Replacing Atari Hall Effects Joysticks?

adamzero

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Is it possible to replace Atari Hall Effects joysticks with either standard leaf or microswitch ones? I picked up an Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters...cleaned out the joystick assemblies, but I'm still having issues.
I'm up for selling them pretty cheap if I'm able to replace them with a different setup....

Thoughts?
 
there is no replacement to the best of my knowledge for a hall effects stick. Technically you can put a generic stick in it's place and the game should work but you will not be able to move as the game was designed to. For this you will need the hall effects. I believe there is some kind of hack (or whatever) that you can do to make a standard joystick somewhat replicate a hall effects. Something like putting a resistor in line with the lead to the switch on the joystick. It's been a while so I really don't recall correctly I'm sure. At any rate I've never heard of an option that is supposed to be equal to the hall effects stick.
 
I'm not even sure how it would be wired... there's only X, Y, power & ground wires going to the little pcb.

I'd assume for a replacement stick I'd need L/R and U/D (4 wires).

SuzoHapp makes rotory joysticks, but... these Hall Effects seem like a different animal.

Are there fix-it kits for them?
 
I've never looked into how they wire specifically but I have been told by more informed than I that a standard stick can be wired up somehow. If there is a rebuild kit my guess is www.videogameparts.com will be the one who has it. It's been a while since I've dealt with a hall effects but I think they have an adjustment on the underside of the stick (maybe a screw) that adjusts voltage. It may be as simple as entering test mode on the game and properly adjusting the sticks. I'm pretty sure I had to adjust mine when I got it and it had been rebuilt by a member here before I bought it.
 
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And... on that videogameparts site... they have one NOS and one rebuild. Cost to get both? $500. $500 for two joysticks is insane.

I found some hall effect joysticks at digikey... $110. The problem is... they're tiny. Like a thumb. The mounting plate was less than 2" across, too. So those won't work.

I'll try recalibrating them again...
 
I've rebuilt several of these sticks before. Usually you replace the same shit you would on any logo joystick (parts you can buy from Riptor's site - twistywristarcade I think - or videogameparts.com), the Hall Effect sensors (think you can get those at videogameparts.com, no clue), maybe also replace the radial capacitor (replacing the trim pot is probably also a good idea, but I'm not sure what the value is or where to get them), calibrate, and they're good as new.

Even when like new they're not the greatest sticks in the world... but unfortunately without them your game won't control quite right and I'm at a loss as to whether there is any commericially available replacement.
 
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