broken 5200's

[chriswhit]

I have a chance to get a few 5200's but their broken. if they were the 2600 this wouldn't be a problem for me. I don't know whats wrong with them yet but whats the chance of getting one that cant be fixed for a reasonable price? What usually goes in the consoles? thanks

[BigO]

From what little experience I have, it sounds like a common problem is the analog multiplexer that connect to the controller ports (can't remember the chip off the top of my head, 4066 maybe). Mine had that problem. The other problem mine had was a bad RAM chip which I was able to eventually narrow down and fix because I had a spare chip from my pile o' parts. In my research on that, it also sounds like a fairly common problem.

 

Mine was broken when I got it (for free, if I recall correctly). Then locally picked up a big pile of even more broken 5200's (all 4 port, I believe) for parts from Atari2600.com and used those to fix mine. Still have a pile of non-functional machines if anybody's interested. Also have a bunch of presumably dead switch boxes, too if you're looking for something to do. I'd let them go cheap.

Edited October 10, 2009 by BigO

[Koopa64]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the power button prone to breaking? I've heard some cases where it wouldn't turn off or on.

[Prodos8]

I'd probably steer clear unless I was getting them nearly for free. But, on the otherhand many that people think are broken aren't. They just don't know how to hook them up properly or the controllers are dead. I picked up one a few months ago that the owner said did not work, but when I took it home and tested it I found no problems except dead controllers.

[phuzzed]

it's a crapshoot, really. The 5200 has it's own set of problems. Some are extremly simple to fix, some are a bit more complex. They can all be fixed, it's just a matter of how much time you have on your hands

 

I have a couple of extras I keep around that are like this, specifically for parts. I was able to fix one, but another one has something really odd that I can't figure out. I've swapped out all chips on the board with a known working system and it still doesn't work. But, at least I have a set of known good chips if I need them.