Re: Joystick problem... Where does that "extra" red wire go?

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

Larry Stedman wrote:
> Well, I just discovered the joys of the joystick!  1st time user and 
> what a riot!  Alas, at one point in Choplifter (the perfect game for a 
> joystick), I heard a pop, and the x-y movement became free and not 
> springy.
>
> I took the thing apart and, after much head-scratching, fixed that, but 
> when I went to put everything back together, discovered that a red wire 
> was dangling free.  Where does it connect?
>
> I tried the joystick anyway and, while the joystick works great, the 
> buttons were no longer operational.
>
> I hunted, Google, surfed the net and found no wiring diagrams.
>
> Any advice on where I need to connect this would be appreciated.  It's 
> the 2nd red wire that comes off the back black button... the first red 
> wire connects to the other button, but this one?  It likely connects to 
> the joystick base somehow, otherwise I can't imagine it would have come 
> off!

Wiring color on joystick cables is completely nonstandard, so we'd
really need to know which pin of the connector that red wire connects
to.  That will requre a continuity tester or an ohmmeter.

And, though the *schematic diagram* of most Apple II joysticks
is pretty standard, you'll have to convert that to a *pictorial*
diagram to see where to connect things...

Careful inspection may be your best guide.  Examine the non-working
switch(s) and see if you can see a small remnant of the broken wire.
It will probably be visible as a small, sharp, extension from one
of the solder joints--possibly with no other wire connected (a good
hint that a previously connected wire broke off).

Many joysticks can be easily changed from spring-centered, to free
motion by putting the stick in some particular corner, then flipping
a plastic "toggle" under the stick.  Your's may be of that type, so
that you didn't need to open it to "fix" it at all.

When you do take something apart, remember to be very careful to
observe where everything goes, and what is connected to what, just
in case of a problem like this.  ;-)

-michael

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