doubledown

I remember we talked about this a while back. I like the layout and artwork concept...looks great. I would really need to spend some time with this game to understand it's game-play and control scheme. Looking at your drawing...is the orange circle a joystick?

Well obviously videogamecritic is a sociopath! 😁 Just kidding. It is obviously "playable" with the Expansion Module #2, but as an example...when the road is at it's widest...it takes more than 2 full revolutions of the wheel to get from one side of the road to the other. And as it's basically acting like a Roller Controller in joystick mode (pulsing left or right directions), spinning the wheel faster or slower doesn't make your car move sideways faster or slower, only at a single speed like when manipulating the joystick. As Data East, who developed the game, decided that it should be played with an 8-way joystick...that's the way I'll continue to play it. By the way...it does play great with my Spy Hunter Experience Controller.

Yeah...so I just checked out Bump 'N Jump with the Expansion Module #2 on the ColecoVision...and the steering insensitivity is almost unplayable...in my opinion. Definitely not the same as Turbo...which plays just like its arcade counter-part.

There's no doubt that the ColecoVision port of Bump 'N Jump allows for use of the Expansion Module #2...it's the first option to select after the title screen. Why they chose to port an 8-way joystick arcade game to the CV with this feature however, is unknown...other than the fact that they could then promote 1 more game with compatibility to increase the hardware sales. Like I said, I just assume it would be really clunky trying to use the Hand Controller's joystick for the "Jump" button, and as Luc mentions, the insensitivity of the wheel for steering may also be an issue; I've never tried it so I'm not sure. I can say though...as a person who owns an actual Sega Turbo arcade cabinet, and have obviously played the ColecoVision port of Turbo (which is actually pretty good, although the graphics are a bit lacking when compared)...this "insensitivity" is how it's supposed to be for Turbo. You don't just slightly or slowly move the wheel a few degrees off of center and you car whips from side to side of the road. You really have to quickly spin the wheel about 30-60 degrees either way to move out of the way of traffic...which on the arcade cabinet, with a weighted metal steering wheel works great, but the light weight plastic wheel from the Expansion Module #2 (plus the base's lack of weight), makes this not work as well with the ColecoVision. I'll have to try Bump 'N Jump with the Expansion Module to see if this is the same scenario. My guess is that whomever ported it, used the same number of encoder pulses - per on-screen pixel of movement, that was used on Turbo...just a hunch.

I finally got all the parts in, and had the opportunity this weekend to machine and assemble my: 7800 Commando Edition - VVG Enhanced Controller: Built into a Hammond Mfg. 14" x 8" aluminum enclosure and featuring: **Coin Control, leaf-switch, black ball-knob, 8-way joystick (arcade original) **Concave plunger, 4-piece, leaf-switch, push-buttons (1) green, (1) white (arcade original) **Arcade cabinet inspired CPO artwork **Custom-crimped, 10' controller cable, w/ rear mounted cord cleats for its storage Now I just need to find myself a copy of Commando!

The manual available over at KLOV, lists it as an 8 ohm 6"x9"...7 Watt in the upright cabinet, and a 9 Watt in the cocktail cabinet.

You would just have to search for a gate or sub-gate for that joystick model...to see if anything exists. Keep in mind...that over-travel may be required for diagonals though. I've never used one of those so I don't really know anything about what is available for them. As they are fairly inexpensive sticks, I would be surprised if there were many options for parts...without changing the actual joystick component to something with more customization...if its possible to change easily. I'm sure there's info on the old inter-web if you look around either on Reddit, or SRK forums.

To celebrate the upcoming 1 year anniversary of, this topic (and with it, its 13,500+ views, and 350+ replies), and my “self-proclaimed” triumphant return to the ColecoVision hardware scene…I thought, I want to create something special. Over this past whirlwind of a year, I’ve created: 9 new ColecoVision Hand Controller themes 3 new ColecoVision SpectraVideo SV-103 themes 12 new ColecoVision Joystick Controller designs 1 new ColecoVision Grip Controller design 5 new ColecoVision Enhanced Controller designs 8 new ColecoVision Experience Controller designs …plus 15 other new Controller designs for various Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and Sony consoles. But as I’m not one to simply sit back and rest on my laurels, I’m always looking ahead…to what could be. So I got to thinking, what else could I create…what would set this new controller apart from the rest…and what features and/or options haven’t I explored yet? After some deep pondering, a little bit of design time, and then some further pondering…I came up with the idea. So I ordered the necessary parts and hardware, and now I just had to sit back and wait for them to arrive. Then literally, 1 day after I ordered all of the parts, I had a brainstorm, I did a bit of re-design, and now I had an even better idea…for which I would, of course, have to order even more parts for (and pay additional shipping costs for)…but I feel it was warranted. So, without further ado…I present to you, my Coleco Edition – VVG Signature Controller: To the untrained eye, this would simply appear to be another run-of-the-mill, incredibly robust, arcade quality, ergonomically perfect, Super Action buttoned…ColecoVision joystick controller…but you would be wrong. Let’s start with the styling. This controller was designed to be subtle, not “themed” for any one particular game or character; it was simply intended, to match the styling of the original ColecoVision console and its Super Action controllers. So you may be thinking, hmmm…that’s a good looking controller…but it’s just not flashy enough for my tastes. Don’t worry…I’ve got you covered…let there be light: With the installation of the 4 “color & order-correct” Super Action buttons, and by selecting translucent, iL, concave plunger push-buttons, with a dedicated On/Off switch…they can be LED illuminated to provide you with that extra bit of pizzazz, that will leave your friends yellow, orange, purple, and blue with envy. Cherry micro-switches were installed into these push-button, but not your average Cherry switches. The D44Y series of “standard” Cherry switches, require 285 grams of operating force…which in a joystick can be fine, but in a button, is a bit fatigue inducing...so most opt for the D44X’s “light” actuating force of 75 grams. But as I don’t need micro-switches capable of handling 10A of 120VAC…I selected the even lighter D41X series…which only require 45 grams of force for actuation. The result, a very satisfying, light-touch requiring, vintage arcade feeling, push-button…that will offer years and years of reliable service. There has always been 1 glaring problem when a Super Action buttoned, ColecoVision joystick controller is made…the button orientation when playing Front Line. In order, from left to right, the Super Action buttons are wired/programmed as follows: Yellow – Fire Orange – Rotate your weapon clock-wise (right of top-dead-center) Purple – Rotate your weapon counter clock-wise (left of top-dead-center) Blue – Throw grenade & enter/exit a tank The problem exists with the middle 2 buttons, the orange and purple buttons. The physically installed “left” of these two buttons (orange)…rotates your weapon…to the right. While the physically installed “right” of these two buttons (purple)…rotates your weapon…to the left. See the problem…press the left button to rotate right, and press the right button to rotate left…my brain doesn’t work well in this scenario. So, the easy fix, is to simply flip the wiring, but then you have a controller that’s a real “bleep-show” for every other game. So my solution, install a dedicated switch that will allow for on-the-fly switching of these 2 buttons’ wiring, to provide enhanced compatibility and game-play for Front Line, a game that I am very fond of. Then we come to the age old question that has plagued joystick builders for years…4-way joystick, or 8-way joystick. If the controller is being built for 1 game, the choice is clear. You simply select the joystick appropriate for the game it is intended to be played with. But when making a “universal” controller, you have to choose the lesser of 2 evils. Choose an 8-way joystick so that you can play all games with it, but suffer in-game deaths when you accidentally hit a diagonal on a game made for a 4-way…or choose a 4-way joystick, for perfect game compatibility with 4-way games, but loose compatibility with 8-way games. One solution, has always been to select a joystick that can be re-configured for both 4-way and 8-way use…which usually requires tools to open up the controller and move the sub-gate. Alternatively you can use a joystick with a tool-free rotational sub-gate, and cut an access hole/slot/arc into the bottom of the controller housing so that you can manipulate it completely without tools and without opening the housing. Let me offer to you, a 3rd option…the Ultimarc ServoStik The fine people of Ultimarc decided to take it upon themselves to help us mortals with this age old problem. They started with a Sanwa JLW joystick, which on its own, features a tool-free, rotational, 8-way square / 4-way diamond sub-gate, and then they created a replacement sub-gate, a servo motor, and a controller board, which when used in concert will manipulate this sub-gate (from 4-way to 8-way, and back) with the ease of simply pushing of a button (or in this case a switch), and it will do it in less than 1 second; simple…no more “settling”. You want to play Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, or some other 4-way games properly, press the switch for the 4-way orientation. You want to play Zaxxon, Venture, or some other 8-way games properly, press the switch for the 8-way orientation. Presto change-o! Normally these ServoStiks are intended to be used in an arcade cabinet, or in a custom controller built for something like Mame…where 5VDC is readily available for the power required to operate them. Unfortunately, the ColecoVision doesn’t supply any power to the controller ports, so I installed a panel-mounted, (4) AA cell battery tray on the front face of the enclosure as the power source…which also powers the illuminated push-buttons. Purportedly, the ServoStik needs “constant” power to maintain the position of the sub-gate…but fortunately I find this to be untrue. There is more than enough friction/resistance in the sub-gate mounting, and the motor with its gearbox to properly hold the sub-gate where it is, even without constant power. So true, this controller does need power to manipulate the sub-gate, the power can be turned off however, once it’s orientation has been switched, if you are looking to conserve battery life. FYI the current draw of the controller board is approximately 50mA when on, and “holding” position, and it momentarily jumps to 140mA, for the less than the 1 second it takes to switch to either 4-way or 8-way. Then, to finish out the controller, I created a custom 12-button keypad, using red plunger, black body Samducksa 16mm pushbuttons, which reside accessible in the middle of the control panel, between the various red cap, black bezel NKK switches mounted above and below. The CPO was kept simple. It was drawn as a simulated stainless steel panel, like those found on the ColecoVision console and Super Action Controllers, with identifying text for all of the centrally located buttons, and switches. So there you have it, my Coleco Edition – VVG Signature Controller. For a recap of the components used: **Hammond Mfg., 14” x 8” aluminum enclosure (as always, reinforced and weighted) **Ultimarc ServoStik, electric-switching, 4-way / 8-way joystick, with red ball knob **iL, PSL-L, concave push-buttons w/ Cherry micro-switches, translucent yellow, orange, purple, and blue, w/ LED illumination **NKK, ON-NONE-ON rocker switch, red, w/ LED power “ON” indicator (main power switch) **Samducksa, 16mm, red push-buttons, (installed as 12 button keypad) **NKK, ON-NONE-ON rocker switch, red (push-button LEDs power switch) **NKK, (ON)-OFF-(ON) rocker switch, red, (4-way / 8-way joystick selector switch) **NKK, ON-NONE-ON rocker switch, red (S.A. - YOPB / F.L. - YPOB push-button wiring configuration switch) And for you left-handers (right hand joystick, left hand buttons), don’t think I forgot about you…you may prefer this version instead: Enjoy!

Bump 'n Jump uses an 8-way joystick in the arcade cabinets (both on the DECO and Bally/Midway versions)... ...I've never seen this game with a steering wheel. I've also never even considered playing this CV port with the expansion module, due to having to try to use the nubby joystick as the "Jump button"...and it's arcade inaccurate. 😁

I checked the distance from the bottom of the cartridge casing, to the bottom of the PCB inside...and it's well within range of a few others I checked...just on the crazy off chance that the cartridge shell was bottoming out on the ADAM PCB, and the cartridge PCB wasn't going far enough into the card-edge connector of the cartridge slot (crazy...just thought I'd check). I also tried different "angles" and "depths of insertion"...and it fails every time. I'll check a few more things, and get with you J-F, if I think it's really a problem with the cart. Like I said, it works fine with my Phoenix...but I'll let you know.

I installed the piggybacked ram chips years ago in one of my ADAMS...not sure if its the one I'm currently using, or one of the other 2...I'd have to check. I kind of had the thought that maybe it wasn't seating far enough into the card-edge connector...as if maybe the cart's PCB wasn't as low as it should be or some such nonsense. I can check a couple of measurements when I get home to see if that's any sort of possibility.

...weird then. I use my ADAM all the time, with all manner of old carts, new carts, multi-carts (plus disks and DDPs)...with no hiccups of any kind...ever.

So I got my game today...apparently I had it shipped to my house...I thought it was coming to the office...so happy surprise when I got home. So one question...should this game work on an ADAM? If so, is an SGM required? So my ADAM is my defacto Coleco console, and upon booting the "secret game" I got the title screen, then I pressed a button, selected my game option, the screen went black...like it was going to start, but then back to the title screen. I did this / repeated this, about 5 or 6 times, then it finally loaded/started correctly. After a point where the screen would change...it went back to the title screen. Tried again, and just got the jump to title screen, no game-play loaded. When I try it on my Phoenix...it seems to play fine. So again...just checking to see if this is supposed to be compatible with the ADAM or not, thanks.

As a young man of 19...friends and I would drive up to Windsor for some "good times" and "spirits", which we weren't legally allowed to have in our own country at that age. Fortunately back then (1995-ish), it was only about a 50 minute drive, and armed with only a drivers license, we could zip right across the Ambassador Bridge. Times have definitely changed. The last time I went to Canada, maybe 8 or 10 years ago, it probably took more than an hour and a half to get across the bridge either way...stupid terrorists...gotta ruin everything!

Do they have beer in Canada!?! Cadlepin bowling...sure, snow...sure, poutine...sure, crazy looking money...sure, but beer...I don't know about that.

The ADAM DDP "arcade cabinet" packaging is some of the best of all times, hands down (although the manual has to be bent to fit inside). It just sucks there were so few of them.

So we need to determine what your issue is...dead-band or over-travel. The dead-band, is the amount of movement required off of center to make/actuate a directional contact. The over-travel, is the amount of movement that the stick can continue to move after the contact has been made. So do you feel that you need to move the stick farther than you would like...just to make contact (too much dead-band)...or do you not like the amount of travel the stick has after the contact has been made (over-travel)? I don't have any idea what "joystick" component is used in this assembled arcade stick...so I don't know what sort of accessories are available for it. But for other sticks used in the competitive world (like those from Sanwa, Seimitsu, Samducksa variants)...different gates and/or restrictors and "over-sized" or "under-sized" actuators can be available. The over-sized actuators would lessen the dead-band, and cause the contacts to make sooner in the throw of the shaft...which may be what your looking for. If no such thing is available for your particular joystick, some have wrapped electrical tape, or added 1 or 2 layers of heat-shrink tubing over their existing actuator...to increase its diameter to make it "tighter." If you can't get the feel you're looking for...there is always the possibility of replacing the "joystick" component with one that may be more to your liking...or adjustable.

...still waiting here in Ohio!

If anybody thinks US $455.92 / C $619.00 is a good deal for an "as-is/untested" boxed ADAM...you may want to check out this LINK Quote from the listing: "Working perfecly in 2009 but I'ved lost the power supply since. So it's sold as is, untested, with no power supply and no manuals." What's funny, is that the ADAM Printer/Power Supply is in fact pictured and included with the auction. When I contacted the seller to let him/her know about his/her error...regarding the fact about having the necessary power supply...I received this response: "Oh good!! Ok I'll test it and I'll answer you today. Thanks!! I'ved search everywhere lol." Granted its been quite a while since I got my ADAMS years and years ago...but assuming this actually worked...is this price even remotely reasonable for an ADAM these days?

People need to know how many were sold...so that when they scalp theirs on ebay, they can say that it is 1 of only XXXX ever made! 😋

Any reason why you flip-flopped the order of the red/orange & yellow buttons from the original SAC order?

No this one's not for the ColecoVision...but I figured I might as well post it here in my thread so they're all here in one place. Unveiling my: Gaplus Edition - VVG Experience Controller (PS1/PS2) Gaplus (or Galaga 3)...was the sequel to Galaga, and thus the 2nd sequel to Galaxian. When I found this game in Mame years and years ago...I never much cared for it. I certainly wan't any good at it, and while it is the sequel to my favorite game Galaga and the gameplay is "similar"...it was just too radically different for my tastes (keep in mind I was playing Mame games with a keyboard in those days). Fast forward to about 3 months ago when I'm "stuck" at home due to the statewide lockdown...for something "new", I started looking into the many arcade compilation titles available for the PS1 & PS2. I found them all available on ebay, including Namco Museum Vol. 2...which features Gaplus as one of the 6 included games. So I decided to give it another chance, and no surprise...I still sucked at it...honestly, I was lucky to get 40,000 per game. Living in the information age we exist in, I started looking up some info online regarding strategy, and was trying to figure out any tips or tricks I hadn't quite got a handle on yet. After finding some good information, including a few very helpful tricks, I gave it another shot...and voila, a few things clicked...and I was getting better. So I decided I'd built myself a proper controller for it...to further my mastery of this vastly underappreciated game, my current high score is now at 505,500. FYI, due to the 8-way movement required in the game...attempting to play this game with anything other than a quality 8-way joystick...is an exercise in absolute futility! Built into a Hammond Mfg. flat-topped enclosure and featuring: Bally/Midway 8-way, leaf-switch, red ball-knob joystick...a vintage arcade original, sourced and refurbished...and the same as was found in the original cabinets Four-piece arcade, leaf-switch push-button, Red...wired to the X button (for in-game firing) (adjusted for a very short throw...and trip-wire sensitivity) Four-piece arcade, leaf-switch push-buttons (2), White...wired to the Select & Start buttons (for in-game and menu navigation) Switchcraft, chrome bezel, push-buttons (4), Red...wired to the Square, X, Circle & Triangle buttons (for menu navigation/selections) As a PlayStation 1 & 2 controller, with an 8-way joystick, and 1 button...it can be used with a bunch of the vintage games on the available compilation titles, and the hardware/controls are "arcade-accurate" for Gaplus and also Bosconian (which is on Namco Museum Vol. 1). By-the-by the donor PCB I used for this controller was pulled from a HORI, PS2 Virtua Fighter Evolution arcade stick I had from way back: ...versus pad-hacking a Dual-Shock controller. This was mainly done because the HORI PCB is larger and a lot easier to wire to...plus now I can use this donor housing for a custom controller...maybe for the ColecoVision...who knows. My current plan is to create 1 custom controller for each of "The Galaxian 5" (play on words...like The Jackson 5)...Galaxian, Galaga, Gaplus, Galaga '88, and Galaga Arrangement. I figured I'd "George Lucas" this...and start in the middle here with Gaplus. But as there are ports of Galaxian and Galaga for the ColecoVision and of course some of the Ataris...this may be relevant to some of you. While the initial ones I'll be making will be for me...for the PlayStation consoles, once completed, the Galaxian and Galaga versions could be reproduced for the ColecoVision, for anybody interested...so stay tuned for those at some point here in the future.

As mr_me mentioned...it looks like a Female Belling Lee connector. So you would want a Male Belling Lee to Female F Coax...THIS ONE...would get you to coax, then if you wanted to get to Phono, add a Coax-to-Phono adapter.

Thank you sir. Here's a little sneak peak for my fans of what I'm planning for my upcoming / eventual Turbo Edition - VVG Experience Controller...I'm shooting for something close to this: I picked up this this vintage control panel a few months back...and I'll pull the donor hardware from it. It will probably be a little while before I get to this one...but I assure you, it will happen.

They're going to copy the Phoenix guts...and install them in the newest Rainbow Brite Table Top arcade units!