landsmarra Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Hey guys, I was just using this stick I got from Dan Kramer a few weeks ago (along with the 5100 proto) and was wondering why Super PacMan was so easy to play...the stick was self-centering!! So I opened it up and noticed the pots definitely looked different from any I had seen before. See the little brass arms and the springs? What do you guys think? I didn't think Atari ever released a self-centering stick for the 5200. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Atari had planned a self-centering stick for the 5200, but AFAIK the project was canned before it hit the shelves. Does the stick also feature more firm fire buttns, or are they "mushy" like the earlier sticks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_ Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Looks like you need to pop the bezel off around the START PAUSE and RESET when you open the joysticks. It would be much kinder to that flex circuit in there Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Wasn't a stick made already modified by a homebrewer sometime ago? I'd love to get a self-centering stick when I go to purchase a couple here soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRetroGamer Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Can you take a sharper and/or brighter pic of that, I'd really like to see what is going on inside that joystick! Oh yeah, be kind to that flex circuit and take the Start bezel off FIRST! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Heres some photoshop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landsmarra Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 Guys, This is definitely not a homebrew...the one pot I could remove has an Atari part number on it that I have referenced in my humungo parts listing (also thanks to Dan Kramer). The other pot seems to have been glued in place. I'll try to get a better pic...I hate taking off those S/P/R bezels though. One more note: the keypad doesn't seem to work. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Here is a photo of a Self-centering 5200 joystick that came out of Atari back in 96' Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Guys, This is definitely not a homebrew...the one pot I could remove has an Atari part number on it that I have referenced in my humungo parts listing (also thanks to Dan Kramer). The other pot seems to have been glued in place. I'll try to get a better pic...I hate taking off those S/P/R bezels though. One more note: the keypad doesn't seem to work. Thanks, Steve That is most certainly legit.... I have a few of those funky spring loaded pots that came out of Atari, I also have some very early docs that refer to that design, its a Type 1 Self Centering Joystick, it was an earlier and more complex (and most likely expensive) self-centering system. I joystick I currently have that is fully assembled and working is a Type 2 Self Centering out of Atari. Nice find Steve, I betcha Dan didn't realize what he just gave away... shhhhhhh... Curt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landsmarra Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 Curt, Thanks for add'l info on my, uh, Type 1 self-centerer! Is this supposedly rare? I assume it was never released. Here's a better pic of the two spring-loaded pots: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landsmarra Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 Here's a pic of the lower pot showing the Atari p/n C018118-2-07: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddUGA Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Ah the Holy Grail of 5200 joysticks! I'd love to see a 5200 joystick mod that adds self-centering to the stock joystick. I worked on one myself, but never came up with a viable mod. Maybe some reverse engineering of these Atari produced self-centering joysticks is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voiddweller Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Ah the Holy Grail of 5200 joysticks! I'd love to see a 5200 joystick mod that adds self-centering to the stock joystick. I worked on one myself, but never came up with a viable mod. Maybe some reverse engineering of these Atari produced self-centering joysticks is in order. Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRetroGamer Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 As far as I can tell from searching the Patent database, that version of the self centering stick was never patented, so very little info probably exists on it. Patent 4469330 is for the 5200 stick we all know and love, and is pretty detailed. If you have not looked at the US Patent database, you owe it to yourself to poke around. http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html You need a special browser plug-in to see the TIFF images, but it's a free small download and WELL worth the trouble! http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/images.htm I've found TONS of cool video game related patents there, makes for some AWESOME reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VidGameKing Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 you can buy spring loaded POTs and set them up to center. it would give much the same effect as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 you can buy spring loaded POTs and set them up to center. it would give much the same effect as that. I have been trying to find these for over a year. All of the ones I've found have been too large , wrong resistance(I'm no electronics wizard, I'm sure somebody here could fix that) or just way too expensive to be practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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