King Atari Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Just noticed something. On the back of 5200 carts, where there are 'slots' (presumably to hold overlays), do they lead straight to the PCB? If liquids were to get into there, could harm be done? Or is there some kind of plastic in the way? I've actually never seen inside a 5200 cart, but if the holes lead right to where the PCB is, you'd think Atari would've used a safer method of holding overlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I'm pretty sure tehy're just cut through the case and head right into the guts. No big deal, really. They were never sealed to begin with, what's another chink in the non-existant armor?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Yes, if you spilled liquid on the back of your 5200 cart, it would go straight onto the PCB. Games do have a metal RF shield that covers most of the circuit board, but the liquid can still get inside of that, and on the traces near the bottom of the board where it plugs into the 5200. Even without these holes in the back of the 5200 cart, there plenty of other ways for liquid to get into the cart, such as the sides, the bottom (where the dust cover is), and the top (along the seam). These carts were never designed to keep liquids out, although 2600 carts are certainly better in this regard. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted July 16, 2004 Author Share Posted July 16, 2004 Wow, it's just sort of surprising, you'd think Atari would've realized they would be selling to kids, many of which were probably clumsy . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Wow, it's just sort of surprising, you'd think Atari would've realized they would be selling to kids, many of which were probably clumsy . The 5200 reaks of Engineering gone wild with no thought to customer needs. 1. Horrible Joysticks 2. Horrible internal design of sticks 3. Terrible switchbox design 4. Case larger than most TVs at the time 5. Complete rengineering of 400 OS to make incompatible with computer series. 6. Incompat cart design with Computer series (cross system comapt wouldve been so sweet and possibly negate lack of 2600 compat) Im still trying to figure out where the consumers needs came into the 5200 design? It must've been a Dilbert Comic dream working on that system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Wow, it's just sort of surprising, you'd think Atari would've realized they would be selling to kids, many of which were probably clumsy . The 5200 reaks of Engineering gone wild with no thought to customer needs. 1. Horrible Joysticks The 5200 sticks are actually very nice controls, if you give them half a chance. Centering would have been nice, but I like the sticks the way they are, too. 2. Horrible internal design of sticks THAT we can all agree on. #$&* self-destructing controllers... 3. Terrible switchbox design Am I missing something here? I like the auto-switchbox. Beats the heck out of crawling behind the TV. 4. Case larger than most TVs at the time Yes, but it's a damn sexy case, too. You may HAVE to leave it on the coffee table, but you're not gonna be ashamed to. 5. Complete rengineering of 400 OS to make incompatible with computer series.6. Incompat cart design with Computer series (cross system comapt wouldve been so sweet and possibly negate lack of 2600 compat) Given it had no keyboard and a new controller, most software wouldn't have worked anyway(paddle games and... ummm... paddle games could be readily used, provided you didn't need the keyboard to set up/start them). What you're saying is basically "the 5200 shoud have been an Atari 400 computer". Im still trying to figure out where the consumers needs came into the 5200 design? Made-up ad bullet-list. 2 legitimate features, 1 poking fun at the system. * Innovative new switchbox negates need to flip the switch! Turning the system on AUTOMATICALLY changes the switch to game mode, and turning it off returns it to antenna! Without you ever reaching behind your TV! * New controller allows for advanced games with more features than ever before! Includes pause button for bathroom breaks and snack runs! *New larger cartridges! Impossible to lose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 The 5200 sticks are actually very nice controls, if you give them half a chance.Centering would have been nice, but I like the sticks the way they are, too. I don't agree, for me they are not very comfortable to hold for long periods of time, and the fire buttons are terrible. Am I missing something here? I like the auto-switchbox. Beats the heck out of crawling behind the TV. The auto-switchbox was an interesting idea in that it eliminated a cable AND automatically switched to the 5200 when you powered it on. However, I have had these things burn out on me, and due to their proprietary nature they're not exactly easy to replace. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 3. Terrible switchbox design Am I missing something here? I like the auto-switchbox. Beats the heck out of crawling behind the TV. Alot of the first 5200 were returned since this new 'no touch' switcbox sounded like the TV was going out every time it 'switched'. As for the 5200 shouldve been a 400 computer - No - The 400 keyboard was almost as bad as the 5200 stick - Modern casing around the 400 with some snazzy joysticks and Atari could've had a winner - XEGS too little too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 3. Terrible switchbox design Am I missing something here? I like the auto-switchbox. Beats the heck out of crawling behind the TV. Alot of the first 5200 were returned since this new 'no touch' switcbox sounded like the TV was going out every time it 'switched'. *chuckles* Can't win 'em all, I guess. As for the 5200 shouldve been a 400 computer - No - The 400 keyboard was almost as bad as the 5200 stick - Modern casing around the 400 with some snazzy joysticks and Atari could've had a winner - XEGS too little too late.So Atari XL computer line? The big problem I see with the 5200 is it was never supported properly. It got lots of shovel-ware titles from the computers, and very little that properly took advantage of the system's unique controllers. See Missile Command for an example. Sure it properly supported the analog joystick and the trackball both, but 1 missile turret? There's SEVENTEEN buttons on the stick and they can't add 2 more turrets? If nothing else, they should've done what happened years later with the Gameboy version and made 2 missile turrets(top fire and bottom fire). Personally, I want to see a version where you rest the stick on the table, rotate it 90 degreees so the phone pad is to the side of the stick instead of under it, and use THAT to fire an arcade-perfect 3 turrets(the trackball can do this in it's "proper" orientation). But I realize that was unfeasable for a mass-market product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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