5200 Paddle Controller.

[CV Gus]

A few days ago, I finally managed to finish a homemade 5200 paddle controller.

 

It uses the casing of a regular 5200 controller, but instead of a joystick, there is a paddle from what may have been an old Coleco Telstar game.

 

A problem was the fact that the PAUSE and RESET buttons did not work. Anyone who has ever worked with these things knows how fragile they are. I actually had to do a lot of filing to fit in some old switches from a 1970s VCR. But- it works now. Has a nice "click," too.

 

Still, the side buttons are a bit tough. Whatever those tiny "discs" are made of, are a problem.

 

 

Naturally, there is only one game it is meant for: Super Breakout. Now, it plays SOOOOOOO-OOOOO-OOO much better! I have managed to complete the DOUBLE and CAVITY options without the "extra tries" option (infrequently, but it happened. Couldn't do it before). Hmmm...why didn't I think of trying it out on Pole Position? Must be getting old...

 

Why did Atari ever design such a thing? About the only games it is any good for are (maybe) Missile Command and Star Raiders.

 

Interestingly enough, it seems as though Atari itself, or at least an imaginative engineer thought of this decades ago:

 

http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/cons...5200paddle.html

 

Except for the fact that mine looks older and more worn, and the paddle, mine looks much like that one.

[MrRetroGamer]

Still, the side buttons are a bit tough. Whatever those tiny "discs" are made of, are a problem.

 

On the old fire buttons (and Start/Pause/Reset pad and the number keypad), the tiny discs are made of carbon. Some newer parts have the dots made from a gold metal which conducts better and/or doesn't deteriorate as quickly.

 

Naturally, there is only one game it is meant for: Super Breakout

 

Actually, the addition of a momentary switch/button that will control the up/down potentiometer reading will allow for a great game of Pole Position as well. A few people (myself included) have added this switch to a homemade 5200 paddle controller, there should be some old topics on this if you dig into the search function a bit. But the 5200 paddle is somewhat limited in that only a few games work better (or at all) with it, as you have found.

[midnight8]

I made me a pole position controller today. It is some kind of old pilots controller made by ch. found it in a goodwill and wired it up. It works pretty nice. wonder what it would be like playing breakout with a steering wheel? BTWI always cover those little disc with some foil and super glue. seems to have always helped me out. I wish I was worth a dang with paint so I could make this steering wheel look atari like.

 

 

 

A few days ago, I finally managed to finish a homemade 5200 paddle controller.

 

It uses the casing of a regular 5200 controller, but instead of a joystick, there is a paddle from what may have been an old Coleco Telstar game.

 

A problem was the fact that the PAUSE and RESET buttons did not work. Anyone who has ever worked with these things knows how fragile they are. I actually had to do a lot of filing to fit in some old switches from a 1970s VCR. But- it works now. Has a nice "click," too.

 

Still, the side buttons are a bit tough. Whatever those tiny "discs" are made of, are a problem.

 

 

Naturally, there is only one game it is meant for: Super Breakout. Now, it plays SOOOOOOO-OOOOO-OOO much better! I have managed to complete the DOUBLE and CAVITY options without the "extra tries" option (infrequently, but it happened. Couldn't do it before). Hmmm...why didn't I think of trying it out on Pole Position? Must be getting old...

 

Why did Atari ever design such a thing? About the only games it is any good for are (maybe) Missile Command and Star Raiders.

 

Interestingly enough, it seems as though Atari itself, or at least an imaginative engineer thought of this decades ago:

 

http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/cons...5200paddle.html

 

Except for the fact that mine looks older and more worn, and the paddle, mine looks much like that one.

Edited March 11, 2008 by midnight8

[CV Gus]

Over the weekend, I made a few final modifications in the paddle controller.

 

One was adding a 33,000 OHM resistor to the horizontal circuit. This ended the problem of having to first turn the paddle all the way to the left before each game of Super Breakout. A higher resistor might have been even better, but that one (from the 1970s VCR I've been using for parts) was all I had, and I didn't feel like adding any in series. It's good enough.

 

The second was adding a rocker switch to where the fire buttons on the right side were, and putting the vertical circuit through it. This simulates pushing down and up on the controller, so you can shift gears on Pole Position.

 

The difference is something else. Although only really good for those two games, it was worth it.