[5200 connection to tv, anything new out there ?]

BIG question.

 

Is there anything I can do or use to connect my 5200, 7800, c-380 up to the TV at the same time ?

NOT running them all at once, but where I don't have to constantly remove one for another, or set up multiple tv's to game?

 

I am using a 32" panasonic CRT with 4 sets of RCA inputs,S video, and it seems a shame to use the old crappy tv signal/ splitter which usually interferes with picture quality.

What I have been doing thus far is disconnecting the main satellite feed ,omitting the splitter, then going directly in using a 75/300 ohm adapter.

this works fine , but threading it on and off so the rest of the house can watch TV in other rooms is getting old !

 

I know there is an "S" video kit available for the 5200, but I am not so keen on modifying mine especially since its new and I paid plenty for it. Plus, how then does the sound get transferred ?

 

Is there some kind of splitter device [other than the typical coaxial cable tv signal splitter using the aforementioned adapters] available where I could plug 4 sources in, namely satellite feed, c-380, 52 and 7800 , and the other end is a one out into the cable ready port ? Or is this not recommended?

 

Better still, is there anything made to convert from the original game cable to interface with the RCA jacks on the back of the TV allowing me to simply hit the TV/VIDEO button on the TV for the desired game system ?

 

I would think with all the advancements , that there has to be something to simplify things. Or maybe I have already answered my own question?

 

thanks !

[5200 joystick]

No, I hadn't tried the paper clip, but I am firing up the 52 right now, for Gyruss, and will try your tip and report back.

 

thanks !

[Impossible Mission - guess who ?]

Well, as much as I have said in the past and not lived up to my own promises, I will make this one:

 

I plan on coming out with a fixed version of the game, based on the original sources. I need to get together an EPROM programmer and such, but I am perfectly willing, when this is complete, to take your existing IM cartridges, install new EPROMs and you will have the "fixed" version of the game. For a price

 

As for Winter Games on the 7800, well, yeah, that thing sucked. The C64 excelled in so many ways it wasn't funny, I wasn't getting paid a whole lot to make it work right, and we certainly didn't have the code space to include all the games, the detailed graphics, nor anything else it seemed.

 

 

Krewat,

That would be awesome ! I'd love to have the corrected game in my original cart housing and you can count me in when you're ready.

I suppose my only honest beef with winter games on 7800 is the lack of events. I believe winter games for 7800 has only 4 events compared to the c64 kind of meager, though I realize you only had so much space to work with.

Will the fixed version of IM have a high score log ,like the c64?

 

 

Well, I am very excited to have found this forum, it seems the more I read the more giddy I get. As mentioned my younger brother and I cut our teeth on the C-380 [he has that very one, I have a real nice one], so when he purchased his 5200 back in the day, I was amazed how things had moved forward from the 2600. His was a 4 port{*} serial number, which we thought was great at the time because he had smoked his 2600 and had a ton of games, actually went to buy another and found the 52, so he bought the vcs adaptor as well.

Oddly enough, he eventually smoked his 5200 while playing defender for about 4 hours one day.

 

I wanted to buy a 5200 for myself after his blew up, but at roughly 18 years old, still in school ,and a host of other interests, that was not to be. it wasn't until the super nintendo came out that I found myself itching to play again and its snowballed one system at a time, until I took a few steps back at christmas and came home to Atari !!!

 

 

I had absolutely no idea that there were ex employees , and others out there making limited run games, high score carts, multi/library game carts for all systems which is something I will most definitely source.

 

 

Seems if I continue buying sealed NOS games for all 3 systems , my wife is eventually going to get the frying pan out. Plus, I really dont want to collect ,much less dedicate space for a ton of little boxes. [been there with NOS GM delco parts]

 

I do like the idea of having everything on one cart for at the very least 7800 and 5200, though there is an awful lot of 2600 stuff that's a hoot !

 

This is good, thanks for having me !

[5200 joystick]

here is the link to the product description as well as where I was able to purchase it. I'm sure it can be bought for less as this supplier is notoriously expensive.

 

http://www.thorlabs.com/Images/PDF/Vol18_739.pdf

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Shielding_Paint.html?keyword=0029

 

 

the seller has changed the label since I bought my 1/2 pint nearly 10 years ago [same price $32], so I am not sure if this is genuine Electrodag 112, this stuff goes a long way !

the nice thing is, if it dries up in the can, you can add a scant amount of distilled water [original catalyst is ethanol based]and it comes back to life.

 

 

I tried the pencil eraser , nothing. cleaned the flex circuit and the contacts with spray contact cleaner on a Q-tip ,nothing.

 

I brushed 2 coats of this stuff on to the contacts , hit it with the blow dryer on high for about 15 mins. and it brought one of the controllers back to life, though

I do believe it needs a new flex card either way, as there is lots of corrosion, discoloration and the one fire button still wont work.

 

hope this helps !

[5200 joystick]

man I love the 5200 system and the controller...

 

I just bought 3 supposedly fully functional controllers, 1 worked briefly , the other 2 were DOA.

 

on a hunch I took one apart, cleaned the flex card as well as the carbon contacts, put it back together and still DOA.

 

 

As a guitar repairman , and in a last ditch effort, I then applied Electrodag 112 which is basically a paint on shielding compound [carbon black and graphite] to the pad contacts and wham-o, the controller was fully functional with the exception of the lower left fire button , actually better than the 2 NOS controllers I have.

 

 

my question is:

 

the contacts on the fire, keypad, and start button contacts appear to be a plastic. are they then coated with a carbon graphite to make them conduct when pressed , or were they a solid carbon or graphite-titanium molded contact.

 

obviously the gold contacts and revision 9 flex card is the way to go and I plan to do this, just curious what atari originally used.

 

thanks !

[Game Sound, the 7800, is it really a big deal?]

love to play Xevious , but the sounds irritate me. midnight mutants is a close second.

someone just gave me california games and I dont know if the music is supposed to be the original or a run-dmc rip..

 

I find it weird that in many cases atari had the ability to do the arcade sounds verbatim, but chose not too.

 

what's not to love about woka- woka -woka ?

[Impossible Mission - guess who ?]

I guess joining this forum is now sort of a be careful what you wish for, for me...

 

Hi guys,

newb to the forum , but I am an old school atari nut having cut my gaming teeth on a C-380.

I have 2600,5200, and recently jumped into the 7800 realm for "one game, and one game only"... you guessed right, impossible mission!

 

I had a wild hair at christmas after talking with my lil brother [us both having commodore 64's] and our love for the epyx games, namely impossible mission, winter, summer & world games.

 

so after about 3 nights and days browsing ebay for an NOS 7800 system,and a sealed boxed IM, I was off to the races...even found a sealed winter games [what a joke compared to the 64]

 

truth be told, I can beat IM in about 35-40 minutes today on the commodore, have done better, but that was back in the day when i played daily.

 

so this new venture began with playing IM, it took me a little time to get used to the flow of this version, but I couldnt figure out why i could not put puzzles together in the end... I'd get one and thats it. after a frustrating week ,I began looking for gaming secrets today as I finally realized there are no green puzzle pieces!!!! googled and stumbled on this topic... needless to say I am thoroughly disappointed that atari ever let this game hit the public.. as I feel collectible nightmare or not, I've been taken 20 yrs after the fact.

 

I then found info on the cuttle cart 2 and the download to fix the game... just my luck,no longer available... awesome...money well spent!!

suppose I should have researched some b4 dropping $$ on the system, but I am sure I will find other games to trip my trigger...

 

anyway, since this is why I joined , I thought this should be my first posting.

 

very cool forum you guys have, I look fwd. to becoming a part of it !

john