jetset Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Yeah go ahead CPUWIZ...Indian burial ground. Ok, so I have 2 controllers that are out of allignment you could say...I used the Petes test cart (Classics' Multicart) and of the four I have, two are fine, but 2 aren't. the 2 that aren't are both the same thing, they "pull" left... That is, I just nudge left and the character SHOOTS left. To get it to go right, I have to push the stick completely over, and at that the on screen character only slowly goes right, and sometimes not all the way... At this screen on the Petes Cart... When my stick is centered, the little dot is almost on the line to the left. If I move the stick all the way right, it DOES go to the right side of the screen, but you can still see the dot. When I push the stick left, about halfway over the dot is out of view off the screen on the left. ANYWAYS, I know by pressing the top button it brings up the calibration menu, but then what? I didnt want to just start pressing buttons so I figured I'd ask here.... And yes, I tried searching but couldn't find much. So if there is somewhere that explains exactly what the numbers should read and how to set them kindly point me there. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignernt Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 I'm not familliar with the test cart but it sounds to me like the conrollers have bad pots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Isnt there a pot in the 5200 for adjusting the stick values? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 2, 2005 Author Share Posted March 2, 2005 Isnt there a pot in the 5200 for adjusting the stick values? I think so, but I'm not too keen on taking the unit apart. Unless it's REALLY simple I'd rather avoid touching the inside. I can deal, especially since I just got me an 800 and as soon as I get the hookups I need I will be playing a lot of those games on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 No..there isn't any kind of Pot to adjust the controllers. What you have to do will sound scary..but is quite easy. You have to open the controllers up..and then you will see the two pots used for the X and Y axis control. On these pots will be a small white sorta oval shaped pin added to them that the sticks actually move left to right and up and down. The scary part is this...what you have to do to recalibrate the sticks. Is to push or pull the pin physically on the shaft it is attached to. by doing this you are actually moving the inside of the rotater of the pot further in the direction you need. So basically if for instance in Jetset's case..his stick is pulling to the left when it is basically "centered" So what he should do..is to physically move the plastic pin to the left a bit on the shaft so that when centered again, it is actually now more to the right... Basically you physically move the plastic oval pin on the pots in the direction where the stick is traveling too far. By doing this your actually moving the inside rotator in the opposite direction and hence physically adjusting the pot in the direction you need to center. BTW...I don't use the test cart myself....I have found that StarWars Arcade is perfect for calibrating the sticks, since when properly centered, the crosshair should be about in the center of the screen...with just a hair bit to the left...hehe... Works for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 3, 2005 Author Share Posted March 3, 2005 No..there isn't any kind of Pot to adjust the controllers. What you have to do will sound scary..but is quite easy. You have to open the controllers up..and then you will see the two pots used for the X and Y axis control. On these pots will be a small white sorta oval shaped pin added to them that the sticks actually move left to right and up and down. The scary part is this...what you have to do to recalibrate the sticks. Is to push or pull the pin physically on the shaft it is attached to. by doing this you are actually moving the inside of the rotater of the pot further in the direction you need. So basically if for instance in Jetset's case..his stick is pulling to the left when it is basically "centered" So what he should do..is to physically move the plastic pin to the left a bit on the shaft so that when centered again, it is actually now more to the right... Basically you physically move the plastic oval pin on the pots in the direction where the stick is traveling too far. By doing this your actually moving the inside rotator in the opposite direction and hence physically adjusting the pot in the direction you need to center. BTW...I don't use the test cart myself....I have found that StarWars Arcade is perfect for calibrating the sticks, since when properly centered, the crosshair should be about in the center of the screen...with just a hair bit to the left...hehe... Works for me... ..If I post a pic of the inside of my controller, could you kinda edit that picture with an arrow to show me? I bent what I think you are talking about but it didnt work. Either that or I was too nervous that I'd break it and didn't try bending it hard enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 BTW...I don't use the test cart myself....I have found that StarWars Arcade is perfect for calibrating the sticks, since when properly centered, the crosshair should be about in the center of the screen...with just a hair bit to the left...hehe... Works for me... I prefer Missile Command.Star Wars has an auto-calibration feature going on that makes it difficult to adjust sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I didn't know that...but I do know the ultimate controller direction test game... Gyruss... Man...that game is stupid difficult to get calibrated for...about the only game where I can have everything else work just fine..and then on one controller..you move it to the left..and the ship moves right!!!...Ugh..the controls on Gyruss just suck..and they should be much better. But if you can get your stick controlling properly for Gyruss...you should be about good to go Calibration wise...you know...Jetset...your gonna love this..I am calibrating some sticks now...I will post pics of what I am talking about later...how would that be... Now that I have a digital Cam..I can do stuff like this...yeah... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Okay..as I promised...here are two pics I took while calibrating a 5200 stick with the exact opposite problem that yours has. The first pic shows the pins on the pot shafts in their centered positions. The bottom pot is the X axis control and is the one you need to adjust. Again the pin points straight down in the center of the pot as the circle shows in this pic. Remember my stick here won't go to the left at all. So I have to turn the pin on the pot counterclock wise towards the right....up and then just as the pin would start to come back down is when it hits the limit stop. Now in this second pic I show the rotation with the blue arrow. But more importanly, since it won't go the left, I have to move the inside rotator to the right more in order to make contact. So I actually force the pin past the limit stop about 1/16 of an inch or so. Now the red dot here show where the pin originall stopped. The yellow dot shows the pins new position when at the limit stop. Again, I simply forced it by turning it more. What your actually doing is turning this plastic pin on the shaft more in the direction opposite of where you problem is. My stick won't go left...I force it past the limit a bit towards the right...if your stick won't go right...then you force the pin past the limit towards the left. In your case, the limit stop is about at the 9 o'clock position on my 5200 sticks. So you simply force it just a bit more and go past that stop just a bit. Hope this helped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 -^Cro§Bow^- Man I cannot thank you enough!!! That absolutely worked like a charm! I don't think I've ever played Star Wars Arcade where the crosshairs are in the middle!! And all my other games are right as well! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 No..there isn't any kind of Pot to adjust the controllers. There actually is a pot to adjust the range of the sticks, but it affects all sticks equally, so it should be used with caution, and should be set for decent average performance using several working controllers. It is the pot outside the shield (in the front right corner area). -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 No..there isn't any kind of Pot to adjust the controllers. There actually is a pot to adjust the range of the sticks, but it affects all sticks equally, so it should be used with caution, and should be set for decent average performance using several working controllers. It is the pot outside the shield (in the front right corner area). -Bry Bryan, are you talking about inside the 5200 unit itself? I think I know what you are talking about... There's a white one above and to the right of the red power light, but there's also a small blue one below and to the left of the power light...Is it one of those, and if so which and what does the 2nd one do ? Is there anywhere here @ AA or elsewhere with a schematic of the 5200's inside and what each of the chips/lines/connectors is for ? That'd be cool t osee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Bryan, are you talking about inside the 5200 unit itself? I think I know what you are talking about...There's a white one above and to the right of the red power light, but there's also a small blue one below and to the left of the power light...Is it one of those, and if so which and what does the 2nd one do ? The other one is the GTIA color adjustment. I think the pot one is physically much smaller. Is there anywhere here @ AA or elsewhere with a schematic of the 5200's inside and what each of the chips/lines/connectors is for ? That'd be cool t osee. http://www.atariage.com/5200/archives/inde...l?SystemID=5200 -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Speaking of which... My deck seems to be getting "twitchy." Calibration seems to drift as it warms up. What's centered at powerup and what's centered after 15 minutes on are diffrent things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 JB... You already probably know this..but that would indicate a slightly lose solder joint most likely by the controller port. It would read one way when cold...and then as the system warms up..and the chips heat up...the values change. Might be time to either try adjusting the main controller input pot that was mentioned above inside the 5200, or just give all the ports and the pots a fresh shot of heat from an iron with a touch of new solder. On another note, I didn't forget about that main pot inside the 5200...I simply didn't think that Jetset would want to mess with that. And he clearly stated that it was only one controller this was happening with. It may be he only has one controller..but still I tend to not mess with that pot if I can help it. I did once on my 5200, and it took me like an hour to get it back to a level where everything was cool again. I said "Never again I tell you...Never! Again!". See if you can guess where that quote is from...and by whom... Anyway, glad to hear that your back in the game Jetset...you have learned another important piece or secret as some of us might like to call it...to keeping and fixing 5200 sticks. They really aren't that hard to fix they just require patience and time so as to not rush things. Enjoy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 JB... You already probably know this..but that would indicate a slightly lose solder joint most likely by the controller port. It would read one way when cold...and then as the system warms up..and the chips heat up...the values change. Might be time to either try adjusting the main controller input pot that was mentioned above inside the 5200, or just give all the ports and the pots a fresh shot of heat from an iron with a touch of new solder. Ah. Thank you. Easier to swap it out for one of my other decks. ... Which I SHOULD have thought of when the problem started. I'm so stupid sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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