Recap guide
Recap the Atari 5200
The external power brick is the usual casualty (diodes, fuse, aging filter caps), while the console itself is mostly a chip and solder problem.
Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.
Check first. A recap is not always the answer here, so look at the guides before you order parts.
Which board do I have?
Boards changed during production. These notes come from the linked sources, and many are only partly documented, so check the board in front of you.
- CA018087 (early 4-port) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Early four-port console, which uses one cable for AV and power and needs the auto switchbox. Capacitors: No board-level cap list found; capacitor reports are about the external power brick only. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
- CA020108 (later 4-port, universal) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Later four-port board that works with the CX55 controller out of the box. Capacitors: No board-level cap list found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
- CA021374 (2-port) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Cost-reduced two-port board with a dedicated power jack, similar to CA020108 but without the middle port parts. Capacitors: No board-level cap list found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Where to start
Clues from write-ups and forum threads, not a diagnosis. Low confidence means one thread or one repair; high means several write-ups agree.
- Power brick (Low confidence). One owner replaced two 3300uF/25V filter caps along with 1N5401 bridge diodes and the pigtail fuse, and advises 105C parts. Source
- No picture or sound (Low confidence). One thread on a modded 5200 ended at a faulty motherboard, not caps, a reminder that caps are not always the cause. Source
Tips, tales and maybes
Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.
- Tip: Glitches in Pac-Man and Missile Command (Medium confidence). A 2021 article revisits Atari's 1983 Tech Tip #7 for 5200s with certain Rockwell 6502 CPUs (marked RC with date codes above 8250): add a 470 ohm resistor and 100pF capacitor. It cured the graphics glitches on the author's unit but needed a colour recalibration afterwards, and the video mod was not the culprit. Source
- Story: Decoupling caps C43 and C44 (Low confidence). An AtariAge newcomer thread on a 5200 says C43 and C44 are 0.22uF 100V polyester decoupling caps for the voltage regulators, easy to source from Digi-Key or Mouser. The poster first mistook the green parts for electrolytics, and noted Console5 had no 5200 kit at the time. Source
- Watch out: Shorted regulator takes out the chips (Low confidence). A thread on Atari computer power supplies says a shorted regulator can put over 8V on every IC without blowing a fuse, and suggests replacing a filter cap with no more than about a 50% increase in uF and a higher voltage rating. It is about Atari computers, so for the 5200 brick it is advice by analogy. Source
- Tip: Brick output stuck at 3 to 5V (Low confidence). A power-brick repair thread says if output rises slowly and sticks at 3 to 5V, check the fuse first, then look at AC ripple on the output: more than a few hundred millivolts points to failing bridge diodes. The poster replaced the 1N5401 diodes, two 3300uF 25V 105C caps and a pigtail fuse, and notes the old rubber feet tear off when opening it. Source
- Story: Hot R57 and R58, fixed by another board (Low confidence). On a modded 5200 with LED on but no video or sound, replacing the 7805s with switching regulators and several ICs did not help, and the R57 and R58 1W resistors ran very hot. Swapping in a different main board made it come up, so a donor board is a valid last test. Source
Before you start
- Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.
- A mains power supply can hold a dangerous charge. If you are not trained to work on one, have a professional do it.
Guides we used
This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.
- Atari 5200 power adapter repair (Forum) by AtariAge forum (thread). Has a capacitor list. Low-voltage brick fix: diodes, fuse and two 3300uF/25V caps, with advice to use 105C parts. Specific, but one person's repair
- 5200 issues (technical orientated) (Forum) by AtariAge forum (thread). No-video/no-audio troubleshooting on a modded 5200; ended at a faulty motherboard, not caps. Useful as a reminder that caps are not always the cause
- Console5 wiki: Atari 5200 (Wiki) by Console5. A community wiki page for this machine, often with board photos and capacitor lists.
The capacitor list
We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.
Skip the sourcing
While you are in there
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Steps, tools and safety
The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.
Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.