misspent_youth

There's no doubt that the CV is s finicky system, but 95% of the consoles I've had with the fuzzy picture have that problem disappear with the RF>Coaxial adapter available for a couple bux at Radio Shack. More annoying is the way that cartridges have to positioned Just So when you put them in, otherwise the system does not detect the game or give garbled startup screen. FOr those that have limited experience with the system and buy it off epay, it's easy to conclude that it doesn't work, when it's just showing its, ahem, personality. Still my favourite system though (it's the one I had as a kid). It seems also that it's more likely that you'll get a decent price when selling games alone (depending on the games, of course) as opposed to systems/packages. Boxed Colecovisions, on the other hand, are usually a different story.

Not to mention you can make Smurfette's dress come off.

Total n00b question here, since I don't collect 5200 (but am considering starting), but has anyone tried to insert their own spring to make the controller self-centre? I mean, the colecovision sticks centre by means of a giant spring inside the case. Again, I've never seen what a 5200 stick looks like apart to know if it's feasible or not, but if there's one thing that classic gamers are it's masters of MacGyver-ness.

I think teaching kids anything about computers is an excellent proposition. I also agree that the C= 64, and BASIC, are amenable to younger children's learning. The only drawback is that the knowledge is less likely to draw the kids into a love of computing, because the opportunities to apply that knowledge are limited outside the classroom. Back in the 80's when young kids were teaching themselves BASIC it was possible to get exposure to new ideas from others in teh community (i.e. friends, magazines, etc.). It's part of what made me want to learn it so much when I was a kid, the ability to show it to my friends and to see what they were doing. You just can't do that today with BASIC (or at least, not many 10 year olds can). Still, as was pointed out above, the basic premises do carry over. Hopefully, the spark of enjoyment will cause the youngsters to continue their programming education. Good for you, MacbthPSW.

I too had the experience where a nice CV set I listed on e-bay resulted in a great bargain for the purchaser. Yet, sometimes, I see CV lots going for ridiculous prices. The days of bargains on e-bay for CV games are long gone, unless a fluke occurs. A CIB Q-Bert's Qubes just sold for $170. Damn! Some of the commons for CV were gems. I still love LadyBug, Mr. Do, Pepper II, Frenzy. The ports of Galaxian and Burgertime are quite good as well.