ARGH! My Son broke my 5200!

[+Atarius Maximus]

My four year old son knocked over the small TV in my game room, and it landed squarely on the Coax Input/RF Cable, which hopelessly smashed and broke the RF connector on the end of the cable coming from my 5200.

 

Of course, the cable isn't easily replaceable since it doesn't unplug from the 5200 side (I've got the 2 Port version). Does anyone have any suggestions on replacing the cable or maybe just the RF plug on the end? Which would be easier, and how would I go about doing it? Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

AM

[oesii]

Have you tried opening up the 5200? I would assume the cable plugs in just like the 2600 so you can just replace the whole thing with a new RF cable. Bad news about your system breaking, I have a cat who likes knocking down my small tv's and I'll have to child proof a lot of my setup when I have kids in a year or so

[+Atarius Maximus]

Have you tried opening up the 5200?

 

Believe it or not, I've never opened up any of my Atari hardware (with the exception of joysticks), everything has always worked fine, and I've never had a reason to.

 

If it's just a simple plug inside the 5200, then I guess fixing this problem will be easier than I thought!

[NoahsMyBro]

I recently repaired a 5200, and found a standard RCA-phono plug on the system board, adjacent to where the included cable is soldered to the system board. I believe it's wired parallel to the exisiting cable.

 

I suspect you could just plug a replacement cable in right there and use it, but am not 100% sure.

 

It's possible (although I think unlikely) that your system won't have that jack, considering I was working on a 4-port.

 

If you try it and it works fine, I'd love to know about it.

 

Steve

[+Mitch]

Yes, some 5200's have it soldered in and others are just plugged in. I think the soldered in type is more common with 4 ports, though.

You could put a new end on it as well, if you have soldering skills.

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[AtariLeaf]

I caught my 3 year old daughter building blocks with my box of duplicates. Needless to say, I now have a lock on my office door

 

Children and Atari don't mix!

[Voltman3]

A MAX -

Of all the 2 ports I've ever opened, they all have

the same RCA Phono plug on both ends of the cable.

 

Either replace the smashed end or buy a replacement

cable, open the 5200 and slide it on- no prob !

 

Later-

[King Atari]

Yep, I have little cousins who would have a field day with my carts (well, a field day for them). Always keep your carts in a safe place away from li'l kids!

[+Atarius Maximus]

Of all the 2 ports I've ever opened, they all have

the same RCA Phono plug on both ends of the cable.

 

Thanks. I'll open up my 5200 sometime this weekend, hopefully it will have the phono plug on the inside too.

 

AM

[WizDawg]

I've taken apart my 2 port Atari 5200 and there is a red RCA phono plug on the system board, so you can easily replace the cable. I've also noticed the RF cable for the 2 port are thinner than the 4 port models.

 

Has anyone replaced a 4 port cable by removing the one soldered on the system board and plugging in a new cable to the phono plug?

[+Mitch]

I've taken apart my 2 port Atari 5200 and there is a red RCA phono plug on the system board, so you can easily replace the cable.  I've also noticed the RF cable for the 2 port are thinner than the 4 port models.

 

Has anyone replaced a 4 port cable by removing the one soldered on the system board and plugging in a new cable to the phono plug?

 

No, but it shouldn't matter. They are both wired to the same points.

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[+Atarius Maximus]

I popped open my 5200 this weekend, and luckily it was just a simple phono plug input on the main board. Replacing the broken cable with a new one was a breeze! Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

 

AM