Rob Mitchell

Many thanks .. off to find two 10k resistors .. Q: what do JP4, SV3, SV4 do?

Anyone?.

I ordered all parts for myself and a friend from Digikey .. Q: the BOM does not list the two resistors .. are they necessary??

I just installed two this weekend. .. I broke my high score in Berzerk! What others have said, they are more responsive than the new Best circuit with dome switches ..

Yes .. both great games on the 2600 .. as well as the same named games for the Vectrex too. All are best played with 5 button Asteroids like controllers.

Color chip is AY-3-8615. It is also listed in the 1978 GI catalog.

Yes .. add a switch to toggle between barriers no effect and barriers stop tank travel.

Heres a catalog ref.. funny they could not get two pairs of hands when taking this pic.

The 1977 dedicated console Coleco Combat is an impressive piece of engineering .. they were attempting to replicate the gameplay of the Atari Tank Arcade game. Two sets of tank levers with leaf springs for controllers .. two speakers built in .. well made! Sadly they used the inferior GI AY-3-8700-1 chip which allows the tanks to drive over the barriers and leave the screen entirely. Also B&W .. Later the January 1978 General Instruments catalog lists the backward compatible AY-3-8710-1 chip where the barriers and screen boundary are true obstructions like Atari 2600 Combat. Also theres a color chip which will make this game into a more pleasing experience. I have the color chip .. The GI AY-3-8710-1 chip was listed in an article about building your own tank game in Radio Electroncis magazine 11/1978 and available via mail order. Anyone know of this chip and if it is stil available? Google searches and chip suppliers have not found it.

I played the arcade version back in 1976 and the gameplay and physics were awesome .. I spent about $10 trying to master it. When I got the home console at discount in 1979 ($20) , I was disappointed in the weird physics .. cycle hangs low, high, low for the first few busses. Later busses show more realistic jumps. What surprises me is that the engineering is Atari but the stunt cycle chip is made by General Instruments in 1977. So the GI engineers saw the arcade game, talked to Atari and made the chip and sold Ataris game to them. They must have been working together. And the Sears version which has the pong games must have used a GI Pong chip to make the unit electrically compatible. The Atari version of SC has a volume (low / high) switch instead of the PONG / SC switch. Also has a plastic insert in the side where the Sears Pong controllers plug in. Inside the Atari is the same circuit board which has connections to add the four Pong controller ports ... my plan is to install a port there to allow the Atari SC to function as a throttle controller for both the Atari 2600 proto and the Vectrex version of SC which is due to be released soon. Also I plan to use it as a throttle controller for my arcade Asteroids Cocktail which has the Lunar Lander arcade ROM built in. That will allow for analog thrust instead of digital button thrust! In Radio Electronics magazine, January 1979, theres an article about building the SC with input from the GI engineers. All parts including the circuit and the AY-3-8760 SC chip were available for purchase for $61.75 from an outfit in Mesa, AZ which sadly does not exist anymore. Of course the spring loaded pot was not available then. I imagine that by Jan 1979, GI was unloading these chips .. I havent looked at the 2600 proto of SC in years .. I would love to see / play the arcade version again!!

I prefer a WHERE are all the Driving Controller Home-brews?! Rant!

Nice .. thanks!

I got the VCS in the fall of 1977 and had all the launch carts except Math.

Anyone have a source for replacement leaf springs found in arcade push buttons?

We took Asteroids and two Vectrex consoles to the Vintage Computer Frestival SE last weekend.

I just ordered and paid for the multicart!

Looking forward to SFGE .. My wife and I are bringing our Asteroids Cocktail and Rally-X Cabaret for free play. Also Vectrex, Astrocade and Channel F for show and play. Loads of fun!!

PM sent

Which positions on the board are the RAM chips?

Thats fantastic work .. I wish they would drag it to Southern Fried Gameroom Expo in June.

Just want to start a repair thread that is separate from the collectors discussion thread .. I have a semi working ChF model I which is displaying garbage in the lower area of the screen. Help appreciated. See pic. I presume this is a ram chip I guess I neeed to get a test cart to help decide which it could be.

Sticker please?

I got one from you .. it feels great in my hand ..

After many years of playing Paul Slocums Marble Craze with two paddles strapped to a plastic tub .. I finally found THE perfect box into which to place two pots .. I still need to solder a cable and mount some push buttons .. WIP.

Arcadeshop has brand new, black, Atari cocktail clips for cheap. Each has four screw holes in the bottom. I bought four for my Asteroids Cocktail.