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Jeopardy was never officially released by Coleco. And this is the first time in my entire life that I have seen the official original manual in PDF form. Back in 1985+ I had a phone conversation with someone at Coleco. And I was told that Jeopardy was completely finished by Coleco including the colorful retail box, instruction manual, and colorful Digital Data Pack label (but not released to the public). Again this is the first time I have seen the manual. Back in 1985 a former Coleco employee copied the original finished 256K Jeopardy Digital Data Pack to only one 160K 5.25 inch Disk Drive and gave it to the ADAM community with a Coleco letterhead claiming the game had been released into public domain. The problem is to this day only 160K of data was copied from the original 256K Digital Data Pack. Which means that the game crashes after getting to block 159K the last question pack. Walter’s Software in the 80’s fixed this issue by making a routine that automatically resets the program after the last question pack is used instead of crashing. However to this day we do not have the complete 256K Jeopardy program and only 160K worth of the program since the person that copied the program back in 1985 did not copy the entire program. Now it is my understanding that someone came across a two disk version of Jeopardy on two 160K disks and maybe that has some of the questions that would have been on the original 256K Digital Data Pack. Where ever that manual came from, that person might have access to the original 256K Jeopardy on Digital Data Pack. After all these years it would be nice to have the full Jeopardy game and not just 160K worth.

So far all the original Coleco ADAM Disk and Digtial Data Pack supergames that have been converted to a standard 256K ColecoVision/ADAM cartridge, requires the OPCODE SGM’s extra memory when ran on a standard ColecoVision system (that requirement is not needed when the cartridge is ran on the ADAM computer). My point is that depending on how the Dragonmaster game is made it might require the OPCODE SGM in order to run on the ColecoVision. A programmer might be able to access the extra memory in the Ultimate SD Wafer drive or have Micro innovation design a special game cartridge with more memory in it. Some ColecoVision/ADAM owners still prefer actual game cartridges over SD Wafer media because of the colorful labels. However, game cartridges are more expensive and have less capacity when compared to a SDHC Wafer card. Colorful retail boxes and manuals can be used for SD Wafer media (even a colorful label can be created). Many people own an ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer drive cartridge. Also the new ColecoVision system coming out from CollectorVision will play ColecoVision rom images from SD Wafer media. ATARIMAX developed a self-boot technique so that SD wafers can be created that automatically act like a game cartridge as soon as the SD Wafer media is inserted. In addition, SD Wafer media can be used on over a billion computers and portable devices using a ColecoVision emulator (Opening the possibility of a high quality ColecoVision game being sold to over 10,000 people worldwide). However, I have suggested in the past that a copy protection or encryption system be used on SD Wafer media so that one cannot copy and paste the commercial copywrited rom image in a Windows PC. In addition, ATARIMAX can activate DRM serial number verification firmware updates that would only allow a SD Wafer card to run on one SD Wafer Drive. However, the best way to protect ones SD Wafer game from being copied is to have a Windows copy protection system that prevents the rom image from being copy and pasted. The Ultimate SD Wafer drive comes with two licensed videogames and it is disappointing that more people do not use SD Wafer cards when releasing ColecoVision games. The ColecoVision/ADAM can be very time consuming and I have thought about working on some projects, but there is only so many hours in the day. I do have a Electronic Engineering degree, and a Computer Programming degree. So I can design and repair things at the component level, but I have not used that skill for decades. In addition, when I use to program in C+ and other languages I was very good and received some rewards for the applications I made for a corporation I use to work for. However, I have not programmed for around a decade and I would not be able to make videogames since my graphics drawing skills are poor. In addition, when I used the ADAM between 1983-1993 the only programming I did was SmartBasic and I never messed around with other languages on the ADAM computer. Everything takes a lot of time with the ColecoVsion/ADAM and there is not enough time to do everything. This is why professional companies like Coleco, IBM, and Apple have people in different departments. One group of people works on hardware design and another group of people work on new software design, another group of people work on marketing of new products and selling them (Then there is meetings to get those 3 groups together to make sure everyone is going in the same direction for the new product launch). Today since the ColecoVision/ADAM community is so small, I see a lot of third party companies or one individual in a company trying to do all of those functions themselves.

While I realize the MegaCart and Super Game Cartridge up to 8MB does exist and at least 3 game publishes are using them for the ColecoVision/ADAM (OPCODE Games, Team Pixelboy, and CollectorVision). My question is if one wants blank game cartridges, then what website does one go to order the 8MB Super Game Cartridge or the MegaCart? Does one contact OPCODE Games directly and setup a special order for cartridges? Or does OPCODE Games have an exclusive agreement with 3 main ColecoVision/ADAM game publishers? There might be a market for blank Micro Innovations game cartridges for the ColecoVision/ADAM. Micro Innovations could sale to anyone that needs a cartridge.

In someways it would be nice to have more larger size cartridges on the market to choose from. Some people in 2018 are making hardware, software, and doing marketing for the ColecoVision/ADAM. If Micro Innovations did come out with a new cartridge it would free up some peoples time to do more programming on the ColecoVision/ADAM. This is like the good old days in the 80's and early 90's and for some reason people are coming back to their first computer or one of their first computers they spent a lot of time with.

Another reason to call the system "ColecoVision 2". However I am for paying for licensing when every its legally required.

The following website has been down for awhile. Hopefully it well come back up in the near future. ADAM Computer Website - http://www.sacnews.net/adamcomputer/index.html

Sometimes tinkering can turn into, reopening Micro Innovations. If by some remote chance Micro Innovations did enter back into the ColecoVision/ADAM business, a bank switching cartridge above 32KB would be ideal. However OPCODE Games has already created bank switching Super Game cartridges up to 8MB in size that also holds game screens and high scores. Current new 21st Century games for the ColecoVision/ADAM use 64KB, 128KB, 256KB, 512KB, and coming soon in theory 1MB. But who knows maybe there would be a demand for Micro innovation brand cartridges that would be sold to anyone and available for immediate purchase. Many people today are using the ATARIMAX Ultimate SD Wafer Drive (also called Ultimate SD cartridge). This ATARIMAX product currently lets one use 32GB SDHC Wafer cards for around $10. A programmer literally can use the entire 32GB SDHC Wafer card for one large game by paging in 4MB of data at a time and then as needed keep loading another set of 4MB of videogame screens. In addition the SDHC Wafer card games can be used on billions of Windows, MAC, and portable devices with a ColecoVision emulator installed. I wish Micro innovations if they did start making products again for the ColecoVision/ADAM, would come out with a plug in HDMI 80 column output adapter, a 4 port USB ADAMNET hub for the ADAM to use standard USB keyboards, USB mice, USB printers, USB 1.44MB 3.5 inch floppy drive, and a USB hard drive or solid state drive. It would be really cool to have a USB 3.0 to ADAMNET interface. I would also like to purchase a 2MB or even 16MB ADAM memory expander. Of course the Coleco ADAM is a smaller niche now in 2018 compared to the early 90’s, that is why many people are working on the ADAM and ColecoVision games (New ADAM games have been released but over the last several years most dedicated ADAM games have been ported over to the ColecoVision with SGM so that ColecoVision owners can experience the best videogames up to 256KB in size that were released between October 1983 to Jan 1985). But I would support the Micro Innovations company with purchases of new ADAM products if Mark's company every did decide to go down that road.

The problem with any classic computer system including the Coleco ADAM, is that the older the system gets the less people end up using it. The ADAM had a strong user base of around 500,000+ around 1985. However as we got to the early to mid 90’s much better systems like Windows for IBM computers became available. If Micro Innovations products would have been around in 1986-1988 then a massive amount of disk drives and hard drives would have been sold. For starting up around 1989 Micro innovations did very well. However when the ADAMNet hard drive was ready for mass production, the problem was in it was around 1993 or 1994 and many of the ADAM users had moved on. The ADAMNET hard drive was not released because of lack of demand and Mciro innovations started closing down around 1994 or 1995. I well always remember Micro Innovations as being the best hardware developer for the ADAM computer with quality state of the art products. I realize that shortly after 1985 there were other great companies like Eve Electronics and others. However back in 1983-1991+ I was mostly using my ADAM computer for its awesome videogame quality, some word processing, and some Basic programming once and awhile. There was so much hardware and software available for the Coleco ADAM that I did not have the time and resources to try everything out. In certain areas Jim from NIAD has more experience with the ADAM then I did since working for NIAD he had the opportunity to try more hardware and software products that he also many times wrote professional reviews.

It needs to have the ColecoVision brand name if this is going to be marketed big time in Walmart, Amazon, EBAY, etc. However since there is going to be custom face plates offered I would like to see "ColecoVision II" on the face plate because it would cause less confusion. For example with all the ColecoVision systems currently on EBAY, some people well think this is just the old 80's system being sold unless they spend time reading the detailed description. With the ColecoVision II face plate one knows this is a new console.

What does the HD stand for? Normally HD stands for High Definition but since all ColecoVision games are native SD resolution maybe the HD standards for 1080p or 720P High Definition upscaling.

So it looks like the name of this product has been officially changed from CollectorVision Game System to ColecoVision video game system. The name change should be more popular and should generate more sales. However since it is more powerful then the original 1982 ColecoVision one might want to call it a "ColecoVision II".

I am glad this is a officially licensed ColecoVision game system. You might want to consider calling it a ColecoVision II so that people know it is different and in some ways better then the original. If this project becomes a reality and if it operates like advertised, then the hardware/software engineers should get some type of gold metal or some type of reward for doing this project.

If this were to work with the Expansion module #3 ADAM computer and standalone ADAM, I most likely would purchase several of these if you every did decide to mass produce this item. This might be more popular than the OPCODE SGM since it would give high quality digital video and audio output for all ColecoVision/ADAM games by HDMI with no risk of internally soldering and changing the motherboard. This is something I have always wanted for years. I guess if one wants to use the original RF display in the ColecoVision one would need to unplug the HDMI expansion module, however a better solution would be a on/off button on top the HDMI expansion that would allow one to toggle between F18 HDMI and the original VDP. There would need to be an expansion module interface on HDMI expansion module so that the Opcode SGM and other modules could be connected.

That looks cool, the very first native HDMI upgrade for the ColecoVision that requires no internal modification. I hope you enjoy your design, its your decision if you do not want to mass produce this product. Its a lot of work and money to bring new hardware to the ColecoVision/ADAM community.

Then if the F18 mk2 with native HDMI output can be ran from the ColecoVision and ADAM external expansion port, that would be the ideal way to go. Maybe someone could modify the SGM so that it contains a F18 with a HDMI port on the right side of the case (Maybe OPCODE games could sale new Super Game Modules with a built in HDMI port). The other solution is to develop an expansion module for the ColecoVision and ADAM that had the F18 with a HDMI output (An on/off switch would allow one to toggle between HDMI and the native VDP in the console). However, the HDMI expansion module would also need a expansion slot to plug in the SGM and other modules. ColecoVision/ADAM owners would spend up to $200 for such a product that offered HDMI output with no modification needed. Possible 200-300 F18 mk2 could be sold if it worked in such away. If the demand existed, a company could get a high-end Chinese computer graphics card company to make a dedicated HDMI video graphics expansion module for the ColecoVision/ADAM. The graphics card company would most likely want a minimum run of 500 and the research and development costs would be much more than designing a new power supply for the ColecoVision/ADAM.

If no front expansion module interface is made to upgrade the CoelcoVision/ADAM video quality, then I might one day take my ColecoVision/ADAM apart and solder a HDMI output video upgrade on it. I am guessing that the F18 mk2 when released well support the Coleco ADAM computer system and ColecoVision for HDMI output.

Back in the early 1990’s Micro Innovations was going to develop an external 80 column color video output for the Coleco ADAM computer that would have most likely have plugged into the side expansion module interface (Might have also worked on the ColecoVision front expansion module interface also). Of course Micro Innovations around the mid 1990’s stopped making hardware for the Coleco ADAM and never officially released the color 80 column video upgrade plug in adapter for the ADAM computer. However, my point is 100% of all hardware that Micro innovations made for the Coleco ADAM did not require any internal hardware modifications. Their products connected by ADAMNet, and the 3 internal expansion ports (not sure if they used the side ADAM expansion port at all but other companies like EVE Electronics and Coleco did). My point is none of Micro innovations products required one to take the computer apart and solder components onto the main motherboard. I do not have the schematics in front of me, but it should be possible in theory to develop a external HDMI output for both the ColecoVision and ADAM computer that would plug into the ColecoVision and ADAM expansion port. It would be powered by the console power supply. The HDMI adapter would have its own HDMI graphics card interface that would take the digital binary signals from the CPU directly and covert it to a native 480i 4:3 HDMI output. Basically it would disable the existing video display processor in the ColecoVision/ADAM and have its own video display processor with HDMI output. It would be really neat to have a OPCODE SGM that has a HDMI jack on the side that would output native HDMI signals.

That is a good question. Perhaps only 1% of ATARI 800 owners were using the Y/C feature and maybe for cost cutting reasons when the ATARI 800XL first came out it was not wired for Y/C. However starting in August of 1984 all ATARI 800XL's were being manufactured with the Y/C output active on the 5 pin DIN jack. In the years between 1987 to 2010 there were many higher end TV/monitors that offered the S-Video feature that both ATARI and Commodore computer owners took advantage of to get the best picture in the 80's and 90's. However around the year 2018 many people internally modify their classic 80's computers now so that they have HDMI output which is much better then S-Video. But ATARI and Commodore will go down in history as the first two computer companies that used native Y/C output. I would have to research to make sure but I believe that there was some videogame systems in the late 80's or early 90's that used native S-Video and possible native component video which is better then S-Video. Around 1997 soon after the DVD format launched 480i component video jacks became the high-end video connection that would replace S-Video. By the year 2010 480i or 1080i component jacks along with HDMI replaced the S-Video jacks on all TV's. Now HDMI is rapidly replacing component video on most TV and on all computer monitors. Also in the early 21st 1080i component video was used on HDTV's. Some videogame systems most likely have native component video hookups. Possible some 16 bit and 32 bit videogame systems.

The 160 x 96 color resolution came from the following website http://www.oldcomputers.net/atari800.html

The original ATARI 800 from Nov 1979 has a 5 pin DIN jack that has Y/C output and with the proper cable can be connected to a old pre 2010 TV with S-Video. The 800XL did not start offering Y/C until after August of 1984. The Atari 65XE and 130XE offer Y/C output. Therefore the ATARI 800 offered Y/C output 4 years before the Commodore 64 started offering the feature. However the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 are clearly more powerful computers when compared to the ATARI computer. I prefer my ADAM computer over the Commodroe 64, however there are some nice advanced features like 80 column color on the Commodore 128 that outperform the Coleco ADAM computer in those areas.

The VIC 20 only had a 5 pin DIN jack with composite video output. No Y/C.

The S-Video jack was created in 1987 for the S-VHS format. Hi-8 used it also. Later on ATARI and Commodore owners started using S-Video feature with special cables. Before the S-Video jack one had to own a special computer monitor like the Commodore 1702.

The original August 1982 Commodore 64 computers only offered composite video on its 5 pin DIN jack. In the spring of 1983 Commodore came out with a new motherboard for the Commodore 64 (250407 motherboard). These new Commodore 64 motherboards had a 8 pin DIN jack with the Y/C feature. So ATARI had the Y/C feature 4 years before Commodore offered it. The Commodore 128 also offers the Y/C feature. As far as I am aware only the ATARI and Commodore computers offer Y/C technology which is better then composite video. S-Video launched in 1987 on TV/monitors because of the launch of JVC's S-VHS system. Later on other products like Hi-8, ED-Beta, a few Laserdisc players, etc used S-Video technology. S-Video jacks and cables was designed for home entertainment products like S-VHS, later on third party companies started making S-Video cables for ATARI and Commodore computers. Component video, VGA, S-VGA, DVI, and HDMI are better quality connections when compared to S-Video. Today 100% of modern 4K Ultra HD and 1080P computer monitors use HDMI only or HDMI and displayport options.

That is awesome that someone created a DVI add on board for some of the Atari computers. With a DVI to HDMI adapter the ATARI computers can be connected to a modern display with HDMI. However there are many videogame systems and computer systems that can be upgraded to have a HDMI output. The cool thing about the ATARI 800 is it was the first computer that offered native Y/C output back in 1979 when that feature was very rare even on computer monitors.

The Coleco ADAM has 32 sprites with 256K x 192 resolution, Z80A at 3.58Mhz, 80KB of ram (64KB useable) and expandable to 2MB. Coleco ADAM has 4 expansion card slots (3 internal and 1 external). The original ATARI 800 has a MOS 6502 at 1.7Mhz, 160 x 96 color resolution . Besides the Y/C technology on the ATARI, the Coleco ADAM has better specs.