Building a 5100 (i.e. 5200jr) using a Raspberry Pi?

[DEBRO]

Hi there,

 

Not sure if this the right forum but here goes.

 

I had a co-worker look into the Raspberry Pi for arcade emulation. In talking with him, he sparked an idea in my head of the possibility of building a 5100 using a Raspberry Pi. I thought it would be really cool to have the 5200 done right...in my opinion.

 

Starting with the console I thought it would be cool for it to have a small form factor like the 5100. The only 5200 physical guts would be a cartridge slot. It would be cool to still be able to play physical 5200 carts. Taking it a bit further, it could be a hybrid of a 5200 and A8, maybe a 5100XE. Maybe allowing A8 emulation and 5200 games via the SD card.

 

Then there are the joysticks. Rebuilding or designing them to have a self centering analog stick and fit more in your hand like a Jaguar controller.

 

There would be some type of mapping for these so if you were emulating an A8 game, the analog signal would have to simulate a digital signal. Also, any A8 paddle game would need to work with the analog positioning.

 

I know...that's an expensive dream however I think it would be rather cool to see the 5200 redone. In my opinion, it wasn't a bad machine, it just needed a little more tweeking.

 

What do you think?

[Gaztee]

Somebody did something similar years ago. Was a great piece of work that was tiny compared to the actual console. It'll be somewhere on this forum!

[CPUWIZ]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216991-5200-in-fpga/

[kensu]

There's always been a dream project I've never got around to doing, where I use a microprocessor to build a box that will let you use USB controllers and keypads with the 5200; thus eliminating the need for the original controller, Masterplay interface, PC joysticker convertor or whatever.

I wouldn't have thought of rebuilding the entire system though... (what the FPGA guy is doing looks a lot like the Flashback 5200 I discussed in another thread, I wonder if we could get AtGames interested...)

[kensu]

That should've read microcontroller, not microprocessor.

[Lynxpro]

I keep mixing up names…didn't Kenfused - or someone else - retrofit a 5200 into a 2600jr case?

 

I'm not sure I'd call the 5100 "the 5200 done right". I'm a fan of 4-joystick ports and the 5100, like the later 5200s, didn't offer that.