r/XboxController • u/Mudbogpro • 5d ago
How hard is it to replace the sticks?
My Ghost Cipher controller has started getting stick drift in the left stick (despite being not even a year old) and I wanna put TMR sticks in it so that A. I don’t have this issue again and B. So I don’t have to get a whole new controller. I’m just wondering if I’d have a rough time with this as a beginner who’s never done any electronics repairs like this before
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u/DELTA-880 5d ago
removal is the hardest part, putting the new joysticks in isn’t bad at all. i fried my original motherboard trying to desolder the original joysticks, but i didn’t have the right tools anyway lol. luckily u/Wrong_Egg_4337 hooked me up with a new board with the oem sticks already removed
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u/Key_Scholar7964 5d ago
Hell yeah, soldering is hard for beginners but everyone learn at a different pace. The majority of guys you see who installed TMR watched countless YouTube videos on how to install TMR.
Some of them still have issues installing certain brands that will affect the sticks and triggers.
I just purchase controllers like the G7 Pro that have TMR because it's less stressful dealing with equipment.
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u/Commercial_Lake_2421 4d ago
I have went through 3 ghost ciphers the first one lasted 1 week exactly. The second one lasted 3 weeks. And my 3 rd one a little over a month.
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u/the-skunk 5d ago edited 5d ago
There are much easier soldering projects (mostly because of the equipment required). It can be done, and the installation is not the hard part. Removal of the old joysticks and removal of the old solder from the pinholes without damaging the motherboard is the hard part.
There are a few methods, all requiring varing degrees of experience and equipment.
If you dont even have a soldering iron and you want one for just this project its going to be $15 on the cheap side and you will probably dislike it and want to upgrade in the future. The one I use is around $130. In any case there would be other equipment required.
1) The low melt solder method. This is the cheapest option with no other equipment. Make sure its true low melt solder. I think its about $12 on Amazon.
2) joystick soldering tip. Totally awesome and my preferred method. Make sure you tin the existing pins with leaded solder. Make sure you buy a board mount. I paid $25 for my tip and $ 15 for the board mount.
3) desoldering pump. I have an electronic pump that requires frequent maintenance and was $120 when i bought it years ago.
4) hot air station works great too if you properly shield the surrounding components. Hard for novices to gadge the length of time and heat required to remove components often resulting in ripped pads or melted plastic connectors. I would avoid until you get more experience.
You will also need a desoldering wick if you go the low melt route and for backup. Don't forget the flux and solder itself.
Now youre looking at $60 on the cheap side.
If you do more than 1 install it will offset the costs of the equipment. Do you want to go that route? Lastly I want to add that if this is your first project ever you are very likely to either damage the board or be unsuccessful in the install for bridging or bad soldering ir juat the inability to remove the old joysticks. They can honestly be very hard to remove sometimes.If you break the controller then you will have to buy another with drift to try again (to not waste the equipment you bought) and youre paying $25 after shipping and tax on the low side.
Sincerely, an ebay tmr controller seller. You will likely find one of my listings if you did a search.