The problems with the Atari 5200 CX52 Joysticks have been well known for years (Mushy Fire Buttons that go bad, Start-Pause-Reset buttons that go bad and Flex Circuits that fail). Since Atari Engineering designed the Atari CX52 Joystick some 20 years ago, Nobody except Best Electronics has done anything to improve on these problems on this Very Popular Atari Joystick.
After working on this project for over 6
months Best Electronics
is proud to announce that we now releasing the
Final answer to all Atari 5200 Joystick Owners
problems. Now in stock
is a complete set of New replacement Atari CX52 Joystick Silicone pad sets that
now have All Gold
Metal Contacts. To enhance these
New Lifetime CX52
Gold
Silicone Pad sets: Auxiliary Key pad (Start-Pause-Reset),
Fire Buttons and Numeric Key pad), Best Electronics is also pleased to release a Gold
Plated Rev. 9 Flex Circuit. For more information on the Best Electronics
Gold
Dot Auxiliary Keypad with better tactical feed back, the 1st Upgrade
to the Atari CX52 Joystick released by Best Electronics a couple of years ago,
click on the Best
5200 URL button
New Gold Silicone Pad Information.
Atari was one of the First companies in the world to use Silicone contact pads with carbon dot contacts in their Joysticks on a mass-produced product. Back some 20 years ago, the Silicone pad technology was in is infancy stages back then and little was known about life expectancy, carbon contact materials, contact designs / sizes and how long Silicone pad contact pads would even last. Old Atari CX52 Joystick owners can tell you how many different feeling (Mushy) and design changes the Atari CX52 Fire buttons went thru to try and cure their known problems over the years.
The All New Best Gold Silicone CX52 Fire buttons have two Major Improvements. Each New Best Molded Orange CX52 Fire button, now has two side by side 4.5 mm Gold metal contacts (slightly longer than the mating Rev. 9 Flex Circuit mating contact surface interlocking “E” Grids) for the Top and Bottom sections of the Fire button, for a Grand Total of Four Gold metal contacts per Orange Fire button.
The Second Major Improvement to the all New Gold Best Electronics CX52 Orange Fire button has a Lighter but Firmer / Crisper feeling Fire Button now with a New State of the Art Tactical Feed back feature. Now each time you press on the firm Improved Best Gold dot fire button, as you release the Atari CX52 fire button, it will bounce back and give your finger a Tactical response telling you the fire button as been Pressed and Released. In a Side by Side comparison, the older series of Atari CX52 Orange fire buttons compared to the New Best Lifetime CX52 fire buttons with Gold contacts are a Night and Day Tactical difference. Mush with no Tactical feed back Vs State of the Art Tactical fire button Feed back.
On the New improved / Upgraded Gold Dot CX52 Numeric Keypad, Now has Twelve 5 mm Gold Dot metal contacts. These 5 mm Gold metal contacts are some of the largest contacts ever used on any of the Atari CX52 Replacement Joystick Numeric Keypads produced over the last 20 years.
The New Best
Gold
Dot CX52 Keypad also has the improved feel with the
Tactical Feed back feature. You can now visually tell a Standard Atari
CX52 Numeric Keypad from the New Best
Gold
improved
lifetime version (and our Best Upgraded Rebuilt CX52 Joysticks) by the New
Gold
Colored Silk screened numbers on the numeric keypad.
What do these New improved CX52 Gold Dot parts do for a Standard stock Atari CX52 Joystick?
A Stock Atari CX52 Joystick fitted with Best’s Gold Auxiliary Keypad, both Gold Fire Buttons, Gold numeric Keypad and Gold Flex Circuit, in theory should be the Last set of Atari CX52 Silicone contact pads you will ever have to install in your Atari CX52 Joystick. Thus eliminating the two Major known failure rates of Atari CX52 5200 Joystick for the last 20 years, Non-Working Fire Buttons or can not start the 5200 Game (bad Auxiliary Keypad)
Of course, this assumes your Atari 5200 Motherboard Joystick Ports are electronically up to Factory specifications. A 5200 motherboard with weak Joystick port electronics could still have some Contact / Life Expectancy problems with an All Gold Silicone pad fitted CX52 Atari 5200 Joystick.
So now, my Atari CX52 Joystick fitted with all Gold contract pads should now be a Lifetime Atari CX52 Joystick?
In theory, the Best Gold CX52 Joystick Silicone pads should last the useable life of the CX52 Joystick. Each New CX52 Gold Dot Silicone replacement pad is rated by our Manufacture for over 300,000 actuation cycles per Silicone pad. Although it is possible to physically wear thru the silicone pads top surfaces (and we have seen some rare cases of wear holes thru the tops of the silicone pads on old exchanged CX52 Joysticks over the last 19 years) after hundreds of thousands of cycles of use, Most Atari 5200 CX52 Joystick owners will never have to replace their CX52 Silicone contact pads again.
In the real world, you may have to still replace the Atari CX52 Joystick handle Rubber Boots, Potentiometers and Cables as they possibly ware out after many years and years of normal use.
What are the Costs of the New Best CX52 All Gold Joystick Silicone pads?
The New Improved Best CX52 Gold Fire buttons are $5 per fire button (2 per controller). CO20501-G
The Gold Plated Rev. 9 Felix Circuits are $13.50 each. CO18124-G
The price of Gold has tripled since our last production run of Gold plated Rev. 9 Flex Circuits. We have no choice but to raise the cost of the Upgraded Gold plated Rev. 9 Flex Circuits and also limit the Qty per Customer to 2 Gold Plated Flex Circuits for now.
The Gold Numeric Keypad are $6 each. CO18126-G
The Gold Auxiliary Keypad are $5 each. CO18128-G
Fortunately all of the other Best New generation Gold dot CX52 replacement parts were bought in large enough Qtys (production runs), we do not have to raise any of other New CX52 Gold dot part prices until we have to reorder them again, sometime in the future.
Because of the Very High cost of the New tooling Molds to make the above New Improved / Upgraded / Lifetime Atari CX52 Joystick Gold version Silicone Pads, the Gold Fire buttons (2 each) will be sold with a Gold version numeric keypad as a matched set of 3 Only, until further notice.
Nathan H. of WI "I got my new gold dot pads and flex circuit this past week and I have to say I am thrilled at how much those really did work!"
Aaron S. of KS "I just want to thank you guys for all your help fixing my Atari 5200. The gold-dot buttons and keypads are fantastic"
I installed a couple sets of your New Atari Gold upgraded CX52 Joysticks Silicone Pad sets and Flex Circuits. I notice that the upper left New fire button does not have the same excellent New Tactical Feed back feature as compared to the lower fire button.
With the new sets of improved Best CX52 Silicone pads with Gold contacts, it is Critical that the Flex Circuit be re-glued flat to their back mounting plates (under the Numeric keypad by the Flex Circuit Hump and left / right fire buttons). We find rubber cement (instead of Atari used double sided clear tape) works very well on holding the New Gold Flex Circuits flat against their Mounting plates. On the Old Rev. 9 Flex Circuits and Triple Dot fire buttons (and other versions), the Flex Circuits could float between the bottom of the Fire button pad and mounting back plate and still function OK. With these Mushy Fire buttons, you would Never notice the difference. On all of the Atari CX52 Joysticks made, you will find that the Top left fire button will not have the exact same new Tactical feel as compared to the right top fire button. This is because of a lack of Internal Plastic Support / backing behind the flex circuit as it passed thru to the top case assembly. The Top left fire button bottom rectangular support pad is only supported on three sides instead of the normal 4 sides. Another way you can double check this, is to reverse the left Gold Dot fire button 180 degrees in its fire button bezel, reinstall. You will find that the bottom fire button now has the Good Tactical feed back and the Top Fire button now has less tactical feedback.
I notice that the top row of numbers (1 – 3) on my freshly rebuilt CX52 with Lifetime Gold Dot Silicone Numeric keypad do not have the same excellent tactical feel as the others.
Assuming you have Glued down the Rev. 9 Gold Flex Circuit to the top of the internal numeric Keypad support plate, Yes you will notice that the Top Row numbers (1 – 3) on the Gold Dot numeric Keypad will not have the same exact new tactical feed back. This is because of the fixed internal design of the CX52 Keypad internal support plate. This support plate has a top rounded edge and does not give enough support (three sides instead of 4 on each 1 – 3 number push pads) to the New Gold Dot numeric Silicone pad along the very top edge. This is not noticeable on the older design carbon dot Mushy CX52 numeric keypad pads, but is on the upgraded Gold Dot Keypad.
Will you still carry the Standard Atari 5200 CX52 Joystick Carbon dot replacement Silicone Pads and Stock Flex Circuit parts?
Yes! Click on the Best 5200 URL below to see a list of normal Atari 5200 OEM replacement parts we carry. (Scroll down to the end of this article to see parts listing with current prices)
http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/cx52_j.htm
I am not mechanically inclined and do not want to try to rebuild (or do not have any cores CX52 to exchange) my old Atari CX52 Joystick(s). What are your prices for your Best Reconditioned Standard and Upgraded with Lifetime Gold Dot Silicone pads Atari CX52 Joysticks?
Standard Best Electronics reconditioned Atari CX52 Joystick with new Stock Carbon dot Silicone pads $21 (Exchange / Core Required*)
Standard Best Electronics reconditioned Atari CX52 Joystick with new Stock Carbon dot Silicone pads $27 (Out right buy, No Exchange / Core required)
Upgraded Best Electronics Atari CX2 Joystick with New Lifetime Gold Metal Dot Silicone Pads and Gold Flex Circuit $32 + Gold Surcharge (Exchange / Core required*)
Because of the current high cost of Gold we had to add a $5 surcharge to each Gold Upgraded Reconditioned Atari CX52 Joystick to cover the raising cost of Gold plated Rev. 9 Flex Circuits.
Upgraded Best Electronics Atari CX52 Joystick with New Lifetime Gold Metal Dot Silicone Pads and Gold Flex Circuit $38 + Gold Surcharge (Out right buy, No Exchange / Core required)
*Exchanged Core / used CX52 Joysticks must have all of the Stock plastic parts, with no cuts or damaged cables. Missing or damaged Silicone pads / boots is OK.
What is the US Shipping charge on Exchanged or Out right buys on Best’s Reconditioned CX52 Joysticks?
We have a Flat rate shipping charge for US / Domestic shipped Atari CX52 reconditioned Joysticks. $8.15 Priority Mail plus $2.05 Insurance for 1 or 2 CX52 Joysticks. California Residents must add their local CA Sales tax to the total. CA sales tax is based on the CX52 Controller(s) cost only (not on insurance or shipping). Click here for Best's ship to Information.
R. Diaz of NY "I recently ordered 2 of the Gold Rebuilt Controllers from you and they work great" Please send me 2 more Reconditioned CX52 Gold lifetime Controllers with a replacement 5200 4 port motherboard.
Stephen J. of WA "The Gold CX52 joysticks are excellent .. I really appreciate the quality and the support you provide."
How do I order some Upgraded Atari CX52 Joystick(s) with the new Lifetime Gold dot pad sets?
If you have some CX52 Joystick Core(s) you want to exchange, then box them up (no padded bags) drop in a personal check (see above costs) and a note with your ship to address and phone number. We recommend you send them to us (Best Ship to address on first web page) Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation.
If you do not have any CX52 Cores to exchange and want to out right buy some freshly Rebuilt / Upgraded CX52 Joystick, you can Call In (phone hours on first web page) a Credit Card order or arrange (Via E-Mail) a different payment method.
What is the usual Turn around time on the exchanged Reconditioned CX52 Joysticks?
On Phone orders for Non Exchange CX52 Joysticks, they are usually shipped the next working day.
On Exchanged CX52 Joysticks sent in, they are usually shipped within one or two working days after we receive your CX52 Core(s) from you.
What do you normally replace on your Best Reconditioned / Upgraded CX52 Joysticks?
Because of our vast Inventory of Atari CX52 Joysticks OEM replacement parts in stock, Best Electronics 100% replaces the following CX52 Joystick parts on every Atari CX52 we have rebuilt for the last 24+ years:
Both Left and Right Orange fire buttons
Auxiliary Keypad (Start, Pause, Reset)
Numeric Keypad
Flex Circuit
Joystick Rubber Boot
Controller Name plate
3 CX52 Case screws
Other parts that get replaced on an “as required” basis per rebuilt CX52 controller:
Cable assembly
Controller Potentiometers
Controller Potentiometer rings
Controller Potentiometer arms
Bottom Actuator Plate
Controller Sliding Block
Joystick Rubber Boot retaining Ring
5200 Game Cartridges as of 8-17-07
Limited supply on some 5200 Titles, some titles only one is in stock, sold and a first come first serve basis! We Suggest when placing orders for 5200 Cartridges, you always have a 2nd and 3rd choice of the same dollar value 5200 Game cartridge listed, in case your 1st choice has sold out. This allows us to process your order faster and Not have to issue Credits, Refunds or try to contact you by phone or mail.
Atari Titles (Boxed) Berzerk, Centipede, Counter Measure, Defender, Galaxian, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Missile Command, Moon Patrol, Pac Man, Qix, Real Sports Tennis, Real Sports Soccer, Star Raiders, Vanguard $15 ea. Ballblazer, Choplifter, Dig Dug $17 ea. Football, Joust, MS Pac Man, Pole Position, Space Invaders, Super Breakout $20 ea. Gremlins, Mario Bros., Pengo, Rescue on Fractalus $25 ea.Atari
Titles (Loose Cartridges, no Instructions)
Super
Breakout, Pac Man, Counter Measure, Moon Patrol, Baseball, Kangaroo, Berzerk,
Vanguard, BallBlazer, Space Invaders, Star Raiders, Mario Bros., Missile
Command, Dig Dug, Soccer, Jungle Hunt, Defender $10 ea. Joust, Ms Pac Man, Pengo, Pole Position, $15
ea.
Rescue on Fractalus $17
Non Atari Titles (Cartridge with Photo Copy of Instructions)
Quest For Quintana Roo, A game where you search thru an Egyptian Pyramid for Treasures $29
Non Atari Titles (Boxed) Activisions Pitfall(Pitfall is for 4 Port 5200 models only), Kaboom, Space Shuttle (Simulator) $15 ea. Parker Bros. Super Coba, Activisions Zone Ranger $20 ea.
Non Atari Titles, Loose cartridges, no instructions (Poor or no Factory labels) Q Bert $8 ea
Atari 5200 CX55 "T" Shaped 2600 adapter for the Atari 5200 2 Port models. This Atari made adapter, is a complete self contained Atari 2600 unit that uses Power and View circuits of the Atari 5200 2 port console. You will have to use 1 to 2 Atari CX40 style Joysticks on the CX55 adapter. The Atari CX52 Joysticks do not work with the CX55 adapter. All you have to do, is plug in the CX55 adapter into your 5200 top cartridge port, install a 2600 game in the top of the "T" shaped CX55 and install one of two Atari CX40 joysticks on the sides of the CX55 and turn on your Atari 5200 2 port console. In 95 - 98% of the cases, this CX55 2600 adapter will NOT work with the earlier 4 Port model Atari 5200 Consoles. Most of the Atari 4 port 5200 consoles require an Atari 5200 4 port Electronic Retro fit kit installed (soldered in) before they will work with the CX55. CX55 $45.00
New 5200 Service!
Some 65 different Text Version (typed) Game Instructions for 5200 Cartridges are Now Available, E-Mail for Titles $3 ea.
Best Electronics in the Atari business since February 1, 1984.
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