jalthe1 Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I recently bought an unused Atari 5200 console. When it arrived, it looked flawless. No dust or scratches in the cartridge slot. Still has the protective film on it. So i hooked it up with an RCA to RF adapter and i get a beautiful picture. However, i have no sound except for some buzzing. I have been told it could either be the Pokey chip or a capacitor that needs to be replaced. While i have done most repairs myself in the past, soldering is not one of my strong points. The last time i tried to solder anything, i burned a hole all the way through the circuit board i was working on. Is there anyone that i can send this to to fix my sound problem? I'd pay for the service and shipping. I'm told the capacitor and/or chip isn't very expensive. I'd hate to trash it since it's basically new. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSW Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Your best bet would be to contact Best Electronics and see what they can do for you. Otherwise, you'll need to find a local electronics repair shop that will do the work for you. I had the same problem with my A5200, but I installed a video mod made by low_budget (a member of this forum) because it bypasses the on-board sound circuit, and this fixed my sound issue. He sometimes sells his mods on eBay, so if you have the chance pick one up and have an electronic repair shop install it. It should fix your sound and you'll have composite and s video outputs to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DamonicFury Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 So i hooked it up with an RCA to RF adapter and i get a beautiful picture. However, i have no sound except for some buzzing. Copied from the "first 5200" thread since you mentioned the issue there as well... Are you sure the problem isn't just the adapter? You might want to try connecting it via the standard coaxial cable connection instead of the RCA connectors just to verify. If you don't have a standard switchbox to test, try one of these from Radio Shack... http://www.radioshac...clickid=prod_cs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 It's usually those 2 little silver caps in the lower left of this pic. To and from shipping for a repair that small is usually more than it's worth though. I've fixed a "few" of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalthe1 Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 That is the part i have. I also bought one off ebay too and it does the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalthe1 Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am waiting to hear from Best Electronics. If they can't help then i guess i will have to try and do it myself even though i'm liable to burn holes right through the circuit board trying to solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I am waiting to hear from Best Electronics. If they can't help then i guess i will have to try and do it myself even though i'm liable to burn holes right through the circuit board trying to solder. The key with those little caps is a low-watt soldering iron. Using too much heat will melt the new parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalthe1 Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Well, Best wanted me to try going through all the channels. He says sometimes on newer tvs the frequency may be different. I tried it but no luck. If that didn't work, he recommended me buying an entire motherboard from him. If i do that, it defeats the whole point of buying an unused system. So i guess my only option is to attempt to replace the capacitor myself and hope i don't ruin it. I find it hard to believe that no one works on these anymore. As much as i like the 5200, i guess it may be time to just let it go. Next time i start feeling nostalgic, i will just listen to some music instead of wasting money on something i have no way to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 ^ PM sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You can replace caps without soldering. Cut the old ones off leaving as much of the leads intact. Then wire wrap the new ones to the leads of the old. Yes, i know it isn't the best approach. But then you'll know if that fixed it or not without burning the board. And if it does work, then you can either leave it like that or work up the courage the solder it in properly. And it sure beats throwing the whole thing out. A manual wire wrap tool is about $10. I myself am working up the courage to do a power mod on a 5200. Unfortunately, one of the caps for that mod has leads too short for wire wrap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I myself am working up the courage to do a power mod on a 5200. Unfortunately, one of the caps for that mod has leads too short for wire wrap. The easiest way to remove that cap is by desoldering. You need two low wattage irons--one for soldering and a special one to desolder the cap. 25 to 50 watts is all you need on each. The work itself is really not that tough. Practice desoldering and re soldering ICs to a scrap cartridge or something until you're comfortable with it, then install new tips to both irons and do the power mod. There will be no chance of wire wrap coming loose or (worse) shorting something else out on the board. I actually broke a trace off the circuit board the first time I did a project where I had to desolder something. It was easy to repair by running 24 gauge wire from the one leg of that particular IC to the next point where the trace was connected. I've never burnt through a circuit board by soldering. There's a risk of overheating components, but what you're gonna be soldering for that power mod would require a very hot iron to burn up. That's why you stick to irons that are less that 50 watts. I can solder just about anything from circuits to copper pipe. Electronic soldering is by far the easiest to do, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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