Back to Table of Contents 5.2.1 5200 CONTROLLERS - CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE Atari 5200 controller buttons, mainly the fire and start/pause/reset buttons, wear out prematurely, either by repeated use or by periods of non-use. Here's the easy way to fix the 5200 controller buttons. The buttons work by pressing a carbon coated disc against a set of circuits. The two circuits are interweaved and a connection is made when the carbon touches both traces. The traces look like this: |----- | | ------| |------ | | ------| The carbon coated discs are located on the underside of the rubber you press. What makes them quit working is the exposed circuit traces which corrode and get dirty, not allowing the connection to be made. This is especially true if the controllers are stored for some time in a damp place (or just unused for a long amount of time) (or especially if you spill pop on them :). The quick way to fix them is to clean the traces. This can be done by rubbing (gently!) with a pencil eraser until shiny clean. This will remedy the situation, but they will soon corrode again, depending on use. (some versions of the controllers used different coatings on the traces to avoid this, but these only slightly prolong the life of the buttons; I haven't seen any that don't need some periodic cleaning). To open the controller to clean, follow these steps EXACTLY: 1) With a small screwdriver, pry up the bezel surrounding the start/ pause/reset buttons. Remove the rubber buttons if they don't come out with the bezel. Now peel the printed circuit off the plastic case; it's just glued onto it. Lift the right side, as the left side has connections into the controller. Do NOT rip or remove the circuit, just unglue it from the case. 2) Remove the three screws from the bottom of the case. Center the joystick, and leave it there. Now seperate the case halves by first starting at the start/pause/reset end. The other end is pressed together; it will snap apart if you seperate the cases. Don't move the potentiometers in the bottom of the case for the stick won't mate back up when you put it back together. 3) Remove the fire buttons and their bezels. Now the traces for the fire buttons are exposed. Clean them by rubbing with an eraser. Wipe off with a clean napkin or something similar afterwards. 4) Place the fire buttons and their bezels into the lower half of the case. Guide the start/pause/reset circuit up through the upper case half where it belongs, and bring the two halves together. By centering the stick before placing the halves together, its receptacle will automatically fit into the bottom of the case, and the two directional axis plates will automatically hook up with the potentiometers. It's best to place the numerical keypad end together loosely first, as this will allow peering into the joystick end as it goes together to make sure everything lines up. The end of the joystick has to go into the hole in the bottom case, and the posts on the two arms on the potentiometers have to go into their respective holes on the plates in the upper case. After aligning everything together, make sure the stick moves in all directions freely and completely. If so, you can screw back in the three screws. 5) Re-stick the start/pause/reset circuit to the case, then clean these traces as described above. Replace the buttons and the bezel. You can also clean the keypad traces while it's apart, they don't seem to get used as much, so will usually work a lot longer. The flex circuits with the traces on them are fragile, so be gentle around them. A hairline crack in a trace can cause certain buttons not to work at all. These cracks can be repaired by soldering a bridge over the crack. Careful, the flex circuit often melts before the solder does! The permanent way to fix these buttons is by soldering sealed, surface-mount micro-button switches onto the circuits. This not only makes the buttons ALWAYS work, but also gives them a 'snap' action, compared to the mushy feel of the original buttons. The switches I use are small enough to fit under the original rubber buttons, so expect for them to work and feel different; you can't tell from the outside that any change has been made. If anyone is interested in having their sticks retro-fitted with these superior buttons, let me know. Back to Table of Contents