Atari 5200: all controllers have same intermittent problem

[ubersaurus]

So, I've got two 5200 controllers, refurbished and rebuilt, and they work just fine most of the time. However, every now and then the system will simply just not detect either right or down directions on a controller. Swapping it for the other controller will accomplish nothing; the same directions will still be out of whack. Eventually the directional control comes back - usually after I spin the stick around a few times, though I don't think that has any actual bearing other than giving me something to do while I wait around - but until then I'm stuck with left and up.

I've read online that it could be a problem on the motherboard itself, something that needs to be adjusted. Could someone shed some light on that, assuming it sounds like that's the problem?

[maxwatts]

Could be just a bad/dirty/something pin on the port or going into the MoBo. AFAIK the 5200 isnt too picky which controller port you're using so try the one of the other ports and see if the problem persists. I cant imagine that 2 controllers are having the EXACT same problem at the EXACT same time.

[maxwatts]

Could be just a bad/dirty/something pin on the port or going into the MoBo. AFAIK the 5200 isnt too picky which controller port you're using so try the one of the other ports and see if the problem persists. I cant imagine that 2 controllers are having the EXACT same problem at the EXACT same time.

[maxwatts]

Removing double post

Also does this happen with any game? or just one? Are these OG Atari brand 5200 sticks or 3rd party?

[FABombjoy]

Since it affects 2 different directions, appears across multiple joysticks, and is unpredictable and intermittent, I would suspect the POKEY or something in it's immediate neighborhood.

It could be related to the centering pot on the main PCB as well, but I don't remember if that affects both directions at once.

[ubersaurus]

Well, last night it happened with Mountain King and Pac-Man. I know offhand I've had the same problem in other games, like Gyruss and Adventure II.

Next time it starts acting up I'll test it in a different port. I should mention that it's a 4-port machine, if that matters at all.

[ubersaurus]

double posted.

Though if it's the POKEY, is there anyway to test that or fix it?

[FABombjoy]

Assuming that it's socketed, you could try pushing down on the POKEY while the console is on, freezing it, heating it, etc., to try and trigger the symptoms. Try tapping on the centering pot, too.

Unfortunately, the combination of "weird" and "intermittent" means the troubleshooting path is not always clear. I've never troubleshooted a problem like this before so I might be missing something that someone with more 5200 experience knows about.

[ubersaurus]

Well, I'm fairly certain I have to adjust the internal pot anyway, based on my experiences playing games like Super Breakout and Missile Command (and the cursor not reaching all corners like it should). When I do that I can check to make sure the POKEY is situated properly, and poke it a bit to see if it glitches the thing out. I believe Best still sells the chips, if it is indeed bad.