Designing Repairability into Expensive Handheld Game Consoles - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 05:08:26 pm
content: owning an expensive handheld game console can be highly desirable. as a video gamerBut as a 40 plus yr video gamer that started with Atari 2600 then Sega Mega Drive then Playstation 1, 2 , 3 ,4 , 5& just recently a Nintendo switch 1 with a pro controller. so I know a bit about game controller wear.its the analog joysticks or thumbsticks that show the first signs of wear then theIt's called controller drift, or analog stick drift, because one or both thumbsticks will drift, or move, in an undesired direction even when you aren't touching them. the X Y potentiometers wear out. in a TV game console you just replace with a new hand controller.but with a handheld game console. the console is the hand controller. not a problem if the handheld game console is cheap.But what if the handheld game console is expensive? a bad thumbstick can render the console useless.so smart gamers will sell there expensive handheld consoles before any controller problems reveal themselves.about 200 to 300 hours of use. the average potentiometer on a piece of audio equipment gets nowhere near this level of use!getting to the point.the right to repairany expensive handheld game console that is of a good industrial design. must have replaceable controller pcb modules.if it is to be repairable? in order of preference IMO1 the controller thumbstick sub-assembly pcb modules including all the player buttons designed to be replaceable.2 the battery designed to be replaceable.3 the video screen assembly designed to be replaceable.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2025, 08:59:36 pm
content: Sadly most of these don't come with hall effect.Even nintendo had a ton of issues with stick failure, and just went with the same carbon analog stick again, with a very slight redesign (different spring contacts).AFAIK its all cost savings, they might save a few dollars per unit.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 05:22:51 am
content: Never had a serious issue with stick drift. I do give a full rotation to both thumbsticks before I power up, which I started to do when I started to get uneven performance with PS2 controllers back in the day, but whether this is causation or just correlation is another matter

author: kjr18
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 08:22:34 am
content: While every company claims to be green, only green they want is $$$, so repairability is not even secondary to them. You break your device? Buy another one or pay a lot to repair it, but only on our terms.Another example: Samsung offers battery replacement kits for some phones, but those batteries are glued to frame and displays, making them more expensive thus not really viable option if your battery life is gone. On paper they can say that they provide parts for replacement, but at that price, you could buy used phone.

author: paul cotter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2025, 10:39:34 am
content: Once one is dealing with multilayer pcbs the possibility of repair diminishes. About two years ago I was asked to repair a controller for a diesel generator that had suffered a flashover causing damage to a number of smd components. Replacing the faulty components failed to restore functioning on the affected channel although all other i/o functions were unaffected and my conclusion was tracks had been damaged. The replacement cost- 30,000 euros, thirty thousand euros!! If I could have sourced a schematic maybe I could have repaired it but the manufacturer does not supply these as they want either (1) purchase of a new unit or (2) an in house repair(if possible).