitar repairman , and in a last ditch effort, I then applied Electrodag 112 which is basically a paint on shielding compound [carbon black and graphite] to the pad contacts and wham-o, the controller was fully functional with the exception of the lower left fire button , actually better than the 2 NOS controllers I have.

 

 

my question is:

 

the contacts on the fire, keypad, and start button contacts appear to be a plastic. are they then coated with a carbon graphite to make them conduct when pressed , or were they a solid carbon or graphite-titanium molded contact.

 

obviously the gold contacts and revision 9 flex card is the way to go and I plan to do this, just curious what atari originally used.

 

thanks !

[0078265317]

Can you give me a link to this Electrodag 112? And some say rubbing the contacts with an eraser works but I don't know if that is a good idea.

[peedenmark7]

here is the link to the product description as well as where I was able to purchase it. I'm sure it can be bought for less as this supplier is notoriously expensive.

 

http://www.thorlabs.com/Images/PDF/Vol18_739.pdf

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Shielding_Paint.html?keyword=0029

 

 

the seller has changed the label since I bought my 1/2 pint nearly 10 years ago [same price $32], so I am not sure if this is genuine Electrodag 112, this stuff goes a long way !

the nice thing is, if it dries up in the can, you can add a scant amount of distilled water [original catalyst is ethanol based]and it comes back to life.

 

 

I tried the pencil eraser , nothing. cleaned the flex circuit and the contacts with spray contact cleaner on a Q-tip ,nothing.

 

I brushed 2 coats of this stuff on to the contacts , hit it with the blow dryer on high for about 15 mins. and it brought one of the controllers back to life, though

I do believe it needs a new flex card either way, as there is lots of corrosion, discoloration and the one fire button still wont work.

 

hope this helps !

[0078265317]

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 370423337550

[Charlie_]

Did you try using a paper clip or something on the flex card with the controller still open?

This way can see if the flex card has a broken trace or if the button is just bad.

[peedenmark7]

No, I hadn't tried the paper clip, but I am firing up the 52 right now, for Gyruss, and will try your tip and report back.

 

thanks !

[peedenmark7]

okay,

Tested the controller with 2 games, Gyruss and Defender.

 

On Gyruss the upper fire buttons are all you have, they both function as they should and the steering problems I had and that many complain about while playing this game are NON existent, steering is like actually better than my NOS joysticks after applying the electrodag 112.

 

On Defender, the lower button is to fire, the upper for smart bombs. the LEFT side has only smart bomb function unless I really mash the button. paper clip proved that.

 

Bad worn out button ?

 

Either way I am ordering the rebuild kit with gold contacts for one controller to see if that's the end all be all. I dont wanna really mess around applying the 112 every now and again. this product was more a test than anything.

I may order the other type with carbon triple contacts as well.

 

Other than the gold on the flex circuit { I assume a repro ?} the factory rev.9 are the same mylar ?

The joystick I am working on has the revision 7 flex circuit, Is 9 better ? If so, what is that difference?

 

Of the 5] 5200 joysticks I currently have, the 2 that came with the NOS boxed/sealed system are mexican made.

 

The ones I just bought are as follows: 1] taiwan made DOA, 2] USA made one being the ED-112 experiment , one partially functioned , the other DOA.

Is there any way to date these by the codes?

 

 

Controller codes>>

Mexican: both are 22 3 B

Taiwan: HH 373 [ REV>8 felx]

USA: EP 113 and EP 033 [REV>7 flex]

Edited January 21, 2011 by peedenmark7

[Charlie_]

Take the controller apart and turn the button assembly over. This way if you have to mash the top button instead of the bottom one, its the actual button. If the problem stays in the same location its the flex card.

 

You can also try moving the button assembly from the right side to the left side too.

 

Just an observation but it looks to me like the Rev9 cards have a more simple paths for the traces so I guess they dont break as easy. Compare how the traces run around the card and you'll see what i mean.

[peedenmark7]

I dont have any revision 9's here just yet, but 7 compared with 8 is night and day. the 8 looks beefier and the paths are a dark carbon looking schematic rather than the coppery look of the 7. not that it is any better becuase the one with rev. 8 is way dead.

 

I tried flipping everything around swapped parts out of other controllers already, and its that particular spot thats bad on the flex.

 

so lokos like I am spending some coin to rebuild 3 controllers. they are nice otherwise, tight, no slop like so many have.

Edited January 21, 2011 by peedenmark7

[Charlie_]

I dont have any revision 9's here just yet, but 7 compared with 8 is night and day. the 8 looks beefier and the paths are a dark carbon looking schematic rather than the coppery look of the 7. not that it is any better becuase the one with rev. 8 is way dead.

 

I tried flipping everything around swapped parts out of other controllers already, and its that particular spot thats bad on the flex.

 

so lokos like I am spending some coin to rebuild 3 controllers. they are nice otherwise, tight, no slop like so many have.

 

The carbon traced flex cards are pretty bad. I have a few in working controllers, but most of them I find are no good.

 

You will be happy with rev9 flex cards. They works really well.

[S1500]

I should read this thread more carefully. Wonder if that rev 9-ish 5200 stick I have is salvageable.

[peedenmark7]

the rev. 8 cards are junk IMHO. carbon tracers have to be very fragile.

 

like I said I was able to fix one of the rev7's with that ED-112, but how long will that last ? and one of the fire button tracers is open somewhere so it didnt fully solve the problem.

but otherwise brought it back to life flawlessly !

the other rev7 controller i have has broken tracers all over the place.nothing works and aluminum is sticking out of the mylar in several spots, so that a total rebuild anyway.

 

I am buying 4 sets of gold rev9 aftermarket cards along with the fancy gold buttons today.

I want to play games, not fix controllers if what this guy claims about them is true, I'll be ecstatic !

 

 

this was an interesting experiment though.. if you have a controller that's just acting up now and again,clean the contacts and try the ED-112 trick. it may work long term.

the product description claims it can be painted on to rubber and plastic with good adhesion and long term success.