WebsterLeone
@WebsterLeone

Got a couple of atomic purple N64 controllers that were not in great condition. One I cleaned up reasonably well but the second had a messed up cord and a really wonky joystick. I cleaned out the joystick and it's not great, but better than most 3rd party ones somehow.

The cable, I decided to try to put a removable connector (2mm JST style) on it since I couldn't find a ferrule setup like the original had and I think it fits? I did the crimping by hand and it was kinda jank, but it seems OK. I went to try to assemble it but somehow the pivot pin for one of the shoulder buttons broke so... now I need to figure out how to fix that. :T


WebsterLeone
@WebsterLeone

Did wind up having to trim the plug housing but it works! If I was going to do it again I'd probably look into moving the capacitor and having the socket point in the opposite direction. This specific controller is real jank already (cracks, stick is mediocre, corrosion on the memory pak port shielding...) so I don't really care but hey, it works now. That brings me up to 3 working OEM controllers (of varying quality (plus various 3rd party ones...))


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in reply to @WebsterLeone's post:

Hey there, thank you for sharing this with us! I wasn't aware you could fix a wonky cord like that, that's very interesting! Also, have you checked out Steel Sticks 64? I haven't gotten a chance to pick up a kit but that might be something to check out if you're wanting a factory feel for your joystick. :)

Man, every time I look into 3rd party sticks/modules their production run is over or are way too expensive.

As for the cord, it's easy to fix if you don't want a connector. Otherwise it's just a 2mm pitch socket with one pin cut off. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to trim the plug housing too, though, to make enough room because annoyingly there's a post right where it goes. Was about to test when I discovered the trigger button was broken.

Happy to hear folks enjoy this sort of thing though!

Ah, yeah that's totally understandable re: 3rd party sticks. I'm good at mechanical fixes but electronics go over my head so I'm always awed by people who can repair the electronic bits.

And yes! I absolutely love retro restorations, so I'm perpetually eager to see what other folks are doing with old tech. :)