Replacing controller port pin on US AES?

I bought a cheap AES a while back as a way to start my Neo Geo collection, and it works wonderfully except for the fact that the second controller port is missing a pin; specifically, the pin that allows the "up" direction to be of use. I'd like to play multiplayer on this thing, and well, I don't think that Fatal Fury is a whole lot of fun if you can't jump... Poses a slight gameplay issue. Anyone know what to do? I need help desperately. Thanks in advance!

This sounds like it will be a major pain to fix. Have you considered selling it in order to get another one?

Find a (very very) cheap (i.e. dead) MVS board with controller ports and send it along with your AES to someone with good (de)soldering skills (Jeff Kurtz for instance) for a port replacement.

Checkout this site...they do repairs. Click the Services link.
www.neogeousa.com

Shit... Taking that into consideration, I think I may just end up buying another Neo to replace it... For that matter, I've been looking into getting some sort of MVS set-up, because AES games are so damn expensive. Thanks for the help, though.

I've seen pics of replacement parts used on a Neo. If it's basically not working anyway the risk of making it worse are slim. A Japanese mag I have shows how you can replace the SNK ports with standard 15-pin PCB-mount connectors that will not only solve your problem but allow use of regular-length connectors, where the Neo ports require very deep ones.

Put another way, if you buy a 15-pin PCB-mount connector, the kind with a 90-degree bend in the connector's pins, it should be a simple part swap. Desolder one and slap in the other.

I'm not sure you would get a satisfactory result with what Neogeoman suggests, precisely because the Neo joy ports are deeper than normal ones. I happen to have ports like the ones in the pic below that are probably as close as you can get to the original neo ports:

(I have the 15-pin)

I've just checked if they'd fit my AES well and the answer is no: they'd be too indented and would not reach the hole in the plastic case: not nice-looking and this is all about cosmetics because otherwise one could simply install a panel-mount port somewhere on the case without the hassle of desoldering the proprietary port from the PCB.

I'd like to see scans of that Japanese magazine though...

That's what I get for relying on my memories instead of digging the book up in the first place. It wasn't a PCB mounted connector, they used a standard DB15 connector (the kind you'd use to make a cable with) and soldered it to the existing connector.

This would work for you, cut the existing plastic shield that surrounds the pins and solder the new connector onto it, and run a wire for the missing pin to the base of the PCB.

According to the mag, leave 9mm space between the base of the old connector and the 'wings' of the new one so it'll clear the case when you close it.