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Telegames questions


BassGuitari

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That's a reproduction cart, not an original AtariSoft cart, but can't tell you who made it just from that one picture.. The original AtariSoft cart does not have a label that wraps over to the top... they are two separate labels.

 

That's what immediately gave away that something is off about this one. Clearly not an Atarisoft cart. Just asking if this is the work of Telegames--it looks like something they would do. :P

Especially since I'm almost positive that's a Telegames shell, especially judging by the back:

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

I've never heard of a Telegames version of Galaxian so I was curious. :)

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That is a Telegames cart shell and it's definetely a reproduction that could have been made by Telegames, eColeco or numerous other people. The label suggests one of the first two and most likely Telegames.

 

 

That the seller lists it as a "novelty/repro cart" with label artwork so at odds with other Telegames releases suggests this is not original to Telegames. He/she took the effort to reproduce the manuals for the co-listed Bit/Telegames fakes (Tank Wars, Boulder Dash, Strike It, Cosmic Crisis) but not for this one, which is also cautionary. And strange, though I would imagine attaching a dummied Atarisoft manual to this listing would give the lie to the nature of this cartridge.

 

I'd strongly wager this is nothing more than a homemade fake. $70 + shipping is simply too ridiculous a price to pay to prove that incontrovertibly.

 

ETA: At least one person knows for certain what this is, but isn't saying: the seller. The outright CYA-ism of the one-line cartridge description reads that way to me. Perhaps I'm being unduly skeptical, but the offer strikes me as deliberately coy. The seller clearly knows which hard-to-find games to selectively market, while keeping mum about their origins in the hope potential buyers will supply their own wishful thinking. Maybe that's being too harsh about it.

Edited by mumbai
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You know what, I totally forgot about the collaboration between CBS Electronics, Telegames UK and eColeco that produced carts such as this patched version of Defender for ADAM and PAL CV owners. Notice the one-piece replica label with the addition of the word ADAM on it so as to note that this is the ADAM version....

 

 

 

post-25956-0-13185200-1526006374_thumb.jpg

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You know what, I totally forgot about the collaboration between CBS Electronics, Telegames UK and eColeco that produced carts such as this patched version of Defender for ADAM and PAL CV owners. Notice the one-piece replica label with the addition of the word ADAM on it so as to note that this is the ADAM version....

 

 

 

 

Nice! I've never even heard of that before.

 

Is there a patched version of Defender for NTSC CV owners that makes the game harder? :P :-D

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That the seller lists it as a "novelty/repro cart" with label artwork so at odds with other Telegames releases suggests this is not original to Telegames. He/she took the effort to reproduce the manuals for the co-listed Bit/Telegames fakes (Tank Wars, Boulder Dash, Strike It, Cosmic Crisis) but not for this one, which is also cautionary. And strange, though I would imagine attaching a dummied Atarisoft manual to this listing would give the lie to the nature of this cartridge.

 

I'd strongly wager this is nothing more than a homemade fake. $70 + shipping is simply too ridiculous a price to pay to prove that incontrovertibly.

 

ETA: At least one person knows for certain what this is, but isn't saying: the seller. The outright CYA-ism of the one-line cartridge description reads that way to me. Perhaps I'm being unduly skeptical, but the offer strikes me as deliberately coy. The seller clearly knows which hard-to-find games to selectively market, while keeping mum about their origins in the hope potential buyers will supply their own wishful thinking. Maybe that's being too harsh about it.

I've been seeing a ton of listings from voltman lately that are EXTREMELY deceptive. Carts like tank command for the 7800 that look spot on but if you drill into the listing you'll see "Novelty Cart" mentioned. I've almost been taken in several times till I see its him. Very shady listings in my opinion. This seller has been pulling this crap for some years now. Edited by Atari_Bill
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This thread about DINA contoller pinouts reminded me of something:

 

There are two unused IC locations on the DINA's motherboard. I suspected that they may have been intended for Colecovision controller ICs, except those are 20-pin chips and the unused IC locations look like they're for 18-pin chips (judging from slightly indeterminate photos online; I didn't think to check my own board when I had my DINA open the other day, d'oh!)

 

If those IC locations are not for Coleco controller ICs...what the heck are they for?

 

It would be really neat to be able to use all the Coleco controllers and peripherals on the DINA--and therefore have "100% compatibility," minus the handful of titles that seem to glitch out on the system--but I wonder if the presence of Coleco controller ICs, even theoretically, would mess with the native "joystick" and SG-1000 compatibility?

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Try using this controller if you want to experience more difficult gameplay...

 

I think I can one-up you there with the Wico Command Control joystick for Coleco (same design used for Intellivision II version):

 

colecovision%20controller%20wico%20angle

 

I have one.

 

I recommend it to no one.

 

And even with this handheld monument to masochism, Defender is still a complete push-over. :P

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Well, it's not like anybody "wins" with either of these. :P

 

Call it a draw? :-D

Sounds good but I still gotta try to one up you so....

 

Hook up a 2-in-1 Y-Adapter and then the Quickshot and Wico CC to the Y-Adapter. You can choose what joystick and fire buttons to use but they can't be from the same controller. :P

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  • 10 months later...

Yay, necrobumping my own thread!

 

 

Re: Alcazar: it should run on a Colecovision (if it runs on an ADAM, it will run on a CV...right?). There seems to be a small handful of software incompatibilities on the DINA, Alcazar apparently and unfortunately being among them. That, and Telegames' own hacked version of Flipper Slipper. :P Whatever the cause of that is, I couldn't say. Incompatible variant of the CPU or some other chip? Something about the DINA's BIOS that Alcazar disagrees with?

 

A few months ago I was generously gifted a reproduction Alcazar cartridge, and have just now fired it up on my DINA. Works perfectly!

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  • 7 months later...
5 hours ago, eebuckeye said:

Just got a Dina that the picture is very noisy and the sound is static only.  Seems like I need to adjust the RF?  What adjustment is there in the Dina?

I recall that there's a special screw accessible via a hole under the console's casing, which lets you select the TV channel. Maybe turning this screw will help you clear things up. My memory is fuzzy, but I think you need a proper screwdriver for this.

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8 hours ago, eebuckeye said:

Just got a Dina that the picture is very noisy and the sound is static only.  Seems like I need to adjust the RF?  What adjustment is there in the Dina?

i have one. a haven't tried it recent but try other channels. i remember it being on a weird channel. i'll set it up later and remember that way.

Edited by digress
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On 5/5/2018 at 12:02 AM, BassGuitari said:

 

Anecdote: I was pretty young yet in the late '90s--junior high age--and very, VERY new to classic gaming, and literally the only thing I knew about the Colecovision was the DINA that was pictured in an article about retro systems in a 1997 issue of EGM. I'd never seen an actual Colecovision, so in my mind, the Coleco-compatible DINA *was* the Colecovision as far I was concerned. And the fact it was still readily available new from Telegames, Radio Shack, and probably other sources (Atari2600.com?) really reinforced that. It also made it seem like, in the age of Dreamcast and Nintendo 64, that the Coleco was still a legitimate "current" system you could adopt. "You have PlayStation, GameBoy Color, and your old Super Nintendo? Nice! I have Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and I just got a DINA Coleco system. It plays really old games that I have to order, but it's cool as hell!" That idea was way cool to me. And that it was all available only by mail-order gave it an aura of exclusivity and secrecy--always appealing to a teenager. :-D

Love this! I was selling N64 that I bought new along with the carts (all the stuff in mint boxes), because I had bought the Dreamcast and House of the Dead 2. I had no ideal that Genesis, ColecoVision or Atari items where still available to purchase.

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On 5/7/2018 at 12:15 PM, BassGuitari said:

 

To add to this real quick, in case anybody out there with a temperamental DINA sees this and is interested--the real culprit is heat from the voltage regulator + heat sink assembly that drags the RF tuning slightly out of whack (again, this is the later version of the system that has the separate power board that uses the standard 5V supply, not that 5-pin 3-voltage monstrosity).

 

As a test, I let my system run after I adjusted the RF modulator. Looked and sounded perfect for a while, then audio static started creeping in after maybe 15-20 minutes (picture was still crystal clear though), slowly crescendoing until it became intolerable (again, still crystal clear picture). I had the case open and noticed the voltage regulator/heat sink was very hot (to be expected); well, the RF modulator is less than an inch away from said heat sink, and seemed to be absorbing some of that heat. So I just blew on the RF modulator a couple of times, like it was soup that was too hot. The audio static was cured instantly. Naturally, though, as the modulator heated back up, the static came back same as before. Blew on it again--gone.

 

So...I'm thinking a heatsink on the RF box? Heatsinking an RF modulator isn't something I usually hear of people doing, but I don't see why it shouldn't help (provided I can fit it properly inside the DINA's tiny case). I'm also looking into various thermal insulation materials such as silicone pads--perhaps on the regulator itself? Or even on the heatsink?

 

The usual heat-related concern with DINA systems is the TMS9918 chip, but I must say the voltage regulator in this system does a great job of keeping the 9918 (or whatever variant) in this DINA remarkably cool and comfortable. Unfortunately some of the excess heat from the voltage regulator appears to be getting passed to the RF modulator instead, but I suppose some RF-related inconvenience and having to periodically re-tune the TV is still way better than a system that doesn't work at all. :P

Maybe you could install a fan. I was thinking maybe a fan from a junk Gamecube.

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I do use channel 13 but the picture is static and no sound.  I opened the Dina up but can not see what I need to insert into the hole to adjust it. There is a hole on the bottom but it does not seem to line up to adjust I do not think.

 

Any suggestions on what I need to use?  I can not see the inside shape that I need to turn and I have tried a flat head but nothing seems to turn.

IMG_20191130_233057803.jpg

IMG_20191130_233129403.jpg

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For the RF output, your TV needs to be tuned to channel 13...which can be very problematic in the U.S. (not sure where you're located).  If you want to actually "use" this system, you'll really want to modify the system and use the native composite video from the installed TMS9918...thusly:

 

GlnMu1.jpg

 

Then install heat-sinks on the CPU, VDP and the VRAM chips and you'll be all set.

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