Atari 5200 Guy

I agree. The case is in really nice condition. A bit dusty but no yellowing anywhere on the shell. Super NES controllers in the wild here simply don't happen. I've been here for 9 years now and I've never seen anything related to the Super NES. I've seen lots of Atari, NES, Genesis, GameCube, LOTS of Wii, PS3, 360, Original XBOX stuff, but never any SNES stuff. I still need to get that power port replaced before I can use an adapter and I know I can only get that online in this area. That was often the issue I had with SNES games I would rent. My first SNES landed me two games; Super Mario World and F-Zero (the only reason I wanted a SNES in the first place). I kept my games in their boxes and plastic covers to help protect them but rented games I would always have to clean before they would work. Something about the game's contacts get dirt and build-up easily. I never had so much trouble with any other game console and its games. Not even the NES. At least I know it works now and I know that any further investment in the system will not be a waste of money.

While I had it all apart I figured I might as well find a way to test the motherboard. If there were any faults I would be able to look at the board without having to take the thing apart again. But I needed a power source. 10 Volts at 850 mA according to the label on the bottom but everything I had available would not fit the jack even with it being in its current condition. The solution? I have a spare 2600 motherboard and AC Adapter I use for testing games before I use those on the restored 4-switch in my collection. The only thing I didn't want to do was remove the power jack from the 2600 motherboard. So I grabbed the board and found some wire of which I ended up using a cable designed for connecting the audio outs of a computer CD-ROM drive to a PC motherboard. I then soldered the wires between the 2600 and the SUPER NES motherboards paying careful attention to polarity. After making the connection I plugged in the AC Adapter in the 2600 power jack. I also made sure the 2600 was off. Without inserting a cartridge I powered on the Super NES and got a power light. That was promising in itself. I grabbed the only game I have thanks to RickR. I inserted the game and turned the Super NES back on. Black screen. I turned the power off and on again. This time I got a bunch of weird graphic garbage on the screen with my immediate thought being the fact it doesn't work and that's why it was left behind. As a last resort I remembered I didn't clean the contacts on the cartridge when I got it (which I always do with any games I add to my collection for my own piece of mind). So I cleaned them and tried again. BINGO! IT's ALIVE!! But it's now tormenting me. I got a working Super NES with no way of actually playing it since it didn't come with a controller. Oh the agonies of being a game collector when someone hands you just the console with no extras. I'm going to leave it on for a while as I reassemble the top shell so that if anything starts to go wrong I will be able to address it. It's good to know it at least works. Then again I've not ran across any Super NES units that didn't work regardless of physical appearance and/or condition. I thought I would share since I know some find this sort of stuff interesting.

The SuperNES I received with an N64 a while back finally got a good bath tonight. But, WOW, it has a lot of parts. And, yes, the electronics got the same bath as the rest of the unit to remove all foreign material. No dust or bug droppings if there were any. Believe it or not the power switch was the worst for dust...the rest of the unit was not so bad. Sorry for the poor quality. The only computer capable of using my Sony camera's memory card is not working at the moment (PSU died) so I'm stuck using my tablet's camera which is only 2 MP. I still need to replace the power jack but while I have it disassembled I'm going to rig up some sort of power in connection to power it up because I still don't know if this thing works. I also need to pick up an AC adapter and at least one controller. I hope it works and if it does it will become part of my collection.

OK. Time to pick it back up starting with a little Night Ranger... https://youtu.be/lqUka3m4K80 ...followed by a bit of Sammy Hagar. https://youtu.be/apaPAS1XvrE

"These next two songs are for couples only please. Couples only.". That was the statement made over the PA at the local skating rink in my area when I was suppose to be growing up. These songs are memories of a school sweetheart I was with from 2nd grade up until they moved away by the time we were in 7th grade. I have no regrets but I still have what-ifs. These were the songs we skated to. The skating rink is no longer there. Great memories. So grab your loved one close and dance with them.

Found a few more. Steel Breeze's You Don't Want Me Anymore. I have this one on my K-Tel Blast Off album. How about a little Asia? Found this one on a 45 single not too long ago. More to come. Enjoy the memories!

i just watched that You Can Call Me Al last night.

While not anything on the radio, every Sunday on Turner Broadcasting there was a kids music show called Kids Incorporated. I enjoyed the music and while most of the program consisted of recaps to then popular radio hits they also had a few originals. Maybe not of the best music talent but still a trip down memory lane for me. Spoiler: Those that might not know almost every one of the five singers in this video continued their music careers. Remember Wild Orchid? Two members were from Kids Inc., namely Renee and Stacy. Remember Mario Lopez of Saved By The Bell fame? He's on drums in the video. And most of us probably know Fergie. That's actually Stacy Ferguson from Kids Inc., the only cast member to be with the show from start to finish. Enjoy! Thought I would do some thinking outside the box.

While not a song from the eighties, it wasn't until then I started listening to Supertramp. Take The Long Way Home and Another Man's Woman remain my favorites for their piano/keyboard techniques. My mother discovered Go West and I have sort of considered their first album a one hit wonder. Only the first three tracks on the album are my favorites. During my early teens I enjoyed listening to Exposé. The three female vocals were my crush over the likes of Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. Personally, Tiffany was way more cute than Debbie but I couldn't get over how bubbly cute her smile was. I can't remember her name but in the video What You Don't Know she is the one in the overalls. Last one for now...Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk for some classic and fun Dr. Hook. I will post more later. Of course I listen to the more common artists as well but I was after more off the wall or overlooked artists that are great in their own right.

I'm not trying to throw tomatoes or anything but PowerA has not had a good reputation with me. Their 360 wired controllers have not lasted but for a few hours to a full day for me. They look nice and feel comfortable but they are light from lacking any rumble feedback and simply stop responding or thumbsticks refuse to center any more. My last Power A controller is back in its box and sitting on a shelf as a reminder that not all controllers are created equal.

I got lucky with my black JVC 32". It has the original remote and was dumped at our local Salvation Army before it left. And since they couldn't accept it I got to bring it home for free. Sounds really good, too. But I never knew switch boxes for multiple coax connections existed.

Now I see the SuperNES games. Geez, I would definitely go for Super Tennis and Championship Pool.

Oooooooo. Those are the good push buttons. The RCA AV switch box I use for modern stuff does that.

Oh how I love to push buttons.

Man I could definitely use one of those!

Something else just crossed my mind. If your 5200's power supply is weak, or not an original power supply, it can cause those lines as well.

Try the 5200 adapter on a different power outlet. Sometimes higher powered equipment shares the same circuit and trying a different outlet usually helps. You are saying that all of the 5200 consoles are doing this so I am not so sure the 5200s are at fault. They are old with very little to protect them from outside RF interference and FCC requires these consoles to accept any interference they may receive. Do you have another TV you can test one of the 5200 consoles on? If you don't get interference then it is a sure bet that something else is causing those lines. From experience those lines look like those caused by an electric motor running close by or on the same circuit. If you have a fan or AC running turn it off for just a second to see if the lines disappear. And, believe it or not, some lamps too close to a TV or game machine can cause those as well. Microwaves too.

If you ever wanted to dab in semi-modern gaming now would be the time to do it. While a PS3 or 360 can cost roughly $100 for a basic setup used most of the games are getting dirt cheap. Games that once cost $50-$60 I have picked up for $3-$15 used depending on title. Those are GameStop prices too so you may find better deals elsewhere. But I found Modnation Racer for PS3 for $5, both Final Fantasy XIII for 360 for $10, and Max Payne 3 and Skyrim for $3 each. I don't even own a PS3 but couldn't pass up that racing game I tried when I owned the system. These systems, plus the Wii, are still able and fun consoles. Try em...you might like em!

PM sent. Sorry for delay. I wasn't getting email responses from this topic. I think its fixed now.

I forgot...I have a huge pile of Wal-Mart Game Center magazines. The oldest issue I have is issue 10 and they go up to issue 43 or 44. Then they stopped showing up in the store without any explanation. I'm glad I grabbed duplicates towards the end.

Those traces missing are fine. They don't appear to be connected to anything and most likely used as just an anchor. I wouldn't worry about them.

I don't have a Switch but have been paying attention to what they are doing. Love the product since day one. Easily one of Nintendo's best moves in a while.

Thank you for that. It helps.

I agree. I had a 2 GB download to wait on and once that was done I had another 600 MB download to go. It's the only game I've seen to mix a bunch of popular licensed franchises. I am just now at A Show of Strength level and it was cool to see the two most loved Back to the Future cast members and hear the voices of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. I loved the Doctor Who part. That was a bit creepy. Those that have not played this game yet are missing out. My 360 came with Skylanders which is fun but Dimensions seems to involve the physical products more. You can do more with the sets in Dimensions than you can with Skylanders. It is a shame it is not being produced any more. Then again I don't think I would have bought any of it at full price. The starter set alone was originally $70. Sets ranged from $13 to $50 depending so it wasn't very cost effective. Then again the sets were 100% LEGO and those are not cheap even for the small sets, never have been.

Nope. Don't have one of those here but there are a few Game stops around me that says they have them...but only after I wipe out my local Wal-Mart first lol. I'm hoping to find the Midway and BttF sets. Those are no where in traveling distance. RickR do you have any modern consoles?