unhuman Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Highly recommended! Just got a note from my supplier... the parts I had on backorder have shipped and I should have another batch of kits done this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Highly recommended! Thanks for the pr0pz! I have 11 Colecovision AV kits ready to go... 4 more that are almost done - lacking one or 2 items each... and I started building kits up using the last 25 PC boards I have. I'll also be building kits over the next week or 2 for the memory replacement (8 chips, 8 sockets, instructions, and maybe some wires) and for a dual BIOS upgrade (BIOS chip, switch, resistor, wires, socket, and instructions.) I'll be stopping by a local supplier to see what all I can pick up from them before mail ordering the rest of the parts. The plan is to have a pile of kits long with modified game systems, game systems, carts, arcade boards, SRAMs/DRAMs/EPROMs, and lots of custom chips for MGC. Raymond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARMIK Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Memory upgrades sound interesting are they the lower power one's I've heard about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Memory upgrades sound interesting are they the lower power one's I've heard about. Single voltage ones, yes. No more need for +12 and -5v for the DRAM which will make the unit more reliable by making power switch issues far less noticeable. They will also run cooler. The kits will come with either 4516 or 4164 DRAM chips depending on inventory levels. Either one will work fine in the CV system. I have to modify a system with a BIOS upgrade and the memory upgrade today or tomorrow to take pics and assemble instructions. Instructions without pics are already up on my repair logs site. RJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HARMIK Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Sounds cool please make instructions as detailed as possible with lots of step by step pics if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unhuman Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 His directions for the video mod were great. Probably too much detail sometimes But... for those of us who can hold a soldering iron, but can't build a circuit, these are perfect. Not really sure I get the advantage of swapping memory, so perhaps some "marketing" on the cost / benefit would be nice. -H Sounds cool please make instructions as detailed as possible with lots of step by step pics if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgg Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 I've used channelmaniac's instructions for swapping the memory on my colecovision. The instructions are very easy to follow. The hardest part of the process is getting the old memory chips off the board. I bought the memory from channelmaniac also. He shipped it quickly and at a very reasonable price. Props out to channelmaniac - thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyJones1023 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 If any of you modders are interested, I have 4 or 5 Colecos in various states of workability. I think they all function to some degree, I'll have to inventory them and list out the errors. But would anyone be willing to trade? I'll give you all my Colecos for you to fix up and sell (they go north of $100 on eBay) in return for one spiffy, supernice, modded and functional Coleco. Any takers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) His directions for the video mod were great. Probably too much detail sometimes But... for those of us who can hold a soldering iron, but can't build a circuit, these are perfect. Not really sure I get the advantage of swapping memory, so perhaps some "marketing" on the cost / benefit would be nice. -H The original memory runs off of 3 voltages: +5, +12, and -5. The Colecovision has a very finicky power supply switch that doesn't make good contact when it gets dirty. This causes the system to power up in states where it won't run. The power supply is also a common point of failure and the tri-voltage chips run hot. By putting +5v only DRAM in the system you are removing the power on complexity of the tri-voltage DRAM. This reduces current draw on the +12 and -5v sections of the power supply and they run cooler. The system will power up more reliably without the need for flicking the problem prone power switch back and forth to get it to boot properly. RJ Edited February 8, 2010 by channelmaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 If any of you modders are interested, I have 4 or 5 Colecos in various states of workability. I think they all function to some degree, I'll have to inventory them and list out the errors. But would anyone be willing to trade? I'll give you all my Colecos for you to fix up and sell (they go north of $100 on eBay) in return for one spiffy, supernice, modded and functional Coleco. Any takers? I PMed you. I could use some CVs to take to the show at the end of March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unhuman Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Oh - what a great explanation. I should take a look at the switch from my CV that won't power up then... I don't play mine often enough to warrant the time & effort since there's good emulation on the Wii these days -H His directions for the video mod were great. Probably too much detail sometimes But... for those of us who can hold a soldering iron, but can't build a circuit, these are perfect. Not really sure I get the advantage of swapping memory, so perhaps some "marketing" on the cost / benefit would be nice. -H The original memory runs off of 3 voltages: +5, +12, and -5. The Colecovision has a very finicky power supply switch that doesn't make good contact when it gets dirty. This causes the system to power up in states where it won't run. The power supply is also a common point of failure and the tri-voltage chips run hot. By putting +5v only DRAM in the system you are removing the power on complexity of the tri-voltage DRAM. This reduces current draw on the +12 and -5v sections of the power supply and they run cooler. The system will power up more reliably without the need for flicking the problem prone power switch back and forth to get it to boot properly. RJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 OK, Indy, your modded system will be shipping out tonight. Sorry, but I was horribly sidetracked by prepping for the MGC. For everyone else, I'll be posting the full instructions to the Dual BIOS mod and +5v memory mod to my website tonight. The kits are fully assembled and ready to go as soon as I get the SKUs added to the site tonight. $8.99 for the Dual BIOS kit $13.99 for the +5v Memory kit And I have all the remaining A/V kits built. I sold a few at the MGC but the rest of them will be listed on the site tonight. RJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 His directions for the video mod were great. Probably too much detail sometimes But... for those of us who can hold a soldering iron, but can't build a circuit, these are perfect. Not really sure I get the advantage of swapping memory, so perhaps some "marketing" on the cost / benefit would be nice. -H The original memory runs off of 3 voltages: +5, +12, and -5. The Colecovision has a very finicky power supply switch that doesn't make good contact when it gets dirty. This causes the system to power up in states where it won't run. The power supply is also a common point of failure and the tri-voltage chips run hot. By putting +5v only DRAM in the system you are removing the power on complexity of the tri-voltage DRAM. This reduces current draw on the +12 and -5v sections of the power supply and they run cooler. The system will power up more reliably without the need for flicking the problem prone power switch back and forth to get it to boot properly. RJ What other components use the +12v and -5v components of the power once the DRAM is removed? I had it in my head that such a mod would permit the use of a 5v only supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 What other components use the +12v and -5v components of the power once the DRAM is removed? I had it in my head that such a mod would permit the use of a 5v only supply. Hmmm... Off the top of my head, the A/V kit and the RF Modulator use 12v and the joystick ports uses the -5v. Also, those voltages are fed to the expansion port so removing them may cause some expansion modules to not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channelmaniac Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 OK, The Colecovision A/V Kits I brought back from the MGC event are all listed on the site as of 20 min ago. Also, the +5v memory kits and the dual BIOS kits are listed. I also added 5 of the last 9 Galaga Renewal Kits to the web inventory. The remaining 4 of those will go to rebuild some Galaga arcade game boards I have here at the shop. http://www.arcadecomponents.com/modkits.html Instructions for the +5v Memory kits and the Dual BIOS kits plus the Galaga Renwal Kit have been added to the site tonight as well. http://www.arcadecomponents.com/downloads.html If you have any problems with the site or with downloads feel free to PM me. Also feel free to kick me in the rear for taking so long to get them done! Thanks, RJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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