Fantastic tutorial sir! You have inspired me to fix one of my controllers. I particularly liked the bit where you promptly explained not to use a very aggressive solvent when cleaning the silicone parts. When you initially sprayed it I winced a bit, but was relieved when you explained how mild it is. And thank you for saying what kind of solvent it was too!
It always makes me incredibly happy to hear that my videos inspire people to work on their own stuff. Thanks! :D The contact cleaner I’m using is meant to be used for potentiometers and such so it is indeed extremely mild and doesn’t dissolve the carbon layers on those silicone pads. You can easily break them with more aggressive chemicals.
There are for most controllers! I didn't find any trustworthy listing for replacement pads for these particular ones though (just some obscure looking stuff on AliExpress and the likes). I'm sure they are available somewhere and I'm going to be able to resurrect the second controller, too!
You can repair the toren rubber pads with liquid glue(not super glue) like OHO.but you have to let it dry overnight and the broken bits should match exactly with the other part of the pad.
They were given to me by a friend from a house clearance, so haven't got a clue about the dodgy repair 🤣. Cheers for the mention Jan. I enjoy watching all your videos. 👍
No worries! Thanks for the donations (the main attraction is going to be featured in a video soon, too)! That paper "repair" definitely was a bit of a surprise! :D
Yes! There were so many good sports games. I remember playing John Madden Football with a friend (who actually owned a Mega Drive) for days. Probably the previous owner of these controllers did something similar (according to the listing of teams on the piece of paper).
The Sega Megadrive was a massive hit back in the early 90's, it wasn't long before my friends spilled liquids or the controller wouldn't respond as it should so I refurbished these for fun back in the day! The joypad you have there is the Rev C, the earlier versions had all the button contacts on the same face of the PCB, the Rev C design moved on to the Megadrive 2.
I just learned from some previous comments that there are vastly different versions of these. I assumed the "mushroom" design was the only variety because as far as I remember all the 3-button controllers I worked on had that. Always something new to learn! :D
That is a weird contraption to make the d-pad contacts connect. If you look for Sega genesis / Japanese Mega Drive controller repair or tear down videos on TH-cam you'll notice the board has all contacts facing the front and no plastic fitting. I assume the way it work was by warping the circuit board momentarily for the d-pad? How odd. Patent issues with and European company at the time, perhaps? Great video.
So, it's not really a "restoration". It's just a cleaning. You only have 1 working controller at the end of the day. I believe someone is making aftermarket replacement parts for the silicone contacts (I could be wrong). The scratches on the shell you might be able to finely sand away; the surface of the plastic will never be the same, but with skill and a buffing machine it won't be as noticeable.
I recently refurbished a few of these. They originally come with a spot of grease in that little round dish shape that the white d-pad actuator sits on. In the bottom half of the shell.
Ah, that makes sense. There was some brownish residue on the "mushroom" part before I cleaned it. I might go in again and add some silicone grease and see if that makes it smoother to handle (it works really well in the state it's currently in though).
I guess you could use that silicone dpad thing from the 2nd controller, make a mold and cast a few silicon ones, adding some sort of conductive pads... It would be interesting to see how it would come out
Yes, definitely going to look into getting some. The listings I found so far are rather obscure and/or overpriced though. But I'm sure I'm going to find some good ones eventually.
Yes, I'm definitely going to look into that. The listings I found so far are rather obscure (or vastly overpriced) though. But I'm sure there are reasonable replacements available somewhere.
I always liked the shell the 3 Button Sega Genesis came in over the 6-Button shell, though the 6-button shell is used in more Sega Genesis games since it's inception; it's there a 6-button variant of the Sega Genesis's 3 button controller?
Jan, do you like that particular model hot air station? I was looking at that exact one but haven't checked any of the reviews yet. Thanks. Paused video at 1:26 just to ask, commence with the watching of this video :D
They are amazing for the price and are sufficient for what I do (pre-heating through hole pins, the occasional SMD rework and shrinking heat shrink tubing). Build quality probably varies a bit with these cheapo hot air stations but I'm very satisfied with mine.
You may want to experiment with a layer of silicone to try to reattach the ripped off dpad domes. It should harden and yet still flexible enough to allow the dome to move. At least until you find a new replacement.
There seem to be replacements although I couldn't find a trustworthy source yet. I have no experience with silicone casting and such but maybe I'll have to look into that and learn something new again. :)
@@JanBeta no, I mean use silicone as you would use glue to patch the domes. Silicone casting would be complicated. 😁 There are also silicone glues available.
Hi im wondering, my controller is supposedly original, but it doesnt have that plastic thing in the dpad, could it be that there are differents versions of the model 1 controller?
Ok I have just cleaned two MD2 pads, there was a piece of card inside one of them too and I think I get why now (as well as why one of your two pads had two rubber contact parts piled up): the bottom mobile plastic part that pushes on the contacts just digs into the controller bottom part, and so the mechanical parts of the D-pad get too loose to make contacts work. That's just poor engineering. So until I find a more elegant solution, I've added a piece of card at the bottom of the second D-pad. In the ones you got, piling up two rubber contact parts in one controller was too much though, so no wonder at least one was super worn. In those conditions I'm surprised even one of your two controllers' D-pad works fine as is! Collectors who use their boxed MD2 from time to time should keep these controllers in the box; well-working ones in original condition are bound to become a rarity! Anyway thanks for your tutorial, mine work pretty well in the end, compared to the state I got them in!
I so wish someone made/sold replacement rubbers for these controllers. You cannot find them anywhere. I play on 8bitdo now because all the rubbers for 3 buttons are worn out.
@@JanBeta ah that sucks. Yeah I know all of my 3 buttons feel like complete mush because the rubbers are just toast. A lot of people I know too have the same experience. Sega was a big part of gaming back then, I wish all the controllers got the same treatment as Nintendo ones that have newly made parts being sold. I did find some "new" rubbers for a 6 button controller, I ordered them and I'm curious to how they behave when they arrive.
Time to order a Rubber pad set from eBay? ;) Though I'm not very happy with the ones I ordered fro the Dual Shock 3. Don't feel right and a bit stiff...
The only replacement pads I ordered so far were for a DualShock 2. And my experience is similar. They are not quite the same material but they work. I'm definitely going to try to find some replacements for the Sega controllers soon.
@@JanBeta Sure, better than worn out, absolutely. Especially the one you have. There might also be different manufacturers of the rubber and for Dual Shock 2 and 3 you can actually use the same rubber for DPAD and Face Buttons (Circle, Cross and so on)...
I don't like the Mega Drive Controller and spend the extra money on an 8bitdo M30. That works really well for me. Well, frankly, I got two: one 2,4G one for Mega Drive Only and the BT One... Can highly recommend it.
@@JanBeta yeah, the Mega Drive Version of the Controller is a bit harder to find these days. It is a great Controller and I really enjoy them! Especially the M30 BT on the SNES with Street Fighter is really good :) But well, they aren't necessarily cheap these days, sadly...
I guess it would be doable with a lot of work. Probably would make more sense to design a new PCB. I might even look into that at some point. Interesting idea, thanks!
I've tried that with similar pads on keyboard keys and it works to some extend but doesn't last very long. There's special carbon paints that allegedly last longer but I haven't tried those yet.
Sega's plastics are 1/10 the quality of Nintendo's. The six button controllers are the only one's worth saving. 3 button releases were a big mistake for Sega.
Yeah, the action on these feels a bit wonky. I really like the form factor though. I always struggled with the smaller Nintendo controllers back in the day but these 3-button Sega ones just felt "right" from the start. The plastic is alright (I haven't seen many broken plastic parts on these), I think Nintendo used something a bit more elastic which makes sense for controllers. It's a matter of taste in the end, I guess!
Fantastic tutorial sir! You have inspired me to fix one of my controllers. I particularly liked the bit where you promptly explained not to use a very aggressive solvent when cleaning the silicone parts. When you initially sprayed it I winced a bit, but was relieved when you explained how mild it is. And thank you for saying what kind of solvent it was too!
It always makes me incredibly happy to hear that my videos inspire people to work on their own stuff. Thanks! :D The contact cleaner I’m using is meant to be used for potentiometers and such so it is indeed extremely mild and doesn’t dissolve the carbon layers on those silicone pads. You can easily break them with more aggressive chemicals.
Disintegrating rubbery bits are a pain when it comes to controller repairs, but there are plenty of new replacements for sale I'm sure... :)
There are for most controllers! I didn't find any trustworthy listing for replacement pads for these particular ones though (just some obscure looking stuff on AliExpress and the likes). I'm sure they are available somewhere and I'm going to be able to resurrect the second controller, too!
@@JanBeta I don't find it. There is new controllers, wires, cables for SMD 1 but not rubber pads.
You can repair the toren rubber pads with liquid glue(not super glue) like OHO.but you have to let it dry overnight and the broken bits should match exactly with the other part of the pad.
Our pleasure to have your support, Jan
Good job, Jan. Thank you for taking the time to record and share👍
Glad you liked it! I thought it might be useful for someone! :D
Hi Jan, ich liebe deine Videos und wie du deine Fachkenntnisse vermittelst. Meistens verstehe ich sogar was du sagst 😉 mach weiter so 👍
Sehr schön ausgedruckt!
Could be someone's "Fantasy Football" picks on that conductive pad.
They were given to me by a friend from a house clearance, so haven't got a clue about the dodgy repair 🤣. Cheers for the mention Jan. I enjoy watching all your videos. 👍
No worries! Thanks for the donations (the main attraction is going to be featured in a video soon, too)! That paper "repair" definitely was a bit of a surprise! :D
It’s always a pleasure to watch one of your videos.
Thank you! 😊
PCBway is the way
This is the way. ;)
Genesis/Mega Drive was the favored console for sports games at the time
Yes! There were so many good sports games. I remember playing John Madden Football with a friend (who actually owned a Mega Drive) for days. Probably the previous owner of these controllers did something similar (according to the listing of teams on the piece of paper).
Fantastic job , looks like new from the front !
There's still a couple of battle scars but I actually like that kind of wear on old controllers. :D
My favorite TH-cam channel, hello from Argentina.
Hey, thanks! And hello from Germany! :D
The Sega Megadrive was a massive hit back in the early 90's, it wasn't long before my friends spilled liquids or the controller wouldn't respond as it should so I refurbished these for fun back in the day! The joypad you have there is the Rev C, the earlier versions had all the button contacts on the same face of the PCB, the Rev C design moved on to the Megadrive 2.
Thank you for the explanation, I was wondering why his controller was so different from mine !
Ah, interesting! I think all the controllers I worked on had that same "mushroom" design seen in the video. Thanks for pointing out the differences!
I like the megadrive repairs. This controller is a lot different internally from the one I still own.
I just learned from some previous comments that there are vastly different versions of these. I assumed the "mushroom" design was the only variety because as far as I remember all the 3-button controllers I worked on had that. Always something new to learn! :D
That is a weird contraption to make the d-pad contacts connect. If you look for Sega genesis / Japanese Mega Drive controller repair or tear down videos on TH-cam you'll notice the board has all contacts facing the front and no plastic fitting. I assume the way it work was by warping the circuit board momentarily for the d-pad? How odd. Patent issues with and European company at the time, perhaps? Great video.
Make the controllers great again! 😁
A good and fast repair, nice
Thanks! :D
I do all mine the same way as well as N64/PS1&2 and others of similar interior design to save them, often making 1 good 1+ spares out of 2!
This is the way! ;)
So, it's not really a "restoration". It's just a cleaning. You only have 1 working controller at the end of the day. I believe someone is making aftermarket replacement parts for the silicone contacts (I could be wrong). The scratches on the shell you might be able to finely sand away; the surface of the plastic will never be the same, but with skill and a buffing machine it won't be as noticeable.
I recently refurbished a few of these. They originally come with a spot of grease in that little round dish shape that the white d-pad actuator sits on. In the bottom half of the shell.
Ah, that makes sense. There was some brownish residue on the "mushroom" part before I cleaned it. I might go in again and add some silicone grease and see if that makes it smoother to handle (it works really well in the state it's currently in though).
Just an FYI, there are companies still selling spares for these controllers including the pads which come to less than 5 Euro.
I found some rather obscure listings on AliExpress and such but I'm sure replacements can be found elsewhere. I'm going to look into that. :)
Some links or directions would really be neat along with this kind of information :)
Terrific keep it up.......Thanks v much , Jan Beta...
I guess you could use that silicone dpad thing from the 2nd controller, make a mold and cast a few silicon ones, adding some sort of conductive pads... It would be interesting to see how it would come out
As always a very informative video :)
Thank you Frank! 😊
Aftermarket replacement rubber pads are available, although not quite as good as the originals. It's better than broken and crumbling though.
Yes, definitely going to look into getting some. The listings I found so far are rather obscure and/or overpriced though. But I'm sure I'm going to find some good ones eventually.
There are still not too expensive spare rubber parts available for these controllers, so you could fix even the second controller If you so desire
Yes, I'm definitely going to look into that. The listings I found so far are rather obscure (or vastly overpriced) though. But I'm sure there are reasonable replacements available somewhere.
@@JanBeta Definitely worth doing. Does make the dpad much smoother and less noisy-plastic-creaky.
Nice work!
Can you use these pads (safely) on an Amiga?
I wonder if you could use something like Mop and Glow (Floor Wax) to polish up the case
I always liked the shell the 3 Button Sega Genesis came in over the 6-Button shell, though the 6-button shell is used in more Sega Genesis games since it's inception; it's there a 6-button variant of the Sega Genesis's 3 button controller?
Jan, do you like that particular model hot air station? I was looking at that exact one but haven't checked any of the reviews yet. Thanks. Paused video at 1:26 just to ask, commence with the watching of this video :D
They are amazing for the price and are sufficient for what I do (pre-heating through hole pins, the occasional SMD rework and shrinking heat shrink tubing). Build quality probably varies a bit with these cheapo hot air stations but I'm very satisfied with mine.
@@JanBeta Glad to hear, I will be ordering mine tonight. Many thanks for your reply and I enjoy every one of your videos. Have a good weekend!
You may want to experiment with a layer of silicone to try to reattach the ripped off dpad domes.
It should harden and yet still flexible enough to allow the dome to move.
At least until you find a new replacement.
There seem to be replacements although I couldn't find a trustworthy source yet. I have no experience with silicone casting and such but maybe I'll have to look into that and learn something new again. :)
@@JanBeta no, I mean use silicone as you would use glue to patch the domes.
Silicone casting would be complicated. 😁
There are also silicone glues available.
Hi im wondering, my controller is supposedly original, but it doesnt have that plastic thing in the dpad, could it be that there are differents versions of the model 1 controller?
Jan, könntest du bei Gelegenheit mal zeigen, wie man möglichst preiswert einen 6-button Sega Controller to Amiga Adapter zusammenbaut?
Es gibt ein paar open source adapter auf GitHub etc. Ich habe sogar zwei verschiedene hier, die ich zeigen könnte. Mache ich bei Gelegenheit mal!
I think you can try to restore the second controller with the conductive paper you found in one of the controllers. ;)
Yeah, no, maybe. :D
Hi could i please get the name of the contact cleaner used please.
Trying to see it in the comments.
Ok I have just cleaned two MD2 pads, there was a piece of card inside one of them too and I think I get why now (as well as why one of your two pads had two rubber contact parts piled up): the bottom mobile plastic part that pushes on the contacts just digs into the controller bottom part, and so the mechanical parts of the D-pad get too loose to make contacts work. That's just poor engineering. So until I find a more elegant solution, I've added a piece of card at the bottom of the second D-pad.
In the ones you got, piling up two rubber contact parts in one controller was too much though, so no wonder at least one was super worn.
In those conditions I'm surprised even one of your two controllers' D-pad works fine as is!
Collectors who use their boxed MD2 from time to time should keep these controllers in the box; well-working ones in original condition are bound to become a rarity!
Anyway thanks for your tutorial, mine work pretty well in the end, compared to the state I got them in!
Make one work with a button for up on the Amiga, so you have a 2 button and up controller
Someone MacGyvered the hell out of that first controller.
Super happy they didn’t use chewing gum though! :D
I so wish someone made/sold replacement rubbers for these controllers. You cannot find them anywhere. I play on 8bitdo now because all the rubbers for 3 buttons are worn out.
I found some obscure listings on AliExpress and the likes but the replacements don't seem to be readily available unfortunately. :/
@@JanBeta ah that sucks. Yeah I know all of my 3 buttons feel like complete mush because the rubbers are just toast. A lot of people I know too have the same experience. Sega was a big part of gaming back then, I wish all the controllers got the same treatment as Nintendo ones that have newly made parts being sold. I did find some "new" rubbers for a 6 button controller, I ordered them and I'm curious to how they behave when they arrive.
Time to order a Rubber pad set from eBay? ;)
Though I'm not very happy with the ones I ordered fro the Dual Shock 3. Don't feel right and a bit stiff...
The only replacement pads I ordered so far were for a DualShock 2. And my experience is similar. They are not quite the same material but they work. I'm definitely going to try to find some replacements for the Sega controllers soon.
@@JanBeta Sure, better than worn out, absolutely. Especially the one you have.
There might also be different manufacturers of the rubber and for Dual Shock 2 and 3 you can actually use the same rubber for DPAD and Face Buttons (Circle, Cross and so on)...
I don't like the Mega Drive Controller and spend the extra money on an 8bitdo M30.
That works really well for me.
Well, frankly, I got two: one 2,4G one for Mega Drive Only and the BT One...
Can highly recommend it.
Yes! The 8bitdo controllers are awesome! I have a bluetooth one for my RetroPie setup in the living room and really like it!
@@JanBeta yeah, the Mega Drive Version of the Controller is a bit harder to find these days. It is a great Controller and I really enjoy them!
Especially the M30 BT on the SNES with Street Fighter is really good :)
But well, they aren't necessarily cheap these days, sadly...
Order a tpu 3d printed replacement for the broken pad maybe? :)
Bel lavoro
Maybe thin tactile switches could be hacked in under the dpad
I guess it would be doable with a lot of work. Probably would make more sense to design a new PCB. I might even look into that at some point. Interesting idea, thanks!
I wonder if you could just use a pencil and draw on a conductive pad.
I've tried that with similar pads on keyboard keys and it works to some extend but doesn't last very long. There's special carbon paints that allegedly last longer but I haven't tried those yet.
Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons are american football teams
Those teams from the soaked paper are American NFL football teams. I know because I’m American and people here never shut up about football. 🙄
Haha, I thought so. I remember American football was quite a thing back in the 90s even here in Germany, but I don't remember many team names. :D
Sega's plastics are 1/10 the quality of Nintendo's. The six button controllers are the only one's worth saving. 3 button releases were a big mistake for Sega.
I agree. The 3 button pad is creaky and crunchy. Though the oversized buttons are fun to whack.
Yeah, the action on these feels a bit wonky. I really like the form factor though. I always struggled with the smaller Nintendo controllers back in the day but these 3-button Sega ones just felt "right" from the start. The plastic is alright (I haven't seen many broken plastic parts on these), I think Nintendo used something a bit more elastic which makes sense for controllers. It's a matter of taste in the end, I guess!