retroillucid Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Question.... Is it just me or nowadays, the CV forum section is flooded with people having trouble with their Colecovision / ADAM ? Just take a look at the first page of CV forum section, there's like 8 thread about problems/troubleshoot Would it be better if we have a thread (Pinned) or a sub forum dedicated for that? Or maybe it's just me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectorman Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Yes, it's been flooded like this for quite a while, too long. I never bother responding to any of their tiresome threads anymore. When 99% of these newb posters show up and ask us how to fix their CV, what they really mean is "fix it for me". If you tell them anything that requires ANY effort on their part, like having to open the case with a screw driver, that CV is going into the trash faster than you can say "landfill". None of them actually want to do anything to fix their CV. They just throw them in the trash and try to get another off ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milli V Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 It's a shame - I asked for and received advice - still do - because of this I have gone from a single system my fiancé got me last year for my birthday to restoring and selling them. I have 10 Adams in my house and have sold over a dozen this year. What I learn I freely pass on - I chat with people all them time ( on Facebook mostly ) and help if possible . Ignoring someone really doesn't help this community - it hurts - as for the pinned posts - some of them are just too long to try and find information in. Don't make the mistake many of the other retro groups have done and scare off the noobs- else one day it will just be a bunch of old farts wondering where everyone went Milli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 It's a shame - I asked for and received advice - still do - because of this I have gone from a single system my fiancé got me last year for my birthday to restoring and selling them. I have 10 Adams in my house and have sold over a dozen this year. What I learn I freely pass on - I chat with people all them time ( on Facebook mostly ) and help if possible . Ignoring someone really doesn't help this community - it hurts - as for the pinned posts - some of them are just too long to try and find information in. Don't make the mistake many of the other retro groups have done and scare off the noobs- else one day it will just be a bunch of old farts wondering where everyone went Milli Don't get me wrong though... I'm all for threads like this But I think it should have its own section Similar to ColecoVision Programming Sub Forum not all people are interested in that stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Our ColecoVisions are getting old... It's one of the unfortunate drawbacks of having a vivid homebrew scene: It accelerates the decay of our 30-year-old hardware! Someone produce a modern replacement board already, for Pete's sake... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroillucid Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 Our ColecoVisions are getting old... It's one of the unfortunate drawbacks of having a vivid homebrew scene: It accelerates the decay of our 30-year-old hardware! Someone produce a modern replacement board already, for Pete's sake... Absolutely! But, should it have its own section? Or people are all okay with having those spread all around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Most of the people who drop by this ColecoVision sub-forum for this kind of help are often new to these boards, and they tend not to bother checking if there's a dedicated "hardware problem" sub-section. They just post where everyone will see their plea for help, and they'll keep their fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Yes, it's been flooded like this for quite a while, too long. I never bother responding to any of their tiresome threads anymore. When 99% of these newb posters show up and ask us how to fix their CV, what they really mean is "fix it for me". If you tell them anything that requires ANY effort on their part, like having to open the case with a screw driver, that CV is going into the trash faster than you can say "landfill". None of them actually want to do anything to fix their CV. They just throw them in the trash and try to get another off ebay.Sorry man... I am one of those douches. I spent 40+ hours trying to fix mine. I still probably will not give up. If it wver works I will buy coleco homebrews etc. And also would offer advice to other guys with problems to learn from my experience. I must use this time to say thanks to those of you who have offered advice on a repair method. I firmly believe these coleco boards are to blame as they are the moat flaky system I have ever seen. Maybe cause its the only console or computer in my collection that does not work. In the meantime I offered 100usd on ebay for a console workong tested with a xouple gamea an got declined as a working coleco is expensive to buy!! Therr should be pinned like no video or no sound. Test points with pictures and the expected results with a meter on a good board then guys could go there to troubleshoot( only prerequisite would be the ability to read) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmack36 Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) I do like the idea of a subforum so it doesn't flood the main forum for those not interested, but I do agree with Pixelboy that people will still post about it in the main forum anyways. As for the motherboard replacement, that is a lot harder issue. For the volume of motherboards that would be made and the size of the board, it is going to be an expensive option vs buying a used working one for $100-120 bucks. The way I see a new board being feasible cost wise is to incorporate enough features so that the value of the new board makes the higher price worthwhile (i.e. F18a, pause mod, powerswitch. etc.). If someone has a legit schematic for the coleco or a list of the known problems with the one that is currently out there, it should speed things up a little bit. Edited August 19, 2016 by Bmack36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectorman Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I firmly believe these coleco boards are to blame as they are the moat flaky system I have ever seen. Maybe cause its the only console or computer in my collection that does not work. In the meantime I offered 100usd on ebay for a console workong tested with a xouple gamea an got declined as a working coleco is expensive to buy!! Therr should be pinned like no video or no sound. Test points with pictures and the expected results with a meter on a good board then guys could go there to troubleshoot( only prerequisite would be the ability to read) The CV was meant to be a toy, it was made by a toy company. It wasn't meant to withstand 30 years of usage as a collectable system. They worked pretty well when they were new in 82-85. Is the CV flakier than the INTV I, Fairchilds, wood grain 2600's, Odyssey 2's, Astrocades? Not from what I've seen, plus the CV is much more complicated and has more parts that could potentially fail or drift out of spec after 25-30 years. CV's and ADAM prices seem to have fluctuated wildly. I could barely sell working CV's with A/V mods and games for even $50 on ebay in the 90's. I couldn't get $5 for a working ADAM then either. If prices are high now, they'll likely crash again. The CV service manual is on here AFAIK and contains troubleshooting sections on no sound, no video etc., has flowcharts, pictures of the expected results with a meter on a good board, parts list of every part, schematics. It's all there already and always has been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectorman Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 As for the motherboard replacement, that is a lot harder issue. For the volume of motherboards that would be made and the size of the board, it is going to be an expensive option vs buying a used working one for $100-120 bucks. The way I see a new board being feasible cost wise is to incorporate enough features so that the value of the new board makes the higher price worthwhile (i.e. F18a, pause mod, powerswitch. etc.). If someone has a legit schematic for the coleco or a list of the known problems with the one that is currently out there, it should speed things up a little bit. I think that's what the CV 1.2 board thread is about, an improved CV pcb. I don't think anyone was trying to make a replica of the original pcb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmack36 Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I think that's what the CV 1.2 board thread is about, an improved CV pcb. I don't think anyone was trying to make a replica of the original pcb. That is correct although CV1.2 is 5-11's version and is not the only one in development. I just wanted to highlight that a replacement motherboard cost isn't going to be as cheap as finding a working motherboard or system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 That is correct although CV1.2 is 5-11's version and is not the only one in development. I just wanted to highlight that a replacement motherboard cost isn't going to be as cheap as finding a working motherboard or system. Perhaps not, but how long is that 30-year-old "working motherboard" going to last? That's the real appeal of a "modern" replacement motherboard: It could last a long time. That, and the fact that it could run with any generic 5V or 12V power supply instead of the old proprietary Coleco wall wart which is prone to problems. If the generic power supply breaks, you can just buy another one at Radio Shack or wherever else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Perhaps not, but how long is that 30-year-old "working motherboard" going to last? That's the real appeal of a "modern" replacement motherboard: It could last a long time. That, and the fact that it could run with any generic 5V or 12V power supply instead of the old proprietary Coleco wall wart which is prone to problems. If the generic power supply breaks, you can just buy another one at Radio Shack or wherever else.My wife says she remembers her dad using a car battery to run their coleco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 A sub-forum to handle repair questions should be added and when someone posts a new thread in the main (wrong) section, we can tell the poster this and link'em to the correct place to post. There are tons of threads dealing with repair help requests that would serve as a great info source if all grouped together instead of mixed in with thousands of other threads in the CV/Adam Forum. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Should I have 5.9v at my video output pin on my daughterboard? Sorry I spent 2 hours today on it and who am I supposed to ask the blue fairy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getch Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Help my Adam has a problem when I plug it into the tv static everything is plugged in any bypass or fix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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