I gotta jump in on this subject. The Atari 8-bit computer line was originally planned to be a console replacement for the VCS/2600 for Christmas 1979. That was Nolan Bushnell's plan... to obsolete the 2600 before competitors [think the Mattel Intellivision in 1980 and the Colecovision in 1982] accomplished that. But when Ray Kassar became Atari's CEO thanks to parent company Warner Communications, Kassar decided that the project should be changed over to a computer line so Atari could gain the margins that Apple was earning off the Apple II line in comparison to much lower-priced consoles. So the 5200 is the return to the original purpose of the A8. It was made incompatible with the A8 line due to internal politics and infighting between the Computer Division and the Console Division of Atari Consumer. The 5200 nearly sold 2 million consoles and it apparently was also sold in Canada and possibly Mexico too [so North America]. A PAL version was designed. However, Warner forced Atari Inc to discontinue it in favor of the 7800 which GCC designed. It was Warner who over-ruled Atari's own engineers back in 1981 over including backwards-compatibility with the 2600 standard in the 5200. They also over-ruled Atari's engineers in releasing the CX52 joystick without making it be self-centering. So everything that the 5200 was blamed for was actually Warner's fault. And then Warner turned around and forced Atari to discontinue it. The 7800 was cheaper to manufacture than the 5200. Atari Inc's own sales projections showed that had the 5200 remained on the market, it would've outsold the Colecovision which originally had the advantage of being $100 cheaper than the 5200. Since the 5200 was discontinued, we lost out on Dan Kramer - who designed the CX53 Trak-Ball Controller - designing a 5200 Driving Controller [based upon Atari's arcade Pole Position Steering Wheel, Shifter, and Peddles] and a 5200 Yoke Controller [based upon Atari's arcade Star Wars yoke]. There had also been plans for a 5200 Kids Controller, a 5200 Arcade Stick, and even a Colecovision Adapter but they were all scrapped along with a bunch of nearly completed games like Tempest [which years later, Keithen Hayenga finished up and released through AtariAge] that were awesome. The CX52 was overly complicated so Warner could secure a bunch of new patents on the flex circuit and other innovations in the controller. The flex circuit wasn't ready for prime time, so to speak, which is why Atari went through 9 revisions of it. Many of us 5200 enthusiasts would love to see a thin PCB replacement created for the controllers using dome switches under the buttons. [the CX53 Trak-Ball Controller has a PCB under its numeric keypads and uses dome switches]. Now stepping off my giant 5200 box. :)
Just successfully repaired two 5200 joysticks this evening. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to align the potentiometers correctly - the key to this was actually provided by another video on the subject. The top dial needs to be set to 9:00 o’clock, and the bottom needs to be set to 6. I was getting quite frustrated with the repair until that other video pointed this out, and I’m glad they did. Only then was I able to get the joystick working correctly. The well known defect with this particular controller is that it tends to drift and not self align properly, but if you get everything else working in tip top shape as in this video demonstration, then the alignment problem is more bearable for sure.
Note: The Atari 2600 sold 30 million units by the end of its run in the early 1990s. That includes 6.5 million sales of the 2600 Jr. that was sold in 1986 at a wonderfully nice $50 budget price (that box was also really nice). Still, the comparison to the 5200 is sobering and a monument to Atari Inc.'s hubris that led to their downfall. That said, the 5200 has a stellar software library, and the trackball controller gives us the best home versions of Centipede, Missile Command, Galaxian, Super Breakout and Pole Position, as well as great home versions of Pac-Man, Qix, Dig Dug, Defender, Robotron and Space Dungeon. Wow...I hadn't realized how much I like these videogames. My family owned the 8-bit home computers, so we were diehard Atarians. This is a great tutorial video, I wish I had this knowledge back in '94 when I scored a 5200 console for $40, with broken joysticks, of course.
Great video! Best Electronics is okay... late 90s early 2000s I ordered regularly from them, but recently, say the past 7 years or so, I found them... him... unnecessarily irksome. Fortunately, there're many other suppliers these days. That piece that encloses the START-PAUSE-RESET buttons you can just pop-off by inserting a flathead screwdriver between START and PAUSE and lift up... just in case you need to work on the controller with a good flex-circuit (the potentiometers probably need lubricant). The whole GOLD contacts thing is kind of a gimmick, any durable, conductive material would work as far as the buttons go; the stock conductive-polymer/carbon 'dots' were sheer crap.
I really want too buy one as I’m a collector they never released them in the uk because it didn’t do well over in the states but still a cool peace of gaming history I see sellers on eBay selling the games for it but never the system
Until I discovered best electronics I wrote off to 5200 as a piece of junk. I traded a laptop a few days ago for a fully working one with an unrestored controller and I fell in love with the hardware it is extremely charming. I preemptively ordered the kit to upgrade the controller I don't want it to die on me at an inopportune moment.
You could dial the petentiometers (top dial set to 9 o'clock, and bottom dial set to 6 o'clock) to fix the stick drift for a while, but its not the ideal solution.
Thanks! I used 2 pieces of music in this one, both captured from the Atari ST. The first (for the speaking parts) is from Turrican and the other one (for the modding part) is from Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters.
@@ctrlaltrees Nice! What's the legal status using old game music on CZcams videos? I'd love to do that, but I wasn't sure if that was a no-no for monetized channels. Any ideas?
I'm so sorry for the delay in getting back to you... Somehow your comment got buried. I've used a few bits of game music (all Atari ST) in my videos and only received a copyright strike for one - Xenon II. Obviously "Megablast" was released as an actual single so that makes sense. I'm assuming that the copyright on game music belongs to the original publisher but I figure that if including gameplay footage in videos OK then the music must be OK too. I have improved the end card on my latest videos and give a proper music credit now. Perhaps one day CZcams will add game music to their copyright system and all my videos will get taken down... I hadn't considered that possibility! Edit to add: My channel isn't monetized as I don't meet the criteria, but I have seen bigger channels using game music with no problems.
Thanks! It's actually very simple. There's not a lot to go wrong other than getting all of the joystick parts aligned properly when putting it back together.
I've poked around on the Best Electronics website a few times over the past say 10 to 15 years, but never actually got around to buying anything yet. Just today I came across this video czcams.com/video/rvM82T3C2Ik/video.html about a place full of old computer stuff in Texas and I thought to myself "I wonder if that's what Best looks like inside?" Then I had the thought to search youtube for Atari Best Electronics to see if there by chance might be any videos about the place. That's how I stumbled across this video of yours, which is great by the way. I see someone commented with a link to an interview with Brad from Best. I can't wait to listen, and I can't wait to check out more of your videos.
Their website is a sight to behold isn't it! They're incredibly helpful if you email them. My understanding is that as well as manufacturing their own parts they also bought up all of Atari's old inventory when they shut down in the 90s. They even managed to find a brand new plastic lid for my SMM804 printer buried in their warehouse!
@@ctrlaltrees That's ballsy, who knew back then that there would be a demand for Atari parts in the future ? Yes, very Historically accurate website, just after the extinction of the dinosaurs and before the invention of CSS ^-^
Here's an interview with the owner of Best Electronics. ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-5-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-brad-koda-of-best-electronics
@@AandNvg Thanks for that, I'll give it a listen. I've been dealing with Best on and off for 15+ years now and Brad has always been super knowledgeable and helpful. Very keen to find out some more about him!
I gotta jump in on this subject. The Atari 8-bit computer line was originally planned to be a console replacement for the VCS/2600 for Christmas 1979. That was Nolan Bushnell's plan... to obsolete the 2600 before competitors [think the Mattel Intellivision in 1980 and the Colecovision in 1982] accomplished that. But when Ray Kassar became Atari's CEO thanks to parent company Warner Communications, Kassar decided that the project should be changed over to a computer line so Atari could gain the margins that Apple was earning off the Apple II line in comparison to much lower-priced consoles. So the 5200 is the return to the original purpose of the A8. It was made incompatible with the A8 line due to internal politics and infighting between the Computer Division and the Console Division of Atari Consumer. The 5200 nearly sold 2 million consoles and it apparently was also sold in Canada and possibly Mexico too [so North America]. A PAL version was designed. However, Warner forced Atari Inc to discontinue it in favor of the 7800 which GCC designed. It was Warner who over-ruled Atari's own engineers back in 1981 over including backwards-compatibility with the 2600 standard in the 5200. They also over-ruled Atari's engineers in releasing the CX52 joystick without making it be self-centering. So everything that the 5200 was blamed for was actually Warner's fault. And then Warner turned around and forced Atari to discontinue it. The 7800 was cheaper to manufacture than the 5200. Atari Inc's own sales projections showed that had the 5200 remained on the market, it would've outsold the Colecovision which originally had the advantage of being $100 cheaper than the 5200. Since the 5200 was discontinued, we lost out on Dan Kramer - who designed the CX53 Trak-Ball Controller - designing a 5200 Driving Controller [based upon Atari's arcade Pole Position Steering Wheel, Shifter, and Peddles] and a 5200 Yoke Controller [based upon Atari's arcade Star Wars yoke]. There had also been plans for a 5200 Kids Controller, a 5200 Arcade Stick, and even a Colecovision Adapter but they were all scrapped along with a bunch of nearly completed games like Tempest [which years later, Keithen Hayenga finished up and released through AtariAge] that were awesome. The CX52 was overly complicated so Warner could secure a bunch of new patents on the flex circuit and other innovations in the controller. The flex circuit wasn't ready for prime time, so to speak, which is why Atari went through 9 revisions of it. Many of us 5200 enthusiasts would love to see a thin PCB replacement created for the controllers using dome switches under the buttons. [the CX53 Trak-Ball Controller has a PCB under its numeric keypads and uses dome switches]. Now stepping off my giant 5200 box. :)
Missile Command , with a refurbished CX52 controller, is a fantastic 5200 game. The 5200 bombed but many of us were very excited to play it 1982-1984.
Just successfully repaired two 5200 joysticks this evening. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to align the potentiometers correctly - the key to this was actually provided by another video on the subject. The top dial needs to be set to 9:00 o’clock, and the bottom needs to be set to 6. I was getting quite frustrated with the repair until that other video pointed this out, and I’m glad they did. Only then was I able to get the joystick working correctly. The well known defect with this particular controller is that it tends to drift and not self align properly, but if you get everything else working in tip top shape as in this video demonstration, then the alignment problem is more bearable for sure.
Note: The Atari 2600 sold 30 million units by the end of its run in the early 1990s. That includes 6.5 million sales of the 2600 Jr. that was sold in 1986 at a wonderfully nice $50 budget price (that box was also really nice). Still, the comparison to the 5200 is sobering and a monument to Atari Inc.'s hubris that led to their downfall.
That said, the 5200 has a stellar software library, and the trackball controller gives us the best home versions of Centipede, Missile Command, Galaxian, Super Breakout and Pole Position, as well as great home versions of Pac-Man, Qix, Dig Dug, Defender, Robotron and Space Dungeon. Wow...I hadn't realized how much I like these videogames. My family owned the 8-bit home computers, so we were diehard Atarians.
This is a great tutorial video, I wish I had this knowledge back in '94 when I scored a 5200 console for $40, with broken joysticks, of course.
Great video. Interesting and good to see the old tech being preserved and and used. :)
Great video! Best Electronics is okay... late 90s early 2000s I ordered regularly from them, but recently, say the past 7 years or so, I found them... him... unnecessarily irksome. Fortunately, there're many other suppliers these days.
That piece that encloses the START-PAUSE-RESET buttons you can just pop-off by inserting a flathead screwdriver between START and PAUSE and lift up... just in case you need to work on the controller with a good flex-circuit (the potentiometers probably need lubricant).
The whole GOLD contacts thing is kind of a gimmick, any durable, conductive material would work as far as the buttons go; the stock conductive-polymer/carbon 'dots' were sheer crap.
Oh man, I forgot how big the 5200 box is lol. Great tutorial on replacing the flex pcb!
It's certainly a beast! Thanks for the kind comment. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade for any 5200 owner, it makes such a huge difference.
Great video. I swear that I heard your voice in an old chiptune mix I got over a decade ago.
Looks easier than I imagined, will have to try this!
I really want too buy one as I’m a collector they never released them in the uk because it didn’t do well over in the states but still a cool peace of gaming history I see sellers on eBay selling the games for it but never the system
Until I discovered best electronics I wrote off to 5200 as a piece of junk. I traded a laptop a few days ago for a fully working one with an unrestored controller and I fell in love with the hardware it is extremely charming. I preemptively ordered the kit to upgrade the controller I don't want it to die on me at an inopportune moment.
So the kit doesn't cover the joystick?? But it's the joystick that's the problem!
The buttons were the worst part, by far.
You could dial the petentiometers (top dial set to 9 o'clock, and bottom dial set to 6 o'clock) to fix the stick drift for a while, but its not the ideal solution.
Nice video. Good to see you making videos again! What's the music in the background by the way? It sounds like some AY tune from a classic game.
Thanks! I used 2 pieces of music in this one, both captured from the Atari ST. The first (for the speaking parts) is from Turrican and the other one (for the modding part) is from Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters.
You might be pleased to hear that I'm now adding a music credit to the end of every video. I'm not sure why the thought didn't occur to me before!
@@ctrlaltrees Nice! What's the legal status using old game music on CZcams videos? I'd love to do that, but I wasn't sure if that was a no-no for monetized channels. Any ideas?
I'm so sorry for the delay in getting back to you... Somehow your comment got buried.
I've used a few bits of game music (all Atari ST) in my videos and only received a copyright strike for one - Xenon II. Obviously "Megablast" was released as an actual single so that makes sense. I'm assuming that the copyright on game music belongs to the original publisher but I figure that if including gameplay footage in videos OK then the music must be OK too. I have improved the end card on my latest videos and give a proper music credit now.
Perhaps one day CZcams will add game music to their copyright system and all my videos will get taken down... I hadn't considered that possibility!
Edit to add: My channel isn't monetized as I don't meet the criteria, but I have seen bigger channels using game music with no problems.
Well done! I have yet to try this. You made it look less formidable than I imagined, so it might be time for me to give it a go :)
Thanks! It's actually very simple. There's not a lot to go wrong other than getting all of the joystick parts aligned properly when putting it back together.
Great tutorial 👌👌
I wish somebody mad e a mode to help it self center better
I've poked around on the Best Electronics website a few times over the past say 10 to 15 years, but never actually got around to buying anything yet. Just today I came across this video czcams.com/video/rvM82T3C2Ik/video.html about a place full of old computer stuff in Texas and I thought to myself "I wonder if that's what Best looks like inside?" Then I had the thought to search youtube for Atari Best Electronics to see if there by chance might be any videos about the place. That's how I stumbled across this video of yours, which is great by the way. I see someone commented with a link to an interview with Brad from Best. I can't wait to listen, and I can't wait to check out more of your videos.
Hey that’s cool but u did not change the analog joystick that’s where most of the issues come from not the buttons !!
Unfortunately they don't sell a kit for those!
How much is that kit ??
Now yet another 999.999 other atari 5200 controllers to come to be refurbished,heey heey😁😁😁👍
Wow, this company isn't joking around !
Their website is a sight to behold isn't it! They're incredibly helpful if you email them. My understanding is that as well as manufacturing their own parts they also bought up all of Atari's old inventory when they shut down in the 90s. They even managed to find a brand new plastic lid for my SMM804 printer buried in their warehouse!
@@ctrlaltrees That's ballsy, who knew back then that there would be a demand for Atari parts in the future ? Yes, very Historically accurate website, just after the extinction of the dinosaurs and before the invention of CSS ^-^
Here's an interview with the owner of Best Electronics. ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-5-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-brad-koda-of-best-electronics
@@AandNvg Thanks for that, I'll give it a listen. I've been dealing with Best on and off for 15+ years now and Brad has always been super knowledgeable and helpful. Very keen to find out some more about him!
@@AandNvg I did indeed listen on my drive home from work, he sounds like a really fascinating guy with so many stories!
When they gonna make thec Atari 6900! 😂😂😂
YorgIes_Castle on ebay Fixes these.
How old are u