a cheapest way to get 5200 controller great again

[pirx]

i've recently scored a nice 4 port 5200 especially to be able to test / play our game (https://github.com/pkali/scorch_src).

the unit seems to be working nicely, but the controller does not show any signs of life. to my  untrained eye it looks like traces deteriorated:

 

is there a working budget option to fix it somehow? I am out of discretionary hobby funds for a little while

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Yes the traces are trashed on that mylar flex. It will need to be replaced to begin with. Best Electronics does sell them, but you can also get replacements off eBay.

 

[pirx]

any luck with painting traces with a conductive paint maybe?

[BigO]

Not specific to CX52, but I have heard of people fixing flexible PCB's with conductive paint intended for repairing damaged lines on rear car window defrosters.

 

No idea if it would be cheaper than replacement parts.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

15 hours ago, pirx said:

any luck with painting traces with a conductive paint maybe?

I've not tried it myself, but it would probably work okay in the sections of traces along the areas where the flex doesn't bend. But for those parts where it does, it might not work long term. 

 

As for costs...I was under the thinking that the defroster repair kits would end up costing more? But I can see currently only the gold flex are available even on ebay. So perhaps not?

 

 

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

16 hours ago, BigO said:

Not specific to CX52, but I have heard of people fixing flexible PCB's with conductive paint intended for repairing damaged lines on rear car window defrosters.

 

No idea if it would be cheaper than replacement parts.

It's been a few months since I last looked into what those defroster repair pens cost, but the last time that I did there was only about a $5 or $6 difference between buying one of them or grabbing an entire replacement rear window at the junkyard.

 

The other problem with conductive paint repairs: depending on how acutely the mylar circuits are bent, the defroster paint may just end up flaking off again; it's really not intended to be used on anything other than a flat surface.  Replacement of the mylar really is the better long-term solution, IMHO.

[phuzaxeman]

To repair just get a new flex circuit and buttons.

 

 

[pirx]

Sorry to be a pain in the neck, but OK, say I am ready to splunk some dough on golden showered mylars from Best Electronics. Ohboy ohboy, I am too stupid to make an order apparently. Looks like the information is maybe somewhere here https://www.best-electronics-ca.com/5200.htm

Is there some kind of a publication, something in vicinity of "Best Electronics for Dummies Revised and Updated 2023 Edition With Flowcharts and Quick Reference Cards"?

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, pirx said:

Sorry to be a pain in the neck, but OK, say I am ready to splunk some dough on golden showered mylars from Best Electronics. Ohboy ohboy, I am too stupid to make an order apparently. Looks like the information is maybe somewhere here https://www.best-electronics-ca.com/5200.htm

Is there some kind of a publication, something in vicinity of "Best Electronics for Dummies Revised and Updated 2023 Edition With Flowcharts and Quick Reference Cards"?

Ah, yeah.  Sounds like you've never ordered from Best before.  Welcome to the wonderful world of ordering parts for your game console from 1982 like it's 1982 again.

1. Don't piss off Brad.  He maintains a shitlist, and if you end up on it, there's no known way off of it.  Just FYI.
2. Phone number & hours of operation are at the bottom of (usually) each page.  Yep, ordering is over the phone only.
3. Know what you want before calling.  He's generally happy to answer questions, but see point #1.
4. Give him your credit card info and a box wrapped in Atari anti-tamper tape will turn up at your address of choice in a few days.
5. If he sets you up with a customer number, keep it handy for future reference.  He likes repeat business.

I've never had problems with him in the 20-plus years I've been ordering stuff from him, but many have.  As long as you do things the way he prefers, it all generally goes OK.

[rayik]

On 6/5/2023 at 12:42 PM, pirx said:

 

is there a working budget option to fix it somehow? I am out of discretionary hobby funds for a little while

 

 

Pencil eraser to the mylar sheet and black button contacts.  Buttons will work for a while.  Then use the eraser again when they stop working again.  Can't get any cheaper than this!

[christo930]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:32 PM, pirx said:

any luck with painting traces with a conductive paint maybe?

Probably not worth it.  The flex circuits are pretty inexpensive last time I bought one.  Whenever I've tried to repair stuff with the conductive paint or defroster fixer pens, I've laid down tape first. This keeps the lines consistent and makes sure they don't bleed onto each other.  So that's a roll of painter's tape if you don't already have it, though you can probably use a ruler..   I'm not sure how well those flex circuits can handle even painter's tape off and on.  It might not stick. The defroster stuff is meant for glass, so it may not stick.

 

Really, if the traces are already lifting, it might just fail again after you fix it, in a different spot.

 

If you buy one, try and get a rev-9 version. They are the best, or at least they used to be. There may be newly made ones.

[RB5200]

There is a all new rev. 10 gold mylar now. It actually fixes a couple of issues that the older rev.9's had. It is a complete from scratch mylar, vs trying to redo rev. 9 Mylars in gold. They are top notch. Rev 9 might not even be available (in gold) any more at best.

Edited June 11, 2023 by RB5200

[0078265317]

6 hours ago, RB5200 said:

There is a all new rev. 10 gold mylar now. It actually fixes a couple of issues that the older rev.9's had. It is a complete from scratch mylar, vs trying to redo rev. 9 Mylars in gold. They are top notch. Rev 9 might not even be available (in gold) any more at best.

Cool never heard about those.  But it says minimum 2.  Not sure if 40 is worth it for both.  If it was 20 for both it would be worth it.

Edited June 12, 2023 by 0078265317

[pirx]

so far bought another contro for less than the mylar, it if works, wow. if it doesn't, ill have a reason to buy 2 mylars from the best

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I just wish the standard non gold ones could still be had. I bought a batch of them from Best sometime back but I'm down to my last few. That will mean going forward I won't really have a cheap option for controller refurbs if only the gold options are available now.

 

But yeah before the gold only option, you could still get new Rev 9 mylars with standard aluminum traces and those would work quite well. I still have only those older Rev 9 alum traced mylars in all of my personal 5200 controllers and have for years now without much issue.

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

23 hours ago, RB5200 said:

There is a all new rev. 10 gold mylar now.

As I understood it, Rev. 9 was the final Atari design revision of the mylar and also the one that Best based their earlier mylar designs on; both were referred to as 'Rev. 9' by either company.  The Rev. 10 mylars were essentially an improved Rev. 9 design created by Best, but Best was the only one to use that nomenclature for them.

[RB5200]

3 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I just wish the standard non gold ones could still be had. I bought a batch of them from Best sometime back but I'm down to my last few. That will mean going forward I won't really have a cheap option for controller refurbs if only the gold options are available now.

 

But yeah before the gold only option, you could still get new Rev 9 mylars with standard aluminum traces and those would work quite well. I still have only those older Rev 9 alum traced mylars in all of my personal 5200 controllers and have for years now without much issue.

 

The standard non gold ones are still available.

 

1 hour ago, x=usr(1536) said:

As I understood it, Rev. 9 was the final Atari design revision of the mylar and also the one that Best based their earlier mylar designs on; both were referred to as 'Rev. 9' by either company.  The Rev. 10 mylars were essentially an improved Rev. 9 design created by Best, but Best was the only one to use that nomenclature for them.

Rev. 9 was the final Atari version, and also the version that best used to make his gold plated version as well. He removed all the original coating down to the traces, then sent them to the plating co. and they recoated them in gold plating, and so you end up with rev.9 gold. The rev. 10 is a completely redesigned mylar 100% new, and not just a replated rev. 9 mylar.

[+x=usr(1536)]

3 minutes ago, RB5200 said:

Rev. 9 was the final Atari version, and also the version that best used to make his gold plated version as well. He removed all the original coating down to the traces, then sent them to the plating co. and they recoated them in gold plating, and so you end up with rev.9 gold. The rev. 10 is a completely redesigned mylar 100% new, and not just a replated rev. 9 mylar.

Yes...  That's essentially what I said 

[RB5200]

6 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Yes...  That's essentially what I said 

Yes you did, when I read it kinda quickly it just seemed that maybe didn't fully understand that rev.10 was a completely whole new design.

[0078265317]

So best is the only place to get the new rev 10 flex?  I wish they did just 1 instead of 2.  And I hope they have enough stock.

Edited June 12, 2023 by 0078265317

[christo930]

I seem to recall also rebuilding some 5200 controllers with gold backed buttons.  It's been a long time, but IIRC, the " Start Pause Rest" button strip had gold backed carbon pads and so did the fire buttons.  I think the number pad was available with gold buttons, but I didn't opt for it.  it was a long time ago, probably 20 years.  But it worked very well.  Never had a problem with those buttons again.  But it was expensive.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

16 hours ago, RB5200 said:

The standard non gold ones are still available.

I looked on their site but couldn't find mention of it or current pricing for them? 

 

The last time I bought any it was a bulk purchase of like 20 or them or so and I got them off ebay for about $10 each as I recall? I thought I bought them from Best's ebay store back then.

 

[RB5200]

6 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I looked on their site but couldn't find mention of it or current pricing for them? 

 

The last time I bought any it was a bulk purchase of like 20 or them or so and I got them off ebay for about $10 each as I recall? I thought I bought them from Best's ebay store back then.

 

Click, index page - cx5200 controller(under controller repair) and you will find them. They are $9.95 with total limit 10, so they might be getting low on them to put a limit on them.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

5 minutes ago, RB5200 said:

Click, index page - cx5200 controller(under controller repair) and you will find them. They are $9.95 with total limit 10, so they might be getting low on them to put a limit on them.

Right you are! I could have sworn I was looking at during the time I posted and the only thing listed there was the new gold flex rev 10 only. But yes placing a limit of 10 only means he is phasing them out most likely going forward. I might need to get some then pretty soon.

 

[BIGHMW]

When I restored my Trak-Ball last year I also used Best gold-contact keypads and start/pause/reset clusters, they are much better than the original carbon contacts on the old sets of buttons, so for those who want to either restore or upgrade their keypads for their Trak-Balls, you can use TWO sets of Best buttons to do so. 

 

The onboard contacts on the trak-ball's circuitry are already gold, so why can't the buttons be that way too!!!  

Edited June 14, 2023 by BIGHMW