Replacing a 5200 controller flex circuit

[RickR]

Well, I took the dive and gave this a try.  I had a controller whose start/pause/reset circuit was clearly broken on the flex circuit.  Purchased a new flex circuit on ebay.  Carefully pulled the old circuit out and put the new one in.  And viola, it works perfectly now.  The controller is probably very close to what it was brand new.  A worthy little project.

 

Tips:  It probably goes without saying to start with a controller that has a rubber boot in good shape, and whose directional controls are functioning normally. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Yep...definitely a cool little weekend project to do.  I still have some new Rev 9 flex circuits tucked away for later.  I need to find alternatives to the POTs in these controllers because I have one controller that the POTs are almost gone.  I've checked them and tried to rebuild them but there are deep grooves on the circuit board inside the POTs from repeated use and it causes undesired movements.

[Willie!]

I have been upgrading mine to the Gold flex circuit and contacts, the one here in this video I still running great!