Duo-R controller ports bad?

[thewestexit]

I buy and sell PC Engine systems, although I may have to stop doing that since every system I get in nowadays seems to have problems... My latest problem is a Duo-R... the system seems to operate fine, but the controller port is bad and makes the system unplayable.  When you plug a controller in it is attached very loosely and none of the buttons work right.  If you try to play a game the controller seems to have the I and II buttons on auto and you can't move using the d-pad, but if you press up-left on it it pauses the game (!)  I tried it with a few different controllers and the results were the same.  Is this something that would be an easy fix?  I can't open the system up because I don't have the right size hex screwdriver (must be metric).  Also the AV port is a little shaky but it can be corrected with a little fiddling in the back, my primary concern is this unusable controller port.  Any help would be appreciated. =)

[SignOfZeta]

Well, you can't do crap until you get inside the system.

You won't find many non-metric fasteners on a video game machine from Japan. The Duo R is put together with secure Torx bits. I can't remember the exact size, but they are like a regualr Torx, but with a nub on this inside that keeps them from being turned with just about anything else. You can get a set of secure Torx bits for pretty cheap. I recently bought a set of 100 different bits (Torx, secure Torx, hex, square, tri-wing, etc etc) for $8 at an auto parts store.

The sockets on PCE systems are not the best, IMO. You might be able to get away with re-soldering the terminals onto the PCB and fixing it. The little metal shield around the controler port also comes lose, and is reattached with soldering. Its possible though that someone yanked on the thing so bad that the PCB is cracked. I've seen that before.

Basically, once you get it open the nature of the problem will probably be pretty obvious. Good  luck.

[thewestexit]

Yeah, I noticed those nubs too, so I thought my regular hex wouldn't work.  I'll try to look for these torx bits; it never hurts to have more tools cos you'll end up using them anyway.  Thanks for the advice.

[Seldane]

Those little nubs are very easy to get off. Just put a small screwdriver in there and hack 'em off.  

[Keranu]

That problem sounds very similar to this problem I have with a Genesis 2 model of mine. The first control port acts up like yours and remaps buttons in the wrong order and some buttons don't even work, but when I fiddle the controller port around, the buttons will remap to other buttons and in a certain position they will map correctly, so I would usually put a few Genesis cases right under the controller end connected to the port so it would stay up and hold the port in the correct spot. Don't know how to fix it though.

[pixeljunkie]

Yeah, I noticed those nubs too, so I thought my regular hex wouldn't work.  I'll try to look for these torx bits; it never hurts to have more tools cos you'll end up using them anyway.  Thanks for the advice.

Whenever D-Lite comes out of his cave he could probably help.

I've bought from you MANY times. Nice to see you on the boards.

[GUTS]

Hey what happened to your ebay store?  I was looking for some imports and saw you had closed up shop, are you planning on re-opening or are you getting out of the business for good?  It sucks because you were one of the few sellers without retardedly inflated prices or shipping from japan.

[esteban]

It sucks because you were one of the few sellers without retardedly inflated prices or shipping from japan.

Indeed.

[thewestexit]

Thanks for the compliments, I closed the ebay store because stuff wasn't moving as fast as I needed it to or I can't get the price I was hoping for.  I've been selling PCE stuff for over 6 years now and I think it's just about run its course for me.  Of course I've said that in the past and end up coming back to it =)  I still post some things on ebay from time to time, in the future I might post a list of stuff I have here since this forum seems to be very active.  Good to know that there are still PCE fans out there even after all these years.