From: jonke@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Stephen Jonke)
Subject: Re: HELP needed in repairing Lynx control pad!
Organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 14:15:36 GMT

In article <Bsu50t.4sE@chinet.chi.il.us>, koziarz@chinet.chi.il.us (Louis Koziarz) writes:
> 
> 
> HEY!  My brother's Lynx II has the exact same problem with the A button.
> I personally took it apart and check the switches, I didn't find any dirt
> or anything that could clog the connection.  Obviously an electrical
> check would have been next, but I didn't do it.  What's going on?
> Please post!!!!
> 

I went ahead and took it apart and also could not find any dirt or other
stuff that looked like it would cause a short, but I cleaned everything in
site anyway with a Q-Tip.  I also found that the rubber joypad mat that
has 4 round black things (which I presume make the connection) looked
like it was pushing out a little too much from the surrounding plastic ring.
It looked like over time it had loosened from the plastic ring (there are 4
small prongs that go through holes in the rubber mat.) and could possibly be
making false contacts that way.  I pushed on it anywhere it looked like it
was sticking out and in particular near the prongs in order to make it as
flat as possible.  I don't know which of the above did the trick, but the
problem has gone away for now.

Here's a repost of Ken Small's article.  I could not find the followup
article that another person posted with additional info.  I recall from
that followup that he (the other person, not Ken) had some trouble
getting the circuit ribbons back in.  I did at first, but once you figure
out how to grip them from both sides with the limited clearance, it was easy.
Use your pinky and thumb with the pinky holding the ribbon from behind and
your thumb in front.  Use your pinky because, it's thin AND you can keep
your other fingers out of the way.  I hope Ken doesn't mind my reposting
this.


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Here's a rather quick outline of how to disassemble a Lynx II.  It's not 
hard, but there are a lot of fragile pieces and the elctronics are sensitive 
to all the things that electronics are usually sensetive to, like static.  
Proceed at your own risk.

First, remove the rubber pads from the bottom of the Lynx.  They're glued on, 
but they peel off pretty easily.  Beneath, under a thin layer of glue-stuff, 
are screw holes.  Poke a screwdriver through the glue-gauze and remove them.  
Note that it's *very* easy to tell if your lynx has been opened, since you 
leave the little holes in the glue stuff.  DON'T do this on a warranteed Lynx.
Now take off the whole back half of the cover.

Next, remove the screw located inside the battery area.  Careful when 
replacing this; it can strip easily.  Mine is striped, but the rest of the 
case still holds the battery bay firmly in place.  Remove the battery bay 
piece.

Now you will see a circuit board with a couple of wires and a couple of circuit 
ribbons attanced to it.  Carefully unplug all of these.  The ribbon in 
particular seems flimsy.  Be careful not to puncture or otherwise damage it.  
Remove the circuit board.

Beneath the circuit board is an assembly screwed to the inside of the case, 
which contains the LCD screen and the button contacts and buttons themselves.  
A warning when unscrewing this-- the are lots of small pieces in here, and 
they're particular about how they go back in.  In particular, be careful 
about the A/B buttons, which are slightly different sizes, and the little 
rubber mat around the LCD screen, which has nothing to hold it in place.

The last thing that I've opened up is the joypad contact itself.  This is a 
small rubber mat held in place by a snap-on piece of plastic.  You can 
carefully remove the plastic to get under the apron, where the contacts can 
be cleaned.  Clean in between the contacts, being careful not to abrase the 
contacts themselves.  They look like half-circles with a small (half-millimeter 
or less) space between.  Grunge between them can register an intermittent 
false contact, which looks to the player like the joypad is being quickly, 
repeatedly pressed in one direction.
-- 
Ken Small           
kens@umich.edu
Consulting and Support Services, University of Michigan

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Steve
Newsgroups: alt.games.lynx