Atari 5200 bottom buttons failed - capacitors?

[reverendshoebox]

Hello!

 

I'm trying to get my long-boxed 2-port Atari 5200 working again - I have 4 controllers in various states of yuck (just got parts from Best to fix) and a system which seems to work fine EXCEPT that the bottom controller buttons fail on both ports.

 

The service guide suggests replacing the GTIA (which I've done, no dice) and then the capacitors on the ports. But for a two-port system, where are these capacitors on the board and what are their values?

 

Figure I want to try that first, then the GTIA socket. Also, Bradley at Best recommended replacing the 4052s, so I'll give that a try as well, but I figure the capacitors are a more likely point of failure and certainly require less soldering.

 

Thanks much for any help you can give. I really wanna get this thing running again.

 

-=ShoEboX=-

 

 

 

[0078265317]

Probably bad controllers nothing to do with capacitors. Unless you have tried them on another 5200. Even as a kid they used to fail. Its just a bad design not the system it self.

[reverendshoebox]

Well, after I replaced the GTIA I'd tried a couple of my controllers, figuring the chances of both of them having broken bottom buttons were slim. But after reading this, I decided I should at least try replacing one of the flex circuits. And lo and behold, the bottom button worked. Ditto for the second. Still have three more which didn't work before the GTIA swap, so MAYBE there was still a reason to do that. But it's perfectly possible that ALL of my controllers had broken bottom buttons.

 

These...really weren't very well-made joysticks, were they?

 

Anyway, thanks for the slap upside the head. Super Breakout works a lot better when you can actually launch the freakin' ball.

 

-=ShoEboX=-