Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Is it possible to Swap NES controller wires without soldering?

  1. #1
    Apple (Level 5) Custom rank graphic
    Urzu402's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    1,157
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default Is it possible to Swap NES controller wires without soldering?

    If you look at this picture you would see I have 3 official dog bone controllers.
    http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9260/cimg0370c.jpg
    but the fact of the matter is 2 of these are Famicom AV controllers and thus have really short wires. now I happen to also have 2 Regular box NES controllers that I could maybe swap the longer wires out of them and put them in the Famicom AV controllers to make them longer. I was just wondering is this possible without having to solder?

    Nevermind I see that it isnt.
    Last edited by Urzu402; 09-07-2011 at 02:10 PM.
    What's up with islands? Get more land.
    What's up with deserts? Get less sand.

  2. #2
    Captain Caveman (and Son!) Custom rank graphic
    Sunnyvale's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Posts
    1,287
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    My XBOX is dead, not live.
    PSN
    PSN? PSchah!
    3DS Friend
    Friendless :(

    Default

    I don't see how, unless the entire guts of one will fit in the other. I guess you could try using butt splices or spades inside the housing, but I wouldn't reccomend it. Get out the iron.

  3. #3
    Pretzel (Level 4) APE992's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Chico, CA
    Posts
    999
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    APE992

    Default

    Nope, you have to remove the wires from the PCB itself. Since you're asking this I'm going to assume that you don't have much experience and will leave you with this: you'll probably break something long before you successfully swap wires.

    Send them to someone experienced.
    I fix things. You name it, I'll work on it. Want something modded? Recapped?

  4. #4
    Alex (Level 15) InsaneDavid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Silicon Valley, USA
    Posts
    7,366
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    24
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    13
    Thanked in
    12 Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by APE992 View Post
    Nope, you have to remove the wires from the PCB itself. Since you're asking this I'm going to assume that you don't have much experience and will leave you with this: you'll probably break something long before you successfully swap wires.

    Send them to someone experienced.
    You have to learn somewhere. Desoldering and resoldering some wires is a good place to begin, although NES controller cables are pretty thin. There's a big difference between "that's something that's really difficult, you probably souldn't try it unless you're experienced" and "bah, don't even try - send it to someone like me so I can make bank on three minutes worth of work."

    OP, read around online and get yourself a cheap pencil iron and learn to do basic electronics repair. This is what happens when you take industrial arts programs out of schools.

  5. #5
    16-bits, yo Custom rank graphic
    BlastProcessing402's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    1,281
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    7
    Thanked in
    5 Posts

    Default

    Swapping SNES controller cords was easy, they weren't hard soldered to the board, there was a little clip inside. I did this to swap cords between a first party US SNES controller with a long cord and an ASCII pad (same internal clip) which was a better controller (same build quality as a first party pad but had turbo/slo mo switches, not to mention the 4 colored action buttons instead of two shades of purple) but had a shorter cord. Guess that ease doesn't apply to the NES, tho.

    Might be better to look for an extension cord for your Famicom pads than go messing with rewiring them if you don't know what you're doing. Just typing in NES extension cord into google turns up several for fairly low prices, certainly less than you'll pay to replace your vintage dogbones if you wreck them.

  6. #6
    Pretzel (Level 4) APE992's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Chico, CA
    Posts
    999
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    APE992

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by InsaneDavid View Post
    You have to learn somewhere. Desoldering and resoldering some wires is a good place to begin, although NES controller cables are pretty thin. There's a big difference between "that's something that's really difficult, you probably souldn't try it unless you're experienced" and "bah, don't even try - send it to someone like me so I can make bank on three minutes worth of work."

    OP, read around online and get yourself a cheap pencil iron and learn to do basic electronics repair. This is what happens when you take industrial arts programs out of schools.
    This is not the place to learn, buying a kit and building a radio is the place to learn like I did when I was much younger. This attitude is leading to the destruction of so much hardware it isn't funny.

    And no, for this job my time is too valuable to "make bank" unless you count the $5 I'd ask for such a simple and quick job to be "bank".

    NES extension cords, as mentioned, are a perfect alternative given they work on all NES controllers and all compatible consoles. No soldering required and they're dirt cheap.
    I fix things. You name it, I'll work on it. Want something modded? Recapped?

  7. #7
    Insert Coin (Level 0)
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    31
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    I'm with APE. I repair video games for a living, and I spend most of my day repairing other people's poor repairs.

    Secondly, cheap soldering tools will teach you poor habits and tend to be highly destructive. If you seriously want to learn, at least get a cheap name brand like a Weller, and find a soldering practice kit that looks fun:

    http://www.hobbytron.com/G-300.html


    You'll spend under $50 total and you'll have an incredibly useful tool and skill that you can use for the rest of your life.

Similar Threads

  1. Wires inside a DC Controller?
    By dao2 in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 08-09-2008, 12:27 PM
  2. How to store controller wires?
    By Chrome in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 02-14-2006, 09:21 AM
  3. How to store controller wires?
    By Chrome in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-13-2006, 12:18 PM
  4. de-soldering / soldering techniques
    By congobongo in forum Technical and Restoration Society
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 01-11-2003, 05:05 PM
  5. how to deal with controller wires
    By ashbourn in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-26-2002, 10:56 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •