Atari 5200 Guy

I was going to try for 100K but my wife had to go to a hospital in another town unexpectedly and we don't know how long we will be here. I may not get to try. I have my tablet with me and hospital has free WiFi so I will check in as often as I can. But I just wanted to wish others good luck. If I get to play again before the challenge is over I will try but otherwise I believe my journey with this challenge ends here.

That's what it's about.

Post what you have! It's all for fun. No score is a bad score as long as you have fun.

That's not enough coffee!

Now that someone posted a score higher than mine I don't feel so bad lol.

Opps. Sorry guys. I improved my score. 95,220 This game has become a favorite. The real challenge is like the instructions mention: deciding per round whether to pair the diamond blocks together or not because rounds are generated randomly and it is not always possible to pair them up. A few pointers I did to reach my score: Keep as much distance as you can between you and those Snow bees. Watch where you push those diamond blocks. Move them wrong and you won't be able to pair them up. When you feel cornered hit the wall if those snow bees are next to it. You'll be able to freeze them, take one or two out, and make your great escape. At the beginning of the rounds try to memorize a few of the flashing blocks and destroy what you can remember. Each one of those is 500 points you did not have. If you decide you can't match those diamond blocks then star using them and the ice blocks to mash those snow bees. The more you can smash at one time the more points you will get. That's all I have to offer. Good luck! Hope some one can beat my score.

So? Pull the trigger. What are you waiting for? You only live once. I'm a bad influence, aren't I?

I would concentrate on the keypad matrix traces first. I know that's obvious. I bet you knew that though.

Aww man. 😥 Ya gotta fix that.

That's why I would like to see the backside of that board. What does the cable look like connecting the board to the machine? One end is obviously female... what is the other end?

I watched his video on the board and how it was suppose to perform. I do like how he allowed for flexibility with both sticks but the regulator is overkill in my opinion. He did say the microprocessor he used he discovered was a pain in the tush to work with.

I'd like to see the backside of that board. I'm a little worried but I'm assuming the voltage regulator is to power the support ICs on that board and the PS2 controller. But I am betting what @RickR is suggesting: a bad trace or I'm suggesting something on the board is not right, like a missing trace or a trace going somewhere it shouldn't. My main concern is making sure that this board hasn't created a problem on the console and which is why I was recommending tryIng the standard controllers directly on the console to ensure everything on the console is working properly. Process of elimination. Make sure the console is able to read those joystick inputs before going in another direction.

Have you used a standard 5200 controller by itself with you and your friend's 5200 systems to make double sure the keypads are working? If not I would try that to make sure that works.

Hey @RickR. Look to the right of the black button I was asking about. There is a series of jumper pins there. Reminds me of the old motherboards where you had to put a jumper to change settings. I wonder what those six pins are for. I also checked out the website mentioned on that board and could not find anything on it.

Hey no fair lol. I have to use "analog" controls 😉. Just kidding, @RickR, just messing with ya. I have never used a Wico controller before let alone even seen one in person. Are they as good as some people claim?

Well then. Now that I have seen one that explains a lot. I was under the impression that a standard controller was connected to it to provide access to the keypads. Some do that, some don't. I see a switch that I have to ask what it is for. I see three red switches for START, PAUSE, RESET and white buttons for the 12 button keypad, but what is the black switch for?

Well...maybe one more round.

Awesome!

You need this. PIN FUNCTION 1 Keypad -- right column 2 Keypad -- middle column 3 Keypad -- left column 4 Start, Pause and Reset column 5 Keypad -- third row and reset 6 Keypad -- second row and pause 7 Keypad -- top row and Start 8 Keypad -- bottom row 9 Pot common 10 Horizontal Pot (POT0, 2, 4, 6) 11 Vertical Pot (POT1, 3, 5, 7) 12 5 Volts DC 13 Bottom side buttons 14 Top side buttons 15 0 volts -- ground That's the 5200 controller pinout. The keypad connections are marked. Avoid pin 12 during your tests because that is reserved for the trackball controller. Standard controllers don't use that pin.

Atari STs were used in local law enforcement here to help find criminals. I wonder why they never made it to my area? And by that I mean my part of the country. If I would have had one of those instead of my 386 I would have been content as long as I could find software for it. I would have missed out on those PC shareware games from id software though. Still, it would have been an interesting ride. Doing my schoolwork on an Atari would have probably been more interesting than your run of the mill PC.

A 5200 with a lithium ion battery? Wouldn't that be like having to put plutonium in a DeLorean?

Wow that was tough. 56,690. I think I'm done for now.

36,660

increased my score again. 24,200. This game is fun.

Upped my score a little. 10,610.