31 replies to this topic

[Shinju]

Hey all!

I got a killer deal on 2 5200 systems a 2 and 4 port with 1 AV switch box, AC adaptor and 1 controller between the 2 systems for 20.00 (with other game stuff too).

Anyway I was told the 2 port was in working condition and the 4 port was for parts as they could not get it to fire up.  So I figured I would try the 2 port first.  I hooked it up with a F-switch the very same one i use for all of my other Atari, Coleco and Intellivision systems and I could not get it to boot a cart at all.  I tried all 47 carts I own and not a single one would work. If you fire up the system with out a cart inserted you can see the CPU doing the lines on the screen, and if you put in a cart and power it up it will just post a black screen.

So I move on to the 4 port just to see if that one worked at all, so I hooked up ole Mr Sparky AV box and BAM the 4 port fired right up on all 47 games.  So that is good news .


Is the 2 port gone? Or can it be saved by going though and doing a deep cleaning of the mainboard and cartslot?  I did use some of my NES cart cleaner (rubbing alcohol pretty much) on the cart slot and no dice.

Anyone else seen this issue? I had an Intellivision gen 1 that would not post either, it acted like it wanted to turn on and go but just showed a black screen of doom!

Thanks!

(Oh and I have 4 other controllers, NONE of the damn fire buttons work lol) I know there is a fix with a new flex board I might have to look into that.

Edited by Shinju, Tue Dec 4, 2012 2:21 PM.

[Official Ninja]

Good deal on the 5200!

You can try to clean the cart slot of course. It sounds like you might need a new video chip though.. GTIA is it? Could be ram also...

For the controllers, pop off the bezel around Start, Pause, Reset.
You can then take the controller apart, if your lucky and have a rev9 flex circuit clean the contact areas with a pink  pencil eraser. Then use alcohol and a qtip.
You can then use a hole punch on aluminum foil and super glue the dots to the black carbon contacts on the buttons.
If done right it should last you a very long time. Post back if you need any help.

[AtariBrian]

I have a 2 port that has a green screen

[Shinju]

AtariBrian, on Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:28 PM, said:

I have a 2 port that has a green screen

Acctually now that I think about it, when I did try it on my CRT it was dark green. The LED tv it was so dark (due to low rf voltage, common with retro consoles on newer tv's) it looked Black.


As far as the controller cleaning goes, I have 2 Green flex boards, 1 white and 1 unknown since I cannot get the 3 button bezzel off and it is different then the other 3.

[Official Ninja]

Shinju, on Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:42 PM, said:

Acctually now that I think about it, when I did try it on my CRT it was dark green. The LED tv it was so dark (due to low rf voltage, common with retro consoles on newer tv's) it looked Black.


As far as the controller cleaning goes, I have 2 Green flex boards, 1 white and 1 unknown since I cannot get the 3 button bezzel off and it is different then the other 3.

They have been different colors, blue, white, and green, problem is they could be almost any REV. The color doesn't matter. Although I've never seen anything but green REV9.

As long as the traces are metal, you should be able to gently clean them. The aluminum dots really work well with a clean flex.
Some flex had carbon traces, those aren't great and should be replaced. You can get new REV9, the most reliable flex, on ebay for $6 each.

[BigO]

AtariBrian, on Tue Dec 4, 2012 5:28 PM, said:

I have a 2 port that has a green screen

When mine had that problem, it was due to bad RAM chip(s).

[Shinju]

Are the ram chips able to be replaced?  Not that it is a super big deal to fix it as I got 2 working 4 ports but it would be nice to get it back up on its legs again.

[bohoki]

i too have a dead 2 port i cant find replacement ram anywhere mine only uses 8 chips

[fernando marrin]

Try replacing 7805 first

[ApolloBoy]

fernando marrin, on Fri Dec 7, 2012 5:47 AM, said:

Try replacing 7805 first

If it was the 7805 the system wouldn't even turn on. I'm willing to bet it's bad RAM somewhere; the 5200 uses 4516 RAM chips which can be substituted for 8118 RAM.

[sqoon]

Does any company still make and sell these RAM chips?

[AtariBrian]

I (THOUGHT) Best had them . Do they need soldered in ?

[BigO]

Mine were socketed.

I had a bunch of parts machines and am pretty sure all the RAM chips were socketed.

Edited by BigO, Fri Dec 7, 2012 10:30 PM.

[fernando marrin]

ApolloBoy, on Fri Dec 7, 2012 12:04 PM, said:

If it was the 7805 the system wouldn't even turn on. I'm willing to bet it's bad RAM somewhere; the 5200 uses 4516 RAM chips which can be substituted for 8118 RAM.

i have had 7805's that go "partially bad" so systems turns on ,

but you get a green / black screen
give it a try

[Shinju]

I just ordered both the 4 port bois for the 2 port and the 8118 ram from Console5 for cheap. I will report back when I get it and install it.

http://console5.com/...-mb8118-12.html

Now to get those damn controllers back on line lol!

[bohoki]

i went to an electronic store they had 4516 chips but they were not memory

[zylon]

Could be RAM, 5200 uses slightly different Ram than the A8's or C64's. Could also be GTIA or ANTIC. I've had a few ANTIC failures on 2-port systems. I keep one as a spare, but stick to my 4-ports for actual play.

[Shinju]

So I got my new ram and bios in this evening and after replacing the old ram/bios I am still getting a green/brown screen, Here is a photo of the board with the replacement parts. Did I get the ram installed correctly? Also I noticed one of the larger chips had a prong that looked like it was left sticking out was this something that was done by atari?

According to the MB8118-12 spec sheet I have the ram chips in correctly so I am not sure what is going on with it.

Photos

Edited by Shinju, Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:05 PM.

[FABombjoy]

It's probably time to dig in to the field service manual and follow the troubleshooting flowcharts, specifically section 4A-2.  I wish I would have seen this topic before you ordered, I would have steered you there first

The lifted pin is trigger input 3 on the GTIA which isn't used on a 2-port version.  I have no clue as to why it's like that but it makes me suspicious of the troubleshooting history it's been through before you got it.

[Mitch]

FABombjoy, on Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:07 AM, said:

The lifted pin is trigger input 3 on the GTIA which isn't used on a 2-port version.  I have no clue as to why it's like that but it makes me suspicious of the troubleshooting history it's been through before you got it.

I think pretty much all 2port machine have that pin lifted.

Mitch

[FABombjoy]

Mitch, on Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:04 PM, said:

I think pretty much all 2port machine have that pin lifted.

Ahh, good to know.  I'm nowhere near the boneyard at the moment and it wasn't standing out in my brain

[Shinju]

I am assuming there are service manuals on this site?  I am pretty new here and I havent gone exploring yet so excuse my spoon feed noobness

Not to worried about spending 20 bucks on the ram and bios if anything if this unit is dead in the water I will have back up ram for my 2 4 ports.

One other thing I forgot to mention.  When I fire it up sometimes a solid line appears on the screen and occasonally if the screen is green it will shift to brown if on for more then a few seconds.

[FABombjoy]

Shinju, on Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:36 PM, said:

I am assuming there are service manuals on this site?  I am pretty new here and I havent gone exploring yet so excuse my spoon feed noobness

I think they're on AA somewhere, if not, I have them here.

[Official Ninja]

Mitch, on Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:04 PM, said:

I think pretty much all 2port machine have that pin lifted.

Mitch

Hi Mitch. Any idea why the pin is lifted? I have two two ports and they don't have the lifted pin.



Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Board Express

[Mitch]

I don't think it matters, maybe there was some issue that Atari thought it might fix. I suppose the service manual might mention something.

Mitch