Atari 5200 homebrew joystick?

[+eebuckeye]

People have made homebrew joysticks for other Atari systems such as the 7800. Has this been done for the 5200? Seems like the perfect candidate since the original joysticks have many issues!

[Shawn]

It's been done many, many, many times.

[bohoki]

i made like a couple but none match the perfection of a properly working original

[Shawn]

i made like a couple but none match the perfection of a properly working original

 

Then you did it wrong cause the stock 5200 stick blows chunks compared to the many options of a homemade or 3rd party joystick.

[+eebuckeye]

Any chance any are still for sale?

[+grips03]

I use to make controllers like below

 

[+eebuckeye]

Nice! How much were they?

[BigO]

I never made any for sale, but have made a couple of different ones. The most significant challenge is that the 5200 wants to see 500K ohm pots and those are just not commonly available in an analog joystick. There's a trick to make a lower valued pot work, but I found it not to be compatible with 100% of games (this is where I stopped working on a "commercially" produced design.)

[+grips03]

Nice! How much were they?

i think $160-220 depending on base controller and if they got 4-way gate.

 

I sell a pcb only, but it needs 2 normally open and 2 normally closed microswitches on the joystick.

 

It has rapid fire too.

Edited August 21, 2014 by grips03

[+wongojack]

People have made homebrew joysticks for other Atari systems such as the 7800. Has this been done for the 5200? Seems like the perfect candidate since the original joysticks have many issues!

 

<snarky forum nerd response> Use the search feature

 

<5200 fan response> The easiest way is to build an adapter that lets you use controllers for the old PC gameport. All it takes is some wire, some DB15 ports and 2 capacitors and you are playing with an analog or digital controller made for PC. bohoki was one of the first responders to your thread, if you search through his old posts, you will find a plethora of info about how to do this conversion. If you try making something and need help, send me a PM and I'll help out as best I can.

[nox]

I made a joystick based off the Competition Pro. You plug the original 5200 controller into it for use of the keypad and special buttons. The digital joystick works quite well in every game except for ones like Breakout or Missile Command which require analog control.

 

 

[+wongojack]

I made a joystick based off the Competition Pro. You plug the original 5200 controller into it for use of the keypad and special buttons. The digital joystick works quite well in every game except for ones like Breakout or Missile Command which require analog control.

 

 

 

Awesome 1st post!

[nox]

 

Awesome 1st post!

Thank you! I've been a long time lurker.

[Prosystemsearch]

I'm still slightly surprised that There has been no reproduction of the Coin controls Joystick by AA.

[Kida0723]

I made a joystick based off the Competition Pro. You plug the original 5200 controller into it for use of the keypad and special buttons. The digital joystick works quite well in every game except for ones like Breakout or Missile Command which require analog control.

 

 

That's awesome!

[Albert]

I'm still slightly surprised that There has been no reproduction of the Coin controls Joystick by AA.

 

Reproducing a joystick is a huge undertaking and would be very expensive.

 

..Al

[kogden]

I made a joystick based off the Competition Pro. You plug the original 5200 controller into it for use of the keypad and special buttons. The digital joystick works quite well in every game except for ones like Breakout or Missile Command which require analog control.

 

 

 

That's a fine digital joystick build! A digital joystick works but with reduced functionality. Analog control in games like Star Raiders and Pole Position makes a HUGE difference. The analog sticks were the "killer feature" of the 5200. A digital stick "works" with these games but not near as well.

 

If you're going to use a digital stick, you're better off buying an Atari 400 and a CX40 which would cost less than the joystick build and play the same games. An analog controller in tip top shape is perfectly usable with games designed around a digital stick like PacMan.

 

Digital sticks are easier to maintain and usually "just work" but analog sticks are much more advanced for a serious game player. If maintaining an analog stick is too much effort or you play it 24/7, the 5200 is probably the wrong machine to choose. It's like owning a classic sports car, you spend more time working on it than driving it but the 10 minutes a year it runs right, it's a dream machine.

 

That being said, if someone made a self-centering analog stick that could "emulate" a digital stick with the flip of a switch, I'd never leave my living room and my wife might divorce me LOL

[Seethransom]

I was lucky that Bohoki had a couple of these 5200 to PC patches left. I chose to ue it with the MakoPC (at Bohoki's suggestion)The Mako PC is like the one I had on the N64. This one lets me switch from Analog to digital one the fly. Horizontal buttons are a needed thing for my old claw hands.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Seethransom

[Illtiger1]

I agree that the analogue stick is what makes the 5200 unique and I want to use it for every game as intended. That said, a well built analog 5200 controller that mimmicks the original design would be the ultimate. I'm not sure if a self centering feature would negatively affect the game play.

[Lynxpro]

I use to make controllers like below

 

 

That looks like the one you did for me!

 

It was a very popular item at the Sunnyvale Atari Party, by the way. Several people inquired about it and I referred them your way!

[Lynxpro]

I made a joystick based off the Competition Pro. You plug the original 5200 controller into it for use of the keypad and special buttons. The digital joystick works quite well in every game except for ones like Breakout or Missile Command which require analog control.

 

 

 

Ugh. You are doing it wrong if you are playing Missile Command with any joystick. You gotta get Dan Kramer's 5200 Trak-Ball Controller to fully appreciate that game…and Centipede. You can also natively steer your car in Pole Position with the Trak-Ball too; the code is in the game.

 

Having said that, your joystick does look sweet! Now that's a statement one really shouldn't type outside of video game forums!

Edited August 30, 2014 by Lynxpro

[+grips03]

 

That looks like the one you did for me!

 

It was a very popular item at the Sunnyvale Atari Party, by the way. Several people inquired about it and I referred them your way!

 

I'm glad people liked it. I had one or two people ask about them, but I no longer have any cases and not sure if I'll make any more.

[nox]

 

Ugh. You are doing it wrong if you are playing Missile Command with any joystick. You gotta get Dan Kramer's 5200 Trak-Ball Controller to fully appreciate that game…and Centipede. You can also natively steer your car in Pole Position with the Trak-Ball too; the code is in the game.

 

Having said that, your joystick does look sweet! Now that's a statement one really shouldn't type outside of video game forums!

I agree, and I have the Trak-Ball. I wouldn't want to play them any other way. The Trak-Ball can plug into into my controller and function too.

 

This thread has renewed my interest in it. I thought maybe everyone would also like to see this too.

 

I designed it to be customized. The arcade stick is mounted on a wood base underneath an acetate cover, so using a simple print-out, you can change the theme of the controller by changing the image under the acetate. I attached a picture of an unfinished one next to a ColecoVision theme. The controller is the same design, but wired differently for the Coleco.

 

EDIT: I put together a 7800 one as well. The theme looks the same as the 5200, so I didn't post a picture. And it doesn't require a controller plug-in.

Edited August 30, 2014 by nox

[+grips03]

I agree, and I have the Trak-Ball. I wouldn't want to play them any other way. The Trak-Ball can plug into into my controller and function too.

 

This thread has renewed my interest in it. I thought maybe everyone would also like to see this too.

 

I designed it to be customized. The arcade stick is mounted on a wood base underneath an acetate cover, so using a simple print-out, you can change the theme of the controller by changing the image under the acetate. I attached a picture of an unfinished one next to a ColecoVision theme. The controller is the same design, but wired differently for the Coleco.

 

EDIT: I put together a 7800 one as well. The theme looks the same as the 5200, so I didn't post a picture. And it doesn't require a controller plug-in.

 

if you ever want a keypad built in I make a Atari 5200 and Colleovision PCB that could be used in your case.

[bohoki]

they are not just under the name makopad

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/InterAct-Accessories-PC-Power-Pad-Pro-SV234-Game-Gamepad-Controller/171435980163