Fixing a vectrex joystick

[yok-dfa]

Recently i bought a vectrex joystick on ebay but it unfortunately there is a problem with it -> the up and down directions do not autocenter (left / right works fine). Is this easy to fix? I already mailed the seller about the problem because he claimed the unit was in perfect condition (which it's obviously not) but if we can't work out anything i would like to try and fix it myself...

I know i can probably use a hair-dryer to peel of the sticker covering the screwholes without damaging it but are do you guys have any idea how i can do this without damaging the joystick too much? Any tips on fixing the autocentering?

[rik1138]

Yeah, hairdryer is the way to go on the overlay... (Someone was selling repro overlays on Ebay at one time, not sure if he's still around...)

From the FAQ:
(1) Sean Kelly (ske...@flood.xnet.com) came up with another great
method. If you are technically inclined, you can open the potientometer
and replace the spring with a spring out of an Atari 2600 cartridge.
The spring that's used to push down the "protective" cover on 2600 carts
fits nicely. It needs a little bending, but I've replaced several
broken ones with them and they work great...

(2) Use the core from the largest available guitar string to replace the
spring you just removed. If you snip off one end you can remove the
(usually gold) wire wrapped around a core wire by pulling on the gold
wire. Credit goes to Dan Muntz once again for this clever solution and
to Mike Packard (lord...@kaiwan.com) for details about the screws.

[50TBRD]

Yeah, hairdryer is the way to go on the overlay... (Someone was selling repro overlays on Ebay at one time, not sure if he's still around...)

He's still around and got plenty of them. Here's the link. (http://cgi.ebay.com/Vectrex-Controller-replacement-decals-NEW-set-of-two_W0QQitemZ8274286782QQihZ020QQcategoryZ49230QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[yok-dfa]

Thanks for the tips. Since i live in Europe and the vectrex joystick here looks different i can't use the repro overlays/covers so i guess i'll have to try and remove it without causing too much damage.
Also, the seller responded and he is willing to refund the price if i'm not able to fix it.

[mezrabad]

Hi, I've got the same problem. Thanks to the advice in this thread I cracked open an ET and got the spring from that. Using the hair dryer trick, I've been able to open my Vectrex Joystick box.

And now I stare mutely at the potentiohmeters.

I understand where the spring should go, but I've no earthly clue how to get it in there! How do I open/unmount repair the potentiometer? :(

[mezrabad]

Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

For anyone who doesn't know, to open a potentiometer just use some needle nose pliers to pry up the four tabs that keep it together. Pull out the white plastic part and you'll find the remains of your spring. Attach the new spring to the white plastic part and reassemble.

My Vectrex joystick is alive again! Yay!