CrossBow

Oh yeah! Missile command is pretty much arcade like with it on the 5200.

There are several controller options available today, so the non-centering CX52s are no longer an issue. Btw, the 5200 port of Defender is excellent and plays extremely well with the CX52s. (I have four of the Best Electronics upgraded CX52s and they continue to work as new after several years of use).
As others have stated, you can go the Wico controller and pad route or connect a Masterplay or MP Clone type adapter for use with any number of DB9 connector controllers. 
 
My top five original games:
Defender
Gremlins
Missile Command (Trak-Ball)
Rescue on Fractalus!
Space Dungeon (Console exclusive twin-stick shooter)
Note: Qix also works really well with the CX52 controller and I prefer to play Space Invaders with the trak-ball.
At this point in the life of this console, I feel that the only people making a big deal about the controllers are YouTubers looking for clicks or people that have not put an ounce of time into researching the console. 
I have a 2 port and a 4 port as well. Neither one is modded, but both have new/old stock motherboards and the RF output is really good on each console. 
 
Game on!

The 5200 is my second favorite Atari console only bested by the 7800 for me. I've always like the original controllers since I first played the system using one of them. Over the past 20+ years now, I've done the foil dots bit on them to keep them going but after having to do it after every 2 or 3 years (due to the dots eventually falling off), I got sick of it and over the summer I purchased two gold set replacement rebuild kits from the new Atarireapairparts.com website. Installed them in a matter of minutes and I don't think I will have to touch them ever again at this point.
That said, I also have a set of the Wico controllers (I don't like this, they don't feel right and they actually break stupid easy internally.). But the command control keypad that they also use is quite nice and well built. So I also have one of the older AtariAge redemption adapters that lets me use that Wico keypad and a Sega Genesis 3 button controller with the 5200. For games that require the more digital precision, that is the setup I will use. But even still I mostly use the original controllers when I play on the 5200.
 

I agree with @RickR, if you have one that is stock and this is a spare, then mod it with more games! And yes there is a limit, although it has been a few years since I did mine and I can't quite remember what that limit was. But basically you have to compromise between wanting a lot more games, or still wanting the ability to have save states on the games. 
Because what I do remember is that each of the save states were quite large (Much much larger than the actual game roms), and they were what all of the empty space was needed for. So if you fill that space with more games, then you can't have 3 or 4 save states per game anymore and in some cases if you completely fill it, you can't have any at all.
This only becomes an issue because the modded consoles OS can't really tell that the space isn't there. So if you don't have any space left and you try and use the save states, it usually ends up locking up the thing at that point. I think I settled about 30 more games being safe to add in most cases and that would still provide you with like 1 or 2 save states per game doing it that way.
Another thing you can do, is that since all of these are based on the same tech internally, you don't just have to put NES games on it. What I did was actually mod my SNES mini with both additional SNES games and some NES games that I can choose to play on it. I left my NES mini stock, but then on my Genesis mini I added some more CD games and a few 32x games if I remember along with additional genesis roms I'd want to play on it. 
 

Ah.. I see. I wasn't sure if that signal was available outside of the TIA to be found elsewhere or from another pin etc. 
I wonder if the cost to need ratio just isn't there for a new TIA replacement to be produced or hardware emulated/simulated off a PCB?
 

Thank you for the detailed explanation on it all Alex! But again, in this case the failed transistor is located where....? 
Inside the TIA. So I guess it is awesome to know what is failed in this case, but still stinks because it isn't something that can be fixed. Unless it were possible to just wire in an actual transistor to handle this externally on a small perf board or just wired into the system directly and then shrink wrapped up? Hmm... a bodge to allow a 95% working TIA to still be used for 100% functionality in a console. 
I'm kinda like the idea of this...
 

I know I've gone on and on about this cartridge in the past but it really is quite amazing given all the systems is can support. At this time, all of the 7800 original released titles minus Choplifter will play properly. Choplifter exhibits a timing issue through the cartridge that actually happens with actual carts on actual hardware as well. But here the BBPro seems to make it show up on all consoles vs just a few that have been encountered in the field.
Additionally, the adapter and firmware updates have also gotten quite a few more homebrews working as well. Many of Muddyvision's earlier releases work properly now without graphical glitching and with proper Pokey emulation as well. Some of the more exotic stuff using complex combos of RAM + Bankswitching+ Pokey..etc are still not working but perhaps in time those too will be possible.
 

I know I've gone on and on about this cartridge in the past but it really is quite amazing given all the systems is can support. At this time, all of the 7800 original released titles minus Choplifter will play properly. Choplifter exhibits a timing issue through the cartridge that actually happens with actual carts on actual hardware as well. But here the BBPro seems to make it show up on all consoles vs just a few that have been encountered in the field.
Additionally, the adapter and firmware updates have also gotten quite a few more homebrews working as well. Many of Muddyvision's earlier releases work properly now without graphical glitching and with proper Pokey emulation as well. Some of the more exotic stuff using complex combos of RAM + Bankswitching+ Pokey..etc are still not working but perhaps in time those too will be possible.
 

Crazy, the actual arcade cabinet was semi common when I was kid and I always drawn to it. And you know it was different because games like Operation Wolf and the later other Gun games never interested me, but anytime I saw a Crossbow cabinet I had to play and see how far I could get my friends. But like all arcade games back then, it was much more difficult than home versions and I think I was only able to get them to the ice caves before getting wiped out. Might have made it to the jungle screen, but again just way more difficult compared to the home versions.
So yeah, I was very familiar with the game and it was actually Crossbow and Xenophobe that made me want a 7800 when I was younger in the late 80s. I never was able to get Xenophobe as I don't remember being able to find it, but I remember seeing it on the Sears wish catalogs back then. But Crossbow I was able to get and I'm pretty sure I got it from Toys R Us at that time.
 

I might be a bit partial to this game myself...hehe. Only I play the 7800 version which, I find to be smoother game play overall.
 

Crazy, the actual arcade cabinet was semi common when I was kid and I always drawn to it. And you know it was different because games like Operation Wolf and the later other Gun games never interested me, but anytime I saw a Crossbow cabinet I had to play and see how far I could get my friends. But like all arcade games back then, it was much more difficult than home versions and I think I was only able to get them to the ice caves before getting wiped out. Might have made it to the jungle screen, but again just way more difficult compared to the home versions.
So yeah, I was very familiar with the game and it was actually Crossbow and Xenophobe that made me want a 7800 when I was younger in the late 80s. I never was able to get Xenophobe as I don't remember being able to find it, but I remember seeing it on the Sears wish catalogs back then. But Crossbow I was able to get and I'm pretty sure I got it from Toys R Us at that time.
 

Crazy, the actual arcade cabinet was semi common when I was kid and I always drawn to it. And you know it was different because games like Operation Wolf and the later other Gun games never interested me, but anytime I saw a Crossbow cabinet I had to play and see how far I could get my friends. But like all arcade games back then, it was much more difficult than home versions and I think I was only able to get them to the ice caves before getting wiped out. Might have made it to the jungle screen, but again just way more difficult compared to the home versions.
So yeah, I was very familiar with the game and it was actually Crossbow and Xenophobe that made me want a 7800 when I was younger in the late 80s. I never was able to get Xenophobe as I don't remember being able to find it, but I remember seeing it on the Sears wish catalogs back then. But Crossbow I was able to get and I'm pretty sure I got it from Toys R Us at that time.
 

I might be a bit partial to this game myself...hehe. Only I play the 7800 version which, I find to be smoother game play overall.
 

I might be a bit partial to this game myself...hehe. Only I play the 7800 version which, I find to be smoother game play overall.
 

I was able to do the same to a 2600jr console over the weekend. It required having to first breadboard up the wiring so I could try different value resistors before dialing it in, but finally settled on 2k being the magic number. Bu this will depend on where you tap the audio from and might still have some variation from console to console. But anything more than 2k, and the AVox gets lots in the TIA audio. It is still heard just way lower and kinda hard to make out. Less than 2K and it seems to start to kill the TIA audio instead. Anyway, here are a few pics of my 2600jr in the lab where I did this.
Here is the internal shot. You can see the wiring that runs along the back. This is to provide the audio input. The 3.5mm on the left rear of the console in this pic is the new audio input, and the original RCA for the RF and small 3.5mm next to it is my composite video output and audio out I had in place already.

 
And here is what that looks like from the rear of the console. In this pic, you see the RF output and small 3.5mm next to it that is again the audio out. The singular and slightly larger 3.5mm on the right rear side, is the audio input.

Last night I did the same thing to my daily driver 7800. As I have the RF modulator removed from that 7800 completely, I used one of my studio grade quality 3.5mm jacks for this and epoxied it to the 7800 main board in place of where the RF was since that was empty and the hole was already there in the case shell. 



 

I also just remembered that my Vectrex Audio Tap or V.A.T. for short I have installed in my Vectrex, actually has a 3.5mm jack on it for audio input for use with the Avox+ in Veccy mode! So really this has been done in this fashion several different ways in the past. I wish I had thought of this before working on all of Al's consoles last year as I'm sure this would make his PRGE setups much easier. He actually uses a separate small audio mixer for each of the consoles to mix the Avox speed with the console audio through a new audio output from the mixer box that he then plugs into his commodore monitors.
 

That would work quite well provided it is loud enough and or close enough to the player to be heard clearly over the rest of the audio. Likely pretty simple to do and there might even be one of those premade project boxes that could be used for that. I've not tested this yet, but I don't see why it couldn't be done... but...
I should plug my Sony digital walkman into it LOL! I mean, I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work provided I adjust the volume?
 

Bob printed that case for me as a thank you for services I've provided to him a few years back. He has one he made for himself of course and also made a custom case shell for Albert for use with one of his 7800s during PRGE and other convention events.
Bob released the STLs for this case I believe yesterday for those that might want to do check it out. There are a few caveats on getting everything to fit and I don't know if his STL includes the holes already done for the RCA and s-video jacks as he did when he printed mine.
 
 

The 7800 is my favorite Atari console but my list of games would be a bit different as I found myself more interested in the games that weren't repeats from the previous generations at the time. 
F-18: Hornet - This is not one that I play that often these days, but when I first had the system I played it all the time and once I learned exactly how the game works, similar to 2600 Adventure, I would find ways to do stuff you weren't supposed to do like flying in the other direction and stuff like that. But at the time I was pretty impressed with everything you could do in the game with the different missions.
Crossbow - shouldn't be a surprise for anyone this is on my list heh. But I've always enjoyed this game on the 7800 and prefer to play it with a controller vs light gun as it is easier to setup your cursor on the screen in known locations and just move left/right as needed to take out a good chunk of the enemies on each scene that plays out. I also thought the graphics for this game were pretty stellar back then on the 7800.
Food Fight - I had never heard or nor seen the actual arcade cabinet back in the day, but the game looked like fun when I read the box and I'm very glad I decided to pick it up back then. I play this one still from time to time as it is just so well done on the 7800.
Double Dragon - I know...kinda surprising but to me I thought this version was closer to the arcade than the NES in respect to the level designs etc. I did play the NES version as well, but always liked the 7800 version more and got to be really good at it back in the day.
Xenophobe - This is one of the games I wanted the 7800 for as the arcade cabinet was so unique in the day and I had a lot of fun playing it so when I saw it was coming for the 7800, it was pretty much the game release that made the 7800 a console I wanted in the late 80s. The irony to this is that I ended up never owning Xenophobe until much...MUCH later in life. But aside from the arcade and Lynx versions, the 7800 version is my favorite home console port of the game by far.
Galaga - was also one I picked up originally back in the day and like @Atari 5200 Guy I thought it was pretty awesome back then. Yes the NES version looks closer to the arcade but something about the 7800 version to me was just more fun to play for some reason? 
Choplifter - Is another arcade game that I had only seen in the arcade a few times and I didn't know of the releases on the 5200 and 8-bit consoles back then. So it was new to me and I played it all the time until I had method down for getting a perfect game. I still like to pop it in once in a while to see how many POWs I can save. This is another decent looking game on the 7800 as well even thought the SMS version just trounces it. (Again, I didn't know about the SMS release of the game either back then).
Joust - This was one of the few games that I already had on my 2600 and played all the time. But when I saw how much closer to the arcade look and feel the 7800 version was, I was totally on board with this one. It was also one of my mothers favorites, but oddly she still seemed to prefer to play the 2600 version more back then?
And that is my short faves list of the original released games I owned back then minus Xenophobe as mentioned before. With the home brew scene what it is on the 7800, there is just some amazing talent that has really shown just what the 7800 was able to do and with the proper resources being given, it could have done even back in the day.
 

I've been told this is likely just an issue for ABS plastics that of course all of our stuff was made back then. Apparently PLA used with 3D printing isn't affected as much? But I don't have the means to test that myself. But yeah... kinda disappointed too since I had really thought this was the fix I'd been looking for to keep the AV jacks I install nice and tight, but ehh. It isn't.
 
 

Choplifter also exists on the 5200 and 8-bit line. But is uses artifacting so you really need to play if via RF or composite output to see any colors from it.
And yeah, Xenophobe is on the 7800. I think it plays better than the NES version and looks more colorful, but you only have one character to play as and it does get quite repetitive. Rampage on the 7800 is also a lot of fun and I played it a ton back in the day. But it is the definition of repetitive and so I find myself tiring of it quickly these days when I try and play it now.
 

The 7800 is my favorite Atari console but my list of games would be a bit different as I found myself more interested in the games that weren't repeats from the previous generations at the time. 
F-18: Hornet - This is not one that I play that often these days, but when I first had the system I played it all the time and once I learned exactly how the game works, similar to 2600 Adventure, I would find ways to do stuff you weren't supposed to do like flying in the other direction and stuff like that. But at the time I was pretty impressed with everything you could do in the game with the different missions.
Crossbow - shouldn't be a surprise for anyone this is on my list heh. But I've always enjoyed this game on the 7800 and prefer to play it with a controller vs light gun as it is easier to setup your cursor on the screen in known locations and just move left/right as needed to take out a good chunk of the enemies on each scene that plays out. I also thought the graphics for this game were pretty stellar back then on the 7800.
Food Fight - I had never heard or nor seen the actual arcade cabinet back in the day, but the game looked like fun when I read the box and I'm very glad I decided to pick it up back then. I play this one still from time to time as it is just so well done on the 7800.
Double Dragon - I know...kinda surprising but to me I thought this version was closer to the arcade than the NES in respect to the level designs etc. I did play the NES version as well, but always liked the 7800 version more and got to be really good at it back in the day.
Xenophobe - This is one of the games I wanted the 7800 for as the arcade cabinet was so unique in the day and I had a lot of fun playing it so when I saw it was coming for the 7800, it was pretty much the game release that made the 7800 a console I wanted in the late 80s. The irony to this is that I ended up never owning Xenophobe until much...MUCH later in life. But aside from the arcade and Lynx versions, the 7800 version is my favorite home console port of the game by far.
Galaga - was also one I picked up originally back in the day and like @Atari 5200 Guy I thought it was pretty awesome back then. Yes the NES version looks closer to the arcade but something about the 7800 version to me was just more fun to play for some reason? 
Choplifter - Is another arcade game that I had only seen in the arcade a few times and I didn't know of the releases on the 5200 and 8-bit consoles back then. So it was new to me and I played it all the time until I had method down for getting a perfect game. I still like to pop it in once in a while to see how many POWs I can save. This is another decent looking game on the 7800 as well even thought the SMS version just trounces it. (Again, I didn't know about the SMS release of the game either back then).
Joust - This was one of the few games that I already had on my 2600 and played all the time. But when I saw how much closer to the arcade look and feel the 7800 version was, I was totally on board with this one. It was also one of my mothers favorites, but oddly she still seemed to prefer to play the 2600 version more back then?
And that is my short faves list of the original released games I owned back then minus Xenophobe as mentioned before. With the home brew scene what it is on the 7800, there is just some amazing talent that has really shown just what the 7800 was able to do and with the proper resources being given, it could have done even back in the day.
 

The 7800 is my favorite Atari console but my list of games would be a bit different as I found myself more interested in the games that weren't repeats from the previous generations at the time. 
F-18: Hornet - This is not one that I play that often these days, but when I first had the system I played it all the time and once I learned exactly how the game works, similar to 2600 Adventure, I would find ways to do stuff you weren't supposed to do like flying in the other direction and stuff like that. But at the time I was pretty impressed with everything you could do in the game with the different missions.
Crossbow - shouldn't be a surprise for anyone this is on my list heh. But I've always enjoyed this game on the 7800 and prefer to play it with a controller vs light gun as it is easier to setup your cursor on the screen in known locations and just move left/right as needed to take out a good chunk of the enemies on each scene that plays out. I also thought the graphics for this game were pretty stellar back then on the 7800.
Food Fight - I had never heard or nor seen the actual arcade cabinet back in the day, but the game looked like fun when I read the box and I'm very glad I decided to pick it up back then. I play this one still from time to time as it is just so well done on the 7800.
Double Dragon - I know...kinda surprising but to me I thought this version was closer to the arcade than the NES in respect to the level designs etc. I did play the NES version as well, but always liked the 7800 version more and got to be really good at it back in the day.
Xenophobe - This is one of the games I wanted the 7800 for as the arcade cabinet was so unique in the day and I had a lot of fun playing it so when I saw it was coming for the 7800, it was pretty much the game release that made the 7800 a console I wanted in the late 80s. The irony to this is that I ended up never owning Xenophobe until much...MUCH later in life. But aside from the arcade and Lynx versions, the 7800 version is my favorite home console port of the game by far.
Galaga - was also one I picked up originally back in the day and like @Atari 5200 Guy I thought it was pretty awesome back then. Yes the NES version looks closer to the arcade but something about the 7800 version to me was just more fun to play for some reason? 
Choplifter - Is another arcade game that I had only seen in the arcade a few times and I didn't know of the releases on the 5200 and 8-bit consoles back then. So it was new to me and I played it all the time until I had method down for getting a perfect game. I still like to pop it in once in a while to see how many POWs I can save. This is another decent looking game on the 7800 as well even thought the SMS version just trounces it. (Again, I didn't know about the SMS release of the game either back then).
Joust - This was one of the few games that I already had on my 2600 and played all the time. But when I saw how much closer to the arcade look and feel the 7800 version was, I was totally on board with this one. It was also one of my mothers favorites, but oddly she still seemed to prefer to play the 2600 version more back then?
And that is my short faves list of the original released games I owned back then minus Xenophobe as mentioned before. With the home brew scene what it is on the 7800, there is just some amazing talent that has really shown just what the 7800 was able to do and with the proper resources being given, it could have done even back in the day.
 

The 7800 is my favorite Atari console but my list of games would be a bit different as I found myself more interested in the games that weren't repeats from the previous generations at the time. 
F-18: Hornet - This is not one that I play that often these days, but when I first had the system I played it all the time and once I learned exactly how the game works, similar to 2600 Adventure, I would find ways to do stuff you weren't supposed to do like flying in the other direction and stuff like that. But at the time I was pretty impressed with everything you could do in the game with the different missions.
Crossbow - shouldn't be a surprise for anyone this is on my list heh. But I've always enjoyed this game on the 7800 and prefer to play it with a controller vs light gun as it is easier to setup your cursor on the screen in known locations and just move left/right as needed to take out a good chunk of the enemies on each scene that plays out. I also thought the graphics for this game were pretty stellar back then on the 7800.
Food Fight - I had never heard or nor seen the actual arcade cabinet back in the day, but the game looked like fun when I read the box and I'm very glad I decided to pick it up back then. I play this one still from time to time as it is just so well done on the 7800.
Double Dragon - I know...kinda surprising but to me I thought this version was closer to the arcade than the NES in respect to the level designs etc. I did play the NES version as well, but always liked the 7800 version more and got to be really good at it back in the day.
Xenophobe - This is one of the games I wanted the 7800 for as the arcade cabinet was so unique in the day and I had a lot of fun playing it so when I saw it was coming for the 7800, it was pretty much the game release that made the 7800 a console I wanted in the late 80s. The irony to this is that I ended up never owning Xenophobe until much...MUCH later in life. But aside from the arcade and Lynx versions, the 7800 version is my favorite home console port of the game by far.
Galaga - was also one I picked up originally back in the day and like @Atari 5200 Guy I thought it was pretty awesome back then. Yes the NES version looks closer to the arcade but something about the 7800 version to me was just more fun to play for some reason? 
Choplifter - Is another arcade game that I had only seen in the arcade a few times and I didn't know of the releases on the 5200 and 8-bit consoles back then. So it was new to me and I played it all the time until I had method down for getting a perfect game. I still like to pop it in once in a while to see how many POWs I can save. This is another decent looking game on the 7800 as well even thought the SMS version just trounces it. (Again, I didn't know about the SMS release of the game either back then).
Joust - This was one of the few games that I already had on my 2600 and played all the time. But when I saw how much closer to the arcade look and feel the 7800 version was, I was totally on board with this one. It was also one of my mothers favorites, but oddly she still seemed to prefer to play the 2600 version more back then?
And that is my short faves list of the original released games I owned back then minus Xenophobe as mentioned before. With the home brew scene what it is on the 7800, there is just some amazing talent that has really shown just what the 7800 was able to do and with the proper resources being given, it could have done even back in the day.