Hey guys, so I just picked up a second hand Master System, and I'm having controller port issues. Tested with two MS controllers and a Megadrive contoller. Right input doesn't work unless I'm pushing down on the controller plug/port. I therefore assume it is a pin issue, I looked up a pinout which said that pin 4 was "Right", but I've tried bending Pin 4 and no luck. I don't have a soldering iron but would it be worth just resoldering the pins on the board, or should I keep trying to bend the pin? That sounds dangerous though. I'd rather it just work as is than trying a makeshift solution like jamming cardboard in between the plug and port. Appreciate any tips. Thank you in advance.
That does sound like a cracked solder joint. More than likely you just need to reflow the pad(s) on the board. Just a quick re-heat with an iron, maybe with a little bit of fresh solder to make reflowing easier. If you're not comfortable doing it, maybe there's someone nearby you can throw a few bucks at to do it?
I concur with the above. If you want a permanent fix, you need to reflow that connection. Jamming cardboard in should work in the meantime. DO NOT keep bending the pin. You'll regret it. If you're anywhere near London, let me know.
Both responses are very appreciated. I've never soldered before, but I'd be keen to give it a go. Are there any good beginners tutorials for this? Is there a particular metal I would need to use? I did look at a soldering iron in a store yesterday, and saw copper rods. I know copper is a good conductor, but I'm assuming by the silver colour that generally I should use some kind of aluminium or tin alloy? I'm in Australia, but the offer is very much appreciated. Thankfully I didn't touch the port again.
Apologies for bumping. I took apart the console, and I'm wondering what a cracked solder joint looks like? It all looks pretty clean, nice and intact. I'm wondering, perhaps, if I could just grab some isopropyl alcohol and clean the pins and their solder points on the board? Maybe it's not cracked, perhaps it just needs a good clean?
Are these types of soldering irons? I'm far from an expert, so I've never heard of this, but I imagine any soldering iron made for electronics will be fine. To be clear, I don't think you'll need to re-wire anything, just re-flow the pads, i.e. just heat them up to re-melt the solder. Adding more solder like I said before can help make the process easier (old solder can be stubborn when it comes to melting), but isn't required. They can be extremely hard to spot, like you literally need a magnifying glass to spot it kind of thing. A more extreme example looks like this. I don't think a clean will fix it. Assuming it's the issue, the crack in the solder is causing continuity to be broken, which is being restored when you push down on the controller port, thus touching the two sides of the crack together. Hope that makes sense.
