How to remove a Galaxian joystick ?

[Level42]

I need to get all the parts out of the CP of my Galaxian because I need to work on them and also because I want the metal to be powdercoated. I got everything off just fine, but the joystick seems a problem. I got the E-clip off without a problem, but then there's a barrel-like part (thought it was rubber, but it's very hard) that doesn't seem like it wants to move. Pulling on the joystick ball itself doesn't help either...any suggestions ?

[Level42]

Maybe a picture will clarify things a bit:

Basicaly I need to seperate part 1 and part 6 on this drawing....anyone succeeded in this ?

[steveh]

well if thats the case then it looks as if you need to pull out part #2 it is a clip at the bottom of the joystick shaft

[Kaytrim]

It may be that parts 6 & 1 are fused together.  Try and remove part 6.  If you can remove it but part 1 is still stuck then there is something not documented that is still holding the stick in place.  Your exploded pic seems to be cut off at the bottom and left.  Could you rescan the image including the missing parts and post it here?

[SirPeale]

The explodo-picture is fine.  Good luck trying to get those apart, I ended up breaking mine by accident.  Had to weld it back together.

Theoretically it's supposed to slide right out (it does now on mine) but due to that it's nearly 30 years old, it corroded.  Mildly, but enough to make removal a pain.

Lubrication and heat would likely be your best bet.

[Level42]

well if thats the case then it looks as if you need to pull out part #2 it is a clip at the bottom of the joystick shaft

I mentioned in my first posting that I already had removed the E-clip, that is Part 2, and no I'm not that dumb

I actualy just succeeded in getting it loose !!!

At a point I thought that maybe the ball would be screwed on, but I didn't think about that before because the drawing doesn't show that. So I held part 6 VERY tight with some pliers and started "screwing" off the ball......to my surprise it worked, but there is NO thread on the shaft and ball !!! So I kept pulling and rotating and it came off ! This way it was possible to remove the metal top of the CP. I also had some problem seperating the wood and the metal parts because one of the bolts is actualy bolted directly to the metal panel instead of the wood like the others.

I took the joystick apart completely and there's rust all over the place... I'd like to keep everything as original as possible but are there good alternatives for this stick ? I DON'T want microswitches however, so I think it will be tough.  On the other hand, I will have the metal parts of the marquee holder and the CP itself powdercoated and taking the joystick parts with that in one go will cost nothing more.

Will a Sanwa balltop fit on this shaft ? Sanwa seems to be the only manufacturer who has white ball tops.

Here are some measurements:

Joystick mounting plate: 8,9 x 8,9 cm = 3,5" x 3,5"
Mounting plate holes: 7,6 x 7,6 cm = 3" x 3"

Ball: 3,1 cm diameter = 1,22 "
hole in ball/ shaft : about 0,6 cm = 0,236"

The ball sizes seem a bit strange !

Peale: Sad to hear about the breaking. I can't weld so it would be a nightmare for me

Kaytrim, yes I cropped the picture for this purpose. I took a screenshot of the PDF document of the manual. You can download it here (amongst other places): http://www.arcadedocs.com/vidmanuals/G/Galaxian.pdf
It's on page 10