Wiring a conventional rocker power switch into the INTV model II? I broke the momentary metal switch and I'm losing my patience...

[barrelsAndRivets]

While cleaning my INTV II, I broke the metal momentary switch that allows the combination power/reset functionality. I untaped it, dropped it, one of the metal feet broke off, and it got warped. It was a cascading case of bad luck.

 

I ordered a bunch of potential replacements from Mouser and nothing seems to hit the contacts correctly. Console5 has it on their page but they're out of stock. I've tried some dedicated momentary switches with wire combinations against common/NC/NO. I get mixed results, it works when the stars align but mostly doesn't.

 

Does somebody with experience with this board know where can I tap into to possibly install a conventional on/off rocker switch for this? Or, are there articles that I'm missing that discuss this terrible design and how to work around it? Apologies if I'm not explaining this well. I'm just incredibly frustrated, as this console was otherwise working 100% and now I can't keep it stably powered 😕 

Edited August 27, 2022 by barrelsAndRivets

[IMBerzerk]

Can you post a pic of what is broken?  I don't have an INTV II, but I can say I when I was converting my Sears SVA into a RetroPie unit, I wanted to utilize the reset button and was able to buy a tactile switch, mount it on a bread board and shim it to the correct height. Now it works and sounds just like the original.

 

Try Digi-Key and see if they have what you need.  They carry just about everything imaginable. 

 

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/result?s=N4IgTCBcDaIMoHcCWAXAxgCxAXQL5A

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by IMBerzerk

[barrelsAndRivets]

6 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

Try Digi-Key and see if they have what you need.  They carry just about everything imaginable. 

 

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/result?s=N4IgTCBcDaIMoHcCWAXAxgCxAXQL5A

 

Thanks for the reply. I hope the SVA was a lost cause as that’s my personal favorite intellivision design. It’s so… weird!

 

I put Mouser up there with digikey and already exhausted the same like-minded parts. I also am fortunate to have a local electronics store, Anchor, that has just about everything.

 

The problem, or my confusion really, comes from the fact that this isn’t just a reset switch. It functions as both power and reset. A single press turns the console on, subsequent single presses reset, and a press held down for ~5 seconds powers off the unit. So there’s a bit more upstream monitoring and acting on the circuit status and that’s where I’m falling short on a workaround.

 

I do not have a picture but basically the base is a metal square with 4 outer contacts, which are meant to remain connected. An inner contact, meant to be hit by a momentary switch, takes action. I have two problems… the top momentary switch plate is in pieces. Similar replacements work, sort of, but not reliably. This makes me think the contacts are problematic as well. This is why I was hoping to wire something in further on the board.

 

my thought is that this is a typical “nc” circuit but that’s not quite working.

 

I hope someone reading this has dealt specifically with the INTV ii and can make sense of this for me.

[Kamikazi26]

Want to buy a working mainboard from an inty 2 console? Pm me. 

[mr_me]

I think that these metal dome switches are, by design, normally open.

[IMBerzerk]

If you can't source the parts as new, you're going to have to buy another unit for spare parts.  Pretty common thing with these old units.  

 

Hence how I had an extra unit to convert to a RetroPie unit.  I have a bunch of INTVs for parts... as many of us do.  

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by IMBerzerk