Atari 5200 Guy

Thanks, RickR!  You should a seen what it looked like when I found it.

It was filthy.  And, yep, took apart to check for bugs.  None found.  It was actually clean on the inside.  Small main board, too.  I was hoping it would be like the Apex I had that could switch between 50 and 60 Hertz but it  can't.  I've not been able to play Secret Quest since that Apex died.
And, yes, it is a true flat screen.  For those that do not know, CRT manufacturers before LCDs dominated the TV market researched and finally succeeded in making CRTs with a flat screen.  While not hi-def by today's standards they do offer better image quality.  So most CRTs during the early to mid 2000s will have a flat screen.  I recommend picking them up if you find them.  Sanyo went so far as to create a CRT wide-screen...about a 30" I think.  I wanted one but before I could get one LCDs phased them out.  Check out the CNET page for more info on that.
Whoops!  Forgot that link.
https://www.cnet.com/products/sanyo-ht30746-vizzon-30-crt-tv/
That TV I would love to find.

Been there, done that, don't want to do it again, wouldn't wish that on anyone.  We are here for you, bro!  If you need to vent I'm sure we will listen.  The plus side is you got an awesome view!  When my ex and I split I only had my car and a few clothes.  My car was my home for a while.  I had no job at the time because where I worked decided to kill off third shift completely and thinned out first and second shift crews.  All without much warning.
So, you are blessed even if you don't think so at the moment.  You have your health, a job, an awesome pad , and friends with ears.  Hang in there.  It might take a while but it can get better from where you're at now.  Merry Christmas to you!!

Well.  I found a piece of furniture I can use for a TV stand and hold the 5200.  It was a used end table I found at a yard sale a few years ago.  The 5200 fits perfect on it!  It can even slide under the TV when not in use.

I still have to figure out the rest and put away cables not being used.  Been at this all night but its been interesting actually.  I even freed up some space for another media shelf if I can find one close to what I already have.  Its slowly getting there.
 

Hey guys!
I never shared pics of my game room before.  At least I don't think I have.  But it is currently getting overhauled.

Sorry for the crude picture.  Tablet cameras are crap.  But, I have decided to condense my collection down.  The 32" TV was the first to go.  It was simply too large for my needs and I never could find a stand capable of supporting its 112 pounds.  Good news is it went to a home in need that was trying to watch TV on a small 13" thing.  It got replaced with a 20" Memorex TV I found sitting on our apartment complexes "give-away" table.  A lot more manageable.
The second part was storing away games and consoles I rarely use.  Those have been placed in boxes and put in a closet.  Atari stuff remains which is not as small of a collection as I originally thought.  I am also seriously considering putting the Tandy VIS collection I have on that give away table.  I never use it and that space can be used for other things I will use.  Its drive cover plate recently just fell off anyway and the controller sucks.  Then again, I wouldn't want to cause a child to cry so...its up in the air at the moment.
Well, its not going to get done with me on here but it was a nice break.

I played Mario 64 before I discovered Jaguar.  Both games have great adventure aspects to them.  I like both games but spent more time on Cybermorph.  I just wish that it had a save feature where you could continue where you left off.  I don't think that it did or I missed it.

Hey guys!
I never shared pics of my game room before.  At least I don't think I have.  But it is currently getting overhauled.

Sorry for the crude picture.  Tablet cameras are crap.  But, I have decided to condense my collection down.  The 32" TV was the first to go.  It was simply too large for my needs and I never could find a stand capable of supporting its 112 pounds.  Good news is it went to a home in need that was trying to watch TV on a small 13" thing.  It got replaced with a 20" Memorex TV I found sitting on our apartment complexes "give-away" table.  A lot more manageable.
The second part was storing away games and consoles I rarely use.  Those have been placed in boxes and put in a closet.  Atari stuff remains which is not as small of a collection as I originally thought.  I am also seriously considering putting the Tandy VIS collection I have on that give away table.  I never use it and that space can be used for other things I will use.  Its drive cover plate recently just fell off anyway and the controller sucks.  Then again, I wouldn't want to cause a child to cry so...its up in the air at the moment.
Well, its not going to get done with me on here but it was a nice break.

Hey guys!
I never shared pics of my game room before.  At least I don't think I have.  But it is currently getting overhauled.

Sorry for the crude picture.  Tablet cameras are crap.  But, I have decided to condense my collection down.  The 32" TV was the first to go.  It was simply too large for my needs and I never could find a stand capable of supporting its 112 pounds.  Good news is it went to a home in need that was trying to watch TV on a small 13" thing.  It got replaced with a 20" Memorex TV I found sitting on our apartment complexes "give-away" table.  A lot more manageable.
The second part was storing away games and consoles I rarely use.  Those have been placed in boxes and put in a closet.  Atari stuff remains which is not as small of a collection as I originally thought.  I am also seriously considering putting the Tandy VIS collection I have on that give away table.  I never use it and that space can be used for other things I will use.  Its drive cover plate recently just fell off anyway and the controller sucks.  Then again, I wouldn't want to cause a child to cry so...its up in the air at the moment.
Well, its not going to get done with me on here but it was a nice break.

I think if Mario 64 is the first time someone's experiencing that fully-realized 3-D world it would be very mesmerizing. "Oh wowee Mario can run and explore in all directions!" If you had already been doing this for a while by then, the 3-D "party trick" of it all would be less mesmerizing.

I played Mario 64 before I discovered Jaguar.  Both games have great adventure aspects to them.  I like both games but spent more time on Cybermorph.  I just wish that it had a save feature where you could continue where you left off.  I don't think that it did or I missed it.

The holidays were always a special time for my family.  The smells of my aunt's food cooking which she always made enough to last us a week in leftovers.  Decorating my grandmother's artificial white Christmas tree with ornaments all of which was older than me.  The aroma of the coffee my aunt, uncle, and grandmother would throwback to help them stay awake so they could finish up last minute details.  And my aunt always decorated her house with lights, garland, and a musical carousel.  That was my Dad's side.
And Mom always going shopping with me right there with me.  I don't know how she managed to do it but a few times she snuck gifts for me in the car I never seen until Christmas day.  My best friend in the world, always entertaining and silly when her asthma wasn't in the way.  Always find odd things in odd places that turned out to be more memorable than that NES game unwrapped on Christmas day.  
Then the time finally arrived.  My gift unwrapping always started on Christmas Eve at my grandmother's.  Christmas morning was with Mom and then we were off to my grandparents' house (mom's side) 60 miles away for dinner.  Many times their house was overcrowded and with those family members that always managed to get under your skin.  Most visits grandpa and I would go off for a bit, saying we were going hunting, just to get away.  Sometimes we actually did, other times we just went in the deer woods and took a nap in his little Datsun truck.
Those times are more precious to me than any gift under the tree.  If I could get one gift it would be to have them back for one day since I no longer have them...just one day.  Since that can't be done I thought I would find a few things to share that my family either watched or listened to together.  I can't take anyone hunting since I gave out up when my grandpa passed.  It just didn't seem right to do so after he left.
With that said I want to wish everyone here a very Merry Christmas and blessings.  You guys have been awesome and, in a way, became part of my family...my Atari family.  Please enjoy these findings with your loved ones, family, and friends.  Make memories that will last a lifetime.
This one is in three parts.  More to come!

I have no shame at all when I say I've downloaded roms off the internet. If that makes me a thief, so be it. At least I'm a thief who's actually enjoying myself. 
I downloaded roms of the entire Wii Virtual Console library when I learned the WiiShop was closing. No shame. My only problem is I hate playing classic console games on a computer with a keyboard. It's a right pain in the neck.

My grandmother and I had a tradition during the holidays.  When national broadcasting channels would air shows like Rudolph and Charlie Brown we watched/recorded them.  We had a hard time trying to get The Grinch but eventually got it.   We always watched Emmit Otter's Jug Band Christmas on CED followed by Muppets Christmas Carol.  She also had some Christmas themed CEDs Disney produced of which I can't remember the name of but it had snippets of cartoon shorts combined into about an hour program.  As time went on and channels started airing more holiday specials they got recorded and became part of our holiday entertainment.  Music, cartoons, live action, a wide variety.  Great memories for sure.  
 
 

I first discovered emulation in the early 2000s.  I picked up MAME and a few ROMs.  It was fun to discover.  Since then the emulation world has exploded.  Some good, some not so good.  I liked them because it gave me an opportunity to explore games I couldn't find or never heard of.  It also allowed the exploration of games other regions received that never made it to other parts of the world.  
But emulation is used so much that, in my opinion, has become overkill.  Arcade systems made with MAME are awesome but the smaller things like AtGames stuff have below par emulation.  One emulation will never do is replace customs developed hardware.  Jaguar has never been emulated properly, Atari computer and 5200 emulation still have color issues, and Genesis sound has never been as good as the real thing.  On XBOX arcade Wolfenstein 3D the sound and music plays back at a much lower pitch, making it sound like a tape dragging.
I use emulation just to try before I buy games.  Other than that, for me, emulation will never take the place of real hardware.  The real thing will always be top dog.

I improve but not by much. Hahaha
 

This is it for me for now.

Just a small FYI.  I updated the post with online resources selling DD and HD floppies.  If you use them please give feedback.  Thanks!

The only thing to keep in mind is if there was any sort of copy protection schemes used they may still be present.  So you may still need original code disks, instructions, or any other printed materials used to get pass the copy protection.
You are very welcome.  I highly recommend setting up a dedicated Windows machine just for doing this.  And I would suggest keeping it offline to avoid hacks, attacks, and other mishaps.
And, RickR is right.  The only thing separating DD and HD disks are a single hole.  Cover the hole up on an HD disk and it will be a DD disk.  The disk material in both types of disks are identical.  Brings back old memories of needing a HD disk and only having DD disks.  Drill a hole a viola!  Instant HD disks! 
I will add a tip in the tutorial.

Well, the touch pad I don't think was a mistake.  But it really didn't seem like Atari really did too much with it unless I missed it.  The only game I thought that used it was Star Raiders.  It wasn't until I started collecting for the 2600 I discovered other titles that used it.  But I do believe it falls under the same genre as the driving controller...not very much support or widely used.  BASIC PROGRAMMING uses them since the keyboard and kids controllers are the same thing.  The 7800 has one cart that uses them as well which Video 61 sells or use to sell.  
I only wish that Star Raiders on the 2600 used it as much as the 5200's version used the keypads.

Rebul Scuf ??

I don't know why I never noticed this before.  I was adding a manual to my Atari Bowling box and noticed something kind of cool.  Whoever had this box before me wrote down their high scores on the top flap!  The box is pretty beat up, but I think these scores make it pretty neat.
 
 
 
 

He he.  Have this one CIB.  I'm in!!

I would enter but I don't use FB any more.  There was too much drama so I left.  I still have an account but I don't remember my password.  And I refuse to upload my ID to them for verification knowing good and well how easy they get hacked.
As for what I would want/wish for...easy.  It's been driving me crazy.  F-Zero and a SNES controller just so I could play.  Sounds like a lot considering how much Nintendo stuff gets crazy high prices.  But that would be my wish.  Just to be able to play the SNES I have had for a while now without any accessories would be awesome.  If not for RickR trading with me I wouldn't even have a game.  The lack of an AC Adapter I can rig and I have extra AV cables or it can share the one for the N64.

I believe RetroPie runs an OS closer related to Android.  If I am correct then it would be Linux based.  I'm not familiar with RetroPie other than what I have read because I have seriously considered those or a Raspberry Pi.  Neat little gadget.  Cheap, too.

He he.  Have this one CIB.  I'm in!!

I could not keep myself from laughing out loud when I saw this.  That would have been my first few times trying Mute City III.  But draw one line over the edge, jumping into oblivion, and that would have been me.  I don't know how it happened but another craft ran into me at that section and blew up which caused my car to leave the track, like I hit a ramp.  BOOM!  I ended up being a firework show.
I can't express enough how much I love this game!  I think I know what my New Resolution is going to be.  Get this game and get my SNES completed so I can enjoy it.  I could spend days on this game.