NES/SNES controller refurbishing: 3rd party rubber membranes, harvesting Switch Online/Classis Mini's?

[cartman | 195]

What are the different solutions out there for the rubber pads under the buttons that have gone to shit over decades of use? I see quite a lot of those different 3rd party ones being sold on Ebay and elsewhere, yet i've also heard complains that the diagonals have a hard time to register and that they don't live up to the original controller standard.

Then it struck me that Nintendo have released their own new-retro controllers for recent systems and whether those would do the trick. I've never actually owned one of them. But they do look identical, and if someone ought to know and wanted to use the same rubbers as in the old days it would surely be Nintendo that had the means to do so.

Does it work good to just take those rubbers out and put them in an old controller?

[phart010 | 1,707]

I got conductive pads for my NES, SNES and master system buttons from Mortoff games. Someone on here suggested them as their product looked higher quality than others on the market. They are pretty good quality.

I bought direct from their website, although I have not been able to find their website just now. It seems they may be doing eBay sales now

[cartman | 195]

1 hour ago, phart010 said:

I got conductive pads for my NES, SNES and master system buttons from Mortoff games. Someone on here suggested them as their product looked higher quality than others on the market. They are pretty good quality.

I bought direct from their website, although I have not been able to find their website just now. It seems they may be doing eBay sales now

Did you experience that your old controller buttons were dull and just didn't offer enough pushback? Or did you have playing issues aswell, like unintentional d-pad hits? 

What did the new rubbers improve for you more specifically?

 

[phart010 | 1,707]

38 minutes ago, cartman said:

Did you experience that your old controller buttons were dull and just didn't offer enough pushback? Or did you have playing issues aswell, like unintentional d-pad hits? 

What did the new rubbers improve for you more specifically?

 

The problem I was having was unregistered button presses. The conductive part of the pads were no longer conductive. 
 

The new rubbers offer more button travel and they are kind of clicky when you press them. I think with time the clickiness will fade.

[Tulpa | 3,494]

I also have some pads from Mortoff. They look just like OEM pads and really don't feel different. They were also like a few bucks for a set for two controllers.

 

My old ones were worn out, so they definitely needed replacements.

[phart010 | 1,707]

4 hours ago, Tulpa said:

I also have some pads from Mortoff. They look just like OEM pads and really don't feel different. They were also like a few bucks for a set for two controllers.

 

My old ones were worn out, so they definitely needed replacements.

I bought them per your recommendation 

[Tulpa | 3,494]

I can't remember who recommended Mortoff to me. Someone on NA.

Mortoff also had the only spec correct controller screws that I could find.

[cartman | 195]

On 1/18/2024 at 12:12 AM, Tulpa said:

I also have some pads from Mortoff. They look just like OEM pads and really don't feel different. They were also like a few bucks for a set for two controllers.

 

My old ones were worn out, so they definitely needed replacements.

Do you never experience that you hit a directional input and it registers as something else?

I use an actual NOS controller now and it hasn't had a lot of mileage but i realize that it can't last forever. I don't want to use NOS controller that are being sold it doesn't feel right.

[Tulpa | 3,494]

15 hours ago, cartman said:

Do you never experience that you hit a directional input and it registers as something else?

No. Never.

Mortoff pads are like 1-to-1 replacements for the originals. I don't know what pads the people you heard that other stuff from were using, but I've never experienced anything other than what I meant to hit. 

Edited January 20 by Tulpa

[phart010 | 1,707]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/172972686655?hash=item2845f9bd3f:g:9H8AAOSwH-daBTA4

this is the snes. Doesn’t seem to have a listing for the NES version 

Edited January 21 by phart010

[Tulpa | 3,494]

Yeah, I've noticed his stock is inconsistent over the years.

[koifish | 556]

I'm surprised you can't retrofit existing pads. Is there no conductive material you can apply to them? Maybe graphite would work.

[phart010 | 1,707]

11 hours ago, koifish said:

I'm surprised you can't retrofit existing pads. Is there no conductive material you can apply to them? Maybe graphite would work.

You maybe can if you know what you’re doing. But it’s so much easier to get new ones. They only cost a few dollars for the entire set

[a3quit4s | 4,098]

For $4 you could give Console5 a go. I usually get quality stuff from them for cheap. Haven’t tried the replacement pads though but $4 is well worth the risk to try. 
 

https://console5.com/store/nes-replacement-controller-silicone-rubber-carbon-dot-pads.html

[Tulpa | 3,494]

13 hours ago, koifish said:

I'm surprised you can't retrofit existing pads. Is there no conductive material you can apply to them? Maybe graphite would work.

In my case the rubber itself wore out. I tried a silicone fix, but that only lasted a couple of weeks. 

New pads or find a dead controller with good pads were my two choices. 

And as I stated, get the right ones and they work just fine. Heck, buy like two or three packs for every controller you regularly use and you're set for the rest of your life. 

Edited January 22 by Tulpa

[koifish | 556]

3 hours ago, Tulpa said:

In my case the rubber itself wore out. I tried a silicone fix, but that only lasted a couple of weeks. 

New pads or find a dead controller with good pads were my two choices. 

And as I stated, get the right ones and they work just fine. Heck, buy like two or three packs for every controller you regularly use and you're set for the rest of your life. 

Rubber is different, I can't speak to that. If it's just the pads though, then I bet fixing them is easier than finding replacements that aren't junk.

[Tulpa | 3,494]

3 hours ago, koifish said:

Rubber is different, I can't speak to that. If it's just the pads though, then I bet fixing them is easier than finding replacements that aren't junk.

If that's the case, buy the replacement pieces and cannibalize their pads for use on the originals.