Reproduction Pro Controller fixes

JagChris · September 18, 2022

Getting around to looking at my Starwander pro controller to fix it(right pull). I compiled the scattered fixes together for my convenience so I didn't have to bounce all over looking for them. Then I figured others might benefit.

I think I gathered them all so here they are:

(Plug in issues)
I also had this issue with one of mine. I ended up gently bending the pins to match the arrangement of my original controller and that solved the problem. I spent a number of hours with the controllers and put together a review for them. Overall, I think it's fantastic.

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/271862-brand-new-atari-jaguar-pro-controllers-for-sale/?do=findComment&comment=4162233

I had that problem (left pull) You can see the exact same behavior here.

https://youtu.be/sfw9CCJxJ_4

This problem seems to be specific to the left direction as I experienced the issue on more than one controller. It is not a problem with the board or the connections. It only happens when using the d-pad while the controller is assembled. If you push the directions on the conductive pad each one works properly.

I was able to fix it after a lot of trial and error. Open the controller, loosen the screw on the top board. On the d-pad side of the board (the right side when you are working inside of it) push up on the bottom of the board so as to shift it towards the top of the controller. While maintaining that pressure tighten the screw down very well. Reassemble and you should find that pushing left no longer results in a diagonal or "up" movement. I found that all of the d-pad directions worked as expected including the up+left diagonal. Shifting the board did not affect any other buttons.

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/271862-brand-new-atari-jaguar-pro-controllers-for-sale/?do=findComment&comment=4171350

I noticed some of my pro pad reproductions had mushy d-pads and thought this might help others. If you're having d-pad issues in general give it a try. (I modded some into USB controllers so ignore that Raphnet circuit on the far left.)

I believe the white ribbon cable that connects the two PCBs applies tension to whichever board was screwed down last and slides it out of alignment. All you have to do is unscrew the brown board and pull it down to the bottom retaining tabs and then screw it back tight.

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/271862-brand-new-atari-jaguar-pro-controllers-for-sale/?do=findComment&comment=4226078

Ran into two issues with one of my reproduction pro controllers, which led to a third:

Pressing D-Pad down would also trigger D-Pad right quite often. This made things like Rayman really hard when trying to crouch.The rubber button under D-pad right was starting to stick. I could hear it pop up some time after I released the D-pad. This made most games nearly unplayable.

I opened things up and resolved both issues by removing, cleaning, and rotating the rubber button assembly under the D-pad 90 degrees clockwise such that the original "right" button was now "down" instead, and straightening the upper PCB as recommended earlier in this thread. I also noticed a scrap of plastic from where the D-Pad was presumably separated from its neighbors and/or injection channel flange bits after coming out of the mold had broken off and appeared to have been partially wedged under some button as best as I can tell, but fell out when I first opened the controller. Not clear if it had been part of the cause of either problem.

However, when taking the controller apart, I noted the phillips head socket of one of the screws holding it together was almost completely stripped. I managed to get it out by applying a lot of downward pressure and turning it very, very slowly, but there's no way I'm sticking this thing back in there. I'm not even sure I could tighten it down again if I tried. @Starwander, any chance you know where I can get a replacement? The controller is a bit loose with only three out of four screws in place. This had been my primary controller for over a year up until recently, so it got some pretty heavy use and is still going strong after these adjustments, modulo the missing screw.

Edit: To be clear, just looking for specs of the screw or pointer to a replacement source for the screw, not a replacement controller. It's the top-left screw looking at the assembled controller from the back, but I'm assuming they're all the same.