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Atari 5200 - 4 port - power modification. WARNING: BIG !


CPUWIZ

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Thanks CPU pretty much what I figured.. so using any of the axial caps on my spare 5200 parts board should be fine. Now, are there some hidden diodes I can take from it as well and use?

 

I guess part of me thinks it would be really cool to use all parts from another 5200 to make another 5200 that much better. And since the 4 port unit I have as a spare for the parts is so odd in the problems it had it is best to just part it out.

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I don't really understand what the fuss is about with the 5200's 4-port switchbox. I just don't understand that's all.

It's an extra bit of specialized, nonstandard hardware that is necessary for the unit's operation.

 

What other console has this? With an NES or VCS, just power it on, plug it into the TV with the standard cords of your choice, and you're all set.

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And this is now done! Thanks again for the pics CPUWIZ at the beginning of this thread! I went ahead and bought new components instead of using old ones. The whole thing was cheap enough and it can't hurt in the long run. Since I already had my s-video and composite, audio connectors on the side with the TV switch I used longer wires and routed my power plug to the other side and mounted it on the expansion panel pop out cover instead.

 

Updated pics of the power mod and s-video circuit work added here:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201868503891591.1073741829.1153072122&type=1&l=f5502e080e

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...

I just bought the power mod kit from console5: https://console5.com/store/atari-5200-4-port-powered-switchbox-bypass-modification-kit.html

 

The 47uf radial cap they sent is marked as 25v instead of 35v shown in the picture, can I assume that this will still work fine since the original cap on the board is also 25v?

 

The diode is marked with 1N5391G and B01 is this equivalent to the 1N5404 listed earlier in this thread?

 

Finally, the power jack has 3 connectors on it. If the one that goes to the center is positive, are both of the others ground? And where do I hook up the 104 cap?

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I haven't used the kit from Console5 but will be ordering one soon for a 5200 on its way to me to be modded. I believe the power sockets console5 uses are switched. So you have to solder the + to two terminals on the jack. I think they even stated this if you look at the details more. The cap will attach to with one lead to the + the other to the ground or - if I recall correctly from when I did this before. I really don't like the instructions on this on Console5 as all their other stuff is very well documented, but they only give a basic this is what you are doing and assume you to figure the rest. The pics in this thread will go a LONG way in advising you of what you need to do.

Edited by -^Cro§Bow^-
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I don't know much about electronics and can really only follow directions for things like this, but if the cap is connecting the positive directly to ground won't that cause a short or a continual power drain when plugged in even if the console is off?

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I don't know much about electronics and can really only follow directions for things like this, but if the cap is connecting the positive directly to ground won't that cause a short or a continual power drain when plugged in even if the console is off?

 

Not really as the cap is being used for initial power filtering from the DC going into the console.

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A capacitor looks like an open circuit to DC. (Lots of exceptions but that is a fair first approximation.)

 

So the cap will only look like a conductor to AC. This means that AC will be shorted to ground but DC will pass by the cap. That's what makes it a filter. (Again, very generalized, but sufficient for this discussion).

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I haven't used the kit from Console5 but will be ordering one soon for a 5200 on its way to me to be modded. I believe the power sockets console5 uses are switched. So you have to solder the + to two terminals on the jack. I think they even stated this if you look at the details more. The cap will attach to with one lead to the + the other to the ground or - if I recall correctly from when I did this before. I really don't like the instructions on this on Console5 as all their other stuff is very well documented, but they only give a basic this is what you are doing and assume you to figure the rest. The pics in this thread will go a LONG way in advising you of what you need to do.

 

Yes I'm quoting myself because I did look at Console5's wiki on the kit and they are using a switched power jack. My earlier comment about the + on both terminals was incorrect!!! You want to put the ground or - to both of the terminals on the side and the + to the center. Since I can't edit my original post on that I wanted to make sure I amended this in some way.

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Mod completed, works perfect except now the console's not reading the analog stick correctly. I had been having problems with the stick on one of my controllers before doing the mod but the other one worked fine (the stick at least) so I thought it was a problem with that controller itself. I tried re-flowing the solder on the controller port but with no change. Also saw the the second controller port is actually missing 2 of the pins.

 

The "good" controller works ok on my other 4-port, so it looks like I'll be using that one as my main system - good thing I bought 2 of the kits

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The multiplexer chips in the 5200 along the front edge of the main board are stupid probe to ESD. I'm convinced that the 5200 ports and their multiplexer controllers are just as prone to failure as the ones used on the Colecovision. Likely if you were to get replacements, you would fix the odd issues with the controller you have in that unit.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 months later...

well I have a problem finishing the power mod. Like the manuals mention it should look like this https://www.google.com/search?q=atari+5200+power+mod&client=firefox-b-ab&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=uLm1bIWwpZgs_M%253A%252CW36HYdoraqNtlM%252C_&usg=AFrqEzd-SFe-f_Jd0ZXS4R-gAiqgTLqkbA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir6buztercAhWS6aQKHcgaBkgQ9QEwDnoECAUQCA#imgrc=uLm1bIWwpZgs_M:

 

But on my 5200 4port it looks like this:

mobo

Any advice would be helpfull, didn't want to scratch something down...
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Did you already remove the other components such as the coax cable for the RF lead and the inductor from L6 then?

 

If so then since yours appears to be missing vias for the wires, you will have to use something to scrape away at the solder mask in roughly the same spots and then use some flux to solder the wire leads onto the exposed traces you created. Does that help at all?

 

Does this 4 port have an asterisk on the SN label by chance?

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Did you already remove the other components such as the coax cable for the RF lead and the inductor from L6 then?

 

If so then since yours appears to be missing vias for the wires, you will have to use something to scrape away at the solder mask in roughly the same spots and then use some flux to solder the wire leads onto the exposed traces you created. Does that help at all?

 

Does this 4 port have an asterisk on the SN label by chance?

no asterisk within the SN label...

we followed the lines specially for + so for the moment it powers on ;) thx for help

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  • 3 months later...

I've about cleared my plate to do power mods on both my 4-port 5200's. Can someone explain (preferably with photos) where and how to wire in the ceramic filtering cap? Am I wiring it in-line with the ground wire, or between the positive and ground on the jack?

 

Thanks!

 

EDIT: NVM. I read through the first page (with CPUwiz's otherwise-excellent photos!) and the last page, but not the two pages in between. Here is a post from 2009 with a photo on page 3.

Edited by DrVenkman
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  • 4 months later...

so im trying to do this mod with scavenged parts, is there anything i can sub for the ceramic cap? i have electrolytic caps of that value, but since those are polarized i dont see that being an option and i dont have any parts boards with anything larger than a 203 ceramic, i ordered the right parts, but i hate to wait for shipping on these tiny parts and ive already found parts for the rest of it

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  • 10 months later...

My take on the power mod (and av mod). I removed most of the RF circuit ( you could just remove C48) then connect a 1N5400 diode from the coax pad to the positive C45 pad. That allow using the rca connector to plug power in.

 

I dont like to have the wire hard connected between the pcb and the case. Easier to take apart later if needed.

 

Same for video 3.5mm cable connect through the L2 hole of the shield.

IMG_20200221_192551.jpg

IMG_20200221_194917.jpg

IMG_20200221_194518.jpg

IMG_20200221_195501.jpg

IMG_20200221_195408.jpg

Edited by DarthCloud
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  • 4 weeks later...

As much as 9 hate to admit it, I'm a complete noob when it comes to soldering and electronics. So, before I power my 5200 on, I just wanted to get the approval of the experts; don't wanna risk my stupidity frying a perfectly fine 4 port 5200. So, is it good to go?

P.S. I am aware that I will have to put some electrical tape or heat shrink around the wires; just didn't have some at the moment.

20200321_121047.jpg

20200321_121116.jpg

Edited by bluejay
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5 hours ago, bluejay said:

As much as 9 hate to admit it, I'm a complete noob when it comes to soldering and electronics. So, before I power my 5200 on, I just wanted to get the approval of the experts; don't wanna risk my stupidity frying a perfectly fine 4 port 5200. So, is it good to go?

P.S. I am aware that I will have to put some electrical tape or heat shrink around the wires; just didn't have some at the moment.

20200321_121047.jpg

20200321_121116.jpg

Yes it looks correctly wired up. But you do need to desolder at least the positive from the DC jack and put some shrink on it after you test to make sure it is working. I've been talking to console5 and I'm hoping we can come up with a cheapish disconnect method so that the wiring doesn't keep the main board tethered to the bottom shell as would normally be the case.

 

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11 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Yes it looks correctly wired up. But you do need to desolder at least the positive from the DC jack and put some shrink on it after you test to make sure it is working. I've been talking to console5 and I'm hoping we can come up with a cheapish disconnect method so that the wiring doesn't keep the main board tethered to the bottom shell as would normally be the case.

 

Alright, thanks!

Yeah, now that I think about it... I'll have to desolder the wires to take the motherboard out... They should make an unpluggable connnector for it.

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