Bratwurst
Rugal's Thug
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2016
- Posts
- 92
I know there's an established trick for repairing the thumbstick in these things that involves dissecting the switches to clean them out:
https://gamesx.com/controldata/neopadfix.htm
But I've found of the couple I've had come through my hands lately I didn't have to do that. If you desolder the switch from the controller board you'll notice they have vents in the back, this is advantageous.
Take a shallow container and fill it with 90 proof iso alcohol, and while submerging the switch in it, click/press the button several times, facing up and upsidedown. Take the button out of the soup and click it several more times, this flushes out the nylon dust buildup inside, right out of the rear vents. Dry with a paper towel.
Alternatively, failing that, I've found the trigger switches in Konami Justifiers and Hyper Blasters use the exact same type, you just have to snip the legs on one side. They are cased in black plastic instead of blue, but functionally are the same, pictured above. Not everyone is going to want to sacrifice a light gun for a gamepad but I happen to make trigger switch kits that replace the original button with arcade microswitches, so I have a few spares kicking around.
Afterwards, lubricate the white nylon pieces and shaft with Super Lube or some other silicone based lubricant that plays well with plastics. This mitigates future dust generation.