"New" 5200 joystick from Best?

[the.golden.ax]

Maybe some could reverse engineer 5200 Kiosk Joysticks, their Self Centering Joystick from what I can recall.

 

Not really... I have been messing with using an N64 thumbstick though and I think there is potential there.

[+Cafeman]

I've taken apart N64 controllers ... I wondered if the spring thingy could be use to self-center the 5200 stick somehow. It won't be me figuring it out though!

[AtariBrian]

I know Brad said someone made a self centering part using I think counterweights and such... he said it worked great but to expensive to produce. There has to be a decent solution. Perhaps a tighter rubber boot or grommet of some sort would be easy enough just for a better feel.

Edited November 12, 2012 by AtariBrian

[Atari the Jedi]

President Chelsea Clinton sends the time cops after the makers of the 5200 controllers for the pain they have caused humanity. BEST electronices website still not updates then either

[Atari the Jedi]

Me going back in time to punch the sucker who ported over Pac-Man for the 2600!

[walter_J64bit]

Not really... I have been messing with using an N64 thumbstick though and I think there is potential there.

N64 thumbstick you say, this going to be interesting to see.

[chuckwalla]

Will be interesting.

And i'd still like to get the AtariAge 5200 Redemption cable...

[S1500]

I have a feeling that attempting to clean-up/fix the Best Electronics website would go just like an episode of Hoarders.

 

"Do you really need all this colorful text formatting?"

[AtariBrian]

I have a feeling that attempting to clean-up/fix the Best Electronics website would go just like an episode of Hoarders.

 

"Do you really need all this colorful text formatting?"

lmfao ... funny as hell.

[+wood_jl]

It would be nice if they produced a new low-cost controller, or parts. But I think they have the market cornered, so we'll see.

[82atari5200]

The N64 isn't that great an option either. The little nub on the bottom rubs off and renders them pretty much useless. I like to think of the 5200 controller as a Lamborghini or Jaguar. Great to look at and drive but always breaking down and not very practical.

[bohoki]

ive used many ibm joysticks with the adapter there was this neat one that had a thumbstick it worked pretty good but the problem is that if you have a centering stick you need to have little calibration sliders

 

with the standard stick you find the center its very small but nearly all games have different direction trigger changes and the true analog games

 

you may notice if you put in superbreakout and center the puck leave the stick alone then put in kaboom you will notice it is no longer centered

[yell0w_lantern]

I built a joypad for 5200. It works pretty well (and even self-centers). It probably cost more than 50 dollars in parts though.

[AtariBrian]

I built a joypad for 5200. It works pretty well (and even self-centers). It probably cost more than 50 dollars in parts though.

Any pictures of this ?

[walter_J64bit]

I built a joypad for 5200. It works pretty well (and even self-centers). It probably cost more than 50 dollars in parts though.

It cost that much to fix the OEM 5200 Joystick.

[AtariBrian]

It cost that much to fix the OEM 5200 Joystick.

yeah.. and your not doing anything to the actual stick

[bohoki]

Any pictures of this ?

 

i too would love to see

 

here is one of my joystick adventures

 

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/151282-controller-mark-5-powertroller/page__hl__+joystick#entry1848433

[yell0w_lantern]

Here is the general theory and procedure I followed:

http://hackaday.com/...-your-retro-pc/

 

Here is the 5200 pinout:

http://www.atarihq.c...0faq/04_05.html

 

Parts:

 

2 trimmers

http://www.digikey.c...1318-ND/2408895

 

1 keypad

http://www.digikey.c...H5010-ND/213504

 

1 case

http://www.digikey.c...M916-ND/1090728

 

1 cable (a Neo Geo extension cable)

http://www.ebay.com/...=item1c2826bf82

 

1 joystick

http://www.digikey.c...B60NA-ND/303392

 

2 buttons

http://www.digikey.c...W637-ND/2235509

 

2 Capacitors

http://www.digikey.c...4251-ND/1021486

 

1 Header

http://www.digikey.c...S4008-ND/560040

 

1 joystick cap (hard to mount and use; mine is very loose and is basically stays in because the hole is too small for it to slip out)

http://www.dealextre...ir-72284?item=4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The junk you see around the thumb-stick is the remains of a rubber grommet. I had to remove the grommet because it restricted the thumb pad's motion too severely. You might be able to compensate for it with more capacitance but you would have to measure that out with a multimeter.

 

Also be careful when you lay out the button placement that you don't get too near a screw post or you'll have to mount the button with glue instead of the hex nut.

 

I ran the wires for the number pad into the header then attached that to the pins from the number pad. Work out your matrix carefully. I also used a small project board from radio shack to mount the joystick and organize my wires.

 

If you have an old pad to cannibalize the joystick and cap from like in the article then you may need different caps but you may also save yourself some headaches for mounting the cap too.

 

I had considered not cutting open the extension cable and simply mounting a male DB-15 socket on the front of the pad where the wire now enters.

Edited November 16, 2012 by yell0w_lantern

[walter_J64bit]

WOW!

[sqoon]

You should make those for sale. Like the spinners for Kaboom, Tempest, and Super Breakout.

[yell0w_lantern]

Thanks, guys but it's really not quite as impressive in person. Even if I had the time to make them I would never sell them - it's too hack-y. Several parts are held together with glue and the thumbstick cap/hole is too lose and unrefined. I'm pleased with it as a first attempt but that's it. BUT I bet if everyone with a 5200 and a soldering iron tried to make one we could work out a perfect design through trial and error.

Edited November 19, 2012 by yell0w_lantern

[BigO]

Here is the general theory and procedure I followed:

http://hackaday.com/...-your-retro-pc/

 

Here is the 5200 pinout:

http://www.atarihq.c...0faq/04_05.html

 

Parts:

 

 

1 joystick

http://www.digikey.c...B60NA-ND/303392

 

 

It's really too bad that 100K ohm is the highest value you can get in off-the-shelf parts. I inquired about a custom run of (1 Meg?) parts. Anything's possible, only certain things are profitable...

 

Even at 100K with the extra capacitance, I ran into some games that just didn't like my attempts at scratch-built and hacked 5200 controllers (http://www.atariage.com/forums/gallery/album/282-custom-built-5200-controller/ http://www.atariage.com/forums/gallery/album/281-5200-trackball-joystick-mod/) . I theorized that those games were sampling too fast, i.e. not holding the discharge line low long enough (or just couldn't sink enough current) to fully discharge the bigger capacitor in time. The necessary capacitance for a common 10K stick was unworkable entirely.

Edited November 19, 2012 by BigO

[yell0w_lantern]

I thought I'd seen 500k listed before by a manufacturer but neither Mouser nor Digi-key stocked them

[BassGuitari]

I jury-rigged a 5200 stick once to self-center by wrapping some rubber bands around the various mounting posts inside the controller, and fitting the stick base through the middle where they crossed. It was pretty ghetto and ass-backward (which doesn't matter so much once the controller is closed up), but worked pretty well. The stick still had that loosey-goosey analog feel, but it centered.

 

I don't know if I still have the controller, though. I'll have to look.

[ApolloBoy]

Me going back in time to punch the sucker who ported over Pac-Man for the 2600!

 

Uhh what