My 4 port stopped working, I need a little help!

[Henry Lee]

Hi dear friends,

 

I just plugged everything like usual, sparks came out from the Switch Box like usual. I didn't turn on my 5200. I went to do things. When I returned to have fun, the console couldn't be turned on, I unplugged the cable and plugged it back in many times . No sparks anymore. My 5200 is dead

 

I am not very good in electronics, but I would like to somehow isolate the problem so I can replace the part, (I hope it is the Switch box or Power adapter and not the console). I bought the Switch Box "New" from Best Electronics 8 months ago but my 4 port was never refurbished nor tweaked.

 

I hope somebody have an idea... what should look for first...

 

Thank you,

 

H

Edited October 25, 2016 by Henry Lee

[chas10e]

I would suspect the power adapter , perhaps plugged into a power strip not turned on , or a switched outlet with light switch off

 

also assuming you are using the correct power brick

 

a volt meter or an automotive test light with let you know if you have power at the barrel that plugs into the TV switch-box

[Henry Lee]

a volt meter or an automotive test light with let you know if you have power at the barrel that plugs into the TV switch-box

 

 

Hi Chas10e, you mean the Power Adapter plugged in? is it dangerous? Nice cue, I should find and ask someone who knows about testing power adapters. Thanks

[MIKE5200]

Yes, Check the power brick that connects the power strip to the switch box. Also do you hear any clicking when you turn on the console?

[Henry Lee]

I found out tonight that It is was the power supply that went bad. I tried to use my Universal AC/DC adapter without much hope. I usually use it with reverb pedals. I set it on 9 volts with the tip set on + and the input was 120V 60Hz 12W! My Atari was back on again.

 

So I tried a couple of carts and yes, they work besides Realsports Baseball, when Insert that cart the console shuts off automatically. How can that be? It was working last week. A cart with more kilobytes? Speech, but Berzerk works. Can someone guess?

 

I will buy another original adapter I guess, If I want to challenge a friend with Baseball these coming holidays.

 

Anyway, thank you for taking time to read my post and answering!

Edited October 26, 2016 by Henry Lee

[simbalion]

Um, are you plugging adapter into the switchbox after it is plugged in? If so.. don't do that! That is probably what fried it. I can't recall if the 5200 power supplies have a fuse inside them or not. But, if you know someone who can crack it open and it does have a fuse, a new fuse could save the day.

[chas10e]

yikes , looking @ my supply I am using for my 4 port, looks like I am using the brick for the 2 port model

 

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~awwatkin/ATARI/LISTS/power.html

 

 

Atari 5200 (2-port) 11.5 VDC 1.95 A
Atari 5200 (4-port) 9.3 VDC 1.95 A

 

my guess to console shutting down is the low wattage rating for the power supply you are temporarily are using

 

9.3 x 1.95 = 18.135 (watts)

 

 

Um, are you plugging adapter into the switchbox after it is plugged in? If so.. don't do that! That is probably what fried it. I can't recall if the 5200 power supplies have a fuse inside them or not. But, if you know someone who can crack it open and it does have a fuse, a new fuse could save the day.

I do see a couple phillips screws on bottom of mine and would look for a fuse in there if it were me ( unplugging from wall first naturally )

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Doesn't matter which supply you use. Either the 2 port or 4 port model can be used on either model. There is a fuse in the 5200 supply brick but honestly I've never had a problem plugging in the brick first and then plugging it into the switch box. Used to do that for years. Now I used a power modded 5200 so I don't have to deal with that switch box anymore.

[Henry Lee]

 

 

my guess to console shutting down is the low wattage rating for the power supply you are temporarily are using

 

9.3 x 1.95 = 18.135 (watts)

 

 

I do see a couple phillips screws on bottom of mine and would look for a fuse in there if it were me ( unplugging from wall first naturally )

 

It might be that, it looks like Realsports Baseball is taking extra juice from the console somehow, maybe. There is screws underneath my Power Supply, I'll open and see what kind of fuse it is and change it. The fees for shipping a a genuine power supply from Ebay is astronomic to Canada. Thank you Atari Age Angels!

Edited October 26, 2016 by Henry Lee

[Henry Lee]

But, if you know someone who can crack it open and it does have a fuse, a new fuse could save the day.

 

Thank you, I will do that!

[onemoretime]

Had a fuse inside the nos one I bought from BEST. I popped mine, my fault. Think I m going to recase mine in a project case since I had to ruin it cutting it apart.. Some of the old originals could be unscrewed.

[simbalion]

I actually popped the fuse in one of the earlier 9 volt bricks for my Atari 800 by plugging it into the computer while it was still plugged into the strip. Didn't know what had happened and... did in a second later brick the same way. Luckily, the earlier one had screws and I swapped in a good fuse from another one that I had gotten with bad cords. (Appears they sat in the sun for years, petrified rubber!) If the 5200 brick is like the 9 volt models for the 8 bits, the fuse is soldered in. Wasn't too bad to replace, even for me with my horrible solder skills. Yes, you can pop the fuses by plugging in the brick while it is powered up.

[WERY]

Most likely it is the iron core that has imploded. I had one that did after 6 months, another one that went after just 55 minutes.

 

You should however do the power-mod and the AV-mod, so you get away from that switchbox and the sparks.