Atari 1040ST Repair?

[Hwtoyman]

Hello All,

 

I am new to this group and new to Atari Computers. I have an Atari 1040ST....Computer boots up loads software fine (well most of the time anyway), I have an Atari 2600 Joystick in port 1 and an Atari Mouse in Port 2.

 

The mouse seems to work fine but the joystick wont work, For example I Put in "Into the Eagles Nest" and "International Karate" and it says hit fire button, nothing happens....

 

So after a bit of research online many people say there may be cold solder joints on the joystick ports and they have a tendency to fail....

 

When it comes to computer repair or soldering well lets just say I "Suck" at it....

 

I would probably just destroy my machine rather than fix it....

 

Is there any reputable person/place that repairs Atari ST machines?

 

Is it an expensive repair??

 

I know I would be responsible for the shipping both ways plus the repair and parts if necessary....

 

I would much rather pay someone to fix it than me destroy it.....

 

Thanks everyone, any help would be appreciated....

 

I live in the USA by the way...

 

Regards,

Dan C.

Edited April 14, 2018 by Hwtoyman

[Christos]

Pressing the right mouse button in game will push fire on joystick. I would suggest using some software to test which joystick moves don't work before shipping for repair.

 

The actual repair is quite easy to perform though. It was my first fix on my Atari using a soldering iron. I am pretty sure any electronics repair shop can do it. Most time will be spent on opening and closing the machine.

[Hwtoyman]

Hello,

 

Well I tried the right mouse button but nothing happened.....

 

The mouse seemed to work when I have the basic Green screen up though.....

 

Also I put in a few other games and joystick still doesn't seem to work....

 

I tried the same joystick on my C64 and Amiga 500 and it works fine (It is an Atari 2600 Joystick)....

 

I wouldn't mind sending my computer to a place just so they could look it over on the inside,

 

to see if there are other issues....

 

The floppy drive sometimes doesn't boot up the first time, I did notice that issue too...

 

 

Regards,

Dan C.

[Hwtoyman]

After some more messing around I got the joystick to work but the Floppy drive seems very erratic ...Sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn't....

 

The game R type wouldn't work...then it did for awhile today...Now that disc wont even load at all....

 

Any advice??

 

Thanks,

Dan C.

[KLund1]

The read/write heads in the floppy disc drive probably is a bit dirty. Easy to clean with ISO and a q-tip, but requires a disassembly of the case and inner RF shield. You would only need a Philips screw driver this fix, and about 30-45 minuets.

[tjlazer]

Clean the drive heads, they can be dirty. With that said, I have had a few drives fail on me and I had to get a replacement. You can also get a GOTEK to fit internally, they have nice 3-D printed brackets too so you don't have to hack the case.

[Nebulon]

After some more messing around I got the joystick to work but the Floppy drive seems very erratic ...Sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn't....

 

The game R type wouldn't work...then it did for awhile today...Now that disc wont even load at all....

 

Any advice??

 

Thanks,

Dan C.

 

I've seen this kind of thing happen on an external diskette drive. It just kind of loses connection randomly.

 

So I'm also curious about how to trouble-shoot disk drive issues on the ST.