The Future for 5200 Owners

[tz101]

Some random thoughts:

 

As the 5200 console and its much-maligned controllers near the 30-year mark, how long until things start to go out? Thankfully, Atari had the foresight to use standard potentiometers, so they are readily available. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the flex circuits and carbon-dot rubberized buttons. I am guessing that Best Electronics has a finite supply of replacement parts available, then what? The day will come when it becomes impossible to repair the stock controllers, and the only alternative is the limited 3rd party models like Wico. Like the stock 5200 models, the pots go out on those too, and they are proprietary, so are impossible to replace. What will collectors do? Does anyone know what happened to the mold tools that made the rubber fire and number pad buttons? They will be needed soon.

 

What about the rev. 9 flex circuits? Does Best have the ability to make more?

 

Are new replacement wire harnesses available as original controller cords experience age-related rot? Not some 30-year old stock that has been sitting in a warehouse for all the years, because those are just as suspect as the ones in use.

 

The days of playable 5200 games may be headed strictly for PC emulation whether we like it or not...

[jetset]

Some random thoughts:

 

As the 5200 console and its much-maligned controllers near the 30-year mark, how long until things start to go out? Thankfully, Atari had the foresight to use standard potentiometers, so they are readily available. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the flex circuits and carbon-dot rubberized buttons. I am guessing that Best Electronics has a finite supply of replacement parts available, then what? The day will come when it becomes impossible to repair the stock controllers, and the only alternative is the limited 3rd party models like Wico. Like the stock 5200 models, the pots go out on those too, and they are proprietary, so are impossible to replace. What will collectors do? Does anyone know what happened to the mold tools that made the rubber fire and number pad buttons? They will be needed soon.

 

What about the rev. 9 flex circuits? Does Best have the ability to make more?

 

Are new replacement wire harnesses available as original controller cords experience age-related rot? Not some 30-year old stock that has been sitting in a warehouse for all the years, because those are just as suspect as the ones in use.

 

The days of playable 5200 games may be headed strictly for PC emulation whether we like it or not...

 

 

I don't know about the lifespan of flex circuits, but as far as I'm concerned there's no need to ever spend a penny on bests' replacement parts. From what I understand of the way they work, the one thing that goes bad on the flex circuit is the part that the fire button contacts. And at that, it's not the circuit wearing out but the carbon dot that touches it leaving a residue that disrupts the contact. The short term fix is to clean the circuit with a pencil eraser, long term requires either replacing the carbon "dot" with the best gold ones, or a piece of tin foil. I used tin foil on mine over 2 years ago and have not had a problem yet.

Considering all the innovative people here in the community if there comes a day when there's a serious shortage, we'll have seen new and better options made by fans long before that happens.

Really, all this angst over the controllers befuddles me. I'm probably in the top ten of least technically-abled people here and I'm able to fix the 5200 controllers one reliability issue with pocket change worth of material.

 

I would submit that thanks to this community the 5200 will be going strong as it is for a long, long time.

[TheLunarFox]

I just got a couple of untouched controllers, choosing them over Best's refurbished controllers because they were cheap, and they're pretty much fine. Just needed to be cleaned up is all, which was expected. It was very easy to do.

[Lord Thag]

Best Electronics is the nice, more reliable option for sure. I doubt a properly modded controller will die in the next couple of decades. They're pretty rock solid. Replace the pots at the same time and you're golden.

 

And there is always the glue+aluminum-foil-hole-punch trick, though that often is a once every year or two kinda thing.

 

And if the Zombie apocalypse happens, your 5200 doubles as a riot shield and life raft. The ol' girl is gonna be useful for some time to come

[tz101]

Here's is what many overlook:

 

The fire, start, pause, reset, and number pad buttons are all made from some siliconized rubber material that will one day dry out and crack. When it does, kiss the controller goodbye. Short of canibalizing other 5200 controllers, there will eventually be a shortage of replacement rubber buttons. If anyone doubts this, only take a look inside some heavily used Nintendo or Sega controller sometime. I do repair on all systems, and have seen some that have simply split and cracked from heavy usage. The result in usually a fire/start/reset button that is non-responsive. All rubber will dry up and crack, just give it time. I don't care how resourceful and "technically minded" the regulars are here at Atari Age, nothing short of newly molded replacement buttons will suffice.

 

Also, in answer to earlier post: the flex circuits I have seen go bad normally crack where the flex circuit bends over to go along the sides under the fire buttons and along the top underneath the fire and start/reset/pause buttons. Take a magnifying glass and look, and the older circuits begin to dry out and crack at these bending joints. Faulty design by Atari (even Mattel and Coleco used flex circuits inexplicably) will end up haunting each and every 5200 owner.

 

Take a look inside PS2 or Xbox controllers and see how they got around the flex circuit issue by using rigid boards wired together. Now, if one of the resourceful regulars here at AA were to come up with a cheaply manufacturable solution that were similar to these...

 

All the positive thinking in the world will not get around the inevitable.

[+remowilliams]

Best Electronics is the nice, more reliable option for sure. I doubt a properly modded controller will die in the next couple of decades. They're pretty rock solid. Replace the pots at the same time and you're golden.

 

+1

 

The Best stuff is absolutely top notch, I've never had to revisit a controller I've rebuilt with their parts.

 

As far as most 5200 owners these days, they are probably more afraid of the Grim Reaper than worrying about joystick parts/replacement shortages

[tz101]

OK, I am not purely negative. I have two refurbed controllers with new Best rev. 9 circuits and replacement pots. Only thing I did not replace was the carbon buttons because I was successful with the aluminum foil dot trick. The controllers work like it was 1983 all over again.

 

All I am saying is that even the best Best parts are not going to last to eternity. The first items to go, as I mentioned, will be the rubber buttons.

[BigO]

If there's a sudden huge demand for 5200 controllers, fear not. I know of a guy who's built a serviceable one from scratch and has plans to make an even more compatible version for himself someday.

[svenski]

At first I thought we were all doomed....

[TheLunarFox]

The flex circuit and the rubber are two things I will admit I didn't think about. Well that's depressing. But it's okay. I'm sure they'll be ways around it.

 

But now when my rubber buttons break one day, I'll think of you tz101.

[jetset]

At first I thought we were all doomed....

 

Who says we aren't ?

[carmel_andrews]

The future is bright.....the future is FIFTY-TWO HUNDRED (sorry, i could'nt help but nick a strapline from an old orange mktg campaign)

[Jess Ragan]

You make adapters. It's really not that hard. I crafted a PC gamepad wire which was a solo effort, and constructed a 9-pin adapter with a built in keypad, with assistance from another member of the forum. The death of the stock controllers won't stop anyone from playing 5200 games... it'll just force them to play with better controllers.

 

People seem really stuck on that design for some reason, so what I'd suggest: reconstruct the stock controller to make it function better. Replace the keypad, swap the buttons with TAC switches, that kind of thing. I've heard of people doing the same thing with the ColecoVision pad and I can't see a reason why it wouldn't be possible with the 52K.

[Brian R.]

Well, I got a rebuilt controller from Best. It wasn't long until it stopped working. I have no idea why.

 

I have another 5200 controller that I found in a trash can at a car wash, and it works. Or at least, its start button works so I can use it with my Wico controller.

 

Personally, I wouldn't mind having a Jaguar pad modified to work with the 5200...

Edited September 6, 2010 by Brian R.

[tz101]

Personally, I wouldn't mind having a Jaguar pad modified to work with the 5200...

 

I have asked for a Jag adapter for a while. Nobody makes one, or knows the pin transfer scheme, at least to publish it. I am guessing there is more to it than just matching pins because it involves going from digital to analog directional controls.

[carmel_andrews]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

[Brian R.]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

 

Who out there is gonna care in 2010 if someone takes a Jaguar controller and changes it to work on a 5200???

 

I'm more annoyed that my Best Elec. "rebuilt" controller turned into a doorstop, while a controller from a trash can works. <shrug>

[tz101]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

 

Who out there is gonna care in 2010 if someone takes a Jaguar controller and changes it to work on a 5200???

 

I'm more annoyed that my Best Elec. "rebuilt" controller turned into a doorstop, while a controller from a trash can works. <shrug>

 

Y, I kind of thought the same.

[eightbit]

I for one think that a jag controller adapter would completely kick ass, *especially* if the keypad was fully functional. Actually, when you think about it, the Jag standard controller would have exactly enough buttons to handle the keypad, start/pause/reset and the two fire buttons. The keypad handles 1-9/0 and */#, the pause/option and button A could be mapped to use the start/pause/reset, leaving B and C as the two fire buttons.

[carmel_andrews]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

 

Who out there is gonna care in 2010 if someone takes a Jaguar controller and changes it to work on a 5200???

 

I'm more annoyed that my Best Elec. "rebuilt" controller turned into a doorstop, while a controller from a trash can works. <shrug>

 

Y, I kind of thought the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Try saying that to the jaguar community here and elsewhere....they will tear you limb from limb

[Brian R.]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

 

Who out there is gonna care in 2010 if someone takes a Jaguar controller and changes it to work on a 5200???

 

I'm more annoyed that my Best Elec. "rebuilt" controller turned into a doorstop, while a controller from a trash can works. <shrug>

 

Y, I kind of thought the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Try saying that to the jaguar community here and elsewhere....they will tear you limb from limb

 

Really? Those who would be so inclined can scream and cry all they want. It matters not.

 

Like me, who owns every Atari game console, I'm sure most of the "Jag community" are also part of the "5200 community," or as I prefer to think of it, all part of the "Atari community."

 

As was said above, I agree it seems the Jag controller is perfectly suited to be a 5200 replacement, so long as the analog/digital issue can be dealt with.

[HammR25]

TZ101....You opened up a can of worms there my good friend, I would'nt dare try and reverse angineer anything with 'JAGUAR' on it, you will be accused of piracy and god knows what else (best left well alone...i.e the jaguar thing that is)

 

Who out there is gonna care in 2010 if someone takes a Jaguar controller and changes it to work on a 5200???

 

I'm more annoyed that my Best Elec. "rebuilt" controller turned into a doorstop, while a controller from a trash can works. <shrug>

 

Y, I kind of thought the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Try saying that to the jaguar community here and elsewhere....they will tear you limb from limb

Why mention it anywhere but the Jaguar forum?

[tz101]

The other part of that issue is: So what, are they going to sue the person who comes up with a Jag controller adapter? The "jag community" can scream and rant all they want, but it should not stop the development of such a device. If anyone were to claim legal rights, it might be Atari Corp. but the Jag is 16 years old and I doubt they care if somebody uses their controller for a system it was not designed for. A judge would throw out the case while laughing all the way.

[Divya16]

I think some other controllers are better suited (easier) for conversion for Atari 5200 than Jaguar ones.

[tz101]

For instance.....