Are these common failures for the ColecoVision Super Action Controller? Is there anything else I should do before reassembling it?

[Jimbo57]

Seller said the joystick does not turn right, and the "1" button does not work. I had hoped I could fix this with Deoxit, but It looks as though I will be buying parts. One of the plastic levers for the joystick is snapped off, so I am going to super glue it to the metal tab, probably with some painters tape on the underside to ensure glue doesn't insulate the contact patch. One of the Diodes failed a continuity test, so I assume that is the cause of the dead keypad button since the button contacts are shinny unlike the heavily oxidized solder. The hidden screw was so loose it was almost out of it's socket, so I think the prior owner tried to fix this, if that means anything. 

 

When working on Vacuum tube equipment I learned that 3 out of 4 types of capacitors tend to fail after around 60 years of age, causing problems. That number is for American made units, the British units seem to fail sooner, and is believed to be due to humidity at the time of manufacture. Ancient resistors just slightly gain resistance and generally don't affect Vacuum tube equipment. My case of tube era resistors is somewhere between 1-5% increased resistance based on testing a handful, that were stored poorly. Do the resistance values matter all that much on these 8-16 bit systems? Do Diodes go bad with age? When working with antiques, I generally prefer to keep as much original as possible. Should I replace all the diodes?

 

 

Are these two problems common with this controller? Are there any other common problems I should check for, or pre-emptively fix? I'm still waiting on my adapter, so I can't test this just yet, but it should arrive soon. 

 

 

The solder is heavily tarnished, so I should probably polish the solder leads used for the circuit board card edge plug for the lower buttons, but I've never polished solder, any suggestions? Can I just hit it with a brass wheel on my Dremel really quick, or should I use a buffing wheel. I'm used to using a bulb type desoldering iron instead of wick, and those leads look crude, also many of the areas without the green appear to be brown instead of the copper, so I'm not sure there are actually traces underneath if I actually wanted to apply fresh solder.. 

 

Speaking of crude solder, there are so many bridged solder joints under this board. Aside from the sensors for the scroll wheel, only two of these bridges actually appears intentional, and one of those is poorly done and appears to not have had as much copper tracing as It should have had. 

 

Also, the rubber foot seems to be sticky, and kind of feels like those cheap rubberized lights that begin to rot after a few years, like the blue ones at harbor freight. At least it lasted much more than 5 years. I don't know it it dirty or if it is just rotting. I'll scrub all the stuff and hope it doesn't reappear in a few weeks, but if it is decomposing, is there something I can stabilize it with?

 

Is there anything I should do before I put this back together?

Edited August 20 by Jimbo57

[ColecoFan1981]

I did read the Super Action Controllers did tend to fail here and there after a few years, so I am following this post for more info.

 

~Ben

[phoenixdownita]

@Jimbo57 https://consolemoo.com/shop/ols/products/the-octogon

 

to install it you snip all of the white levers in the joystick under peg and place the “octagon” over it, di ditto mine and worked like a charm.

 

Wrt diodes I had a cracked solder joint on one in the handle buttons, after resoldering no more issues … 

 

The real problem is that they are not very comfortable to use in the end, and so long sessions of twitchy games are a no no imho.

They do look like fighters gloves, never understood what the front plastic guard is supposed to protect your fingers from …

[phoenixdownita]

Just now, phoenixdownita said:

@Jimbo57 https://consolemoo.com/shop/ols/products/the-octogon

 

to install it you snip all of the white levers in the joystick under peg and place the “octagon” over it, did it to mine and worked like a charm.

 

Wrt diodes I had a cracked solder joint on one in the handle buttons, after resoldering no more issues … 

 

The real problem is that they are not very comfortable to use in the end, and so long sessions of twitchy games are a no no imho.

They do look like fighters gloves, never understood what the front plastic guard is supposed to protect your fingers from …

 

[else]

8 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

The real problem is that they are not very comfortable to use in the end, and so long sessions of twitchy games are a no no imho.

I’ve never felt totally comfortable using them. You’ve got to simultaneously grip them with your fingers and press the buttons with your fingers. Feels kinda like trying to walk and chew gum at the same time….it can be done, but it makes my brain hurt. 

[Jimbo57]

10 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

@Jimbo57 https://consolemoo.com/shop/ols/products/the-octogon

 

to install it you snip all of the white levers in the joystick under peg and place the “octagon” over it, di ditto mine and worked like a charm.

 

Wrt diodes I had a cracked solder joint on one in the handle buttons, after resoldering no more issues … 

 

The real problem is that they are not very comfortable to use in the end, and so long sessions of twitchy games are a no no imho.

They do look like fighters gloves, never understood what the front plastic guard is supposed to protect your fingers from …

I tested the continuity from the top pins, not the solder joints underneath, so touching up the solder won't fix a bad diode. I will touch up the few solder joints that look like they may have been cold though. 

 

The rule of thumb is to assume anything sold as "untested" on ebay is broken and the sellers just don't want to admit it. I thought by buying a example cheap with known defects to fix, I'd save money. Unfortunately, the circuit board is designed differently from what I expected, so I'll probably break even with the cost of parts. 

Edited August 23 by Jimbo57

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Main issue I've had with the SACs is the joystick shafts themselves breaking quite easily. Got like 2 of them that were broken in this manner but had been working fine prior to that.

 

[Supergun]

On 8/22/2024 at 10:16 AM, phoenixdownita said:

They do look like fighters gloves, never understood what the front plastic guard is supposed to protect your fingers from …

I don’t think they were meant for protection, I always thought they were there to help “conceal” the players finger tips and the 4 buttons  from the other player. Reason being, the whole Coleco head to head sports competition aspect that was a big selling point back then with the handheld electronics market.

 

So for example, let’s say you are playing super action baseball, your opponent can’t see which of the 4 pitches you are throwing them.

[phoenixdownita]

On 9/20/2024 at 1:16 PM, Supergun said:

I don’t think they were meant for protection, I always thought they were there to help “conceal” the players finger tips and the 4 buttons  from the other player. Reason being, the whole Coleco head to head sports competition aspect that was a big selling point back then with the handheld electronics market.

 

So for example, let’s say you are playing super action baseball, your opponent can’t see which of the 4 pitches you are throwing them.

You may have a point… why didn’t I think of that …. then again I can totally see my young self attempting to physically knock out the other player with one of those things.

Edited September 22 by phoenixdownita