Add me to the 5200 club

[ckrtech]

Well...I bought an Atari 5200. It came in the mail, and I opened it and hooked it up today.

 

Wow. There is definitely some work to be done on these controllers, but I have to say - I like the feel of the controller. We'll have to see how things go once I get them completely working. One of them still works (surprisingly). Not all of the buttons work, but the directions seem to be okay. I logged some time in Qix. It was my first time to play the game.

 

Among the other games included with the purchase were Galaxian, Super Breakout, and Realsports Football.

 

My current short list of games to pick up - Megamania, River Raid, Berzerk and Kaboom! Probably Realsports Baseball too. I want most of these games because they are newer versions of games I played on my Atari 2600 over 20 years ago.

 

I suppose the number one priority is to restore the controllers. At that point, I will probably start picking up other games and work toward modding the 5200 for S-Video and eventually add a DC input. That said, the RF connection doesn't nearly look as bad as I thought it would. My 2600 doesn't look as good through RF as the 5200 does. That's not saying a whole lot since it is hooked up to an HDTV, though. But hey! At least it's playable from a visual sense.

[Jess Ragan]

If you're ever in the need for commons, look me up. I got a buttload of duplicates that I received in an eBay deal, and I'm itching to send them off to a new home.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Jess Ragan

[respawnhero]

Well...I bought an Atari 5200. It came in the mail, and I opened it and hooked it up today.

 

Wow. There is definitely some work to be done on these controllers, but I have to say - I like the feel of the controller. We'll have to see how things go once I get them completely working. One of them still works (surprisingly). Not all of the buttons work, but the directions seem to be okay. I logged some time in Qix. It was my first time to play the game.

 

Among the other games included with the purchase were Galaxian, Super Breakout, and Realsports Football.

 

My current short list of games to pick up - Megamania, River Raid, Berzerk and Kaboom! Probably Realsports Baseball too. I want most of these games because they are newer versions of games I played on my Atari 2600 over 20 years ago.

 

I suppose the number one priority is to restore the controllers. At that point, I will probably start picking up other games and work toward modding the 5200 for S-Video and eventually add a DC input. That said, the RF connection doesn't nearly look as bad as I thought it would. My 2600 doesn't look as good through RF as the 5200 does. That's not saying a whole lot since it is hooked up to an HDTV, though. But hey! At least it's playable from a visual sense.

I can't wait to get my 5200. It's gonna be awesome and will bring back a lot of memories. Is your system 4-port or 2-port? If it's two port then you can get the VCS adapter that was released for the 5200 that allowed you to play the 2600 games on the 5200. I'm getting that with my Atari and I'm eager to try it out.

[respawnhero]

Well...I bought an Atari 5200. It came in the mail, and I opened it and hooked it up today.

 

Wow. There is definitely some work to be done on these controllers, but I have to say - I like the feel of the controller. We'll have to see how things go once I get them completely working. One of them still works (surprisingly). Not all of the buttons work, but the directions seem to be okay. I logged some time in Qix. It was my first time to play the game.

 

Among the other games included with the purchase were Galaxian, Super Breakout, and Realsports Football.

 

My current short list of games to pick up - Megamania, River Raid, Berzerk and Kaboom! Probably Realsports Baseball too. I want most of these games because they are newer versions of games I played on my Atari 2600 over 20 years ago.

 

I suppose the number one priority is to restore the controllers. At that point, I will probably start picking up other games and work toward modding the 5200 for S-Video and eventually add a DC input. That said, the RF connection doesn't nearly look as bad as I thought it would. My 2600 doesn't look as good through RF as the 5200 does. That's not saying a whole lot since it is hooked up to an HDTV, though. But hey! At least it's playable from a visual sense.

I can't wait to get my 5200. It's gonna be awesome and will bring back a lot of memories. Is your system 4-port or 2-port? If it's two port then you can get the VCS adapter that was released for the 5200 that allowed you to play the 2600 games on the 5200. I'm getting that with my Atari and I'm eager to try it out.

[Brian R.]

Well...I bought an Atari 5200. It came in the mail, and I opened it and hooked it up today.

 

Wow. There is definitely some work to be done on these controllers, but I have to say - I like the feel of the controller. We'll have to see how things go once I get them completely working. One of them still works (surprisingly). Not all of the buttons work, but the directions seem to be okay. I logged some time in Qix. It was my first time to play the game.

 

Among the other games included with the purchase were Galaxian, Super Breakout, and Realsports Football.

 

My current short list of games to pick up - Megamania, River Raid, Berzerk and Kaboom! Probably Realsports Baseball too. I want most of these games because they are newer versions of games I played on my Atari 2600 over 20 years ago.

 

I suppose the number one priority is to restore the controllers. At that point, I will probably start picking up other games and work toward modding the 5200 for S-Video and eventually add a DC input. That said, the RF connection doesn't nearly look as bad as I thought it would. My 2600 doesn't look as good through RF as the 5200 does. That's not saying a whole lot since it is hooked up to an HDTV, though. But hey! At least it's playable from a visual sense.

 

I would recommend picking up Pac-Man for the 5200. I've always found it to be a good looking and good version of the game. Space Invaders is also good, and different from "regular" Space Invaders.

 

You may be disappointed with any of the Activision games, as they're pretty much identical to their 2600 counterparts, with only slight tweaking, if any. And Kaboom just doesn't play well without a paddle controller - I know that from the 5200 game and from trying Kaboom on the 8 bit with a joystick.

 

Interesting that you like the controller. You can buy a rebuilt/improved controller from one of a few online sources, Best Electronics being one. I think you can also buy the parts to upgrade one yourself, if you feel you're up to the task of opening one up and believe you can successfully get it back together - I can't.

 

As for me, my 5200 would be unusable if not for my Wico controller, which I thank my lucky stars I was able to obtain.

[NoahsMyBro]

One thing you should know regarding the VCS Adapter - *if* you choose to do an A/V mod on your 5200, you won't be able to see/hear the 2600 games through the AV ports. I know this is true with the 8-bit domain mod; I believe it applies to other 5200 A/V Mods as well, but am not certain.

 

You should still be able to play the 2600 games using the traditional RF switchbox, but if you connect the 5200 to your TV using the composite cables (RCA phono-plug style connectors), and try to play a 2600 game through the VCS adapter, you'll see and hear nothing.

 

Other than that caveat, welcome to the club and have a good time. I love the 5200, even the controllers.

[ckrtech]

I just did a cheap man's repair of the 5200 Joystick (cleaned contacts with eraser) and went nuts on Galaxian. Awesome. It's funny - I made a coaxial "extension cable" with an old cable splitter I found. This allowed me to hook the 5200 up to my TV while keeping the RF switch/AC adapter combo all out in front. Makes it easy to connect and disconnect the system as I desire. Eventually I'll do the S-Video mod.

 

I had to laugh a little bit - I was still sitting in the middle of the living room floor looking up at the TV playing Atari. Talk about being overwhelmed by Nostalgia! Difference being its was a 5200 instead of a 2600 and the TV was 57" instead of 19".

 

respawnhero - It's a four port. I know that the 4 port is limited on the VCS compatibility front. I heard it can be modded for compatibility, but I have not looked into the mod yet. This mod & adapter could be in the future. We'll see. I wanted to get the 4 port because....it has 4 ports and it is cool!

 

Brian R - Really? Pac-Man does look pretty good by the screenshots. Thank to Jess, it will be on the way soon. I am reminded of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600.....<sigh> Nevermind. I don't feel like talking about that. I will probably get Ms. Pac-Man too.

 

I wondered about Kaboom! Gosh. That game! The 2600 version was insane. I remember I would press the button, go NUTS catching all of those bombs, set the paddle controller down, wipe the TEARS from my eyes!! (you can't blink. You just *can't*), and then continue. We'll see what the 5200 version is like.

 

So far I do like the controller. After I got the fire buttons working, it didn't take too long to get used to it. I'm sure it will be a new experience from game to game. It looks like most people recommend Best. I'll probably go with them if I want to really kick these controllers up into high gear.

 

NoahsMyBro - Really? I don't really know a lot about that VCS adapter yet. I assume from what you said that there is some other place inside the system that outputs A/V? That's really bizarre. It isn't some sort of external venture a la Sega 32X is it? I suppose I could always mod my original 4 switch Atari. I love modding consoles, but I just can't bring myself to go nuts on my original 2600 I have had since it was the only thing worth playing.

 

If I really get into this system, I may go completest (well...not counting prototypes, super ultra rares, etc...)

 

Looks like the high score challenge is the place to be!

[Brian R.]

5200 Pac-Man is NOT 2600 Pac-Man. The ghosts don't have eyes, just black holes for eyes, and the maze is stretched horizontally a bit to fill the TV screen instead of the vertical orientation of the arcade game. Still, I love it.

 

5200 Pac-Man is pretty much identical to the 8bit cart, except the 5200 includes the intermissions, which puts it ahead.

 

Ms. Pac-Man isn't as good, oddly enough. There's flicker, and it's not as "smooth" or fast. Not sure what's wrong with it, but something is definitely amiss.

 

You'll find Kaboom virtually identical, except primarily for a musical tune that plays as you catch bombs.

 

There's a slim chance your 5200 may work with the VCS adaptor. From the FAQ:

*** NOTE -- Owners of 4-port 5200 machines with an "*" as part of

the serial number are in luck. Atari apparently made a small run of

VCS-compatible 4-port units before changing over to the 2-port units.

 

You could pop it open and take a peek, if you're so inclined.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Brian R.

[respawnhero]

I just did a cheap man's repair of the 5200 Joystick (cleaned contacts with eraser) and went nuts on Galaxian. Awesome. It's funny - I made a coaxial "extension cable" with an old cable splitter I found. This allowed me to hook the 5200 up to my TV while keeping the RF switch/AC adapter combo all out in front. Makes it easy to connect and disconnect the system as I desire. Eventually I'll do the S-Video mod.

 

I had to laugh a little bit - I was still sitting in the middle of the living room floor looking up at the TV playing Atari. Talk about being overwhelmed by Nostalgia! Difference being its was a 5200 instead of a 2600 and the TV was 57" instead of 19".

 

respawnhero - It's a four port. I know that the 4 port is limited on the VCS compatibility front. I heard it can be modded for compatibility, but I have not looked into the mod yet. This mod & adapter could be in the future. We'll see. I wanted to get the 4 port because....it has 4 ports and it is cool!

 

Brian R - Really? Pac-Man does look pretty good by the screenshots. Thank to Jess, it will be on the way soon. I am reminded of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600.....<sigh> Nevermind. I don't feel like talking about that. I will probably get Ms. Pac-Man too.

 

I wondered about Kaboom! Gosh. That game! The 2600 version was insane. I remember I would press the button, go NUTS catching all of those bombs, set the paddle controller down, wipe the TEARS from my eyes!! (you can't blink. You just *can't*), and then continue. We'll see what the 5200 version is like.

 

So far I do like the controller. After I got the fire buttons working, it didn't take too long to get used to it. I'm sure it will be a new experience from game to game. It looks like most people recommend Best. I'll probably go with them if I want to really kick these controllers up into high gear.

 

NoahsMyBro - Really? I don't really know a lot about that VCS adapter yet. I assume from what you said that there is some other place inside the system that outputs A/V? That's really bizarre. It isn't some sort of external venture a la Sega 32X is it? I suppose I could always mod my original 4 switch Atari. I love modding consoles, but I just can't bring myself to go nuts on my original 2600 I have had since it was the only thing worth playing.

 

If I really get into this system, I may go completest (well...not counting prototypes, super ultra rares, etc...)

 

Looks like the high score challenge is the place to be!

 

I love the four port! The first game system to actually have four controller ports if I'm not mistaken. I would love to play the 5200 on a 57" TV, you're so friggin' lucky!

[respawnhero]

5200 Pac-Man is NOT 2600 Pac-Man. The ghosts don't have eyes, just black holes for eyes, and the maze is stretched horizontally a bit to fill the TV screen instead of the vertical orientation of the arcade game. Still, I love it.

 

5200 Pac-Man is pretty much identical to the 8bit cart, except the 5200 includes the intermissions, which puts it ahead.

 

Ms. Pac-Man isn't as good, oddly enough. There's flicker, and it's not as "smooth" or fast. Not sure what's wrong with it, but something is definitely amiss.

 

You'll find Kaboom virtually identical, except primarily for a musical tune that plays as you catch bombs.

 

There's a slim chance your 5200 may work with the VCS adaptor. From the FAQ:

*** NOTE -- Owners of 4-port 5200 machines with an "*" as part of

the serial number are in luck. Atari apparently made a small run of

VCS-compatible 4-port units before changing over to the 2-port units.

You could pop it open and take a peek, if you're so inclined.

I'm hoping that the Atari I'm getting has the * so that I can use the VCS adapter but even if it doesn't, I can always pick up a 2600 system on ebay or Best Electronics. Edited November 5, 2007 by respawnhero

[NoahsMyBro]

I've got enough VCS/2600s and 5200s that I haven't taken the time to try and install it yet, but a few years ago I needed a $0.75 part from Best Electronics, and bought the compatibility kit that retrofits the 4-port to work with the 2600 adapter. I think the kit, at the time, was $5 (so I still needed to buy even more before I'd hit whatever minimum order amount I was trying to get to!)

 

And the AV-Mod not displaying the 2600 adapter isn't as strange as it may sound. The adapter is really just a self-contained 2600. It sends it's audio/video output through the cartridge port to the 5200, and receives power from the 5200 through the cartridge port. That's it. The 5200 just takes the outputted A/V and passes it on to the TV through the RF circuit.

 

The A/V Mods for the 5200 tap the 5200 circuitry *BEFORE* the audio/video is sent to the RF circuitry. The 2600 game signals never go through the circuitry tapped by the A/V Mods.

[BydoEmpire]

I would recommend picking up Pac-Man for the 5200. I've always found it to be a good looking and good version of the game. Space Invaders is also good, and different from "regular" Space Invaders.

I agree. 5200 Pac Man is one of if not my very favorite home port. It looks and plays great. Congrats - the system is a ton of fun. The controllers aren't nearly as bad to use as people make out (reliability aside).

[cyberfluxor]

5200 Pac-Man is NOT 2600 Pac-Man. The ghosts don't have eyes, just black holes for eyes, and the maze is stretched horizontally a bit to fill the TV screen instead of the vertical orientation of the arcade game. Still, I love it.

 

5200 Pac-Man is pretty much identical to the 8bit cart, except the 5200 includes the intermissions, which puts it ahead.

 

Ms. Pac-Man isn't as good, oddly enough. There's flicker, and it's not as "smooth" or fast. Not sure what's wrong with it, but something is definitely amiss.

 

You'll find Kaboom virtually identical, except primarily for a musical tune that plays as you catch bombs.

 

There's a slim chance your 5200 may work with the VCS adaptor. From the FAQ:

*** NOTE -- Owners of 4-port 5200 machines with an "*" as part of

the serial number are in luck. Atari apparently made a small run of

VCS-compatible 4-port units before changing over to the 2-port units.

 

You could pop it open and take a peek, if you're so inclined.

5200 Pac-Man instantly became one of my favorite ports with the Wico controller. It's bliss on the right TV and I'm connected over RF. Haven't gotten Kaboom yet so no follow-up to that.

 

As for the serial number (S/N) part of my unit, I was a bit upset it didn't match awhile back but I'm fine now.

[Jess Ragan]

Allow me to add my voice to the chorus of 5200 Pac-Man fans. It's not a perfect translation- what arcade port from the early 80's is?- but it plays beautifully with the right joystick and has its own distinctive charm. The detail is lacking, but like Brian R. said, you wouldn't want to trade it for the prettier but clunkier 5200 port of Ms. Pac-Man. That looks great, but where the heck did the gameplay go?!

[jboypacman]

I really like the 5200 version of Pac-Man.Its not perfect but its a far step above the 2600 version which am not a fan of.

[8bitgamer]

I love the 5200, but with most games, I far prefer the Wico third-party joystick. My favorite games are Robotron and Space Dungeon, which work great with the original controllers (thanks to the two-joystick adaptor).

 

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