A.J. Franzman

Many games use several different colors that have contrasting hues but the same or similar luminance values. On a B&W set, these colors will all look like very similar shades of gray. The B&W position of the TV Type switch was used by programmers of the early games to change the colors to high-contrast shades of gray so that players could tell one another (or enemies, etc.) apart more easily on a B&W set. Some games would be nearly unplayable on a B&W set without this feature.

My guess would be bad RIOT IC. If there's one or more particular RAM location(s) that most games use for kernel-critical data, that is/are bad in the RIOT, none of those games will work right. However, any game that doesn't use that RAM location, or uses it for something non-critical (and not glaringly obvious) may work correctly or may glitch in such a subtle way that you don't notice it.

Currently, zero. So, only nobodies and zeroes can join. There are an infinite number of us in there right now! Come on in and party down!

There are two different versions of the CX-80 Trak-Ball. The earlier CX-80 version (and the CX-22) use one type of output for true trackball mode, which is compatible with the XL-series etc. computers but not the ST series. The later CX-80 version uses a different type of true trackball mode output which is compatible with the ST series computers (as an ST mouse). All of these types work with 2600/7800 consoles in joystick mode with joystick games. Modern hacks of VCS games to use a trackball in true trackball mode (is Missile Command the only one?) need to use a CX-22 or early CX-80 I think, unless the hack is available in two versions. I might be mistaken though. Anyway, no original VCS games are written to use either Trak-Ball style in true trackball mode, so IMO it's fairly pointless to get a Trak-Ball to use with only the 2600 and/or 7800. In my experience, they don't work as well in joystick mode as a real joystick. Apparently, even for the 8-bit computers, there's only one original game (Missile Command) written to use a Trak-Ball in true trackball mode.

That's probably pretty close, though I should have written "non-max-resistance" instead of "mid-range", as apparently the Genesis controller produces a paddle read of minimum resistance (far right). Inability to start in paddle mode using a joystick, and inabaility to start in joystick mode using a Genesis controller suggests that the game start uses a couple of sanity checks such as (after Game Reset): 1. If joystick fire is detected AND paddle value is max-resistance, then enter joystick mode and goto Begin Game. -else- 2. If paddle fire is detected AND paddle value is non-max-resistance, then enter paddle mode and goto Begin Game. -else- 3. Goto 1. This would prevent being able to start in paddle mode by pressing the joystick to the side. It could be confirmed if, when dialing the paddle fully to the left and leaving it there, the game refuses to start when the paddle button is pressed ...unless the author got sneaky, and used a long enough delay between paddle reads to even detect a paddle at the full 1 Megohm resistance. If that's the case, I don't know how it could be confirmed other than by disassembling the code or modifying a paddle controller with greater resistance (bigger pot value or series resistor). If that's what the game code really does, the first sanity check (checking paddle position upon detecting joystick fire) is unnecessary since there's no way to enter a joystick fire input using a normal paddle controller. Eliminating that check would allow Genesis controller users to play in joystick mode without swapping controllers. We won't need to discuss the possibilities of a player having one of the keyboard controller types plugged in... (sanity check? )

Thanks for the bump. I used your lists to add a few missing titles to one of my lists. For a planned update to my Harmony Cart SD card directory tree, I'm breaking down games by genre. I'm including everything in your lists lumped together in the single genre of "Media Tie-In". That way I don't have to bother figuring out just which medium originated a particular bit of IP. I'm also including the three "Celebrity"-related games that I know of (Chuck Norris Superkicks, Pele's Championship Soccer, and Pete Rose Baseball) in the category. Did I miss any?

I have a version of that album with a different cover, but I'm sure it's the same recording (I scanned it and ripped it to MP3 some time ago; see my post below). Thirty minutes of cheesy 80s fun. Raskar42's version in post #4 is not an LP, it's a "storybook" read-along record, probably playing at 45 RPM. It's definitely a 7 inch record with large spindle hole, anyway. Didn't you ever have any of those as a kid? I can remember having at least three: Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick, and Star Wars. I wish I still had that last one! I think they came in several styles, as I'm fairly sure the classic novel ones I had were on LPs and the books had more pages than the Star Wars one. Star Wars might have been on an EP (7 inch diameter but usually with small hole and running at 33 RPM for up to about double the playing time of a 45).

Which one? There were at least four versions with the "Video Computer System" label!

I can think of several methods which might be used, depending on whether the author has the game only detect the controller type on game start (which "fire" button was pressed?) or dynamically. (For dynamic detection, begin by assuming player to use joystick control, but perform paddle reads also. If the paddle read returns any mid-range position, assume player is using paddle control. If paddle read returns a max-resistance value and joy read returns any non-paddle-fire input, revert to joystick control). If the programmer incorporated dynamic controller type detection, use of a Gemini or SVAII/2800 controller could produce some bizarre effects with certain combinations of rotation and stick movement. However, this line from the manual: "TO START THE GAME, DEPRESS RESET SWITCH, THEN PRESS CONTROLLER BUTTON." strongly suggests that controller type detection is only done at game start. If you plug in a regular joystick and press Reset, then move the joystick to the correct side, the game will begin in paddle mode and you won't be able to move your base. With a regular paddle controller it is impossible to accidentally start in joystick mode. With a combo controller, it may possible to start in either mode, if the game uses the same paddle controller as is incorporated into them (remember there are two to a plug with regular paddle controllers).

If the controller port pins pushed in into the connector housing, it's very likely that one or both are actually broken on the back side, ahead of where the wire turns 90 degrees downward to connect to the circuit board. Prodding those wires with a suitable tool (dental pick, small crochet hook, or even a small screwdriver) and moderate force can reveal any that are broken. If you find no breaks, you can reduce the chances of the pins pushing in again by standing the board on edge, port side down, and putting a drop of super glue into the little "well" where the lead wire comes out behind each pin. Use a tissue, paper towel, or cotton swab to soak up as much excess glue as you can and then let it cure for a while. I believe Best carries replacement ports, should you need them. If you can solder fairly well but are not experienced in or equipped for removing multi-pin parts, a simple trick to remove a part that's no good anyway, is to cut all of the pins, remove the body of the part, then unsolder and remove the remaining bits of the pins one at a time. Then simply clean out the holes using solder wick, a vacuum tool, or even a soldering probe to prepare for installation of the replacement part.

Does this really help? Because this is about what you asked for.

Regarding the joysticks not working, did you try all of them in both ports, using a 2-player (simultaneous) game? Most games use the left port for 1-player games but several use the right port. It's very common for joystick wires to break inside the cable, but it's also very common for the pins in the console ports to get bent, pushed in, or broken off. They even break on the back side (inside the console), and of course the solder connecting them to the circuit board can crack. So you could have faults in one (or more) of several locations that are difficult or impossible to see. Regarding the bad picture, some modern TVs simply can not cope with the VCS's non-standard output. Sometimes feeding the signal through a VCR will clean it up enough to be playable, but not always. Beyond that, there's nothing that can be done unless you have very high-end video production equipment available.

Does TG still allow entries consisting only of a videotape of the game being played? I thought they changed the rules, so now they need camera video of YOU playing the game (with the screen also clearly visible). Or do they need BOTH now?

One thing that you wrote sticks out to me as a possible source of the noise: You're apparently sending RF signal on a cable made for Composite Video. I'm not sure whether that really makes any difference, but there may be a shielding quality or impedance matching issue. Try using a real RF cable.

Someone should trade him a snow blower that works just as well as his camera does.

I don't know about turning the music off, but I have found four different Edtris binaries online. The beta version has no audio.

You can read an electronic schematic diagram, and build a physical circuit from one, but don't know that an LED operates within a specific current range (which is usually achieved by putting a resistor of a specific calculated value in series with the LED and a known voltage source)? That is totally weird, like an auto mechanic who doesn't know how to operate a car! Why would you go to the trouble of learning to read a schematic diagram, without learning the basics of how electricity works? I maintain that the specific case you claim, is highly unusual, and for the vast majority of readers, what I wrote in my previous post applies. BTW, I have no clue what you're referring to with regards to "timers". That sounds like someone might have brought something extra into the previous discussion you mentioned, which only added to your confusion.

I haven't been at this for 20 years, but I have seen regulators go under voltage a hand full of times. I've been working with electronics for about 30 years now, and I've found regulators out of tolerance plenty of times. The 7805 is supposed to be 5.00 volts +/- 5% (4.75 to 5.25 volts), which, not coincidentally, is the same voltage and tolerance for commercial-grade TTL ICs. To this day I have never seen a 7805 output 5.00 volts or more, unless I put a resistor in its ground path to make it do so. They always seem to start below 5 volts, and drift ever lower as they age.

I was thinking along a slightly different line. For sprites that have them (which would be most of them), use a different position or animation frame on the back. For example, with Combat, you could have the diagonal position on the front and spines, and a straight cardinal direction orientation on the back.

I haven't had a game make me ill, but some of the first-person shooter parts of Shadows of the Empire (PC version), such as the Gall Spaceport level (where a player often finds himself looking "over the brink and down into the abyss"), used to give me the feeling that I'm losing my balance even though I'd be sitting comfortably in a chair. Doesn't happen so much anymore since the $#!+@&% "modern" 3-D card I have now doesn't render the fog, so now I can see all the way to the bottom. But I sure miss the creepy colored fog in Xizor's palace.

Sorry, I don't sell parts. You can get one from the same place that I usually buy from, Best Electronics. Unfortunately, they have a minimum order total. I think it's $25 before S&H. I am in eastern L.A. county, so saving shipping charges by in-person delivery might be a viable option depending on what part of L.A. you're in, if you change your mind and decide to let me to have a go at fixing it. Cost would be $12 for service, $10 for the RIOT and $3.00 for a socket, if my remote diagnosis turns out to be correct. So, it would cost about the same as getting the part yourself from Best, but you'd miss out on the fun of fixing it yourself learning how to fish.

I think Chroma doesn't go to the CD4050. That might be your problem. Instead of using the point circled as "color" in the first image on the webpage you linked (which may be a different part of the circuit on different board revisions), connect directly to pin 9 of the TIA. See image below. You could also find the same pin which I've indicated, and follow the circuit track which comes from it (possibly on the bottom side of the board) to get a closer connection point to the area of the other connections.

If the outside of that cartridge shell is in like-new condition (or can be cleaned up to be), Albert -- the owner of this website -- would like it for one of his current projects. He's selling reproductions of the unreleased Coleco Turbo prototype. White Coleco VCS cart shells are not very easy to obtain in quantity, so he'll take any he can get. The marker in the label area of that shell doesn't matter; it's the rest of it that's important. The glue on the inside shouldn't be a problem as long as there's no damage.

IMO this topic is pointless, because: A) anyone who knows enough to properly light an LED or light bulb, should be knowledgeable enough to figure out for himself how to wire it. This is just about the most basic level of electronics understanding that there is. and B) anyone who does NOT know enough to properly light an LED or light bulb, should not be messing around with the insides of his console -- even with a schematic diagram (which he probably wouldn't understand anyway).

Simbo, Kakaboy said nothing about using an IC to double the frequency of a crystal. I know there are other ways to get a different frequency than what a crystal is made for, but to do so would not be a simple "drop in" fix for his problem, and he's obviously not very knowledgeable so having him attempt to make a daughter module to replace the function of his missing crystal is not very helpful advice. Also, Kakaboy, since your post has little to do with Spirantho's topic, by posting about it here we're doing what is known as "hijacking the thread", which is considered extremely rude. And I'm guilty of aiding and abetting. Please post a new topic for your issue and let's start over.