Removing 22 year old joysticks!!!!!

[Pooman2084]

**Newbie alert**

I'm currently restoring an old Robotron for my sins - and there is a lot of restoring to do in this case

Anyway, can any of you MAME gurus give me any pointers as to how to remove old joysticks that may have almost 'stuck together'? In this instace I have removed everything but the stick itself and the square rubber/metal part that is attached to the underside. I don't know the actual name of it, but it is the bit that centres the stick back into the central position.

I just can't seem to get it off and the rubber is quite old and I'm afraid I'll tear it if I use too much force. Should I just give it a hard tug, or should I abadon saving them and get new ones?

Is there some washer under this rubber part that can be removed to allow it to slip off.

The joystick is the classic WICO style with a red ball top.

I can post a pic if you think you can help.

[paigeoliver]

I have had to saw through some old wicos in the past.  Not even too much force could do it. I have to use a hacksaw.

You are going to want new sticks anyway, right?  

[Pooman2084]

I guess new ones will be preferable for gameplay, I was just trying to keep as many original parts as possible.

So your advice is to saw thru them and get some replacements? I'd almost resigned myself to that anyway, but wanted to check I wasn't missing something simple

WICO sticks look like the ideal replacement - any ideas?

Also does anyone know what start buttons should be used in RObotron? The problem I have is that I have a US machine, but am in the UK. So there aren;t many people here that can help with the US specs.

Does anyone have a pic of a fully working RObo cab that is swiched on?

[OSCAR]

I'd spray them down good with some pentrating oil or WD-40 and let them soak it up for an hour or two.  That might turn those old rubber grommets into black goo, but you probably need to replace those anyway.  If the ball top handles are in decent shape, I'd try everything else first before sawing them off.

[paigeoliver]

I believe they are dark blue leaf switch buttons with no writing or anything special.

But you may want to ask at the Klov.com message board about the correct buttons if you want to know for sure. But truthfully, I wouldn't really worry about it. With a US machine in the UK, no one is going to really notice anyway.

[Zeitgeist]

I've had this happen as well.
I almost destroyed the stick (shaft) in my attempts to remove the old grommet.
I used penetrating oil (that destroyed the rubber) a hack saw, cold chisel & a pair of curved jaw pliers (overkill probably).
The main thing (IMHO) is to preserve the housing & switches & stick if at all possible.
As oscar said the centering grommets are replaceable.

I purchased mine from John's Jukes in Canada.
John is an honest & helpfull person & the grommets were reaonably priced (haven't checked in a while quantities may be low).
The rubber is very stiff & works great if you are trying to play 4 way stick games such as pacman or donkeykong with an 8 way ball top, since you have to exert deliberate force.  
http://www.flippers.com/

They are also available on ebay from time to time:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3218848422&category=13718

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3218791553&category=13718

If you do however damage the stick beyond use you can replace those as well.

Alan from TNG sales has these on eBay quite often.
They are of good quality & replace the Original Wico sticks perfectly.
He's also an honest person to deal with:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=3218402270

Good luck

[Pooman2084]

Nice one. THanks very much guys. I'll let you know how i get on 2nite.

I'll get this baby running again...........

[Zeitgeist]

Though you might like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3218838614&category=13718

[Pooman2084]

 

SUCCESS!

WD40 did the trick and they came off nicely after a few hours. Thanks guys - it's really appreciated.