5200: What's your console like?

[ataridoctor]

I have 6 or 7 5200s been buyin some for the wico and comp pro controllers. I got a brand new 2 port i havent tested but its pretty. got 45 games including Zaxxon which is rare i bought it in 1983. never Knew all this stuff was made ie after market controllers 2600 adapter. so ive gotta stop buyin this stuff. gonna refurb some and sell on ebay although the economy is so bad doesnt look like its worth the time.

[simbalion]

I own both types of 5200. A two port which is the first one I ever got with a working controller, and a rather nice four port that came with its box and two dead controllers. Oddly, I like my four port better. The colors are more vivid on it than my two port and the odd RF box doesn't bother me. In fact, I have a NOS RF switch for it stored away somewhere! Found the box the other day and it has fallen out into the mess in the closet! My four port is also capable of using the 2600 adaptor. Of course, I prefer RF on the 5200 because that is what I have and that system looks good with and RF box. Now the 2600 I sometimes wish was AV modded.

[marcfrick2112]

I have a very nice condition 4-port, RF only... I wouldn't do an S-Video mod until I had another 2 5200's to 'practice' on... And I'd still probably be terrified to do it...

Anyway, I believe it came with all the boxes and paperwork. I have the brown 'Atari 5200' marked dust cover too...

It's funny, my 2 controllers often seem to have 'issues', but tonight they work fine....

I found this 5200 at a Council of the Blind thrift, they wanted $50 for it...I thought it was too much. I went back a month later, and the 5200 was still sitting there, I offered $25 for it, the clerk said yes..

As others have said, I find the RF output to be very good quality, better than any of my 2600's at least....

5200's rock! Now to get some more games for the old girl....

[KevinMos3]

Mine is a two-port and is near flawless. I picked it up at a flea market still in the box about 15 years ago. It still has the plastic protection over the aluminum strip. The only flaw is that the plastic protector has a very slight curl in the bottom right corner. I don't know a way to make it lay back down. If I did, it would be completely like new.

 

Now that I have a Competition Pro Joystick and Adventure II ordered for Christmas, I may look into doing an s-video mod.

[jeremysart]

Just got mine, finally!

2-port, RF out.

The system is in overall pretty darn good shape, and came with 21 games. I only paid $48 w/ ship.

 

I'll need some new controllers sometime though, as the one is a little quirky sometimes, and the other is completely shot, but it didnt make me mad as I was half expecting that.

 

Does Frogger work on the two port system? I know im not missing out on much, but I would like to be able to play it, but I just get a black screen.

 

And man I love the 5200 port of Mario Bros!!! Fun stuff!

[zylon]

My current 5200 is a 2 port in decent shape and it works with 2 redone controllers. I've got 8 games. 7 are played and 1 does coaster duty.

Missile command, Space invaders, Centipede, Kaboom, Dreadnaught factor, Gorf, Galaxian, Berzerk(coaster duty)

[cybercylon]

Just got mine, finally!

2-port, RF out.

The system is in overall pretty darn good shape, and came with 21 games. I only paid $48 w/ ship.

 

I'll need some new controllers sometime though, as the one is a little quirky sometimes, and the other is completely shot, but it didnt make me mad as I was half expecting that.

 

Does Frogger work on the two port system? I know im not missing out on much, but I would like to be able to play it, but I just get a black screen.

 

And man I love the 5200 port of Mario Bros!!! Fun stuff!

 

uhmmmm... don't bother with the 5200 version of frogger. Quite unplayable. If you do have a Colecovision, I'd suggest picking that one up.

 

Zylon... why is Berserk acting as a coaster? It's the best home port. Albeit, it is as hard as hell, and I think it would still be hard with a better controller. Evil Otto takes longer, faster bounces than the arcade Otto, and the robots seem to fire faster.

[Mirage]

4-port, RF. The RF on mine works fine, but if the power/RF box ever blows, I'll probably get it modded. No reason to until then. Have the dual joystick holder thing and 2 Best gold joysticks that rock hard.

 

I have most games I want, but Berzerk is still a glaring hole in my 5200 collection. I love that game, but just haven't ever picked up the 5200 cart.

[zylon]

I've just got another 2 port for a spare console. It still has the plastic film on the metal strip. As for 5200 Berzerk, I find it lacking in the most important quality a game should have...FUN. It has got to be one of the most aggravating titles I've ever played. Other bad games that I ran into I just put aside and never played again, this one for some reason rouses my ire.

5200 Frogger was the only neg feedback I ever had on evilbay. Apparently, I'm liable for bad design.

Edited February 6, 2010 by zylon

[Divya16]

Just got mine, finally!

2-port, RF out.

The system is in overall pretty darn good shape, and came with 21 games. I only paid $48 w/ ship.

 

I'll need some new controllers sometime though, as the one is a little quirky sometimes, and the other is completely shot, but it didnt make me mad as I was half expecting that.

 

Does Frogger work on the two port system? I know im not missing out on much, but I would like to be able to play it, but I just get a black screen.

 

And man I love the 5200 port of Mario Bros!!! Fun stuff!

 

uhmmmm... don't bother with the 5200 version of frogger. Quite unplayable. If you do have a Colecovision, I'd suggest picking that one up.

...

 

Frogger is very good on Atari 5200 but the joystick controls suck as you have to keep pressing the fire button to move. However, you can use the keypad mode and it works almost as good as Atari 8-bit computer version. I don't mean the A5200 controller keypad (which is not that good), I mean the Wico keypad, Trackball keypad, or A2600 keyboard controller. I have played Frogger using all three of these. Wico keypad has the best keys.

[Ransom]

5200 Berzerk is pretty much like the arcade game, to me: it's meant to be very, very difficult. I have more fun playing the 2600 version, but the 5200 version is a nice challenge (plus the voice is a nice feature).

[zylon]

Tried it again this morning, still think it's better at its' second career.

I'd love to find one of those 5200 Millipede games.

[Christophero Sly]

I have three 5200's. Two 4-ports and a 2-port. Bone stock, all of them. If I ever feel like playing the 5200 again, I'll probably get one of the 4-ports modded because an RF picture just doesn't cut it for me anymore, and I hate the 4-port power routed RF switch to begin with.

[GrandviewCoin]

I have multiple of both 4 and 2 port systems.. Also only missing one game from the collection, and half of the them are boxed!

[AtariLeaf]

My 5200 is a lot like this and my controllers always work 100%

 

[zylon]

My 5200 is a lot like this and my controllers always work 100%

 

That's probably the first one of those I've ever seen. Around here, that would've been worse to own because you wouldn't find any games. In the late 90's someone brought in a 400 and was turned away because no one knew what it was. Evilbay would've been your only choice.

[SRGilbert]

My 5200 is a lot like this and my controllers always work 100%

 

 

 

A buddy of mine had one of those back in the day. I just remember playing Centipede and thinking it was pretty good.

[atariksi]

My 5200 is a lot like this and my controllers always work 100%

 

 

 

A buddy of mine had one of those back in the day. I just remember playing Centipede and thinking it was pretty good.

 

I guess the only think lacking in most of these were the Chroma signal on the s-video output. The earlier model, Atari 800, had it but then it lacked the shadow ROM feature.