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opcode

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Posts posted by opcode

  2. Posted

    4 hours ago, Pumantor said:

    Hello

    I'am wondering if I got the right version listed 3rd run. First compatible with French SCART CV. First gatefold box. Dropped the Coleco name (but kept the ColecoVision name). Released 2016

    There is in the box : 

    COLECO VISION et manufactured by COLECO

    Thanks

    Not sure what you mean. Yes, 3rd run was still called the ColecoVision Super Game Module. But no Coleco logos.

     

  3. Posted

    Mine left Woonsocket, RI on 12/22 and made it as far as the Jersey City, NJ Distribution Center a day later, where it's been ever since.
     
    I know I'll eventually get it and I understand it's coming in a special envelope. My big question is does it get mailed flat (cardboard backing?) My postal delivery person takes every envelope than doesn't have a stiff backing and folds it vertically down the middle before putting it in my mailbox. I would love to get a magazine that doesn't have a large crease down the middle of it.
     

    Yes, kits were shipped with back boarding.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    13 minutes ago, retroillucid said:

    I'm working on it! :D
    I'll try to post an update later this evening 

     

    54 minutes ago, NIAD said:

    Aside from that, looks like Pixelboy's thread is officially derailed!

     

    Alright, I think Pixelboy can now rename his thread "Ongoing discussion on assorted ColecoVision topics 2021". :P 

  6. Posted

    1 hour ago, Pixelboy said:

    You're probably right, but then the device would depend on a 40-year-old unreliable piece of tech. And then there would probably be issues with people who modded their consoles. With a motherboard replacement, you've got complete control over the hardware setup, all you need are some old non-functional ColecoVision consoles from which you can recycle the casing, so no custom plastic enclosure to design or pay for, and no front expansion port female connector to worry about.

     

    Heck, you could probably replace the DB9 controller ports with USB ports, and use off-the-shelf USB controllers, which would cut costs even more. But then you'd lose the 12-key keypad, so maybe it's not such a good idea, with respect to backward compatibility.  :) 

     

     

    What you are describing here sounds like something that is already available. It is called Phoenix. Although your version seems to come in a CV case... 

     

    I find this quote from Steven Jobs quite inspirational: "Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them."

    • Like 4

  7. Posted

    9 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

    I think this should be done as a "Colecovision II" motherboard replacement project. There's probably more than enough room inside the ColecoVision's casing for a new motherboard that includes all the desired features. The front expansion port could be ditched in favor of a keyboard port and an SD card reader, although the SD card reader would have to be recessed quite a bit in order for the little black front door to stay mobile. Just position the cartridge port and joystick ports in the same spots on the new motherboard (to line them up with the openings in the original enclosure), use the power plug opening for the HDMI female connector, and the RF connector opening for the power cord, and voilà. If it's done this way, there wouldn't be any need to drill holes into the original enclosure, although I expect there would be some design concerns around the HDMI connector.

     

    Personally, I would opt for a couple of simple USB ports in the front expansion port area, which could be used to plug in USB drives with ROMs (or perhaps more interestingly, read/write files for savegame purposes, or extra data for new levels that the cartridge software could load into RAM, etc.) or perhaps a USB keyboard or a USB mouse. USB is complex to implement, but it opens the door to a lot of peripheral hardware possibilities if it's done properly, so it would be worth the effort for the board designer to do his homework.

     

    And of course, the new board should be backwards compatible with original ColecoVision carts, so the SGM would have to be integrated into the design, along with the Coleco BIOS and equivalent VDP+sound chip solutions.  :) 

     

    Most of that could be done inside a small device the size of the regular SGM. So no need for mods, it would be all plug & play. That is, if only VSC1 was real...

  8. Posted

    2 minutes ago, NIAD said:

    Hmm, sounds like a possible SGM2. I was thinking of starting a thread on "What a possible SGM2 might include" and I had lots of ideas but no hardware development skills to back the real possibilities.

    Well, technically F18A offers enhanced video support. And we have a lot of F18A users out there, and not enough support. :)

     

    But yeah, I was thinking about a possible SGM2 the other day. Wouldn't it be cool to have a device that is the same size as the regular SGM, fully compatible, and yet including a turbocharged custom chip that is a natural evolution of the original CV chipset? A custom Video and Sound Chip mk1? But I digress. Enough daydreaming. Quoting Pixelboy, we now return you to your regular forum activities. 

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    On 12/23/2020 at 3:42 PM, GBshe said:

    Hi There,

     

    I am Eric Bromley’s granddaughter. I would love to know the source, as my grandfather is long retired and currently resides in Westchester, NY. I can answer a lot of your questions

    Since I was the one who tried to interview your grandfather (back in 2012), I just sent you a PM. Thank you for the offer. :)

  18. Posted

    Let me try to answer that.

    1st run. Coleco license. Not compatible with French SCART CV. Paper box with foam insert. Released in December 2012.

    2nd run. Same as 1st run. Some modules shipped with paper nameplates. Released late 2015/early 2016

    3rd run. First compatible with French SCART CV. First gatefold box. Dropped the Coleco name (but kept the ColecoVision name). Released 2016

    4th run. Dropped the ColecoVision name. Was the largest run. Released in 2017 I think.

    5th run. Another large run. First with dome nameplate and new Opcode logo. Released November 2020.

    6th run. Special ADAM themed run. Releases early 2021.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    • Like 2

  19. Posted

    4 hours ago, lucifershalo said:

    is Opcode replying from time to time?

     

    no reply to PM here

    no reply to email

    no reply to message

    ......

    I am here. Just too busy shipping SGMs. And Grazi lost her computer a couple of weeks ago, so she has no access to Opcode emails 

  20. Posted

    25 minutes ago, NIAD said:

    For SmartWriter, after you turn on the system are in in Electronic Typewriter mode, just press CONTROL and R at the same time and a new SmartKey will display with the revision listed..

     

    CONTROL and R is used to display the revision number of some other Adam software like the Filer programs.

     

    All Adam systems were shipped with EOS5, so that is what you got. In SmartBasic, you can PEEK at an address using “ Print Peek(address) “ to display the version, but I don’t recall the specific address offhand. I’ll have to dig out the POKES, PEEKS and CALLS list for SB 1.0

     

    Ok, SmartWriter seems easy enough. :)

     

    The first post says most ADAMs shipped with EOS6, so should I assume that is incorrect? 

     

    Thanks Jim!

  22. Posted

    For those of us on the 2nd shipment that got paper badges on our Super Game Module, will new badges be available? I wanted to ask in case this was the last shipment and production may need to make a few more badges.  Thank you!

    Sure. I assumed I had shipped all replacement nameplates by now, as that was done a couple of years ago. In case you don’t have a pre-order in this run, please send us an email and Grazi will take care of your nameplate. :)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    Hello
     
    I have not received an email concerning the second payment for the SGM, is this normal?
     
    Thanks!

    I am shipping in batches. I am not sending invoices until an order is ready to ship. So please be patient as the whole process may take a couple of weeks. :)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  24. Posted

    1 hour ago, cubelindo said:

    I joined the club a couple days ago and have not even received an acknowledge email, is that normal?

     

    Also I would like to change the name on the member card, as it is not the name of the shipping address, how can I proceed?

     

    Regards,

     

    Hi. We aren’t sending confirmations, although you should have gotten a confirmation from PayPal. However we are about to contact all members requesting name (as you want it to appear on your member card) and address in the next few days. 
     

    Thank you! 

  25. Posted

    16 minutes ago, Ikrananka said:

    Coleco 1984 Annual Report: "After writedowns, the total of ColecoVision inventory and accounts receivable was $40.5 million at December 31, 1984. During 1985 it is expected that year-end accounts receivable will be converted to cash and the balance of ColecoVision inventory sold."

     

    Coleco 1985 Annual Report: "Coleco's Consumer Electronics segment generated sales of $56.2 million for 1985 and incurred an operating loss of $38.5 million, nearly all attributable to ColecoVision. During the course of the year, all ADAM and ColecoVision inventory was sold, completing the discontinuation of those product lines."

     

    So while the ColecoVision lasted to some degree through to 1985, the decision to axe and abandon the ADAM and ColecoVision came some time in 1984.

    We will never have a fair assessment of the ColecoVision potential past 1983 because Coleco diverged (to the ADAM) then drastically reduced investment. 

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