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Coleco Gemini , $39. Is it worth it?


Polybius

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Depends on if you're a hardware collector, but personally, $40 is high for anything that has a better than average chance of needing repair (or being a brick). If it says "Coleco" on it, there's a 327% chance that something on it needs to be fixed--controller jacks, power jack, RF jack, switches, whatever. In most cases it's a fairly simple matter of touching up some solder points. $40 + an hour or two and some elbow grease for a Coleco Gemini isn't a bad deal, but not as good as if it had come with a power supply (any 2600 one works, FYI) or the Gemini Dual Command combo controllers.

FWIW I tend to regard "untested" systems being sold without power supplies, cords, or anything else with a dose of suspicion, especially if the seller mainly deals in gaming (to be fair, the seller in question here may not; OP didn't specify). I consider "untested" to mean "parts" until proven otherwise.

I guess the short and unhelpful version is: it could be a pretty good deal, or it could not. :P :)

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Whole lot of haters in here. I bought a Gemini this summer from a local classic game store. It was in perfect working order, and has the best, clearest, interference free RF picture and sound of any console I've ever owned.

 

I know they can have weak solder joints on the controller ports and power supply jack- I had one as a kid, but those are easily fixed.

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Whole lot of haters in here. I bought a Gemini this summer from a local classic game store. It was in perfect working order, and has the best, clearest, interference free RF picture and sound of any console I've ever owned.

Right? I'm reading some of these replies thinking, "Dang, these MFers are even cheaper than I am! :P :-D " Or are Geminis really just not worth what they used to be?

 

I got a Gemini a few years back that I had to touch up some solder joints on (par for the course), and it's been a champ ever since. Crystal clear RF--almost as good as the Intellivision. Cool little unit!

 

I only wish it had four controller ports and a joystick/paddle switch like the Sears Video Arcade II so you didn't need to have Y-splitters to play multiplayer paddle games with the Dual Command controllers (you still can with regular Atari paddles). Then again, that would have required Coleco to spend money; can't have that. ;) :-D

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Right? I'm reading some of these replies thinking, "Dang, these MFers are even cheaper than I am! :P :-D " Or are Geminis really just not worth what they used to be?

 

Yeah, I'm a hater, guilty as charged. :)

 

But I don't get it ...

1. If he already has the cables and hookups, he probably doesn't need this thing

2. If he wants a working system, this could be it, but maybe not, and why spend $40 without being sure?

3. If he just wants to collect something new, why not something in better condition, known to work, maybe more complete?

 

Not judging, just curious ...

so Polybius, did you get it? It's been 3 days. If it were me, I'd either get it on sight, or forget about it, easily distracted by some other shiny object. How about you?

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Yeah, I'm a hater, guilty as charged. :)

 

But I don't get it ...

1. If he already has the cables and hookups, he probably doesn't need this thing

2. If he wants a working system, this could be it, but maybe not, and why spend $40 without being sure?

3. If he just wants to collect something new, why not something in better condition, known to work, maybe more complete?

 

Not judging, just curious ...

so Polybius, did you get it? It's been 3 days. If it were me, I'd either get it on sight, or forget about it, easily distracted by some other shiny object. How about you?

Not yet, I might, I found another console (CIB) , not the same thing though, that I kinda want more right now, if I win the bidding, I will post pics of that console. I I lose the bid on the Boxed console, I might go back for it. the Gemini Is a buy it now, so i might be able to pick it up next week. I admit, I cant spend a whole lot on consoles per week.

 

I guess you can say, I got distracted by some other shiny object, in this case, a shiny console! :D

 

I admit, this post has made me more indecisive about it, and I do want it to be working.

Edited by Polybius
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What do you want out of this? Coleco Gemini is not particularly interesting or attractive. I'd rather have forty bucks, personally.

I thought it would be interesting to have, especially as it would be my first "Clone" console, outside of the PONG clones I have I like to collect different consoles and computers

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I don't believe I've ever heard of this 'Gemini'. I know of the Sears system, but one made by Coleco ?

 

So how did that work back in the day, Coleco making a clone system intended to run 2600 carts? Wouldn't they be crossing all sorts of legal lines, or am I missing something here?

its essentially a stand alone version of the coleco vision 2600 adapter. And yes, Atari tried to sue coleco for it.

 

It came with Donkey Kong and Mousetrap as pack-ins, when Atari was selling the 2600 with PAC-Man and combat. It also had a great dual joystick/paddle controller that was way better than the CX-40

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its essentially a stand alone version of the coleco vision 2600 adapter. And yes, Atari tried to sue coleco for it.

 

It came with Donkey Kong and Mousetrap as pack-ins, when Atari was selling the 2600 with PAC-Man and combat. It also had a great dual joystick/paddle controller that was way better than the CX-40

 

Ohhh, right, of course....I knew 'Gemini' looked familiar...

 

post-61233-0-79490700-1505343103_thumb.jpg

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I don't believe I've ever heard of this 'Gemini'. I know of the Sears system, but one made by Coleco ?

 

So how did that work back in the day, Coleco making a clone system intended to run 2600 carts? Wouldn't they be crossing all sorts of legal lines, or am I missing something here?

My understanding is that when Coleco made a 2600 adapter for the ColecoVision, Atari sued--naturally--and lost, since the 2600 system itself was made from off-the-shelf components. After that, all bets were off, so Coleco ripped out all the stops and produced a straight-up 2600-compatible clone system.

 

(I think that was also when Mattel came out with the System Changer for the Intellivision II, but I'm not sure on the timeline on that.)

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I like the size and design, but it is kind of a cheap system, designed to Coleco's penny-pinching standards. I wouldn't pay $40 for one, but then again, I didn't have to... I think I found one at a yard sale for five dollars back in the 1990s. My sole regret is not being able to mod it for composite video. I mean, I kind of did, but the Gemini's TIA knock off doesn't seem to be a perfect match for the official chip in an Atari 2600, and because I could never figure out the proper pinout, the picture I got out of it was... less than optimal. Someone has since posted an official schematic for the Gemini. Maybe if I ever get it back from MI I'll take another stab at it.

 

My understanding is that the ColecoVision expansion unit is essentially an even further pared down Gemini without its own power supply and A/V connections. All of that is supplied by the CV itself, but can be added to the expansion unit if you wanted a standalone system.

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