Q: Anybody fixed Colecovision controllers? (joystick repair HOW-TO!) Alexander Bilstein wrote: > > I have four standard Colecovision controllers in various states of non- > functionality. The keypads are okay, but each one won't move in various > directions. Is there any sort of simple fix for this, or are they shot? First take them completely apart and clean them with isopropanol(from drug- store) or just with water.Check the metal leaf contacts for dirt/corrosion and if they are dirty clean them with fine sand paper. Broken plastic pressure rings etc. can often be fixed with hot glue or by wel- ding the broken plastic together again with a small,adjustable soldering iron set to low temperature(150C degree etc.).If needed use a piece of old plastics of the same material as "solder";I have already often rewelded broken plastic parts together successfully.Cyanacrylate quick glue doesn't work too well,be- cause it is too crisp and tends to break again after repeated stress. Also check with a multi-tester if the cable is broken where it comes out of the case or the plug.If yes,you can only cut the broken part out of the cable and solder the rest together again.Insulate each lead with clear adhensive tape to prevent shorting against eachother and then protect the whole repaired cable part with at least 3 layers of adhensive tape.(Avoid using cheap stan- dart insulation tape for insulating the single leads against eachother,because the glue of this stuff tends to turn into a honey-like mess after a short time,making the tape slip away easily.Clear adhensive film tape sticks way longer at its place.) If a cable at the PCB is torn of,resolder it into place and fix the cable bun- dle with hot glue to prevent it from getting torn off again. The Colecovision plastic foil keyboards seem to be an ordinary standart part, used for burglar alarm devices etc. and though they should be cheaply avail- able in big electronic parts shops. I hope this helps you. MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================* From: CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic Subject: Re: Colecovision/Sega adapter compatibility (add 4 joystick ports) Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 14:20:05 +0100 Bazakrak wrote: > > >Can you use a Sega 4 controller adapter on a Colecovision? I hate using the > >stock controllers, but you need them to select the games sometimes. I've > >looked for a y-adapter, but I can't seem to find one. Let me know if you > >have used one successfully on a Colecovision > > I use a Wico controller extension cord. This way it's easy to select a game > with the Colecovision controller and quickly unplug it and plug in my Sega > Genesis controller (or other compatible). I added a 2nd pair of joystick ports(between the 1st ones) to my Colecovision console.I had to put diodes in series to each of the new data input lines to avoid trouble with the keypad signals shorted by the additional joysticks.(The coleco switches between 2 "GND" lines to select between keypad and joystick inputs.) Then I a modified a "Competition Pro" joystick using some germanium diodes and resistors in a way that it now is as well compatible with Coleco- vision as with my Atari 7800. MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================* From: CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic Subject: Re: What's your favorite joystick? (Intellivision controllers are terrible & HOW-TO fix this!) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 17:53:20 +0200 William Moeller wrote: > > The Intellivision disc.......really! ;-) > > It was my first video game, and I had no trouble learning how to use them > effectively. I use my left thumb for the disc, and the right one for > "fire".......and can quick > ly press any keypad number.....I never could > figure out what all the fuss was about with regards to the controllers.... Games like "Tempest" or "Gyruss" could play great with this disc,but in my op- pinion the Intellivision's fire buttons(German version,= model 1?) are the most arkward and hand hurting ones I ever played with.These side buttons need way too much force to be pressed and are located on really unergonomical posi- tions. By this reason I took my Intellivision controllers apart and cutted out some of the plastic "bridges" on its 2 semi-soft plastic button pieces.Though now less force is needed to make them react,making them way more usable now. MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================* From: CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic,rec.games.video.arcade.collecting Subject: "Professional Competition" is best JOYSTICK! (was:"What's your favorite joystick?") Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 16:34:25 +0200 [Dear RGVAC,sorry that I post/forward this here,but below is a question in this text related to arcade joysticks. ] Charles E Taylor IV wrote: > > In article <6k6pig$2qs$2@news3.tufts.edu>, > kisrael@allegro.cs.tufts.edu (Kirk Is) writes: > > [2600-ish pinouts] > > | What systems used those controllers? > | Atari 2600 > | Atari 7800, sort of (extra fire button) > The Colecovision would also fall into this category, along with the > Genesis (I've played Sonic with the Atari radio-control sticks) and SMS. > > | C=64, C=128 > > Vic-20 too. > > | Atari 8-bits > | Amiga > > Yes. > > | One of the Sega Systems, sort of And theoretically the Vectrex;practically it abused the 4 direction inputs as 4 button inputs and the 2 paddle inputs for its analogue joystick. And Schneider/Amstrad CPC464 etc. (with port for 2nd joystick on the 1st one. MSX computers had also 9 pin joysticks,but the 2nd fire button output was on the 5V pin of other computers,making a bad short circuit when there is no pro- tective resistor in the joystick. My vote for the most precise joystick goes definetely to the "Professional Competition". The Professional Competition looks VERY similar to a "Competition Pro" with a red handle and 2 red buttons on a black base.But unlike the Competition Pro, this one contains 4 microswitches mounted on a PCB and pressed by a black plastic disc.This makes of it and incredible precise 8 way joystick with very short ways and very low motion force needed.The only bad thing is that the me- tal leaf switches for its 2 buttons(soldered to the PCB) hang on a very thin piece of tin which cracks sooner or later.(No problem - soldering or glueing it in place again works really fine.) Another not so nice thing is that they only have 1 button function(like a 2600 one) and don't stand well on a table, though they need to be held in place by hands. I believe to remember that the company building them has a name with 4 letters (beginning with "S"?) and that under the joystick stands"made in Netherlands". The normal Competition Pro is also a very good and very robust(no PCB,easy to repair) joystick,but it needs too much force to be moved and also the motion ways are longer than the ones of the "Professional Competition",because it presses its microswitches directly with a metal pole without any lever-like working disc.There is an old version with black base,black handle and only leaf switches,a newer version(red stick & buttons,black base) with microswit- ches for stick,leaf switches for buttons,and several even newer versions with only micro-switches.I definetely prefere joysticks with leaf contacts for but- tons,because they make it possible to shoot really fast and well dosed without hand pain and without any electronical continous fire circuits(those usually fire with a wrong frequency).A small disadvantage is that the leaf switches need to be cleaned regularly because plastic powder covers their contact sur- faces.I modified 2 of these joysticks for my NES and my VCS7800 + Colecovision using them sideways to make use of both buttons.There are also mini-versions of this joystick,but the one I bought on a flea-market(black base,red buttons and stick) had non-working micro(or nano-? ;) )switches and I needed really watchmaker skills to take these switches apart and clean their contacts with- out loosing any 2mm small springfeathers etc. But IMO the incredible precission of the "Professional Competition" is way suprerior to "Competition Pro" joysticks.Unfortunately they seem to be very rare.I bought my 1st one in my childhood,and found(and bought) only a single 2nd one later on a (German) flea market half a year or so ago.(Perhaps I will build me a tournament-size "Robotron 2084" control panel for my PC of these fantastic joysticks.Its a pitty that they are so rare.Someone should buy the patents(?) and develope new digital joysticks basing on them,because their precision is higher then everything else I ever tried yet! Does anybody know if there were any low-force 8 way arcade joysticks of simi- lar high or perhaps higher precision? (I MIGHT be interested in buying 1 or a pair of them for building the mentioned PC control panel.) I remeber,that someone once wrote that the Bally Astrocade(??) joysticks would be the most precise ANALOGUE ones and that he built a PC adapter for his ones due to their enormous precision.Can anybody confirm this? The most unusual historical home console joysticks are certainly the ones from SABA "Fairchild";they have handles like water tap knobs and were true 4 axis controllers(like modern virtual reality equipment!),but in digital and without any buttons(!). MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================* From: CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic,rec.games.video.arcade.collecting Subject: Re: "Professional Competition" is best JOYSTICK! (was:"What's your favorite joystick?") Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 17:36:11 +0200 CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler wrote: > > My vote for the most precise joystick goes definetely to the "Professional > Competition". ... > I believe to remember that the company building them has a name with 4 letters > (beginning with "S"?) and that under the joystick stands"made in Netherlands". I have looked again at it;the company(?) name is "SUZO"(?). MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================* From: CYBERYOGI =CO= Windler Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic,alt.games.video.classic,comp.emulators.misc Subject: PC keyboard joystick modification (was "Re: [KEM] TRON, Discs of TRON, Satan's Hollow, Journey, and more!!!!!") Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 18:19:43 +0200 > This is a little offtopic but.. what kind of controller do you use for > playing > emulated games? > > Or do you use your keyboard? If your using a joystick which is best? Can > I hook > up my old Amiga Arcade Joystick to my PC? I have modified my PC keyboard by connecting some keys to "4066" ICs in a way that I can control the number block curser keys,[ctrl] & number block [0] by an Atari 7800-style joystick port connected to a similar rewired Competition Pro Amiga joystick(sideways with both buttons on left side for easier play- ing).The keyboard modification is quite simple;you just need 2k pullup resis- tors at the input lines and the "analogue switch" outputs of the 4066 ICs by- passing the appropriate keys. MAY THE SOFTWARE BE WITH YOU! *============================================================================* I CYBERYOGI Christian Oliver(=CO=) Windler I I (teachmaster of LOGOLOGIE - the first cyberage-religion!) I I ! I *=============================ABANDON=THE=BRUTALITY==========================*