Can I Repair & Restore a Beat-Up Nintendo Dog Bone Controller?

In this episode, we attempt to clean, Repair & Restore a Beat-Up Nintendo Dog Bone Controller, and even take a look at the Retro-Bit Retro 8 Controller.

One of the most popular controllers of all time has to be the NES Dog Bone controller. It replaced the squared-off sides and edges of the original controller and gave them a softer, more curved touch. Definitely influenced by the Super Nintendo controller, the Dog Bone controller is a terrific gamepad. Until it doesn't work right.

When I got my NES Top Loader, it came with this particular Dog Bone Controller. When I went to play it the first time, the inputs weren't right, there was some weirdness going on, and generally, it just didn't work. I had tossed it in a storage bin, but after a recent trip to a retro game store, I thought I'd give repairing it a shot again.

Hyperkin, through their RepairBox line, used to sell replacement membranes for the Dog Bone controller. This kit has been hard to find for years, but when I saw the Retro-Bit Retro 8 controller, I thought I might be able to rob parts from one to try to fix the other. The Retro 8 definitely looked the part of a Dog Bone, albeit quite a bit lighter weight. The Buttons & D-Pad all looked to be pretty similar, so I gave it a shot.

Opening both controllers was easy, due to their phillips head screws. When I had them opened, I could see the internals couldn't be more different, even if they were similar on the outside. The Nintendo controller used a Molex-style connector to plug the controller cable into the PCB, where the Retro-bit one was hardwired. This also meant that if the problem was in the cord, this was not a viable replacement. The Retro 8 buttons were also indexed differently, the D-pad was actually smaller, and non of the membranes would transfer over. Rats.

I went back to trying to just restore the Nintendo Dog Bone, cleaning everything out with alcohol. The membranes were filthy, there was definite dirt contamination here. I also cleaned the front and rear cases, buttons, and D-Pad. YUCK! I checked all the wiring in the controller itself, and nothing looked suspect. Without much hope, I screwed both controllers back together and went back to my NES.

Initially, playing Metal Storm, I thought "I Fixed It!". And then it happened. When I pressed the D-Pad up or down and one of the face buttons, it would randomly pause the game. Crud. Nothing I did eliminated this issue. I did discover a damaged section of the insulation on the cord, and that might be causing a short somewhere which would trigger the pause function. I looked on eBay and didn't see any replacement cords, so I might have to find a donor somewhere else.

I did give the Retro 8 controller a try, and even though it's not as good as the legit Dog Bone, it wasn't terrible either. The D-Pad is a weak point due to how much travel into the shell it has, but the button presses worked well overall. Would this be my go-to controller? No. But it's passable.

Now I weigh my options, do I just replace the whole controller? Do I try to find a donor to pull the guts out of? The thing is damaged controllers are going for almost the same as intact ones! I may retrofit this with one of 8bitdo's conversions and a retro receiver, but their continued poor customer service and lack of communication leads me to not want to do business with them. I have a few options on the table, and I'll provide an update in the future.

#Nintendo #ControllerRepair #DogBone

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