Another 5200 newbie with an introduction (and some questions

[Laner]

The Time: Early o'Clock; December 25, 1982

The Place: Living Room, 929 Camellia Drive

 

A young Laner rushes into the room to see what Ol' Saint Nick left for him under the tree. He knew what he wanted more than anything else. He knew that waiting for him in the living room would be a sleek new black and silver Atari 5200. Oh! The games looked so spectacular compared to his aging woodgrain 2600. Woodgrain - how 70s.

 

With eager anticipation he looks around... and looks again. And again. Yet there is no new game system to be found. Well, there was one of those little Pac-Man games that were made to look like the arcade machines, but it paled in comparison to the Pac-Man he played on the 5200 demo at the local Sears department store.

 

Crestfallen, he said nothing to his parents (not yet aware that they were to blame!), and over the years forgot about what might have been.

 

Fast forward 20+ years... Laner is now working on transferring old video to Final Cut Pro at the office, and runs across a few reels of Super8 film - home movies from the early 80s. One of which document the excitement of that Christmas Eve in 1982 (and subsequent disappointment) A 5200? Yeah, I remember that! Man, I really wanted one of those back in the day. I wonder if they are still around.

 

A quick look around eBay shows that yes, there are indeed quite a number of 5200 hardware and software items for sale. After being sniped at the last second for two different auctions, I managed to win quite a nice collection... a working 5200, two working controllers (a rarity, from what I understand), the trackball (mmmm... arcade quality), the 2600 adapter, and a dozen games, some still shrinkwrapped.

 

So, when I haven't been working, I've spent a lot of time on the 'net looking for different 5200 resources. There are two items that have particularly piqued my interest. The Multicart, which I have only found for purchase at 4jays ($145!!!) , and the joystick coupler, which I can't find anywhere. Do any of you fine folks know where I can find either?

 

Also, I ran across the Best Electronics website, advertising the gold contact replacements. Is this just a gimmick, or does it actually work? As I said, my controllers work now, but if the gold doohickeys really work as advertised, I plan on upgrading those as well.

 

Thanks folks...

[sku_u]

So, when I haven't been working, I've spent a lot of time on the 'net looking for different 5200 resources.  There are two items that have particularly piqued my interest.  The Multicart, which I have only found for purchase at 4jays ($145!!!) , and the joystick coupler, which I can't find anywhere.  Do any of you fine folks know where I can find either?

 

Welcome to Atariage and congratulations in finding yourself a working 5200! The 4jays multicarts are nice, but there is an AA member who goes by the name of classics who makes multicarts that include many games not available on the one sold through 4jays, including several 8 bit computer conversions such as Donkey Kong and Tapper. There are also new games being made for the 5200. Koffi: Yellow Kopter which is available for purchase through this site is one of the best of the games already released, and there are a few games currently in development that promise to push the 5200 to its limit.

 

Also, I ran across the Best Electronics website, advertising the gold contact replacements.  Is this just a gimmick, or does it actually work?  As I said, my controllers work now, but if the gold doohickeys really work as advertised, I plan on upgrading those as well.

 

This is no gimmick. The upgrade is well worth the money. There's also a member here who goes by the name Mrretrogamer who repairs broken controllers and does good work. In addition to the stock controllers, there are a few controller alternatives worth mentioning:

 

1. WICO controllers--have a self-centering feature.

2. Competition Pro--Awesome arcade like controllers

3. Control guide--hard to find piece of plastic that fits over a stock controller and allows for tighter control in games like Pacman.

4. Starcon--this extremely rare controller is large, but very comfortable.

5. Masterplay Interface--this expensive piece of hardware allows you to use 2600 controllers.

6. Redemption units--available through the AA store. These allow you to use a variety of controllers from other systems.

 

Unfortunately, there are no stores selling the coupler you are looking for AFAIK. Fortunately, they frequently pop up on Ebay.

[classics]

The 5200 controller rebuild kits work wonders, even better if they have the gold flashing.

 

I had a couple controllers dont by someone here at AA and they work fantastic. I believe it was MrRetroGamer.. give him a PM if your 'working' controllers dont quite.

 

Steve

[RangerG]

A hearty welcome to a 5200 fan! Something else you may want to look into is a video mod for your machine to get a great looking picture. They are sold by 8bitdomain and require you to open up your 5200 and do a little work, but not much. Everyone has given great advice on the controllers. If you like the stock ones for nostalgia's sake then go with the gold upgrades. Check around the boards for information on great 5200 games - digital vs. analog sticks on the 5200, etc. etc.

 

-RG

[Laner]

Thanks folks... Classic hooked me up with a multicart, and the svideo mod looks interesting. Found a coupler on ebay - unfortunately it was part of a whole system, and I really don't need two 5200s at this point in time I'll keep looking though.