Jump to content

Atari CX5200 Field Service Manual

From RetroTechCollection
Revision as of 00:25, 1 October 2026 by Josh (talk | contribs) (Add table styles)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

The CX5200 Field Service Manual is Atari, Inc.'s service manual for the Atari 5200, document FD100127 Rev. 4, July 1983. The hosted scan has 180 pages with a text layer. Rev. 4 was made by engineering change notice 0036 (21 June 1983), which added the two-port model: its schematics and silkscreen, sections 3A, 4A and 5A, and new sections 6 and 8.[1]

The manual covers the three production boards: the original four-port board CA018087, the four-port "Universal" board CA020108 and the two-port board CA021374. Unless it says otherwise it describes the original four-port board. A Universal four-port console has a "+" as the third character of its serial number.[2]

Contents

Page numbers are the manual's own.

  • Introduction (p. vii)
  • Section 1, Theory of operation (pp. 1-1 to 1-8): the console and the differences between the three boards; outer case, RF shield and PC board; MPU, ANTIC, GTIA and POKEY with pin assignments (figs. 1-3 to 1-6); the switchbox; the game controller
  • Section 2, Silkscreens and schematics (pp. 2-1 to 2-29): the motherboard schematic in three parts (figs. 2-2A to 2-2C), the four-port silkscreen and schematic (four sheets), the Trak-Ball silkscreen and schematics, and the two-port schematic (five sheets) and silkscreen; p. 2-2 lists pen-and-ink corrections to be made to the schematics
  • Section 3, Four-port testing (pp. 3-1 to 3-10): tests with the diagnostic cartridge version 1.1 and the port (loop-back) board: power-up screen, colour bar, grey bar, any video, POKEY adjust, error summary with Table 3-1 "Diagnostic Error Codes" (p. 3-9), RAM, ROM, port and tone tests
  • Section 3A, Two-port testing (pp. 3A-1 to 3A-10)
  • Section 4, Four-port diagnostic flowcharts (pp. 4-1 to 4-27): the swap-out procedure and replacement order; black screen, snowy screen, warped picture, colour, grey bars, pot control lines, trigger lines, soft-fire, keyboard and audio
  • Section 4A, Two-port diagnostic flowcharts, including the snowy-screen power supply charts
  • Sections 5 and 5A, Symptom checklists for the four-port and two-port models (pp. 5-1, 5-2, 5A-1, 5A-2)
  • Section 6, Game controllers (pp. 6-1 to 6-13): joystick, keypad, fire and select buttons; testing with and without a console; continuity check table 6-1; pot arm alignment; disassembly; the CX52 controller schematic
  • Section 7, CX53 Trak-Ball: theory, tests, flowcharts, symptom checklist, disassembly and parts list
  • Section 8, Parts list (pp. 8-1 to 8-11): major assemblies and the parts lists for the three boards, with designators and Atari part numbers
  • Section 9, Service bulletins (p. 9-1 and filed tech tips)

The tech tips filed in section 9 of this copy are:

Tech tips filed in the hosted copy
Number Date Subject
6 17 November 1982 Power adaptor: use the CX521 AC/DC adaptor (C018187, 9.3 V DC at 1.95 A); an adaptor from the home computers damages the adaptor and the CX5200 switchbox
7 20 January 1983 Rockwell 6502 MPUs marked RC with date code 8250 or later have a timing defect; the factory fix is an R-C network at U14A pin 1 and U6A pin 4
8 Not legible Replacing damaged controller boots
9 April 1983 Controller knob puller tool FC100214
10 8 April 1983 New fire button, C020501
12 6 June 1983 Board CA018087: blank or garbled screen from a solder bridge between the A0 address trace and the REF trace near J1

The tech tips are quoted from the scan (PDF pp. 171–180).[3] The separately hosted Atari 2600 and 5200 Field Change Orders and Tech Tips has further 5200 bulletins.

What this manual does not contain

  • Component values inside the RF modulator or the switchbox, which are listed as assemblies.
  • Any PAL console. The power-up test reports the type of GTIA fitted and treats "PAL" as a wrong chip to be replaced (p. 3-3).
  • The later tech tips and field change orders, which are in the separately hosted collection above.

Pages that cite this document

References

  1. ↑ Atari, Inc., CX5200 Field Service Manual, FD100127 Rev. 4, July 1983: cover, ECN 0036 (PDF p. 3), table of contents (pp. iii–v).
  2. ↑ Atari, Inc., CX5200 Field Service Manual, FD100127 Rev. 4, section 1, pp. 1-1 and 1-2.
  3. ↑ Atari, Inc., CX5200 Field Service Manual, FD100127 Rev. 4, section 9 (PDF pp. 170–180).

Download: Atari CX5200 Field Service Manual.pdf

Retrieved from "https://wiki.retrotechcollection.com/index.php?title=Atari_CX5200_Field_Service_Manual&oldid=17016"