Way to Obtain Atari 5200 Physical Case Parts

[RockyRaccoon]

Hey guys!

I have an Atari 5200. It's missing some pieces of the casing, it looks crap. It ''runs'' just fine though- despite it's condition!--- I got it for a steal of like 30 bucks off ebay on a bid due to it's condition about a year ago or so. I took a gamble and won-- even the controller with it worked okay! I'll attach a picture of the unit below.

Basically, it's missing the back cover, and it's missing a piece up front. It is a two port model. (Though it has 'four holes' at the front as if the case was meant for four. I dunno what that means or if it's normal.)

Is there a way to 'buy' these parts separately? (Does someone 3D print them or something?) or am I better off buying a 'broken' more intact 5200 and inserting the guts of this unit into the other one? If I do that, is there anything I should be aware of? 

Thanks for your insights!

 

 

[RickR]

That looks a lot like the one I sold a while ago, but I don't think I sold it on ebay.  Funny how trashed some of those old consoles get.  But the 5200 is a tank and I'm not surprised it still works. 

Call Best Electronics and ask them if they sell spare case parts.  Or, as you mention, you could always buy a broken 5200 and just borrow the top of the case. 

 

[RockyRaccoon]

5 hours ago, RickR said:

Call Best Electronics and ask them if they sell spare case parts.  Or, as you mention, you could always buy a broken 5200 and just borrow the top of the case. 

Thanks for the heads up! I've shot them an E-mail. If that comes up negatory I'll look into buying a broken 5200 or 5200 case off ebay if possible.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

If Best doesn't have those parts also try contacting Video 61.  Lance might have some non-working 5200's he can simply get a shell from.  Never hurts to ask.  Video 61 has an account on here somewhere where you might could shoot him a PM.

The 4-port holes on the front of a 2-port model is normal.  The plastic piece that is missing off the front will cover up the extra two holes.  It was a cheap way to change the system from 4-ports down to 2-ports to simply cover the holes.  It makes sense to just change that one piece and continue to use the 4-port shell without having to modify the die that made those.  Modifying a die for casting costs a LOT more money on something that size verses changing that small plastic piece that is missing on your unit.

The 5200 is a tank as RickR has mentioned.  But the one thing you don't want to do if you decide to clean it is cleaning the cartridge port contacts while the power adapter is connected to the system.  You will fry it as there is a constant 5-volts going through that cartridge port even when the system is off.  Unplug the power adapter from the system first if you decide to ever try to clean those cartridge port pins.  I know some people try to remove any corrosion on things like that so I thought I would just give you a heads up.  The same 5-volts is also sent through the controller ports for powering the 5200's Trak-Ball controller accessory, the standard 5200 controllers don't us it.  Just keep this in mind should you ever decide/need to clean it/repair it at any point.  

I've included a 5200 Field Service Manual for you to view to aid you in putting those pieces back on your 5200.  Use it in good health.  It will give you an amazing gaming experience.  Yes, as most here already know, I'm very partial to the 5200.  That was my first gaming console ever when I was a kid.  Who am I kidding?  I'm still a kid!  I still enjoy my 4-port and would not be caught dead without it in my arsenal of gaming systems.  If you don't have it already pick up Star Raiders.  That game plays very well on the 5200 and makes good use of the analog joystick.  Hehe...I could never run out of good things to say about this system.  When it's working as it should it really isn't as bad as some reviews say it is.  It just has a different learning curve than most video gamers would expect.

I hope this helps.  

  

Atari_CX_5200_Field_Service_Manual.pdf

[RockyRaccoon]

5 minutes ago, kamakazi20012 said:

I hope this helps.  

 

Oh, thank you for the heads up about the contacts! o.o. Thanks for the field manual. I'll put that on my Kindle App and read it later tonight.

[RockyRaccoon]

So, Best Electronics said they sold their 5200 stock of any sort like 30 years ago, whoops!

Gonna try contacting Video 61 tomorrow after sleep if it's possible, otherwise, even B.E. suggested I buy a junker and use that. X3

[CrossBow]

That is what I ended up having to do with a 5200 that was sent to me for an AV upgrade and power mod. I'm guessing it wasn't packed very well and it suffered quite a bit of damage in shipping. Luckily the client had put a ton of insurance on it (Which I found strange BTW). Anyway, I didn't want to send their system back with a broken front panel and cracked to pieces lower shell so I bought a junker 5200 from the local retro game shop here for like $25 and swapped the guts into it. So it might be cheaper to go that route. Just hope that whomever ships it to you does so with plenty of packing around it!

 

[RockyRaccoon]

Yup, seems my recourse is gonna need to do that. Thanks guys for the info. Now just to find either an affordable non-working 5200 (Because yikes, even non working 5200s are a lot.) or the top of the shell only. I'm sure I can find something next payday. 🤔

[CrossBow]

Yeah... again I'm quite lucky to have a retro game shop just around the corner from me that deals in all systems including old Coleco Tabletops. As a result of this, they have a small store room full of consoles. They don't really like to spend time fixing anything older than NES (Because it just doesn't sell for them honestly), so they end up with small piles of semi working Atari systems. I've gotten small stashes of 2600s for like $5 a piece in the past and as I mentioned 5200s for pretty decent prices. Hell, the ICs in these consoles alone are worth more than what I pay for them. Even a 5200 at $25 is worth it for the Pokey and GTIA plus the case shells if they are intact. 

However, most 5200s that have been sent to me for service work, usually do NOT have the controller cover as that seems to be the first thing to break off.

 

[RockyRaccoon]

8 hours ago, CrossBow said:

$25 is worth it...

Way more than 25 for a broken unit on Ebay right now. z.z. idk what's up with that.

[Jinroh]

I hope Lance at Video61 can help, he is a great guy.

If not I could take a look at my 5200 and possibly model up a replacement in Fusion360 that could be 3D printed.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Jinroh

[CrossBow]

8 hours ago, Jinroh said:

I hope Lance at Video61 can help, he is a great guy.

If not I could take a look at my 5200 and possibly model up a replacement in Fusion360 that could be 3D printed.

Jin if you start 3D printing replacement 5200 case parts like the controller door and front controller cover, you will have yourself a nice little business indeed!

 

[Jinroh]

On 7/26/2019 at 5:46 PM, CrossBow said:

Jin if you start 3D printing replacement 5200 case parts like the controller door and front controller cover, you will have yourself a nice little business indeed!

 

Thank you. ^^ I would really like to make the files available so anyone could print them. I could probably do a few printed by my printer as well if someone has no access to a printer. I am not greedy and looking to start a business doing so, but would like to help my fellow Atarians if I can. :3

I have a 5200 so if there are enough who need one I could take some time and model a piece or two up here or there.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I don't need one but I'd like to see someone actually make parts for this machine.

[CrossBow]

The controller door cover is really the most requested I would imagine. I've seen more 5200s lately missing that cover than with and it was the same on both models so only one design would be required.

The most difficult part of something like that, is how to give it a finish that doesn't look 3D printed because on such large objects it might take away from the overall aesthetic of the console. 

[RockyRaccoon]

3D printed parts would be neat, but for now I'm just gonna need to settle for finding a junker or just the top of the case.

[peteym5]

3D Printing takes time. I say do Best Electronics. Do ebay to see if anyone is selling parts. There are now several Facebook groups that also dedicate to specific categories. "Arcade USA" now has his own 5200 Facebook group.

 

[DegasElite]

Yeah. Best might have the parts. You could try V61 as well. Yes, Jinroh, Lance is a pretty good guy and good at what he does. He might have something, but I don't know. You can contact Best and V61, and they may help. But, since people have been buying up Atari collectibles, I cannot guarantee that unfortunately. For instance, I have seen Jaguar CD units for USD$1,300.00 or more. Scarcity is the problem. Sorry I could not be more help.

Edited August 1, 2019 by DegasElite

[RockyRaccoon]

On 7/31/2019 at 5:15 PM, peteym5 said:

3D Printing takes time. I say do Best Electronics. Do ebay to see if anyone is selling parts. There are now several Facebook groups that also dedicate to specific categories. "Arcade USA" now has his own 5200 Facebook group.

 

If you read the post earlier, you'd see I already asked 'em, and they haven't had anything 5200 direct console/system related like that in 30 years. X3 Just controller kits, etc now.

Edited August 2, 2019 by RockyRaccoon

[Atari 5200 Guy]

On 7/28/2019 at 8:27 AM, CrossBow said:

The controller door cover is really the most requested I would imagine. I've seen more 5200s lately missing that cover than with and it was the same on both models so only one design would be required.

The most difficult part of something like that, is how to give it a finish that doesn't look 3D printed because on such large objects it might take away from the overall aesthetic of the console. 

The controller cover and controller port cover are both transparent plastic that's smoke colored.  Hold them up to the light and you can see through them.  Its that transparency that allows the power led to shine through.

[CrossBow]

5 hours ago, kamakazi20012 said:

The controller cover and controller port cover are both transparent plastic that's smoke colored.  Hold them up to the light and you can see through them.  Its that transparency that allows the power led to shine through.

Oh I know that... it is the smoked plexi that prevents me from using one of my favorite UV LEDs as a power indicator. Because the UV LED through the smoked plexi just looks blue again! LOL. But you can get 3D printer filament that is transparent. My VecMulti uses a clear colored filament. Sure it won't be mirror smooth on the section with the LED but it would still be transparent enough to allow the light to be seen and diffused in a pretty cool way I'd imagine. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

47 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

Oh I know that... it is the smoked plexi that prevents me from using one of my favorite UV LEDs as a power indicator. Because the UV LED through the smoked plexi just looks blue again! LOL. But you can get 3D printer filament that is transparent. My VecMulti uses a clear colored filament. Sure it won't be mirror smooth on the section with the LED but it would still be transparent enough to allow the light to be seen and diffused in a pretty cool way I'd imagine. 

I don't remember who but there was a member on here that I think sand blasted those parts and the end result was really cool!  I guess you could 3D print those parts and sand blast those to get a similar effect.

[Jinroh]

For a 3D printed finish I usually spray, spray filler, sand, and it is nice smooth and very nice.

 

Sandblasted would be nice as well. We have a blaster at work, now I am curious. :3

 

This coming weekend I may have to take some measurements and model something up in AutoCAD for the controller door.