Atari 5200... no power halp

[aaron7]

Just got a pristine 5200 with a lot of in-box games... but I can't get it to power on!

The AC adaptor is the correct one and when tested puts out around 14vdc.

I plug that into the switchbox and plug the 5200 into the switchbox as well... no power.

I put a multimeter on the GAME output on the switchbox and get .8vdc... shouldn't this be much more? Or is that not how it works?

And yes, I do have the switch on the box set to NORMAL and not STANDBY.

Any ideas?

Side note... what does the switch on the 5200 that has a picture of a circle or square do?

[dao2]

maybe it's fried best place to ask is the technical/restoration/repair forum, I'm sure a mod will come move this thread for ya there.

[davidbrit2]

The circle/square switch is the channel selection. I think it's 2/3, but it might be 3/4.

[Chuplayer]

I put a multimeter on the GAME output on the switchbox and get .8vdc... shouldn't this be much more? Or is that not how it works?

I don't know a thing about the 5200's switchbox/power supply monstrosity, but try switching over to AC when reading there. Anyway, that's probably the least of your worries if the system won't even power up. Might be something internal because you're reading voltage straight off of the power supply.

[NoahsMyBro]

If you open the 5200 up, you'll see where the RF cable is soldered to the board (it's obvious).

You can set your multimeter to a range that includes 12v DC - my multimeter has a 2V DC setting, and a 20V DC setting, so I would set mine on 20v, and then touch one of the leads to the RF cable where it hits the board, and the other cable to ground.

Read the voltage then.

ALSO, maybe this is a stupid question, but is it a 2-port or 4-port 5200? The 2-port uses a traditional AC Adapter, and won't receive power from the switchbox.

[guitargary75]

Your SOL!

[ApolloBoy]

The circle/square switch is the channel selection. I think it's 2/3, but it might be 3/4.

Yes, that's right. Pretty much all pre-crash systems used 2/3 instead of 3/4.