The Atari 5200 gets lit (& fixed) with Steve & Pete! PS3 and Xbox360 controllers now work! (vid #33)

[MaximumRD]

 

Wired-Up Retro
Published on Mar 2, 2019

In today's presentation my guest-host from the Atari 5200 Podcast, Pete Spivak, and I will show you how to use adapters to play your Atari 5200 with a wired PS3 and wired Xbox 360 controller.

Also shown is how to easily fix the Atari 5200 when the controllers aren't properly responding to your joystick/pad direction input with a  potentiometer adjustment.  This is a reliable method to troubleshoot your mother of all consoles.

The adapters needed to get the wired PS3 controllers compatible with the Atari 5200 are as follows:

1) a 15 pin PC Gameport controller to 15 pin Atari 5200 adapter.  These are obtained by contacting Atariage member, bohoki.  He makes these for under $20.

2) An adapter that converts Atari/Amiga/Sega controllers with a 9 pin connector to a 15 pin PC gameport.  These are available on Ebay from  "Ikonsgr74" and can be obtained for under $20

3) A Tototek Joypad Convertor version MD (for Playstation controller compatibility on the Megadrive/Sega Genesis).  These adapters are under $30.

4) A Brook Game Controller Super Convertor for adapting a PS3/PS4 controller to a PS2 console.

5) a USB splitter cable ($12 or less).

6) a powersupply with a USB cord (5Volts) OR a USB Hub with connected power supply.

To get the Xbox 360 controllers compatible with the 5200, you'll need one additional adapter.  It is the Mayflash Universal Adapter for Xbox360/PS3/PS2/PC USB.  These may be found at Amazon.  Current price for these on Amazon is $30, but that is subject to change.  Mayflash adapters tend to become scarce and go up in price.

Special thanks to Emforay for the music in today's episode. 
Intro: "Wander"
5200 fix-it music: "Candle Dance"
Music playing during comments at the end: "Sister"

DJ Kestutis gets credit for the outro song, "Reborn": License: http://goo.gl/ZSoZf

 

 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Ummm...a 5 volt power supply?  No extra power supply should be needed.  The 5200 already supplies this.  The trak-ball controller gets its power from the 5200 controller ports which is exactly 5 volts.  I'm not dogging on them because it sounds like a cool project but a bit of time spent on researching the joystick ports would have revealed this.

For me, my 5200 controllers are in better condition than my wired 360 controllers.  Both thumbsticks on the 360 wired controllers I have are shot and have been replaced so much that the board simply can't tolerate another rebuild.  Through-hole connections for the thumbsticks and the trigger POTs are barely there now.  If I ever run across a decent 360 controller I might try doing this.  

 

[CrossBow]

Also there is a proper way to adjust that Pokey adjustment detailed pretty throughly in the service manual. It really works best with the controller loopback board but can still be done with a proper calibrated 5200 controller as well. While there is nothing wrong with the quick adjustment you made, be aware that to get everything properly calibrated, you should go with the service manual procedure and then afterwards use the games Bounty Bob, Gyruss, and Popeye to make sure all the directions work well. Bounty Bob and Gyruss especially are crazy sensitive to being properly calibrated.