The crack is right next to the left analog stick, in a spot that will receive random pressure and mild board flexing while in use. Sure the plastic shell is still intact and all the supports are still there, but this particular spot is still a bit of a sensitive spot.
I’m all about the idea of a little piece of patch wire, but I want to actually adhere the patch wire to the trace with a conductive paint. I don’t want to just tape a piece of wire on it, only to have the wire micro-sliding back and forth and just wearing more carbon off the board over time.
And soldering is completely out of the question, you can’t solder to a carbon trace.
Hugin@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’d fix the mechanical with epoxy and then use a small conducive screw tapped into the exoxy as a bridge.
over_clox@lemmy.world 1 day ago
While that idea sounds good on paper, the crack runs right by the edge of the button plunger, so the fix is gonna have to be about as flat as possible, and well adhered with conductive paint.
At least it didn’t crack directly under the button traces themselves, but it’s right next to it…
Hugin@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Standard pcb board is about .15mm .2mm flush mount screws are fairly common.
To be honest you are most likely better getting a new device.
over_clox@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Nah, no need for a new device, all the actual game controls actually work after I glued the crack and solderes bridge wires over all the broke copper traces.
The only button that doesn’t work is the Mode button, which swaps the D-Pad and left analog. Its default mode is the normal mode you’d expect anyways, so fixing the Mode button is totally optional.
It’s just a bit tempting to get the controller back 100% functional, but it’s not terribly important.
I was kind of curious to dabble around and learn ways to make conductive paint at home, and use the controller as a first test try.