ColecoVision Games on RC2014

[jblang]

The RC2014 is a modular Z80-based homebrew computer kit that can run CP/M and BASIC. I've designed add-in cards (TMS9918 video card, SN76489 sound card, and ColecoVision-compatible controller card) that allow it to play ColecoVision games.

 

Here's a video of some games running:

 

 

And a video explaining how the boards work:

Edited November 25, 2018 by jblang

[youki]

Excellent!!!

[alekmaul]

really great, bravo !

[Nateo]

Wow, that's awesome! I've been eyeing the RC2014 for a while now, and this just put it into the must-buy list!

[ColecoJoe]

So all I need is an RC2014 and your coleco board or does the board come with the basic RC2014 kit?

[jblang]

There are a few different RC2014 configurations that will work in combination with the 3 game boards that I designed (video, audio, and controller).

 

With the RC2014 Zed Pro kit, you can load ColecoVision games from CP/M. You will probably want to add the CompactFlash module to that so you have permanent storage and you don't have to upload the games over the serial port the RC2014 every time.

 

A less expensive, and in my opinion, superior option is to buy the Pro backplane, 64K RAM module, and Z80 CPU module separately, then add my 3 game boards, plus my z80ctrl board. The z80ctrl replaces the ROM, clock, Compact Flash, and serial boards with an AVR microcontroller that lets you load the games directly into memory from an SD card, bypassing CP/M.

 

The Pageable ROM board that comes with the standard RC2014 Pro is NOT compatible, because it has a port conflict with the video card.

 

Of my boards, currently only the video board is available as a kit. I am working with the seller of the video card kit to offer the other 3 boards on Tindie as well (sound, controller, and z80ctrl) but I don't know when they will be available yet. Until then you would have to get the boards manufactured yourself from e.g., JLCPCB.com, and then source the components yourself from Mouser and eBay.

 

I have written a blog article that explains the various ways games can be loaded.

Edited November 30, 2018 by jblang

[ColecoJoe]

Awesome. Thanks for the info!

[mr_me]

That's a great project. If you add an ay3-8910 you can get sgm compatibility.

[jblang]

Thanks! Someone else designed a YM2149 module for the RC2014. I have one but I'm not sure it can be configured to use the right ports. I know it doesn't support the ports used by MSX. I have gotten the Bold MSX Demo to run on it (details), but only after I modified the code to use the right ports:

 

 

I have thought about making a new version of the board that supports the MSX ports. When/if I do, I will look into supporting SGM too. Sigh, so many cards to design, so little time.

[chart45]

there you go

[jblang]

For anyone who might be interested, kits for these boards are now available on Tindie:

 

- Video Card

- Sound Card

- Controller Interface

- z80ctrl Boot Loader

[ColecoJoe]

I hope to get to this project sometime later this year!

[jblang]

Hi ColecoJoe, I was just curious if you ever got your RC2014 built?

[ColecoJoe]

6 hours ago, jblang said:

Hi ColecoJoe, I was just curious if you ever got your RC2014 built?

I haven’t touched it yet. As usually happens, other projects got in the way.