I thought the original controllers had a longer cord and that it was shortened later on, these first ones had red lettering on the buttons and the plugs looked different to later versions. There were actually several versions of the 3 button controller made, I came across several over the years and the later ones really were poor quality. The quality slowly got worse over time.Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes
I actually have one of the red-button models. The problem is, some of the buttons and directions don't work. Is this something that could be fixed by cleaning the PCB with rubbing alcohol?
It's possible. I had a SNES pad like that where the start button wouldn't work at all. I cleaned the board and now it does work, but you still have to press hard for it to work. Cleaning it might get it to work but it won't work as well as a mint condition controller that was well taken care of and barely used.
Or it could be caused by the cord being damaged, if that's what's wrong you might be out of luck. I think the cord is soldered to the board so you can't swap it easily from another controller like with TG-16 pads. I'd have to open a Genesis controller again to check, it's been maybe a decade since I've opened one so I can't remember for sure.
I had an SNES controller with a start button issue too. Blackened a lot of erasers trying to clean it, but now it works (more) reliably.
Found my Model 1 Genesis controller and cleaned it, and after awhile the B button (which was bad) started working reliably... but then I found out the controller has a very sensitive left and right on the D-pad (I often try to shoot strait up or duck in Contra Hard Corps, and wind up moving sideways instead). Went back to using the one with the "loose" D-pad, where I know exactly what I'm pressing every time.
So... I guess the D-pads that are good for some games, aren't good for others.
I had a SNES controller with the same problem but I just pushed in the cord harder into the controller (not the console) and it has been working since.
i remember reading an article (on sega 16 i believe) about the different variations of genesis d-pads. i can half confirm the article in that the quality of several different styles of 3-button genny pads i own are different, but i havent opened them to confirm that it was due to different designs.
but i will also concur with the previous posters that the d-pad on the six button controller is the best
There is also a big difference in how the D-pads of the different controller versions are constructed. For instance, on some, if you completely take off the upper shell of the controller, there will be a big circular hole that the whole round D-pad fits in. On others, there will be circular recessed area that the D-pad fits into with a much smaller hole in the center. Through this small hole the D-pad part connects to the piece on the other side that actually pushes the buttons. I believe that this is the better working construction between the various controllers.
"Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...ntroller-dpads Here's the thread. There is indeed a model of the 3-button controller that has the 6-button dpad style. As for which controller has the best dpad ever, it's between the Saturn's and Genesis 6-button's.
Selling gaming accessories. Click
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote