Back to Table of Contents 3.3 GENERAL HARDWARE TIDBITS 5200 Hotel Unit A console made by Spectravision (not to be mistaken for the third party publisher of 2600 games, that's a different Spectravision) that was used in hotels and motels. This unit had a selection switch for television, movies and games. Game boards were able to be added by placing them into a 4-game internal cartridge board rack. Asteroids Controller Recently discovered, this device was planned to compliment 5200 Asteroids. The control layout is identical to the coin-op. Only one of these items is known to exist. Atari 5100 A prototype system that is completely compatible with the (4-port) 5200. It was a trimmed down version of the 5200, much like how the 2600jr. was a low-cost redesign of the woodgrain VCS/2600. Atari 5200 Carrying Case Made of durable hard plastic and shaped like a suitcase, it can store the console, power supply and two joysticks. Similar to the cases found in Blockbuster video for systems that it rents out to its customers. Atari 7800 Cartridge Adapter Announced but never released. This adapter would have allowed 5200 owners to play 7800 games without buying the 7800 system separately (although the savings would probably have been negligible). Atari 5200 Joystick Coupler Allowed dual-joystick action for Robotron: 2084 and Space Dungeon by snapping two 5200 joysticks into place using this connector. Packaged with both Robotron: 2084 and Space Dungeon, and was not sold separately. Atari Video System X The working title of the 5200 before Atari opted for a numerical designation for its "third wave" videogame system. Actual photos of the VS-X, which looked almost exactly like the 5200 with the exception of a few cosmetic differences such as on the face plate, were shown throughout contemporary magazines for much of 1982. Competition Pro Joystick An excellent third-party controller, the Competition Pro is micro-switch based, giving a satisfying "click, click" response to movements in the joystick. (Arguably) Better than the Wico Command Control Joystick, but harder to find. Control Guide Here's a novel approach. Since games like Pac-Man require pin-point precision control (something the 5200 sticks are incapable of), Newport Controls decided to limit the movement of the stick. They designed a piece of plastic that goes over the top of a standard controller. It has grooves that only allows the stick to go up, down, left, and right. A steal for the $6.95 they originally sold for; so how come there aren't more of these floating around? Fire Command Joystick Offering a slightly different feel than its non-analog cousin for the 2600, the 5200-compatible version featured two buttons and a y-adapter that must be connected to the keypad for full compatibility (like the Wico and Competition Pro). Frob, The Allowed its owners to program 5200 games using an Apple II/II+/IIe computer. Kid's Controller Similar to the 2600 Kid's Controller, only one prototype of this peripheral is known to exist. Astro Grover and Big Bird's Hide & Seek are but two of the titles believed to support this device. Masterplay Interface Without a doubt, this is the ultimate solution to your 5200 joystick woes. Quite simply, this handy little box allows you to use 2600 compatible joysticks on the 5200 and has a port to plug in a standard Atari joystick for keypad functions, etc. For games that required the top fire button on a standard stick, the Masterplay comes packaged with an auxiliary fire button that does the job very well. There are two different boxes available for the Interface; one is similar to a cartridge box and the other is a smaller yet wider box. Both the Masterplay Interface and Meteorites are sometimes listed as being made by a company called Intellicon. In actuality, Intellicon was nothing more than a mail-order company that bought and sold off the remaining inventory from Electra Concepts. Paddle Controller Recently discovered, this device is identical in appearance to the standard 5200 joystick controller, except that a paddle is found on the top of the controller where the joystick is normally located. POP Demo Kiosk POP stands for Point Of Purchase. These demo units allowed gamers to sample several 5200 carts. Much like the demo kiosks for newer systems. Puffer, The A home exercise bicycle with two hand grip controllers, a wheel speed pickup, and the necessary interfacing for an Atari computer or 5200. For detailed information, see the Puffer section elsewhere in this FAQ. Trak-Ball Controller (Transparent) Recently discovered, the clear Trak-Ball was used for promotional purposes only and was never planned for release. Triga Elite Joystick Only a very few of these were made. It is not known whether they made it past the prototype stage and onto store shelves. This joystick had two fire buttons, an adjustable rapid-fire button, and a digital - analog switch. A picture can be seen on the back of the Masterplay Interface box (2nd stick from the left). Voice Commander Module Milton Bradley and Atari were jointly associated with this speech synthesis/recognition device, where Milton Bradley was to develop the add-on while Atari was responsible for developing games for it. However, Atari canned the idea shortly thereafter. A module for the 2600 was also planned, but it too was axed before development went too far. Milton Bradley later sued Atari for breach of contract. Wico Command Control Joystick An analog (but self-centering) controller that featured two fire buttons and the ability to calibrate the joysticks. Came packaged with a y-adapter cord which enabled the use of keypad functions of the standard 5200 controller. Wico Command Control Numeric Keypad A stand-alone keypad which substituted for the 5200 joystick keypad when used in conjunction with the Wico joystick. Although this item had a 9-pin connector, it was only compatible with the Wico controller. Sold separately from the joystick. Back to Table of Contents