thelackey

I'm at a friend's place right now, but I'll try to confirm the serial when I get home. Thanks!

My mom found a 4 port 5200 at a garage sale near where she lives and sent it to me. I had never actually seen a 5200 before, but I knew it needed an RF adapter (as did all systems of that day) which it didn't come with and I didn't have on hand. So when I went looking for one online I read that there were the 4 port and 2 port versions and that the 4 port used the unusual adapter. Apparently the power plugs into the RF adapter for the 4 port version. But mine's not built that way. On mine the power plugs into the 5200 itself, right next to the channel switch. I figured maybe it was some sort of mod that the previous owner had done, but it was very obviously manufactured that way. I looked all over for this version but found absolutely no mention of it. Has anyone else seen this? Anyway, I ended up making a simple RF adapter just to make sure the thing worked (it was fine) and am planning an S-Video mod...eventually. All is well now. Just curious about the power situation.

I used a paper clip. The tiny plastic posts that hold the pots in place are rather flimsy, and one of mine had broken off. When I when moved the joystick the pot would move some with it, bending its contacts. This was bad. So, in order to stablize it I bent a paper clip in a fashion that would grip the slot that the pot sits in and cut off the excess part of the clip. I also placed a piece of electrical tape across the bottom of the contacts so the paper clip wouldn't short the pot and render it useless. I would have thought the pots would be glued into the controller but that wasn't the case here. I had thought about doing it myself, but if I ever needed to replace the part the glue would make it too difficult to remove. So far the paper clip has been the best solution.