What's the best way to adjust a leaf switch?

pookdolie

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On my Robotron FIRE stick, I'm having trouble getting my mutant human to fire to the right and right/down (4-5 o'clock position).

The previous owner told me he'd just replaced the leaf switches. I took a look at the control panel, and they do seem pretty fresh. The metal "leafs" on the leftmost switch of the FIRE stick were only coming together tenatively, so I bent them a little more towards the joystick and tried the game again. Better results: I was now firing to the right and right / down but, after a few more plays, the firing was getting intermittent again. I'm assuming it's `cause I pushed the leafs back towards where they started.

What's the best way to adjust the leafs?
 
This may be of use:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/79351-13-adjusting-leaf-joystick-leaf-buttons

Basically you have to bend them into position so the gap is not too close and not too far apart. The cleaning with a business card trick does work to clean the contacts.

You bend on the stiffer piece of metal that is behind the two contact points. As in this fuzzy picture - bend on the 'copper' colored area to adjust this switch.

m-sw-ltied.jpg
 
Awesome - thanks. That's the info I was looking for.

I think the gap on my switch is too wide, and it might need cleaning, too. I'll experiment.
 
You may be able to bend it back but you'll find these leafs lose/lost their rigidness over time and can/will eventually revert back to the way they were. It's free to try the above suggestion tho ;)
 
You may be able to bend it back but you'll find these leafs lose/lost their rigidness over time and can/will eventually revert back to the way they were. It's free to try the above suggestion tho ;)

They definitely do bend back out over time from use. We had to constantly bend them back 'in spec' on machines on the route I worked BITD. That was another reason the micro-switch was nice - less maintenance.

If you have leafs and play much, get used to making adjustments. :)
 
I'd imagine the FIRE joystick on Robotron gets a helluva lot of leaf switch wear compared to others.

So far, while playing, I've found making quick, small movements works better for aiming my lazer shots - but in the heat of battle, this thing must've gotten abused like no other back in the day. :D
 
So, you put both of the "leafs" inside the slit - is that the idea?

I always just bent the heavier piece of metal behind the shorter leaf to control the gap. I suspect that is how the tool is meant to be used as well. I have seen the tool but never used one.
 
I fixed this. Turns out that the gap wasn't wide enough, and the short distance between the contacts was making the connection "sloppy". Bent them apart a bit = mutant human shoots perfectly.

I noticed that, out of the 8 leaf switches on my two joysticks, seven look new w/a plastic housing holding the metal parts, and the one I worked on has a paper / felt / other sort of material holding everything together. Maybe this one is older...?
 
I always just bent the heavier piece of metal behind the shorter leaf to control the gap. I suspect that is how the tool is meant to be used as well. I have seen the tool but never used one.

yeah, you only want to bend the thick piece. the thin ones will not stay flat if you try to bend them. The tool is probably easy enough to make, but probably not worth the effort if you are already buying from someone who carries them.

The one I have only has the 90 degree end, and I would definitely like to have the 45 degree as well. Now I just have to wait until I need to make another parts order.
 
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