rotary joystick problem

howdy fellas, this is my first post in the tech forum in a while, and i got a question, how does one go about cleaning the rotary sticks on a cabinet, the rotary function on this heavy barrel cab i now own is completely off and i need to know how to clean the damn sticks...anyone know anything.

<small>[ August 24, 2003, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: Kim _Kaphwan ]</small>

okay maybe a better description would help, how does one clean rotary sticks so that they work properly?

I assume you have the old style rotary sticks with the yellow knobs:

<img src="http://www.boomspeed.com/nassivera/DECOrotarysticks.jpg" alt=" - " />

If you want to give it a good clean you have to disassemble it completely but are you sure the problem is actually due to dirt? There is a PCB on the bottom:

<img src="http://www.boomspeed.com/nassivera/DECOrotarystickPCB.jpg" alt=" - " />

with a rotary switch soldered on. Maybe the problem is due to the switch being worn out ('cause sooner or later all switches will wear out). If the problem is that you're pretty much screwed as you won't find a replacement: you'll have to buy a new stick, in which case I recommend a Happ one.

no they don't have yellow knobs and there's no pcb on the sticks they have black knobs that are rounded down you know? and when i took it apart earlier i saw no pcb in there, the cab is original, but the sticks aren't. and they still rotate they just get stuck from time to time, i need to know what kind of solution, or scraper, or toothbrush i should use to get the gunk off that prevents them from working at optimum efficiency.

<small>[ August 24, 2003, 04:27 PM: Message edited by: Kim _Kaphwan ]</small>

Black knob and no PCB? I guess you have the Happ rotay sticks then:

<img src="http://www.happcontrols.com/images/50/50561800.gif" alt=" - " />
(the top one)

I have them too and honestly I fail to see how they could not work properly due to dirt as the switch is completely enclosed...
You should also consider that the cause of the problem might be bad contact on the 13-pin connectors on the game board...

yeah those are the sticks, and i'll check that 13 pin, thanks for the info man.