Controller Repair

[vectormatt]

Hi There,

 

I've been trying to repair one of these flaky plastic controller matrixes with a conductive ink pen but I'm starting to get frustrated. Does anyone have a spare controller for sale? I have a 1st generation intellivision, but it probably doesn't matter what kind of controller it is as long as I can swap parts.

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

[edintv]

Hi There,

 

I've been trying to repair one of these flaky plastic controller matrixes with a conductive ink pen but I'm starting to get frustrated. Does anyone have a spare controller for sale? I have a 1st generation intellivision, but it probably doesn't matter what kind of controller it is as long as I can swap parts.

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

 

Hi,

 

I have replacement Controller Matrix for sale, they are new and it should solve your problem, please check:

 

My link

[vectormatt]

Well, I decided to exercise a little more patience and got everything working 100%. In fact, better than before I think. I just needed a little practice. I bought a CAIG CircuitWriter™ Pen from Radio Shack for about $10. You have to push the tip of the pen down to get the ink to come out, so I did that on a separate piece of paper and soaked the tip. You don't want to wet the tip directly on the plastic otherwise you'll get some bleeding. Then I painted over some of the hairline cracks, most of which were in the folds of the plastic. You have to be really careful the ink doesn't bleed over to another trace. I would also shine a bright flashlight through the plastic to find any hairline cracks or bridges. I let the ink dry for 4 or 5 hours and then carefully wiped the residue off. After 24 hours of drying I took a Q-tip and lightly cleaned the plastic with some rubbing alcohol.

 

If you need to clean the contacts with an eraser, do it very gently. I think I used too much force and it eventually caused some issues. Then gently clean with a Q-tip soaked with a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol. Dry by tapping (not rubbing) the cleaned area with a tissue paper.

 

Also, word of warning - When you put the conductive ink over a trace - it loosens up the original ink and if you try cleaning up a mistake it will erase the original trace. So you'll have to draw it back on.

 

Having said all this, I will probably take your offer and buy a plastic matrix or two just in case.

[edintv]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your purchase (I guess you are the one who bought the 2 Matrix) You could add something else to take advantage of shipping, if you like. I will ship monday.