Quickshot joystick not shooting

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Lardo Boffin
Posts: 2155
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:42 am

Quickshot joystick not shooting

Post by Lardo Boffin »

Hi all
I recently acquired a Quickshot joystick which doesnt’t shoot. Well, it did for a few minutes and then gave up.

I opened it up and we have this (yes it needs a clean...):-
3C6720B9-C2EA-4C61-9900-F35C5432785E.jpeg
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It looks like pressing fire pushes the what looks like plastic sheets down onto the contact which makes a circuit. You can see the two sheets sat on the main body. They both have holes in them from years of use. They also both feel like crinkly sellotape!

Is there anything I can replace them with? My current plan is to stick some tape on top of them and see what happens...

Thanks

Lardo
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Lardo Boffin
Posts: 2155
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:42 am

Re: Quickshot joystick not shooting

Post by Lardo Boffin »

Well, one mystery solved. I found a little metal dome rattling around in the case. Clearly the tape was to hold it in place. Shame there are not two as there are two buttons.
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
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1024MAK
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Re: Quickshot joystick not shooting

Post by 1024MAK »

Yes, I killed multiple Quickshot joysticks back in the day...

And yes, many cheap joysticks back then used a metal "click" disc contact mounted on a PCB with "thick" transparent adhesive tape.

Use a suitable solvent cleaner to remove all traces of the glue from the old tape. Put the metal disc on a flat surface and check it clicks if you press it. Using new strong transparent adhesive tape, refit the metal disc contact back on the PCB. Test, then re-assemble.

Mark
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Lardo Boffin
Posts: 2155
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:42 am

Re: Quickshot joystick not shooting

Post by Lardo Boffin »

I did that and it worked for three or four clocks before dying again. The dome is still in place. I even tried making the connections directly and got no response.

I opened up the body and it is a mess of frayed and nearly broken wires in there! Looks like a major tidy up is required. Job for another day...
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
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