Turbo Duo controller port toast?

[Ratix]

recently the duo stopped taking all controller input and no longer works. I went and rewired a controller for direct connection cuz the extension cable i was using kept screwing up at times. I'm either to polish to understand how wire goes here and wire goes there or i think i killed the port altogether. im heavily leaning on #2 mainly cuz i've sounded out the cords with my meter and the proper pinouts are registering when i touch them with the meter. So my real question is... am i damned with a duo that doesn't work because of a controller port issue or can it be fixed.

[MotherGunner]

It can be fixed, contact RedGhost (on this forum) for input.  Good luck!

[SignOfZeta]

On the contrary, I don't think you have enough polish to understand.

When you say you "rewired" the controller, do you just mean that you removed the extension cable and plugged the pad directly into the system? If so, then I'd assume the problem is just that the solder points for the controller port have broken. This is easily fixed, usually by just reflowing the solder. Sometimes you might need a new port.

[Ratix]

On the contrary, I don't think you have enough polish to understand.

When you say you "rewired" the controller, do you just mean that you removed the extension cable and plugged the pad directly into the system? If so, then I'd assume the problem is just that the solder points for the controller port have broken. This is easily fixed, usually by just reflowing the solder. Sometimes you might need a new port.

rewiring means actually rewiring not removing the controller from the extension cable and directly hooking it up

[SignOfZeta]

So..you soldered the controller wires directly to the Duo's PCB? I'm having a hard time understanding what you did.

[nat]

So..you soldered the controller wires directly to the Duo's PCB?

Sure sounds like it..... I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.

[Ratix]

no, but that would be hilarious if i did.
let me rephrase
i had the extension cable coming out of the duo hooked up to the Duo's mini din slot. it started going nuts and eventually quit all together. took a different cable wired it up still got nothing.
no direct soldering to the pcb was done i can't get at it to do that but doing that is just stupid anyway.
and like i said in my 1st post i used my meter to make sure i wired it up right. pin1 is pin1 and so on.
hell if i know whats wrong with it i just want it fixed. i spent a few hours on it already and got nowhere, which is why i came here for answers and possible help/repairs.

also in the very beginning when i first got the duo i hurt myself in the long run when it came to rewiring the controllers in the 1st place because i did it wrong and i'm paying for it now.

the duo has never been opened up to my knowledge. no physical abuse was done to the input port. no jumping stomping or yanking of any kind was done to it.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't understand. What did you "rewire"? What is your definition of "rewire"? It sounds like you...made a new extension cable? What happens if you just plug the cable into the Duo directly?

A few other questions: Has this Duo ever worked properly for you? How long have you had it? Do you have more than one controller to test it out with? Did you check to make sure all the pins on the controller are still there? Sometimes they break off.

Also, what game is your signature GIF taken from?

[Ratix]

yes, by rewire i mean made a new extension cable. the duo, when i first got it, gave me a few problems here and there with only the super CD games, LOOM's audio would go skip at certain parts, audio would not play either for the 1st 5 mins of play. probably because the system was collecting dust when i bought it and the capacitors are weak. Since i had the duo and used it quite a lot the audio never faded on me again after it was "Warmed up" from lack of use.
I have up to three controllers for the tg-16/duo all get no response on the duo but work perfectly fine on the tg-16. the extension cable was a duo to regular tg-16 controller and gave me more then enough freedom for movement without even moving the system or sitting extremely close to the tv. I have checked numerous times also that i have hooked it up properly. all pins are present. not pushed in, broke off, bent to the side ect.

a rough estimate of how long i had the duo would be my join date to these forums.

the game in my sig is called "The Guardian Legend"

[SignOfZeta]

Well then I guess the next step is checking the solder joints at the controller port. They do break quite commonly. Basically, open the unit up and just re-heat all the solder points for the controller port on the PCB. If that doesn't do it, then I guess the IC that handles the controller port must be wrecked. This is extremely rare, and if it is the case I would have to wonder if you didn't possibly kill it (as you suggested in your first post) with a short or something. My money is on the port just coming lose from the board.

If doing this sort of thing isn't your bag, there are a couple of people on this forum that can do the work for a fee.

[Ratix]

well at this point i'd rather look into sending it to whoemever is recommended for this sort of thing. i'd also have the cd drive looked at too. Kinda kill two birds with one stone.
doing this sort of thing seems to not be my cup of tea. im screwed
i think i jump in to early and to deep. i think i read enough and go in.

Sign my guess is that i blew the IC chip. since all the controllers i used show no signs of life but work perfectly in my tg-16

[SignOfZeta]

If the controllers all work fine in other systems, all that proves is that the Duo is messed up and the controller is fine. It has no bearing on what is wrong with the Duo itself. Like I said, controller port problems with parts other than the socket itself are extremely rare.

I would say that basically any Duo that actually gets used will eventually develop the problem where the socket comes loose from the board. On the other hand even the most botched of controller hacks usually will blow the main fuse in the Duo before i will damage anything.

Anyway, yeah, get some money ready and have one of the guys here fix it. For all the caps and the controller port you're probably looking at $70 or so. That's just a guess, I stopped working on other people's systems a long time ago.

[Ratix]

sounds good to me.

[Samurai Ghost]

Bumping this because I have a related question.
I just got a Shuttle that has controller input problems.

Basically the Shuttle works perfectly except the Run button and left on the d-pad don't work unless I jiggle the controller input a bit to the left. Then I can play just fine. I've tried with a couple controllers with the same response.

So it seems like the connections on the port are a little loose. My question is how difficult would this be to fix? I've soldered things before, but mostly wires onto a fairly large PCB. Is is just a matter of heating them up with the gun?

[Keith Courage]

You should be fine re-soldering the port yourself. All you do is apply the soldering iron to the loose pins first and then add a little solder. I'd just resolder all 8 pins while I have it apart. You will barely have to add any solder to it at all. Make sure to not use too much or you will accidentally solder two connections together.