Atari Richie

OMG how pedantic are you?

I try and keep the nice stuff original... Will have a new never before seen S-Video Mod that will blow your mind coming soon... Watch this space...

Having a clean out of some Atari 5200 stuff, have recently acquired a large Atari collection privately which has led to a lot of duplication of my collection... http://video-games.shop.ebay.co.uk/Video-Games-/1249/i.html?_catref=1&_fln=1&_ipg=&_ssn=8697toyscom&_trksid=p3911.c0.m282 This is all being sold in the UK... Sorry but I don’t post anything internationally... Thanks for Looking...

Its simple why they dont work there is only one reason and here it is.... CRT Cathode Ray Tube Televisions and monitors have an electron beam that traces from left to right of the screen drawing a picture one line at a time. You can use this affect to calculate the position of objects on the screen (I am keeping this simple) LCD, Plasma and OED etc... They update the whole picture area at the same time, all at once. And that is why old light guns dont work on modern TVs. Simple....

I only have tried the process on the ones that are made in Taiwan so don’t know I am afraid, but I would think that the problems still lies with the carbon contacts on the buttons. The cool thing about these pens is that you can draw circuits with them so in theory if the flex circuits contacts were lifting off you could put a little dap on the offending part and use it as glue. Or repair any brakes in the flex circuit board.

The original link is just abbreviated automatically... The Full Link would look like:- "http://cgi.ebay.com/ATARI-2600-ASTEROIDS-GAME-BOARD-ONLY-PROROTYPE-MINT_W0QQitemZ220472001871QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVideo_Games_Games?hash=item335527c54f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14" trksid=p3286.c0.m14 This bit is on all eBay.com auction links Not Fishy...

I have used this method many times to repair remote controls etc... With one of my 5200 controllers I played with if for around 12 hours since the repair, and have had no problems. Though if this method was found not to last it’s really easy and quick just to re-apply some more paint. I have noticed a big difference compared with original controllers that I have not needed to fix. It seems that this repair may make the contacts much more responsive than the original Carbon Contact Pads. I plugging in a controller that has never before been used just to see and you have to press the buttons harder on the original than you do with the repair. And thanks for complement Richie

Atari 5200 Analogue Controller Repair By Atari Richie (Disclaimer) This is a guide of what I have done, I don’t know about the longevity of the repair; however the process can be repeated again and again... I cannot be held responsible for any problems that may arise as part of the repair process or any unforeseen reactions or damages from any of the chemicals and equipment used. Always read the Directions, Instructions and Safety Information of any equipment and chemicals you use. I have used this method many times to repair remote controls etc... Without any problems however you don’t bang the buttons when playing space invaders for hours on end, But the process works every time. I have repaired all my broken 5200 controllers using this method and they are all still working. (End of Declaimer) What you need:- Dysfunctional Controller (sometimes can be hard to find one) High Quality Cotton buds Contact Cleaner Screwdriver Craft knife Circuitworks Conductive Pen or similar Silver Conductive Paint (note that if the instructions of the product you use state a drying time greater than 1 hour don’t use it as it’s not going to be solvent based and will give very poor results) 1. Remove the Start Pause Restart button surround with a craft knife. Insert the knife and use it to lever up the surround. Lift the Flex circuit up out of the way (sometimes this may have been stuck down) 2. Remove the 3 screws on the back of the controller. 3. Split the controller in 2 from the front first as shown (There are two plastic lugs that locate the parts together, be careful and don’t break them). Pic of the Plastic Lugs:- 4. The fire buttons slide out with their plastic surrounds. 5. Clean the flex circuit with the contact cleaner, buy spraying the cotton bud first and then using it to clean the flex circuit contact points. 6. Clean the button contacts with the contact cleaner, buy spraying the cotton bud first and then using it to clean the carbon contact points. Leave to dry for 10min (Be careful not to touch the black dots with your fingers after cleaning as the oil in your skin with stop the silver paint from sticking to the surface). 7. Now apply the Conductive Pant Pen to all the carbon contact points, note this is not very easily done, I would practice a few times first. If you use the pen it works just like a Tip-ex pen or any other type of corrective pen. You just need to squeeze the pen and push the tip in to allow the paint to flow out. Lift the pen up and down while doing this and paint the surfaces as evenly as possible. Now leave to dry for 30-45 min. (don’t touch the paint to see if it’s dry, the surface needs to be clan and free of grease) 8. To reassemble the control is just the opposite of taking it apart, however a good tip would be to check the analogue joystick parts are aliened as shown below, so when you press both half’s together centring the joystick handle then it should be aligned perfectly, though I just give it a wiggle and check it feels right, before you screw it all back together. And that’s it... Thanks for looking and I hope it helps someone to enjoy their 5200 with the original controls as nature intended... Richie

That did the job. Painted this stuff on the carbon contacts (the black dots on the back of the buttons), controller works 100% and the fire button reactions are better than I can ever remember. Will post a new Topic with some pictures of the control saving operation.

Bought a LYNX II from a boot sale a few weekends ago for 20p, they told me it wasn’t working. Got it home put 6 batteries in it, plugging in a game, powered it on and it works perfectly? Can only think they were trying to switch it on without a game plugged in?

Had a random thought yesterday, I bought one of these to fix one of my unwell controllers, will let you know how I get on with it...

Now that is funny... I sent him a message asking how much shipping would be to the UK... Will post his reply...

I hope that you aren't going to rip off one of the AA members (Longhorn Engineer) by having his design copied and sold without him being involved (and receiving royalties). I would never rip anyone off, if the Longhorn Engineer would like to give me his design I would be more than happy to arrange for Royalty payments etc... That would stand for anyone that would like to be involved....