Atari 720 controller scratch build

GF323

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I've been rebuilding Atari controllers for so long, it's pretty sad to even admit to. LOL I posted up on the general sub about the upper/lower housings I'm contemplating having made via injection mold and this is sort of an offshoot of that post. I've been running low on parts for HE/720 joystick rebuilds for awhile now and I finally decided to just make the parts myself since nobody else was going for it. Having a few pieces of the upper and lower housing parts completed, I'm finally able to put together my complete scratch build 720 controller. Everything on it is a reproduction, not one single NOS/OEM part was used in the making of this controller. At first, I was worried it would end up a franken-stick, but it turned out awesome! This was definitely a labor of love. There's no other way to justify my investment into making it. I just wanted to show it off because I'm super proud of this achievement.

The little box shown in the pictures is my homebrew dual coupler tester. I made this awhile back because I was looking for an easy way to test optic boards on 720 sticks. This was such a fun build. It took forever, but I did it! It works so smooth, too!!

Chad, I'll admit that seeing your b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l rebuilds on ebay is what motivated me to get off my ass and finish this scratch build of mine! LOL

Ok, now I can finally take a breath. I'll install in my 720 ASAP and play the game like it was meant to be played. With a working controller!!
 

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Another picture of the 720 dual coupler tester.
 

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Oh, Mark. I should give you some credit as well. I forgot about the 720 post awhile back. Seeing all those 720 controllers being rebuilt in one place definitely gave me a push to do this, too!!

I'm impressed:)
 
Oh, and before anyone says otherwise, this sucker is chock full of SOUL!!!! haha
 
You guys freakin rock. It's this love for the hobby, the enginuity, that will keep everything going years from now. Necessity is the mother of all invention.
 
Oh, Mark. I should give you some credit as well. I forgot about the 720 post awhile back. Seeing all those 720 controllers being rebuilt in one place definitely gave me a push to do this, too!!

lol. thanks. I have about a hundred or so controllers and 50 full games:) Im not sick or anything. I swear!!
 
congratulation's it amazing! is it tight,LOL

nice build...I really like the optical tester? can I buy one of those from ya?(how does it work)

nice job and post some more pics.

chad
 
It feels sweet. Tight, but not too tight. I can't believe how smooth the spin is. I'm fricken jazzed beyond belief that it turned out so great!

I was hoping someone would notice the optic tester. What a pain in the a$$ it is to pull the joystick in and out of a 720 to test it. UGH! I got lazy and made a tester for my bench. It's operation is pretty simple. Plug it in, turn it on and watch the lights. LOL Seriously though, you can check a optic board in or out of the controller. If out of the controller, when you turn it on, it any of the red LED's are lit, the corresponding emitter/detector pair is bad. Simple as that. If it's in the controller, you just watch the LED's as you slowly turn the stick. Watch for alternating ON-OFF through the entire turn of the "encoder oc1" LED's and alternating ON-OFF through the final centering slots on the "centering oc2" LED's. The circuit is super simple. I don't have any to sell, but I might be convinced to make a couple more. Oh, and it works on Tempest spinners and trackballs, too.

More pics? Ok, looking to see anything in particular?

congratulation's it amazing! is it tight,LOL

nice build...I really like the optical tester? can I buy one of those from ya?(how does it work)

nice job and post some more pics.

chad
 
More pictures.
 

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The actual build took about 20 minutes. :) Making all the parts and purchasing things like sprockets, chain and a phenolic ball? In the span of about a year, I spent maybe 12hrs total sourcing materials and making parts. It wasn't high priority for me, so it took awhile. Plus, the anodizing took forever to get back. They don't give ANY priority to one-offs/samples.

Amazing work, sir; how much time did you put to this?
 
And even more pictures.
 

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I've generated a bit of interest with my scratch build. I'm going to run off a super small number of them for anyone who might want one. I'm shooting for a final cost of $400-$450ea for a complete unit as pictured in this thread, tested, calibrated, 100% working, 100% reproduction. It won't take long to get them done. The biggest holdup in the process will be anodizing and that's only a 2-3 day wait. Just send me a PM if interested.
 
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