NIAD

Any further additions and or corrections?

Here is the finalized ADAM Computer Software & Cartridge revamped list. This list along with the ColecoVision & ADAM Cartridge Collectors List that I upped yesterday replace my older rarity list that was upped here last week. Once again, any corrections or additions would be greatly appreciated. Time to get ack to playing some games! Coleco ADAM Computer Collectors List v1.0 (2011) (NIAD).zip

Probably the only one left that could answer that question is Terry Fowler of eColeco as he has repaired and converted to larger sized drives a lot of ADAM Disk Drives. I'll have to shoot him an email and hope for a response. The ADAM Disk Drive was made by MPI Technologies and the drive mechanics would probably be impossible to find... the controller board that is housed in the unit is unique to the ADAM as well. I'm gonna have to open up my old PC to take a look at the 5 1/4" 360K drive in it to see if it has similar hook-ups for all the sensors (read/write, disk inserted, etc.) that you would have seen wires running from the controller board to the drive mechanics when you had it opened.

Glad to hear all went well. I have heard from numerous people that the 5 1/4" 1.2Mb drive doesn't write to ADAM disks very reliably or at all so I'm interested to know what brand of drive you have.

Why are you always shouting (using the large size font). Proper etiquette that should have been learned in the days of BBSing still ring true today. As far as your dream of a modern system housed in an ADAM fascade... think it'd be a big expense to incure when you can pick-up an ADAM Computer for cheap on eBAY. Sometimes you can even find them for under a hundred dollars and while disk drives aren't as plentiful, they have been consistently showing up on eBAY as well as the AA MarketPlace for very fair prices considering how many people want one. What really needs to be developed, or should I say finally manufactured and released for purchase, is an ADAMnet SD Drive. This one product would elimintae all worries that ADAM owners have about eventually not be able to find working replacement Data or Disk Drives if their drive malfunction. Hopefully "Else" will eventually come back to this forum again with some info on his SD drive.

Thanx Pixelboy... corrections made! Give me/everyone a heads-up when you're out-of-stock on the others. Here are some further updates that everyone can add/change to the list themselves: Space Invasion rarity rating should be R0 since you can still buy it CIB from C.G.C. Star Fortress rarity rating should be R0 since you can still buy it CIB from C.G.C. Purple Dinosaur Massacre (Demo) should be moved from the "Homebrew ROM Release" section to the "Homebrew Releases" section. A box and manual are available with the purchase thru C.G.C. and the rarity rating is an R0.

Use: http://www.classicgamecreations.com and then click on the "How to Order" link at the top. Last time I visited the page I only saw Vectrex stuff to order, so it's good to know everything else is still available. See that John's three Coleco projects are going for $20.00 each... not bad at all.

Is John Dondzila still selling his games on cartridge as I don't recall seeing any mention of this on his website or has someone else picked up the distribution of his games? Inquiring minds need to know!

Thanks Yurkie... you should have seen me in action back in the day when I was over 20 years younger, a lot of all-niters back then.

Those are going to be two very hard cartridges to come by especially considering how long ago they were released. If you just want to play them, you can download the roms from John Dondzila's site (Classic Game Creations) and play thru an emulator or even load them onto the AtariMax ColecoVision USB or SD Carts to play on a real CV or ADAM. Which releases of the SteamRoller cart do you have as the Intellivision Productions release is more valuable than the Retrotopia release.

I have completely revamped my CV & ADAM Rarity List that was posted here over a week ago. The list now includes fields for: checkboxes for keeping track of your cartridge, box, manual and overlays collection price column to track how much each cart cost rarity rating original manufacturer's product # copyright year game title manufacturer controller compatibility This list has grown to be rather lengthy and when printing it out you should use the "Landscape" printer option. Also note that this list only includes cartridges that can be played on the ColecoVision and ADAM Computer. An ADAM Software specific list is being worked on and will be kept separate for now on. Once again, if anyone has corrections or additions that need to be made, you can post them here. ColecoVision & ADAM Cartridge Collector List v1.0 (2011) (NIAD).zip

No, there was never a CF 1 released for the ColecoVision. However, Marcel de Kogel (Red Bullet Software) did release "Cosmo Fighter - The Super Game" in disk image format for use with Coleco ADAM Computer emulators or to transfer back to a real ADAM Computer. I guess this ADAM specific release can be consider version 1 since it was released before the cartridges.

Unopened/Unused ColecoVisions that are complete with the box and styrofoam packing can go for a pretty penny on eBay, basically what it all boils down to is timing. Over the last year I have seen units like the one you are describing go for anywhere from $150 on up to $225.

BTW, there is a new ADAM Computer... or should I say Tablet.

Ebay had one of those for sale last year. A users group had put the ADAM components into a late 1990's tower case. It had extra ram, 5.25" disk drives, modem and even 2 hard disk drives. I thought about bidding on it but the starting price was a little high, plus, I like the original look of the ADAM better. That's the one. The ADAMcon Group (adamcomputer on here) was given it by Thomas Mackie a number of years ago. Here are some pics that I was gratitiously provided.

It still amazes me that after all these years that people still fall for Coleco's marketing ploy of saying the ADAM was an 80K computer. The ADAM had 64K addressable memory and the remaining 16K was dedicated video memory from the ColecoVision PCB. Also, numerous people did take it upon themselves to make a custom ADAM using PC Desktop cases. One such unit that comes to mind was made by Thomas Mackie and included an ADAM Hard Drive, 2 disk drives, modem, etc. in I think a Tandy tower case and even had a hacked Tandy? 101-key keyboard. This unit sold on eBay last summer. BTW, just install ADAMem, Virtual ADAM or MESS on your PC and place a picture of an ADAM on your desk.

BTW, you know what would be nice to see... an ADAM Computer with a built-in power transformer and a built-in 5 1/4" Disk Drive. All based off the original technology. I have seen numerous customized units over the years (and have some pics if anyone is interested) like this but could never bring myself to hack up a system myself.

Yeah... pretty lame if you ask me, but I'm sure there's a lot of hardcore C=64 fans out there that will go for it if they have the extra money to blow. Me, I'd rather just load up an C=64 emulator on my PC Destop or Laptop to relive my C=64 past and save myself the money (and space) to spend on new CV Homebrews... plus this way I'll be investing in the future of the CV as well as the ADAM. Another big drawback to this "new" C=64 is that you are still tied to the computer due to the fact that it's still an all-in-one unit with the keyboard. I always hated this about the C=64 and a lot of other computers of this era and always loved the fact the you could stretch out a little with the ADAM and have the keyboard on your lap, especially if you picked up a 6' ADAMnet cord. Some things are just better off left as is and people should learn to appreciate all the little idiosyncracies and flaws that made these old systems what they were... it called having personality!

You don't need two drives (Disk or Data Drives) to make copies, you can do so with only one... but it takes a little longer and there is some disk swapping involved. When making copies, it's nice to have a Memory Expander installed in the ADAM (especially a 256K Memory Expander) since it's used as a copy buffer. What does it do copy part of the disk to RAM, ask you to insert the blank and so on back and forth until entire disc is finished? You got that right! And you don't even own an ADAM! Seriously though, there are a large number of copy programs for the ADAM and File Manager v3.0 by AJM Software and Backup+ v3.0 by M.M.S.G. are THE best ones. They both offer up about a 40K copy buffer, so to copy a 160K disk would take 8 disk swaps. If you had a memory expander, all that spce would be added to the copy buffer as well... making for a lot less disk or data pack swapping when using only one drive. I also used to use another copy program that would copy the contents of a disk or data pack to a large memory expander and then allow you to make multiple copies back to disk/ddp. The contents of the memory expander would remain intact until you reset the system or initialized the memory expander.

You don't need two drives (Disk or Data Drives) to make copies, you can do so with only one... but it takes a little longer and there is some disk swapping involved. When making copies, it's nice to have a Memory Expander installed in the ADAM (especially a 256K Memory Expander) since it's used as a copy buffer.

I bought an NES when they first were released and built up a good collection of games, but I eventually sold it around 1989 as I tired of it. I still had my ColecoVision and ADAMs and continued to use them for many more years to come.

Well... TeleGames did produce one game for the ColecoVision. It was Skiing and I'm pretty sure it was programmed by Terry Grantham, who was running TeleGames USA and was involved earlier with, if memory serves me right, Sunrise Software, before they folded up.

I've noticed this with my drive as well when using them with generic/lower quality diskettes. When I've used a good name brand diskette like Nashau (which are getting hard to find) that has a thicker/heavier protective sleeve, I rarely, if at all, experience this. Aside from that, have you tried or do you own a Disk Cleaning Kit? Not sure about lubricating/cleaning any other mechanical parts like the drive belt or motor that spines the belt... hopefully someone on here can chime in or will have to Google for a possible answer.

Check out this Rarity List I have been working on... this is the last one I uploaded here but I have been completely revamping it and should have the final version (with huge changes in formatting etc.) available by the weekend. This list covers ALL ColecoVision carts and has a recently added list of ADAM Software. However, it does not yet include all the Homebrewers creations released after Coleco abandoned ship for the ADAM like the ones I have been posting once a week in the "ADAM Computer Game of the Week" threads (up to 15 now). ADAM & ColecoVision Cartridge Rarity Rel.-7 (2011) (NIAD).zip

I second Lucifershalo's thanks Luc. Even though this one won't pan out, we appreciate your efforts and all the work you put forward into coming up with new ideas to provide enjoyment for all us CV enthuisiasts. +1