Raising My 5200 from the Dead

[MechaGregor]

Hey guys,

 

So I picked up a 5200 from the local flea market for $10 bucks this weekend. I knew I was getting into a project when they said it was not working, but I figured what the hell. Anyway, I was missing a switch box, so I cooked up a quick one. Still no power to the console. I then checked the wire, came apart (held by duck tape) Then I re-soldered the plug onto the wire from the console. Plugged it back in nothing. Ripped the board out, looks like there was water damage and some corrosion. SO...

 

1. Can I restore this board by scrubbing off corrosion and re-flowing solder?

 

2. Can I solder the power directly to the board?

 

3. Can I directly solder on S-Video and RCA?

 

Any tips will help.

 

(Will attach photos)

 

Thanks!

[AusMatari]

wow, I'm good enough at taking things apart and cleaning them. Usually I can even get them back together. That is indeed a project for you there. I'm really enjoying my 5200 now that it's fully operational, so I hope you get yours going.

[RodLightning]

You can try the power mod to get voltage out of the RF cable and going in safely through a proper power input jack (as with the later model 2 controller port 5200) and if your console comes to life, you can add s-video or composite output. If the 5200 board is damaged, diagnosis is somewhat similar to the Atari 8 bit computers. Atari 5200 is a close cousin to 400/800 model and shares many of the same chips.

 

Here's some good reading on the subject, including the modifications:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/20871-atari-5200-4-port-power-modification-warning-big/

 

http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4693.0

 

 

Edit: I see yours has socketed chips, which is good as you can remove and replace suspect chips without a soldering iron. Sometimes just reseating chips in their sockets is enough to restore operation.

Edited July 27, 2015 by RodLightning

[+-^CrossBow^-]

That isn't corrosion on the bottom of the board. Looks more like old flux to me from when it was made originally. I see this on tons of stuff today. The excess flux wasn't that noticeable back in the day as it was still new, and more clear. Additionally the consumer didn't see this part of the console they had bought so it wasn't that big a deal. Now it is 20+ years old and starting to look nasty..

 

Anyway, the excess flux won't hurt anything just looks worse than it is. I suspect more that the IC that controls the power near the power switch is to blame and is a common issue and easy fix to try first.

 

After that, then definitely see about doing the 4-port power mod so you won't need the switch box any more.

Edited July 28, 2015 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[SoundGammon]

On my 4-port, I bolted the power supply in the compartment where the controllers are stored. Always hated wrapping the cables around the joystick for storing them anyway. Bypassed the RF box. Put a RCA jack from the RF modulator for channel 3 usage, soon to be removed! Ran a new long ac wire to the power supply, which wraps nicely where the old cable went on the bottom. Put in my custom font os, waiting for the arrival of the AtariMax cart. Now, I'm going to order a S-Video mod. Got 2 Trak-balls, a Jaguar modified controller that I made...then play games!

[+nanochess]

I would recommend a full PCB cleaning with alcohol and a toothbrush.

[atari-dna]

Do you have +5V on output of VR2?