Lord_Bobster

Welp, Someone has resources. That bad boy just went for $10,590 and change!!!

If that's the case, order pizza and I'll be right over!

I'll field this one. Capt. Bob here. As you know, I was a contributor to the original 5200 podcast (known now as The Atari 5200 SuperCommunity Podcast.) While Willie and Ar-Kay enjoyed doing the show, it was becoming time consuming. With all of the other commitments that they had, something had to give. So they decided to drop the show. That's when I volunteered to step up and take over. The only problem was it was at the same time I got promoted at work and was asked to join a work team that very few people can participate in due to it's extremely high-stress nature. Fortunately, David reached out and that's when the new podcast was born. What was amazing to find out was the amount of time and research it takes to make a quality podcast. If it's not done right, it sounds like a drunken uncle ranting away in the corner of the house. Entertaining for a short time, but wears thin fast. So David and I decided to honor the previous podcast but make this one our own. We brought Glen in because he's great at the hardware side of things and can really explain the console as the cutting edge technology that it was. So, Willie and Ar-Kay can concentrate on their podcasts that they're passionate about, I can whittle away hours researching stuff in a hotel room somewhere in North America, David can produce an entertaining and informative podcast, and Glen can keep us from setting our houses on fire by showing us how to properly modify or fix this old stuff. But most of all, we are ecstatic that people are listening! And if you have any questions, comments, or stories, feel free to send them to theatari5200podcast@gmail.com or our Facebook page. Thanks!

Hey,Everyone! Captain Bob from the Atari 5200 Podcast here. Those of you who have followed the 5200 SuperPodcast and our current podcast know that I've had my 5200 since new. You may also know that when I bought this from Toys R Us all those long years ago, that here was a 4-port packaged with Pac-Man. One controller was US built, the other was made in Mexico. It's almost like it was cobbled together, thrown in the box, and kicked out the door. So, I wanted to add my machine to the mix. As far as I can tell the serial number on this is different than all the others. Not to mention that the label is affixed over another label. But the cool thing is the heat stamping on the case plastic itself. I'd love to know what info is out there on this. Let me know!

Hey, Batari! Where's your booth at?!?!?

Now you guys are just showing off???

I've given this a lot of thought. And being recently brought in as a co-host of the Atari 5200 Super Podcast (That's right. Captain Bob, here), I've been picking away at the decisions that Atari was making at the time with this console and all the missed opportunities that could have been capitalized on. I've come up with some ideas that could have helped sell this machine. Just to let you know I'm not just blowing sunshine here, I used to work in sales and merchandising with Anheuser-Busch so I have a little background on this. The main goal is to sell the system. How do you do that. Make people want it and make people talk about it. So what is the game that can do that? Here's my tips: 1. Mass appeal. 2. Household recognition. 3. Easy to learn and challenging to master. 4. A nearly faithful port from the arcade. 5. Showcases the strength of the console. 6. A thank you to the faithful. So, in my opinion, Atari's best bet would have been Centipede. We go back to the list for this. 1. DK was loved by everyone. While Centipede was not as cuddly as DK, it had appeal to both men and women. Heck! It was even designed by a woman! Atari even had the numbers that showed this and they still chose to ignore them. 2. Here's where Pac-Man wins hands down, but the maze games, as we all know, are miserable to play with those analog joysticks. Other games were better known but I did not know of one kid who didn't know what Centipede was. Not as popular as Pac-Man or DK but it was right up there and the licensing was in-house. No payoffs to anyone but themselves. 3. Centipede is intuitive. It's a snap to understand this game. In the arcade, it was put in your quarter, move sprite with trak-ball, shoot anything that moved. With a little practice you could have an extra man. With a little more work you could start developing patterns and see how the bugs behaved. Then you could really rack up some high scores! Skills that could transfer to the arcade machine! 4. The July 1983 issue of JoyStik Magazine had a review of the 5200's port of Centipede. Five out of five stars were given to it. Their explanation? It's is exactly like the arcade in every way. Atari was originally going to call this the Personal Arcade Machine (PAM. It's prototype name). What better way to prove this than to have a game that is exactly like its arcade twin. Without a doubt, the true arcade experience at home. Try to beat that! 5. As we all know, there were very few games that worked well with the analog controllers. The engineering department even rebelled against marketing because of the controllers. But this was a game that showcased the power of analog. The previously mention JoyStik review even mentions that the controls are "fluid" and you can zip around the screen as you would in the arcade. And this game would have driven up demand for the Trak-Ball accessory which would have helped sales overall. 6. Here's where Atari really dropped the ball. People were not use to the concept of upgrading equipment and they didn't understand that these machines had limitations. When people bought something in this era it was going to be in the house for the next 20+ years. I call it the washing machine mentality. No matter what washing machine you buy it works the same. I put clothes and soap in it, I turn it on, it cleans my clothes. I buy a new one when this one breaks down. I remember my dad wanting to buy a game that was for the 5200 (In fact, I think it was Centipede) that was being demo'd in a store and finding out it wouldn't work in our 2600. The concept of buying another machine to upgrade was completely foreign to him. But he considered it! You had to have a game that was something your faithful customers felt like they were getting payback from Atari to invest in the new machine and get the people who didn't understand the concept of upgrading equipment to overcome it. Centipede did just that! So that's my two cents and another $52 dollars on top of it. If anything, I hope this sparks a lively debate and we can have some fun with it. Also, a shameless plug! Don't forget to listen to the Atari 5200 Super Podcast hosted by Willie and Ar-Kay! Hope to have all of you listening soon!

Happy to play the games. I'll leave the cassettes to the collectors. Good times, Y'All!!!

Ok! Thank you to everyone who replied. So here's how this turned out... First off: I took this dusty, old supercharger and plugged it into the 2600. Flipped on the switch. And to my surprise... "My, God! It's full of stars!" It also told me to load the cassette and press play. So, after years of languishing in the bottom of a plastic bin, this supercharger was ready to rock and roll once again. Then, it was back to the Interwebs to get the ROM files and get them converted. Well, I found a site that already had them converted to MP3 format. So I downloaded them and gave it a try. I plugged in the supercharger into the headphone jack and let 'er rip! Something happened but it didn't load. I turned off the 2600 and tried again. Nothing. Then I hit play again and it finally loaded. So, for those following in our studio audience: Plug in supercharger. Hit play file on Windows Media Player and let it play through once. Turn on 2600. Hit play again on WMP. Let it load and enjoy! And the Real Frogger is AMAZEBALLS!!! I'm going to have fun with this. Best $15 I've ever spent! Thanks to everyone who helped out on this. The 12 year old in me is overjoyed! All the best, Captain Bob

Well, I just picked up a Supercharger for my 2600. It was in a bin in a collectables store and I was able to pick it up for $15. I've been going to this store over the years and the owner has had this thing kicking around since he opened the store so he cut me a break. That and the fact that I have no idea that it works. So, assuming it works and there's no way for me to get a copy of "Stella's got a new brain," how do I get this thing to load games? Is there an emulator or program that can load games to the supercharger? As always, thank you to this community. You guys and gals are great!

I actually have most of those. The Wico's and the Tac2's are great. But I have two reasons for the old controller handles: 1. I built one with a microswitch conversion. It works good but it functions better with the revised handles. 2. My 6 year old daughter likes the original joysticks. I'm pretty close to making my own. I have some friends who do engineering/design work and I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be a big leap for them. Let me know if anyone knows of a better handle out there.

Hello, everyone. Been a long time since I posted, but I've been enjoying my 2600 and 5200 machines with my daughter. Bringing her up right and growing up Atari! So I'm doing my part to keep the next generation playing the good stuff. Which kinda leads into my topic question. Is there anyone who sells just the inner joystick handle that's of decent quality? I've tried everyone. Best Electronics only has the original and not the one with the pressure reliefs. And I've tried dealers that sell the rebuild kits but they will not sell just the inner handle. So that's my problem. Looking for just the inner handle and one made from decent materials. Thanks to the community here. I know that someone will have the hook up here.

Hi, All! New to the forum and the community and happy to be a part of it. My dad just recently gave back all of my Atari game consoles and the 520 ST I used through high school and college. I'm keeping my 2600 and 5200 systems because they are so much fun, but the 520 ST I have no interest in keeping. Therefore, I currently have an Atari 520 ST in great condition with a monochrome monitor (with original box) and 3&1/2 floppy disk drive for sale to a good home. I have all the original cables and manuals along with some software in original packaging. The floppy disk drive sorta works meaning the motor and status lights work and it's recognized by the system, but it can't retrieve data. I think that if someone knows what they are doing they can fix it. I live in the Seattle area but I also fly for the airlines and I can get a good deal on shipping. I'd put this thing on eBay but I'm not looking to make a killing on this thing (that and I'm to lazy to set up an eBay account ). Let me know if you're interested with a PM or e-mail me at sideshowbob74@hotmail.com. I can send pictures if you want a look at what I got. Thanks!