From: kens@psc.lsa.umich.edu (Ken Small)
Newsgroups: alt.games.lynx
Subject: Re: My Lynx Pad is semi-stuck!
Date: 31 Jul 92 15:05:00 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Michigan Population Studies Center

In article <1992Jul31.033912.22661@u.washington.edu> echen@u.washington.edu writes:
>
>I've had my Lynx II for 1/2 year & the joy-pad recently started
>to behave like it is slightly stuck to the right.
>
>I'm ready to take the thing apart & take a look at it, but before
>I do, did anyone else had this problem? & will it fix the problem
>by simply take the thing apart & cleaning it?
>
>Lastly, I heard something awhile back about someone having the
>detailed instruction on how to take the new Lynx apart, can anyone
>(RJ?) who has it please e-mail me a copy?  If no one does I guess
>I'll just do it & post a summary.


Here's the repost-- I messed up the formatting last time, so here it is again.




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