Sega Saturn Astro City Twin Joysticks Switch Upgrade

This was a job from last year, that I’m just getting around to upload photos for. This job was a request to install updated arcade Sanva buttons in the Sega Saturn Astro City HSS-0130 twin Joystick.

It was my first time getting hands on this incredible piece of kit. It was only sold in Japan where the Sega Saturn was renowned for its popular arcade home ports. Truly a genuine arcade experience for two players. The only problem is the slightly cheaper buttons Sega shipped it with. For the most part they are acceptable, but with some slight modifications, brand new Sanwa buttons can be installed.

The top panel is very easy to remove giving access to the pre-installed buttons. As you can see, the buttons connectors are soldered directly to a pcb. This board needs to be removed before the buttons can be removed from the panel. Desoldering with the gun was very easy and the pcb’s were removed. Now the Sega buttons can be removed from the metal panel.

The new Sanwa switches have a slightly different diameter and tab layout. They fit, but move about on the original holes. This is because the tabs are slightly lower and should be installed in a thicker panel. I 3D printed some rings. The rings fit exactly over the back of the switches. This allows the tabs to make full contact and hold tight.

Now with the new switches installed, all that needs doing is connecting them to the original controller PCB. I used some pre-made arcade controller hook-up wires with push spade connectors already crimped on to save time. The ground wires are all connected in series. After that, I simply wired the buttons to the correct places on the PCB.

Now it can all be reassemble. Time for a very good test session.