3 replies to this topic

[5200 Collector Dude]

I know the 5200 is a scaled down 400,but is the hardware any different besides there being no keyboard?Is a hybrid console a possibility?

[FujiSkunk]

The hardware geeks can respond a lot better than I can, but my understanding is a lot of the hardware got "scrambled" in the conversion from the 400 to the 5200. Different features are accessed in different memory locations, that sort of thing. Plus the controller ports obviously got an overhaul, going from 9-pin to 15-pin to accommodate the 5200's analog and button-laden controls. It is possible to port games from one to the other, but it is more than simply stuffing the code into the other console's cartridge.

I imagine a 400 with the 5200's controller ports is a possibility, but the games would still need some changes to make them work on such a console.

Edited by FujiSkunk, Wed Oct 5, 2011 8:35 PM.

[DanBoris]

FujiSkunk, on Wed Oct 5, 2011 8:33 PM, said:

The hardware geeks can respond a lot better than I can, but my understanding is a lot of the hardware got "scrambled" in the conversion from the 400 to the 5200. Different features are accessed in different memory locations, that sort of thing. Plus the controller ports obviously got an overhaul, going from 9-pin to 15-pin to accommodate the 5200's analog and button-laden controls. It is possible to port games from one to the other, but it is more than simply stuffing the code into the other console's cartridge.

I imagine a 400 with the 5200's controller ports is a possibility, but the games would still need some changes to make them work on such a console.

You are correct, the GTIA an POKEY chips are at different addresses in the 5200. The sticks would be tricky since they appear to the system as analog paddles, instead of the normal digital joystick on the 400. The other thing that the 5200 is missing is the PIA chip which is involved in the control of the SIO port on the 400. Finally you would need two different BIOS roms since the 400 has a much significant BIOS then the 5200.

Dan

[OldAtarian]

FujiSkunk, on Wed Oct 5, 2011 8:33 PM, said:

The hardware geeks can respond a lot better than I can, but my understanding is a lot of the hardware got "scrambled" in the conversion from the 400 to the 5200. Different features are accessed in different memory locations, that sort of thing. Plus the controller ports obviously got an overhaul, going from 9-pin to 15-pin to accommodate the 5200's analog and button-laden controls. It is possible to port games from one to the other, but it is more than simply stuffing the code into the other console's cartridge.

I imagine a 400 with the 5200's controller ports is a possibility, but the games would still need some changes to make them work on such a console.

True this. I remember back in 8-bit days hearing about guys who had corrected the "wrong" memory locations of most of the 5200 games making them playable on the 400/800.