5200 power adapter smokin hot

[Waterborn]

I just picked up a 5200 at a yard sale this past weekend. I finally got around to testing it today and it works. However, there are two issues that I am having wtih it. The first and the one that concerns me the most is that fact that the power adapter, switch box and video out all got VERY hot very quickly. Is this normal? I also noticed that there was some banding on the picture (discolored band that slowly moves vertically). Could this be due to the heat issue? I currently only have one game to try the system with (Adventure II homebrew) and thus do not know if the banding issue is game specific. Consider that my copy of Adventure II is brand new, I don't think the banding is caused by the cart.

 

Has anyone had these issues?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Dane

[shadow460]

I fried a switchbox one time when I accidentally shorted the conductor to the outer ring on the coax plug. Does the power supply heat up when it's plugged in alone?

On a 4 port, the video out wire also carries +12VDC (or somewhere thereabouts) to power the console. If there's a problem somewhere in the box, that would explain the video out heating up. If you power adapter operated okay when it's not hooked to the box, you can get by with power modding the 5200. It uses a few dollars' worth of parts and takes maybe an hour to do. Instructions are in a thread somewhere in the 5200 forum.

[Waterborn]

Shadow, thanks for the input. I will check to see if the adapter heats up when not hooked up to the switch box. I will check out the power modding thread. That switch box makes me nervous. Also, there appears to be a second video out (labeled "tv") on the switch box. I am currently using the video out directly from the motherboard. Does anyone use the other video out on the switch box?

[shadow460]

My setup doesn't need the box. It does use video out from the board like yours. Is yours a 2 port or a 4 port?

[Waterborn]

My setup doesn't need the box. It does use video out from the board like yours. Is yours a 2 port or a 4 port?

 

4 - port. I never got a chance to check the heat issue on the power adapter without hooking it into the switch box. Need to do that tonight. Did you modify your unit to work without the switch box or did it come that way?

[Waterborn]

Well, I got around to messing with my 5200 again finally today and the heat issue seems to have abated, at least in part. I notice that the cord that goes from the game to box was a bit loose. I use a pari of pliers to clamp this down a bit. Now the switch box stays cool, but the RF still gets pretty warm where it hooks into my A-B switch box (used to switch from my 2600 to the 5200 prior to feeding into my tv). I still notice vertical banding in some games (Adventure II), though it does not seem as bad. I found the threads about doing the power mod, but to be honest, it seems a bit over my head. I don't solder very well. Now I need to figure out i I can fix my controllers. Only one seems to be working worth a snot. That is my project for this afternoon.

[shadow460]

A.J. Franzman had repaired my controllers with foil dots when I got the unit. He used some conductive ink on the flex circuits to try and get them going. The foil dots helped a lot, but once the flex circuits crack, they are done. Best Electronics sells rebuild parts, entire kits, and fully rebuilt controllers. Based on my experience inside the 5200 controller, I'd just get a set from them. They're expensive, though, about $55 shipped for a single controller. You can send in your old controllers for a small rebate.

 

I did the power mod myself. Difficulty wise, it's probably about a 1 or 2 out of 10.

[Waterborn]

Wel, now I am really ticked off. I was cleaning and testing some new 5200 carts I got in over the weekend and everything was looking fine. The switchbox was cooler and the only issue I was having were funky contollers and the color banding mentioned earlier. I shut down the system and unplug everything cause there is a storm on the way. I go off to try to clean and foil one of my "non-working" controllers, get that done, go to try it out and now the system will not power up. No red LED on the game, no audible click when you plug in the switch box and no infamous spark if you hook up the game to the box. My guess is that the switch box was on its way out and the storm finished it off before I could unplug everything. We did not have any power blips with our other electronics, so maybe the box just died. I hope that this is indeed the issue and it is not the system itself. Like I said, I no longer here a click when I give the switch box power.

 

Anyone have a 5200 switch box they want to sell/trade to me???

[shadow460]

I spent almost ten years off and on trying to find one of those infernal things. I wish it didn't cost so much to ship consoles, otherwise it would be easy to help out.

[Waterborn]

I just picked on up on eBay for $10. I just hope that this is the issue. I just spent the last few hours repairing controllers and want to try them out!