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With my current Coleco ADAM daisywheel printer I have always used the original Coleco ribbon cartridges (possible some generic compatible ones from ADAM dealers also over the years). However just recently I was going to order a compatible ribbon cartridges. I found out the hard way that the standard Diablo Hytype I printer ribbons is not compatible with the Coleco ADAM printer. I ordered some printer ribbons that mentioned that they were compatible with “Diablo Hytype I” printers but the listing did not show the actual picture of the ribbon cartridge. Once I received the package of 6 Superstrike printer ribbons the retail box said “Compatible with the following printers: Diablo Hytype 1” and “Xerox 800 series printers”. When I looked at the printer ribbons the cartridges were a lot wider and there is no way they would fit in the Coleco ADAM printer unless someone were to make some major hardware modifications. With some more research I discovered that the “Diablo Hytype 1” ribbon cartridges come in different sizes of ribbon cartridge shells. The only ribbon cartridge that is 100% compatible with the Coleco ADAM printer is the “Diablo Hytype 1 (Group D202)”. That ribbon cartridge is a perfect fit for the Coleco ADAM printer. However it is my understanding that all “Diablo Hytype 1 (Group D202)” ribbon cartridges are out of production and no company anywhere manufactories them anymore. Once and awhile they show up on EBAY. I could not find any USA dealer that has “Diablo Hytype 1 (Group D202)” ribbon cartridges in stock (Maybe ADAM House/ECOLECO or another ADAM dealer might have them in stock. The Ecoleco website has used ribbons for $29.95, and it appears most people are refilling old ribbons with pancake style replacements in blue and brown color only. Black is no longer available as a color refill option.). I did locate a UK dealer that does have a total of 8 Black color Diablo Hytype I (Group D202) ribbon cartridges in stock. Once they are sold they most likely well not be anymore.

I did not realize there is two separate consoles. I am aware of Prometheus which is a advanced ColecoVision. What is the name of the second console and what does it do? So the second console supports which videogame system or systems? Also the OPCODE Games website does not list these consoles. So maybe we are several years away before these consoles are released.

The PS/2 port is very important since low cost PS/2 keyboards and PS/2 trackballs can be connected. How else are we going to connect a Keytronic Windows style PS/2 keyboard that costs under $10? A programmer might be interested in porting over exclusive ADAM games like Family Feud, Jeopardy, and 2010 The Text Adventure game. Some type of keyboard is needed if ADAM games are ported over to a ColecoVision system (or better yet the system is able to emulate a ADAM computer). In addition this system is suppose to emualte a TI-99/4a computer after a future promised firmware update, and the only way to do that economically is to use a PS/2 keyboard. Plus some people might be interested in a PS/2 trackball for under $25. The PS/2 port on this system is very important.

For over 15 years I and my family members have been using the Logitech Marble Mouse trackball device with all their desktop and Laptop computers. It costs under $25 at Walmart and is 100% compatible with PS/2 motherboards with an optional $1+ USB to PS/2 adapter. Using a ColecoVision emulator on a Windows PC in roller controller mode, the Logitech Marble Mouse works much better when compated to the Coleco roller controller while playing the Slither game. Also I have never seen a Logitech Marble mouse break and they work perfectly after 15+ years. Very reliable product that in theory can last a lifetime. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Logitech-Trackman-Marble-Mouse-Four-Button-Programmable-Dark-Gray/49839188?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222037337730&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=10360206094&wl4=pla-4578022834053813&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&%20wl10=Walmart&wl12=49839188_10000000948&wl14=marble%20mouse&veh=sem&msclkid=eea5717a8f3e17a170b02af3547257a0

Thanks for the information regarding PS/2 Y splitters are not compatible with the CollectorVision motherboard. Now hopefully the one and only PS/2 port well allow one to unplug the PS/2 keyboard and plug in a Logitech marble mouse to the PS/2 port for those programmers that decide to make special games that need a trackball. Or maybe that PS/2 port well only except a PS/2 keyboard since the wiring for a PS/2 mouse/trackball might be different.

There are some older computers that are 15+ years old that have two PS/2 ports. One port for PS/2 keyboard and one port for PS/2 mouse or Logitech trackball. On some newer computers from 2015 including some Laptops there is only one PS/2 port and that PS/2 is designed to accept a PS/2 Y adapter. However all new 2018+ computers are USB for keyboard and mouse devices with no more PS/2 port on the motherboard.

The system designers decided not to do USB ports in order to make the system cheaper. I hope this system well support the PS/2 Y adapter so that a PS/2 keyboard and trackball can be used at the exact same time. https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Keyboard-Splitter-Adapter-KYC1MF/dp/B000067SLZ

That is something you would need to ask OPCODE games directly, I think it has something to do with working on a new improved ColecoVision console Prometheus that would have the pro features built into the console.

It is my understanding that the Super Game module "pro" version was canceled and never released. However for the standard Super Game Module there is a possibility that sometime in the future there might be a 5th run

100% of all cartridge rom images always work from the Ultimate SD Cartridge and up to 32KB rom images work from the USB cartridge because that product emulates a actual cartridge perfectly. However try using Project Name By Line cartridge, Smart Basic cartridge, Adam's Desktop cartridge, and various Coleco in-house cartridge rom images that have been backup using Copy Cart + 2.0 and they well not run at all. Yes its true 100% of ColecoVision games work with Copycart + 2.0 when ran on the ADAM, that is not true when it comes to dedicated ADAM cartridges. Try placing a dedicated ADAM cartridge into a ColecoVision game system and it well not run without the ADAM. Try using Copycart + 2.0 for many dedicated ADAM cartridges and they well not run. Walter's Software created a special EOS boot program that would load the Graphics Design cartridge (Project Name by Line) from DDP and Disk and it required the 64K memory expander to run since it got around some special areas of memory by running from the memory expander. Walter's Software one time sent me a special version of the CP/M 2.2 cartridge copying program that needed to load the 32KB and smaller dedicated ADAM cartridges into the 64KB memory expander so that the programs can run. I am not using the correct terminology but there is something special about running a game or ADAM program directly from the cartridge slot (it uses a different area in memory) versus running the cartridge rom image from Disk or DDP. Moving the cartridge rom image into the 64KB memory expander is the work around for some dedicated ADAM cartridges that are loaded from Disk or DDP. Of course with most people owning a product like the USB and Ultimate SD cartridge, Copy Cart + 2.0 is not used anymore by many ADAM owners (Copy Cart + 2.0 was very popular in the 20th Century in the 80's, 90's, and a few years before the ATARIMAX 128 in 1 USB cartridge was released). The ADAM and ColecoVision treat the ATARIMAX cartridges just like a real cartridge and that is why the product perfectly emulates all rom images.

Glad to hear that the OPCODE SGM well now be officially supported. Does this mean the advanced sound chip that is also backwards compatible with the SGM well now no longer be offered as a feature? This project keeps going in 360 degrees in different directions.

100% of the ColecoVision/ADAM games that are 32KB or less work fine with CopyCart + 2.0. However as already mentioned there was some in house unreleased ADAM diagnostic test cartridges floating around on EBAY (originally came from former Coleco employees in 1985+). Some of those exclusive ADAM in house test cartridges well not run unless the cartridge copy program loads the 32KB rom image into the ADAM memory expander (needed to be minimum of 64KB). At one time back in the late 80's Jim Walters and I had a 3 way telephone conversation with one of the creators of CopyCart + 2.0. We were trying to get them to release their source code so that a programmer could make a improved version of Copycart that would use the ADAM’s 64KB memory expander for the select few in house ADAM cartridges that need that area of ram to run. To make a long story short the developers of CopyCart were not interested in making a new and improved version that would use the ADAM computers memory expander. However, there is cartridge copy program for the ADAM computer floating around that is written in CP/M 2.2 that uses 64KB and larger memory expanders for the purpose of running the select rare in house ADAM cartridges. Jim Walters at Walters software knows the in-depth reasons why special dedicated ADAM cartridges need to be loaded into and ran from the 64KB memory expander. Also if one copies the SmartBasic cartridge, ADAM’s Desktop, and other third party dedicated ADAM cartridges they well only run if loaded into the 64KB memory expander. It has something to do with the extra memory in the ADAM that is used. For example if one takes a dedicated ADAM cartridge and tries running it on the ColecoVision game system, then the cartridge well not run unless the ADAM expansion module is connected. But I can take a ColecoVision cartridge and run it on the ADAM computer since it is backwards compatible.

I do not mind using a miniature super small PC for terminal emulation as long as it can actually work over a serial port so that the ADAM computer could be used. Maybe when I get more time I well do some more research.

I purchased a few serial to Ethernet devices, but they are currently sitting on the shelf since I have a massive amount of other projects going on. Maybe one day if I have time I might test how they work with the ADAM computer using ADAMlink V.

Brief user review of the Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer when connected to the classic 1983 Coleco ADAM computer I purchased a 2016 model Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer since it is the last Laser printer on the market that well work with the Coleco ADAM computer as long as one owns a parallel interface with proper cable and software (Laser printers and ink jet printers no longer offer parallel interfaces with Epson FX-850 emulation support and all the new 2018 models from every manufactory is USB with a modern printer language like PCL6, etc.). Upon opening the factory new 2016 model Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer I discovered that my printer has a manufactories date of January 2018 (It is my understanding that January 2018 manufacturing date is the last run for this 2016 model, and the printer is now out of production). In addition, the price of this Laser printer has greatly increased in the last two weeks from around $176.97 to around $209 as several dealers are now out of stock with no inventory to restock the printer. New Egg is now out of stock and only a few New Egg dealers have the printer in stock with prices around $209+. As this is the last of the parallel printers with FX emulation. It is possible that this Laser Printer well be selling for $299.99 full list price or even higher as inventories get close to being fully depleted. One negative feature of this Brother HL-L5000D is the quality is not as good when compared to printers like the HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401dne and several other HP Laser printers on the market I normal try and start my brief user reviews with the negative features of the product first (Then later mention some of the positive features of the product). I am not a fan of Brother Laser Printers. Around 15+ years ago I tried a Brother Laser Printer to use with a Windows PC and at the location I lived at the time. The Brother Laser Printer would cause the lights in the room to flicker when printing. Most likely due to a massive power drain and/or electrical noise generated by the Brother Laser printer when it prints. Therefore, after that experience around 15+ years ago I returned the Brother Laser Printer for a refund. Also after messing around with color Ink Jet printers with ink that would dry after 6 months, I moved to reliable HP Laser Printers which I have been happy with for around 15+ years. Now the positive thing about the Brother HL-L5000D is that when printing the lights in the room do not flicker or dim like what I did experience 15+ years ago. However, I ran into other issues with the quality of the Brother HL-L5000D power supply. For the record, I do not connect Laser printers or copying machines to UPS power backup systems since most UPS models unless they are over 1500VA well shut down and go into protection mode since Laser printers and copying machines have a huge surge power draw when they start printing. So 100% of the time all my Laser printers are plugged into a standard surge protector or line conditioner without a UPS attached. What was very disturbing about the Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer is that when the printer is first turned on and also when it is printing, my Cyperpower UPS system in the same room on a different circuit breaker makes a loud humming noise because of the huge power drain and electrical noise that is being generated by the Brother Laser printer. I tried moving the Brother Laser printer to a another room, and in that room a high-end pure sine wave 1500VA kicks in once and awhile from the power drain even though the Brother Laser printer is not connected to the UPS unit (So the Brother Laser printer has the same issue in two different rooms). I am seeing reports online from people that are also mentioning that their Brother Laser printer causes their UPS system to make a loud humming noise when the Brother Laser printer is printing (all or several different Brother models have the issue). Brother Laser printers have a huge power drain when first powering on and mainly when printing (Also Brother Laser printers generate more electrical noise that gets sent back down the power line). The Brother Laser printers also have lower quality power supplies when compared to HP Laser printers. I have used and installed around 10 HP Laser printers and not once have I seen a huge power drain or electrical noise that causes this type of problem with UPS systems in the same room. At least the lights do not flicker when using this model of Brother Laser printers, so improvements have been made. If this printer was going to be used on a Windows PC, I would have sent this Brother Laser printer back and would have purchased a HP Laser printer instead. However the only reason why I am keeping this Brother Laser printer is because HP does not support Epson FX emulation which is needed for the Coleco ADAM computer system. This Brother Laser printer is both UL listed and FCC certified therefore any interference generated by the printer well in theory be within the FCC guidelines. HP Laser printers have better power supplies and make less physical noise when printing. But if I were to return this Brother Laser printer there is no other factory new printer on the market to use with my Coleco ADAM so that is the only reason I am keeping the printer. The Brother Laser printer when printing is also nosier when compared to a HP Laser printer. Now some people might not own a UPS system in the same room or a different electrical setup and might not experience what I was experiencing. In addition, the high-end pure sine wave UPS unit in the other room where the printer was also used, that UPS unit made noise but not as much noise (might be no coils or higher quality coils in that higher end model). Connecting the Brother HL-L5000D to the Coleco ADAM Family Computer System I initially connected the Brother HL-L5000D to a Windows PC over a USB connection so that I could download and install the latest firmware update to the Laser printer. The firmware update was successful and I was able to print fine from a Windows PC. I then went to connect the Laser printer to the ADAM computer which is the purpose for buying the printer. This Laser printer automatically detects and switches to the correct printer language that is being sent. One can have a Windows PC over USB and the ADAM computer connected on the parallel interface at the exact same time to the same printer and the printer well automatically know what printer language it is receiving. Coleco was planning on coming out with a ADAMNET based serial/parallel interface that would not require any software patches when used with a parallel Laser printer, Ink Jet printer, or Dot Matrix printer. All existing ADAM software would be 100% compatible with no software patches needed if that hardware product would have been released (One or two fully functional prototypes currently exist and are in the hands of former Coleco employees) . However, the ADAMNET serial/parallel interface never saw a late 1985 release since Coleco in January of 1985 made a business decision to cancel the ADAM and ColecoVision system. Thanks to EVE Electronics and other companies around 1985+ a serial/parallel interface hardware devices were made for the Coleco ADAM computer with software patches that would work with some (not all) Coleco software when connected to a parallel printer. I successfully connected the Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer to Micro innovations MIB3 card (The MIB3 card is an internal card that plugs into the ADAM, and offers dual serial with one parallel interface). In addition, I successfully was able to connect the Laser printer to the EVE Electronics SP-1 unit (one serial and one parallel interface box that plugs into the side expansion module interface on the ADAM computer). However, one cannot use the existing cables that come with the Micro innovations MIB3 card. Around 10+ years ago Laser printers used a 36 pin Centronics parallel interface and the printer cable that comes with the MIB3 card is setup for that type of printer. Sometimes one would also use a DB-25 to Centronics 36 pin gender changer or cable. However what was very surprising to me is that the Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer has a female DA-26 parallel connector on the printer which is a more modern parallel interface connection but also extremely rare connector used on parallel printers. It is so rare that Brother includes a 28 gauge male DB-25 to male DA-26 printer cable with every Brother HL-L5000D printer that is sold. I purchased a Centronics 36 pin female-to-female DB25 gender changer, however when connected to the MIB3 card and Eve Electronics SP-1 the printer would never receive any data from the ADAM computer. The ideal cable to use with this printer that would not require any adapters would be a female 26 pin IDC to male 26 Pin DA-26 connector (however such a cable does not exist and would need to be custom made). The second best solution to make this Brother Laser Printer work with the MIB3 and Eve SP-1, is to purchase a DB25 Female to 26 Pin female IDC cable for $5.95 (and this is the cable I am currently using). Then one connects the female 26 Pin IDC into the parallel interface on the MIB3 or Eve SP-1. Then the female DB25 end gets connected to the male DB-25 printer cable that came with the printer. Then the other end of the printer cables male DA-26 connector gets connected directly to the Brother HL-L5000D Laser printer’s female DA-26 parallel port. So one needs to replace the existing MIB3 and Eve SP-1 parallel cable with the $5.95 cable mentioned above. There is one other step that one also needs to do to get this printer to work with the ADAM computer. In the “Print Menu”, “Auto FF” must be changed from the default “Off” to “On”. Now the printer well work with the ADAM, however there is a couple of other menu settings I would recommend changing. In “General Setup” change the “Resolution” to “1200” so that the printer offers 1200 x 1200 print quality. Then if you want to save the amount of paper used you well want to turn on 2 sided printing. In “Paper Tray” change “2-sided” to “Long Edge”. Now you are ready to use the Laser printer with the ADAM computer when connected to the MIB3 or EVE SP-1. The best printer patching software from 1991 is Water’s Software’s ADAM Desktop which is now a public domain rom image that works with both the 128 in 1 USB flash cartridge and the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive from ATARIMAX. It is nice to have a 42 page per minute Laser printer for the ADAM computer. There are a lot of software that requires one to either use Smartwriter to read the manual on the screen or to dump the manual to a Laser Printer. One can easily dump around 600 pages to the Laser printer and with double sided printing that works out to only 300 pages used. Remember using a parallel printer is a little harder to use when compared to Coleco’s original daisy wheel printer that access ADAMNET with no software patches needed. One always 100% of the time needs to install a software patch before printing with this Laser printer on the ADAM computer. And that is what ADAM’s Desktop cartridge and other programs are used for. I was successfully able to get Smarttwriter word processor to work with the Laser printer after a software patch (When using Smartwriter change the paper setting from single sheet to fan fold is ideal when printing several pages at once), also Recipe Filer worked fine after a software patch. However there are certain original Coleco software and third party software that is not compatible with the latest printer software patches that was created in the early 90’s. For example Buck Rodgers Hall of Fame printing well not work at all with the software patch and all other Supergame hall of fame screens that I tried would only print out correctly on the original Coleco ADAMNET Daisy wheel printer. Sure someone could create a software printer patch to fix the troubled programs, but it’s my understanding from talking with former Coleco employees is that the unreleased porotype ADAMNET serial/parallel interface works with all Coleco ADAM software with no software patch needed (the device emulates a ADAM printer for any compatible parallel printer attached). Back in 1983 Smartwriter was a very fancy Smartkey driven EOS word processor program that was one of the best on the market when compared to other home computers. Plus one had access to CP/M 2.2 word processing programs. However, 35 years later the Smartwriter program really needs an update and with almost unlimited storage capacity of the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive, that could become a reality for a computer programmer. I became aware of Microsoft Word offering spell checking with mis spelled words underlined in red in the early 90’s (later on grammar checker with grammar errors underlined in green). Even though Walter’s Software came out with a spell-checking program around 1988 for the ADAM computers built in Smartwriter word processor, the problem is it is not as nice as Microsoft word. It would be neat if one day if someone would create a super version of Smartwriter for the Coleco ADAM computer. The new super Smartwriter word processor could be 16MB or larger in size if the Ultimate SD Wafer Drive is used. Then a live real time spell checking feature in Smartwriter could underline words not in the dictionary in red. Perhaps even a grammar checker with certain sentences underlined in green. Also with an 80 column HDMI interface plugged in the ADAM’s expansion module interface, one could have a 80 column version of Smartwriter. If the ADAM computer had a updated version of Smartwriter then I would consider using it as a word processor. In addition, a more modern printer driver could be created so that Smartwriter could access more printers. Why not also make Smartwriter have different size fonts and font styles. There are amazing possibilities that a programmer could do to the ADAM if the time and demand existed.

I see there is a thread on the 4 player games for the ATARI 5200. It looks like there is only a handful of games that are made for 4 people to play at the exact same time. Therefore the 2 port is still a very attractive system that does up to two players. Thanks for the Tennis information. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/145656-4-port-5200s-and-4-player-games/

In the fall of 1987 Atari released the Atari XEGS home video game console (computer system), and that was the only ATARI system that used standard RCA style composite video jacks, all other Atari systems like the original Atari 800 that offered composite video required a special DIN adapter. Therefore, it looks like the NES and Atari XEGS were the only systems using RCA jacks for composite video in the 80’s. http://www.vectronicscollections.org/consoles/images/atarixe/msnap2.jpg

The original August 1982 ColecoVision and October 1983 ADAM computer were the most powerful videogame systems up until late 1985. However that all changed when the better quality Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in North America in October of 1985 (64 sprites and some other improvements). The standalone ADAM computer had native composite video output and the original 1979 Atari 800 had Y/C technology that is better than composite video (Commodore 64 in 1983 had Y/C technology also), however those were all computer systems and not videogame systems. Back in the late 80’s I had a chance to play the NES videogame system at a relative’s house that I was visiting. The original October 1985 NES system released in North America might be the very first videogame system that offers native composite video output while other videogame systems required a third party internal hardware modification to offer composite video outputs (The NES is only videogame system in the 80’s that did not need a DIN plug or another adapter to use composite video and audio), which is really awesome to use low cost and high quality standard RCA jacks for video and audio instead of some special adapter). The ColecoVision system sold over 2 million consoles but worldwide the NES system sold over 61.91 million consoles. The NES was discontinued in August of 1995 in North America and September 2003 in Japan. I was looking online and someone developed a video modification for the original NES that makes the system have RGB, component video, S-Video, and an improved composite video output that is decoded from the RGB modification. However, the best option for the NES system is the native HDMI output upgrade that has no lag time since the NES system is generating the HDMI signal. Real cool all those video upgrades are available on the NES. I just wish someone would develop a 4 screen Donkey Kong and 5 screen Donkey Kong Junior for the NES that the Coleco ADAM computer system already has. To my knowledge the ADAM computer version of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior is the best versions available and closes to the arcade versions. However, both the Super Nintendo and original NES system are powerful enough that a game programmer could make a version better than the Coleco ADAM versions using a very large rom cartridge. I have been told by several people that only the Coleco ADAM versions of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior has all the original arcade screens, if that is true then I am surprised that Nintendo has not released a new version that beats the Coleco ADAM version on both graphics and sound quality that includes at least every screen found in the arcade. The Coleco ADAM Donkey Kong Junior version even had a 5th screen that is not even in the arcade (it is floating around in public domain after a former Coleco employee released it to the ADAM community around 1985). The official released version in 1984 only had the 4 original screens. Perhaps Nintendo for the NES version did not want to include all the screens since that way one could always say the original arcade version is the best version available. It also takes a much larger cartridge like a 1MB cartridge to offer all the screens with high quality. In the 80’s game cartridges were more expensive and that is why the Coleco ADAM system released their games on 256K Digital Data Packs and 160K 5.25 inch Disks.However now a 1MB cartridge is very inexpensive compared to what it would have cost in the 20th Century.

If one is not going to make internal modifications to their ATARI 5200, then the 1983 2 port ATARI 5200 is clearly a better system when compared to the original 1982 Atari 5200 4 port system. The problem with the 4 port system is that only the later production models work with the ATARI 2600 adapter where as 100% of the 2 port systems work with the ATARI 2600 adapter. In addition, I am now realizing that the ATARI 5200 has a much more complicated RF connection when compared to the 1982 ColecoVision. The very negative feature of the ATARI 4 port system in the 21st Century (which was a positive feature back in the 80’s and 90’s when people actually used the RF NTSC TV tuner to watch analog TV and cable TV channels), is the fact that a custom automatic switch box can only be used. That 4 port model has the power going directly into the switch box to power the entire game console (Now I realize the 4 port can be internally modified to bypass the switch box, however that is extra work that existing two port owners do not have to do). However, even on the two port ATARI 5200 what is disappointing is that even though the RF TV switch box can be bypassed, the other problem is that the ATARI 5200 two port still has the RF cable hardwired internally on the circuit board. The advantage of the ColecoVision 1982 system is that the RF RCA jack is external on the outside of the console case. Which allows one to replace the RF cable easily with a different length. The newer ATARI 7800 has that external RF RCA jack on the console case just like the ColecoVision. Some articles online mention that over 5 million ATARI 7800 were sold worldwide where as only 1 million ATARI 5200 systems were sold. However it sounds like the 2 port ATARI 5200’s will not work with all the games on certain firmware BIOS versions. The only real advantage of the 4 port ATARI 5200 is having 4 controller inputs. However, how many games for the ATARI 5200 actually have up to 3 or 4 players? I guess if there were a lot of games that use all 4 controller ports then one could modify their ATARI 5200 4 port so the TV switchbox over RF does not need to be used anymore. However if one is going to internally modify the ATARI 5200 they should also do HDMI, RGB, S-Video, or composite video which well also disable the ATARI 2600 adapter from working. I guess I am going to hold off for now since I cannot decide if I should go with the 4 port or 2 port ATARI 5200. In addition, I have a lot of projects going on right now and the console would just sit around not being used.

I searched all over the Internet and could not find a RJ12 reverse telephone 4 port version. They all must be out of production. I guess if one wants a 4 port ADAMNET hub they would need to make it themselves.

The specs and name for this system keep changing. I did like the ColecoVision name over the CollectorVision Phoenix name because the ColecoVision name would be more attractive in Walmart. I guess you can always advertise it as a ColecoVison compatible system without naming the console ColecoVision. Also since the CollectorVision Phoenix plays games from many different videogame systems it does make some sense to not name it a ColecoVision game system. I still hope we get the advanced sound chip that was mentioned. I am realizing anything can change on this system before it official gets released.

Some history regarding ADAMNET The Coleco ADAM computer has both a front and left side ADAMNET jack (uses RJ12 6 pin reverse telephone network style wiring). I do not have the technical manual in front of me, but off hand I believe that a total of 16 ADAMNET devices can be connected to the standalone ADAM computer at the exact same time (ADAMNET speed is 62.5kbps which is slower when compared to ADAM’s 4 expansion module interfaces). Not all ADAMNET devices use the RJ12 connection, the ADAM printer also uses the ADAMNET connection over a DB9 connection. Both Digital Data Drives also use ADAMNET over a unique connector that plugs into the ADAM Memory console. In addition, there is a possibility that the 4 expansion module interfaces might have access to ADAMNET (I would need to check the schematics to make sure). The most common devices that are connected to ADAM’s Memory console using ADAMNET are the ADAM keyboard, ADAM printer, Digital Data Drives, Disk Drives, and The MicroFox MicroSD Floppy Emulator. The advantage of the Micro Innovations ADAMNET Disk Drives is that it uses passive ADAMNET technology that allows the ADAM keyboard to receive power over ADAMNET when connected to the back of the Disk Drive regardless if the Micro Innovations Disk Drive is on or off. All other brands of ADAMNET devices like Coleco’s Disk Drive only allow a second Disk Drive to be plugged in the back of the first Disk Drive and Coleco’s Disk Drives well not work with ADAMNET devices like a keyboard when connected to the back of the Coleco Disk Drive. Micro innovations Disk Drives also allowed up to 4 ADAMNET Disk Drives to be used at the exact same time for programs like File Manager. Adding more Coleco ADAMNET jacks to the memory console There are two RJ12 ADAMNET jacks on the Memory Console (one in the front and one on the left side). I was able to find a company that sales RJ12 6P6C one female to 2 female reverse telephone networking splitter that is 100% compatible with ADAMNET. I connected one ADAMNET adapter splitter device to the side of my ADAM memory console and I was able to connect a 25 feet ADAMNET cord to the ADAM keyboard (which is ideal if anyone is using a 60 inch or larger display with their ADAM computer). In addition, I connected a Coleco Disk Drive to the ADAMNET splitter device. On top of that, I connected a second splitter to the front ADAMNET jack and plugged in extra ADAMNET devices like the MicroFox MicroSD Floppy Emulator. Therefore, with a total of 2 ADAMNET splitter devices connected, it was like adding two extra ADAMNET jacks to the memory console. All 4 ADAMNET devices worked perfectly fine using two ADAMNET splitters at once. I copied and verified 1.44MB of blocks copied to and from the SD media. 6 pin RJ12 reverse telephone cables can be found online in sizes between 3 feet and 200 feet. However, I have never tested a cable over 25 feet with the ADAM (and a cable longer than 25 feet might not work). I have mainly been using 7 feet cable for only 53 cents and this 25 feet cable for only $1.48. Both have worked perfectly fine. The external ADAMNET RJ12 splitter can be purchased in a 10 pack for $9.33 with free shipping (that is only around 93 cents for each splitter). ADAM dealers and ADAM clubs that need larger QTY’s can get the ADAMNET splitter adapter for as low as 84 cents each if 60 are purchased at once instead of 10. Perhaps one day someone might create more ADAMNET devices and having a couple of ADAMNET splitters is nice. I guess someone could call this device a ADAMNET 2 port hub.

In addition, I have never posted a link on ATARIAGE directly to anything I might be selling. Any article or information post that I have written 100% of the time has been to someone else's Amazon and EBAY listing. Also many times I have used Monoprice and B and H Photo as the link. Whoever has the product at the cheapest price at the time I write the brief user review for the product.

Sometimes this is true when a RF modulator does not have a automatic gain control. Some videogame systems have their RF modulator db gain set very high since the videogame and computer system shipped with RG-59 22 gauge cable that sometime was un-shielded. I did run into one ColecoVision system that had a better picture and sound quality with a 100 feet RG-6 18 gauge cable when compared to a 3 feet RG-6 18 gauge cable (Because the RF modulator was set so high that the signal was to strong). However all the other ColecoVison/ADAM's I tested worked fine at 3 feet using RG-6 over RF. The ATARI 130XE Computer I use does not have any issues with RF at 3 feet or 100 feet. A nice internal RF modulator in that computer. Maybe this would be more of a issue with the RF modulators in 70's computers like the original ATARI 400 at 800. Its only when using RF that sometimes longer and lower quality cables can offer a better picture quality because of the systems RF modulator putting out to strong of signal However when one goes to composite video the better quality RG-11 14 gauge and RG-6 18 gauge cable makes a noticeably improvement between 3 feet and 100 feet when compared to RG-59 cable.

Post number 16 is not selling anything. Its a very factual article regarding the direction the industry is going with the latest TV sets. It is useful information for some people who plan on connecting their 70's and 80's equipment to modern displays.