bad robot

Colecovision Replacement motherboard (Running on +5V ) ** does anyone know any more info on this ?? ** Does anyone know When's the Colecovision Replacement Motherboard 1.2 going to be available ? And Where do you get the video boards that plug in ??

I suppose if your wanted to be a real 'smart-Ass' you could 3D print a ColeCovision console case, and when you see what people can do with a 3D printer it's not such a crazy idea !

Hi. I'm looking for the best site to find books, technical info and general stuff relating to the ColecoVision and Adam. Things like Service manuals , Technical Data, Programming books etc etc .

Is there not a Technical Manual or Service manual for the ColecoVision with all this tech stuff in ??

The idea of 3-D printing plastic cartridge cases is interesting , making low cost plastic cases held together with a few self-tapping screws ?

Best in my opinion when buying TMS99xx ICs to build a test rig to check that they work as soon as you get them. a TI-99/4A makes a good test rig for testing TMS9900s,TIM9904s,TMS9901s etc best if possible to fit ZIF sockets to motherboard for ease ! For TMS9995 ICs then you could use a Powertran cortex or Tomy Tutor (though these are difficult to get and expensive) or probably easier to build your own little test rig .. see Stuart site : http://www.avjd51.dsl.pipex.com/tms9995_breadboard/tms9995_breadboard.htm

So someone in (China ? ) has the original masks for the TMS9900,TMS9995 etc... interesting thought .. this means they could theoretically go back into production ! Though it's hard to believe someone would go to all the trouble of re-manufacturing old ICs like the TMS9900 etc

What's a 68689 ???? never heard of it ! I've seen a website with a VHDL core but can't remember where ! Spotted the S9900 ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/4PC-LOT-S9900P-MICROPROCESSOR-16BIT-64PIN-DIP-/191715872058?hash=item2ca3280d3a Are these (S9900s) exact copies of the originala or are they in any way different i.e. CMOS or with slightly different pin-outs ?

Just make two versions.. one with PAL/NTSC output (analogue TV 50./60Hz) and a VGA monitor chip..each chip having a different designation.. i.e. TMX9918TV (PAL/NTSC TV) & TMX9928VGA (VGA Monitor ) ? There where several version of the Original Chip TMS9918,TMS9928,TMS9929 etc.. But I suppose the main reason to do this (make a one Chip solution) would be cost to get each chip down to below $10 ! Mass producing these would drastically cut the cost and open them up to all sorts of uses both industrial and hobby. So in principal it's a good idea ... but actually doing it would be somewhat more difficult !

Probably best to look at What the Ti-99/4A needs ?? Things like (possibly) ? Real Time Clock Silicon disc (possibly a DS12C887 512Kx8bit NVSRAM) CF Card reader Turbo mode (accelerator board) More I/O ports even USB ports ? A Hard Drive interface ? An Infra-Red interface for wireless keyboard/mouse joystick ? Well you get the idea !!

a NEW Ti-99/4A using real hardware is well overdue, but it is a big project and can you get the people to do it ?

Small projects are perhaps best done on an individual basis as too many Cooks can spoil the broth, with the occasional input from others ? Larger more complex project are probably better suited to a group build where the work load and ideas can be shared out ?

Sounds like a good way to get NEW Hardware projects off the ground !

something like this : Z80 CPU Cartridge Slot (32K Cart as original) 8K SRAM 8K SRAM 8K SRAM 8K EPROM 74HC138 + 74HC139 Memory decoders, (24K SRAM + 8K OS ROM) GAL22V10 I/O decoder V9958 VDP TMS4464-10 DRAMs 4 or 6pcs CXA1645 or CXA1145 PAL/NTSC Encoder SN764789 + AY-3-8910 PSGs 8255 for CF card reader etc There's already similar things being developed on other sites..so it shouldn't be too hard to knock a prototype out ?

Firstly a commercial company would only look at projected profit, the item, in this case a Colecovision console is irrelevant. They'd calculate expected sales profit per unit , R&D cost, royalty fees etc etc and see if makes commercial sense. They have no sentimentality just Dollar signs, plus most companies are run by lawyers and accountants rather than engineers, Engineers usually come low down on the pecking order. Design and building a 'True' Colecovision console that Colecovision Fans want would be madness in their eyes.Something done for the love of it or not for profit would look observed to their business model ! An example of this can be seen in the Recent ZX Spectrum Clones that were made to cash in on middle aged Spectrum users. Most True Speccy fans were not particularly impressed by the Sinclair ZX Vega etc though they still sold quite a few units. The Colecovision FLASHBACK is another example of cashing in on a Retro Console !

The Basic idea is sound, but as soon as MONEY is mentioned a 'Trust' issue arises and people become sceptical/cynical which is understandable. If some means of reliable and trustworthy Group funding could be found as well as enough donations/contributions then it might work ... but there's an awful lot of IFs & BUTs !! It's unlikely a commercial company would understand such a venture as it's already been done (FLASHBACK) and they only see Dollar signs !

Hi. I'm looking for some V9990 video board schematics to make a DIY V9990 board for a homebrew Z80 motherboard. does anyone know where to look or if someone has already made a V9990 video board ? Thanks

The F18A VDP would be a good choice if it didn't cost $75 and how many F18A are available..they're only made in small batches ?

Do you have the web address ?? Anyone with their own hardware page ...please let us know.

Looks Good ... are you taking orders immediately via the email on your website ?

The problem with the TMS991xx CPUs , other than they’re hard to source, is that being DIP40 all the Data/Address lines are multiplexed on top of the other complexities & idiosyncrasies of the chip would make it a headache to interface ??

I'll pay ........ when I win the Lottery !! LoL ** Though jokes aside .. I still know companies that do TMS9995 type stuff !!

Could the TMS9902 & TMS9901 work with the TMS991xx CPU at 24MHz ??

Is there anyone doing homebrew hardware ?? And are there links to these websites ?? If anyone is doing hardware please post link to your site !