[TUTORIAL] Pimp my Competition Pro Extra Joystick for TheC64

I have already posted this tutorial in a Facebook group, but for those who do not have a Facebook account, I am posting it exclusively in this community forum too.

I have suction cups mounted, the wires of the two triangular buttons soldered inverted (no hitting of the menu button anymore, while hitting the fire button) and the microswitches lubricated.



First of all: I am not responsible for any damage that you may cause after opening the joystick. As soon as the screw seal at the bottom is broken, your guarantee will expire.

You will need the following tools:
A soldering iron and solder, a philips screw driver for the screws at the bottom, small flat screw drivers, a drilling machine and drills. If you use the same screws for the cups, you also need an allen key. Furthermore you will need the transparent silicone spray and a tape measure for the holes.

Always take photos oneself, because if a wire gets loose, then you can reconstruct where it was soldered before.

The links for the screws and suction cups on eBay you find in the description of the pictures.

Be sure that the table where you want to use the joystick has a smooth surface! A wooden table top will not be as suitable as a glass or tile table top! It would be advisable to take a suction cup and first check whether the table surface is suitable for it. If not, just do this modding without the suction cups.

I WISH YOU SUCCESS AND FUN IN DOING THIS



You see the bottom of the Joystick. Open the four phillips screws. In doing this, you must be aware, that you lose your warranty. You do it by your own risk. Take off the bottom plate.



After taking off the bottom plate, it will look like this.



First release the cable from the plastic, then pull out the print on the right side (see arrow).



With a well sized flat screwdriver, pry out the saw ring. Hold the plate with the microswitches a little bit, because the spring is moving abroad, as soon the saw ring is removed.



Take out the plate with the microswitches on it. Please be always careful. The cables of this "Extra" are all just soldered. Too much traction on a cable, and it will get loose immediatly. Take out the spring, the plastic shell with flange in the plate and the red plastic of triangular buttons as well.



The parts, which are taken out.



Now it's time to do some soldering. Here you see the yellow cable, which you must solder off from the contact of the triangular switch.



On the other side, there is a black cable, which must be soldered off too.



Here you see both wires BEFORE soldering! They need to be inverted.



Here, the black wire is soldered off. Do the same with the yellow wire on the other side.



Here you see the contact, which needs to be soldered with the yellow cable on it.



It should look like this.



Of course, you must do the same on the other side with the black cable, as shown in this picture.



Soldering is finished, and if you have done a good job, it will look like this. Every cable on it's place in this picture.



Lubricate the four microswitches. If you look closely to the switches, the pusher has on one side a little slot. You can see it here by the left pusher in this picture. I have tried to spray exactly at that slot. It don't need a high dose of the lubricant. Spray and then press the microswitch pusher several times. Lubricate one by one, until all four are lubricated.



Now it is time, to put back all together. Take the spring and put it in. There is no direction of insertion of the spring. Put back in place the plastic shell from the back side of the microswitch-plate. The flange looks to the spring. Put back the two red triangular pushers too.



Here you see, how the spring sits on the flange of the shell.



The trickiest part of all has come. You must put back in place the microswitch-plate, while dealing with the force of the spring. There is ONE contact outside of the plate, which is in the way. The threading of the plate by slightly edging with the help of the stick, to pass by the disruptive contact is tricky. There is no need to look that the spring fits perfectly inside of the stick at this time, because as soon the plate will be in place, the spring will be too. Be sure, while this process is done, that there will be no wires choked! Turn it all at the head of the stick and force down the plate with your fingers.
If you don't get it, make a break or do it a day after. Don't lose your nerves, while trying to get by the disruptive contact by inserting the plate.



Press on the plate with more force and look, if it sits well at the bottom, with no cable inbetween hopefully.



Now push with so much force until the notch on the metal is fully visible and get the saw ring in it's place. I have first attached the ring and then used a pipe wrench to put it in place again.



Put back the cables in a manner, as on the second photo, after taking off the bottom plate. Of course, the yellow and the black wires, which were soldered, will be lead at the opposite, as they originally were.



When it's finished, it will look like this. Be sure, that on the edge and near the plastic shells, in which the bottom plate will be screwed is free of any cable and will not be choked, when you put the bottom plate in place.



Just put the bottom plate in place and be sure that it fits perfectly. It must not be screwed at this time, but hold all together carefully and plug in the USB plug on your computer and test the stick in the gamecontroller-settings. If you have done it well, the left triangular button is number 4 (as in the picture), and the right triangular button is number 3. Test all buttons and the directions of the stick, if all works well.



If you want to lubricate the two big fire buttons, take a flat screw driver and push carefully against the noses on one side of the plastic and press a little bit. With the other hand, try to hold it in state. The button will be pushed out just a little bit, hold it in state and push with the screwdriver against the noses in the opposite of the plastic. Now it should get loose.



Here you see, the spring is a little bit conical, so be sure, that you have inserted the spring in the right direction, when you put it together after lubrication of the microswitches. Remove the plastic pusher from the other button in the same manner.



It will look like this, after removing of the pusher plastic of the two big buttons.



Lubricate!



Put back the plastic pushers. Be sure, the spring has a bigger diameter at the bottom than on the pusher. Be sure, that the plastic is pushed in the right place. It will click, when it's done.



Take off the 4 rubber gliders easily with the fingers.



No gliders anymore.



Take the drilling machine and use a small drill, to predrill a small hole. In this case, the one you see in the picture, can be drilled just in the middle. Be sure, it's the one near the EAC on the sticker. Always predrill the four holes!



Take a 4 millimeter drill, if you use four millimeter screws (recommended) and suction cups with M4 inside thread. Drill out the predrilled hole.



On the other side, as you can see in the picture, the hole needs to be moved a litte bit away from the middle, because that's the side, where the printed circuit board sits and if you drill the hole in the middle the screw head could shorten the circuit on it.



Here you see, the hole near the printed circuit board is drilled around 24mm from the edge.



Now it is time to drill the ones on the side, where the buttons are. As you can see, the plastic shells for holding the microswitches of the round buttons in place, are exactly at the same place, as the rubber gliders were. That means, the holes must be drilled aside of them.



I use these screws: www.ebay.de/itm/10-Stuck-Linsenkopfschraube-M4x6mm-schwarz-Stahl-hochfest-10-9-ISO-7380/202254289254
With this lens head screws (recommended), it is necessary to drill them 5 millimeters aside of the plastic shell.



Measuring from the edge, the middle of the hole is drilled 14 millimeters away from it. Drill exactly the same hole on the other side.



After the procedure, it should look like this.



I use these suction cups with M4 inside thread and a diameter of 30 millimeters: www.ebay.de/itm/1-100-x-Saugnapfe-30mm-Saugnapf-Innengewinde-M4x7mm-Schilder-Gewindeschraube/323228846862
You could also buy the 40mm suction cups by the same seller.
It's easy to screw them on the plate.



Well done.



Screw the bottom plate on the stick. FINISHED!
Have fun with it!!



After the 30mm suction cups came loose after a while, I ordered the 40mm suction cups: www.ebay.de/itm/1-100-x-Saugnapfe-40-mm-Saugnapf-eingespritzte-Gewindemutter-M4-Sauger-Schild/382448463091
This size is perfect for my two Competition Pro joysticks. Even after playing for days, they were still stuck like a limpet on my coffee table with a tiled surface.