tantone56 Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 My vectrex controller's fourth button doesnt work unless you push down on it really hard. I want to open up the controller and try to figuer it out but I dont know where to start. Does anyone even know how to open these things up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 It can be done, but it's an unpleasant process. You've got to peel away the decal on the front of the controller... that's where the screws are hidden. Of course, once you do that, there's no way to put the decal back on without it looking like a complete mess. Probably your best solution is to purchase a modified Sega joystick from John Dondzila and use that as a replacement. There's also a dude here on AtariAge who modifies Sega controllers... he did a really nice job with mine! JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipster Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 The other way is to cut small crosses over the screws which again messes up the decal but if you do it right the crosses will only be 1cm across and won't look too bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 It can be done, but it's an unpleasant process. You've got to peel away the decal on the front of the controller... that's where the screws are hidden. Of course, once you do that, there's no way to put the decal back on without it looking like a complete mess. If you heat it up good when peel it off, and get it hot again when putting it back down, it winds up looking as good as new. Which reminds me... I need to get the blowdryer out and warm up the stick end of my controller. Was getting sick of mucking with it, and the left end glue didn't quite get hot enough. Once you get it open, a quick slap with a pencil erase racross teh 4-button contacts will leave it as sensitive as the day it was born. ... But be careful with the top-center screw. I cracked the screw post for that one somewhere along the line. It's quite possible it was busted from falling to the floor, or some other piece of abuse I inflicted on it as a child, but it's still more fragile than the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 How to open the Vectrex controller is documented with pics on PlayVectrex.com Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantone56 Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 thanks guys I appreciate the info. I am going to try it out tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantone56 Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 Well, I figured out why the fourth button doesnt work. I seems that I had been playing mine sweep to the point where the actual circuit board cracked right under the fourth button. I dont think that there is a way around this whole mess, so is there a way to take the parts from that controller a soder them into a sega controller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Just contact this guy! http://www.classicgamecreations.com/ JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 All hope is not lost just because the circuit board is cracked. If the crack isn't too big you could try and buy some "electrical" paint. I don't know what you Americans call it, but check you local electronics store. You can actually just paint conducting paint onto the circuit board to reconnect the circuit paths. If you can solder you can also try to just solder it back together… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Well, I figured out why the fourth button doesnt work. I seems that I had been playing mine sweep to the point where the actual circuit board cracked right under the fourth button. I dont think that there is a way around this whole mess, so is there a way to take the parts from that controller a soder them into a sega controller? Geez... mine just had 2 decades of grime deposited between the traces and carbon dots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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