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How is the Coleco Gemini?


T.A.P.

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I think it looks super-cool, but what's the build quality like? Are there any games it can't play?

 

 

I'd like to pick up some kind of 2600, since my 7800 wont play everything. I'd love to get a Heavy-Sixer (wouldn't we all?) but I figure that's not likely to happen since demand/price is so high for those.

Edited by T.A.P.
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A common problem with Coleco Geminis is that the solder on the switches and ports crack overtime, causing them to have a loose connection. This is because Coleco used cheap solder during the manufacturing process. If you know how to solder, than reflowing solder on the cracked areas is not hard. As for everything else with the console, I've never had a problem with it. In terms of compatability, every 2600 game I've tried works on the Gemini, although I've yet to try homebrew on it.

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While I currently don't have any vintage hardware set-up, in the past, I used a Gemini more than any other console simply because of its small size. I too had no problems with incompatible games. 

 

I do have the original controllers, but I used the standard Atari joysticks with the Gemini.  

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7 hours ago, The Mr. Video said:

A common problem with Coleco Geminis is that the solder on the switches and ports crack overtime, causing them to have a loose connection. This is because Coleco used cheap solder during the manufacturing process. If you know how to solder, than reflowing solder on the cracked areas is not hard.

Another part of the problem is that the Gemini has a cheapo single-sided PCB so any switch or port is even more susceptible to solder joint failure.

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The Gemini is a cool little system, but chances are you'll have to do some minor repairs or solder touch-ups. Coleco is infamous for the cheap build quality of their products (see also: Colecovision power switches; chintzy Telstar systems that had you apply the labels yourself; the alarmingly high number of defective ADAM computers at its release). The case is also a little bit on the fragile side, IMO.

 

The other thing to note with the Gemini is that, unlike the other "combo controller system," the Sears Video Arcade II, it has only two controller jacks. So if you want to use the Gemini controllers for paddle games, you will need a Y-splitter for additional players, or if the game uses the other paddle. Of course, you can also use regular Atari paddles instead. ?

 

Also, IIRC, the Gemini labeled the difficulty settings in the reverse of what they are on Atari and Sears systems. Difficulty B (or Novice on the Sears) is "A" on the Gemini, and Difficulty A (Expert) is "B."

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The Gemini was the first 2600 style system we had back in the early 80's and we played it ALOT.  It's a really good system and I actually prefer the controller over a standard 2600 controller, but that's just me being used to playing with one. Plus the controller has both a stick and paddle all in one.  I still have the system and it still works.

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21 hours ago, BassGuitari said:

Also, IIRC, the Gemini labeled the difficulty settings in the reverse of what they are on Atari and Sears systems. Difficulty B (or Novice on the Sears) is "A" on the Gemini, and Difficulty A (Expert) is "B."

You're right. Here's an excerpt from the "Berenstain Bears" game manual mentioning this "feature":

berenstain_bears_i_11.jpg.318ba476b487e9aef440e7ffcd3872ff.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

 

FWIW, I have never seen Venture as a pack-in game -- it is usually Donkey Kong or (sometimes) Mouse Trap. If it is the original pack-in cartridge, there will be a round sticker on the back indicating that it cannot be returned (or something like that).

 

I would certainly use the console (if I did not already own one, that is). I seriously doubt that there are enough collectors wanting a Gemini to make it significantly appreciate in value.  

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OK, it arrived today. it has never been used. It has a Venture game(no round sticker) with it and a Venture booklet which was under the console. I do believe it was the game packed with it because the Venture booklet has Gemini instructions inside. Since it is new I don’t have the heart to play it. It also included a WYE connector and two game cables. Serial number 004502. I have no idea how many were made but I’m pretty ecstatic. 20D1E3C7-5573-4A14-A878-DB110582C006.thumb.jpeg.ba8faa72889813fd5f4a51ff0e9db60f.jpeg

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  • 2 years later...
On 9/5/2020 at 8:28 AM, T.A.P. said:

Are there any games it can't play?

 

After investigating some incompatibilities with the 2600 Jr., I decided to pull out my Gemini and mess around with it a bit.  I just tried the games that are already known to have issues on this list and experienced problems with Kool-Aid Man, Masters of the Universe, Pesco, Pursuit of the Pink Panther, and Spider Fighter.

 

But since it's a knock-off console with a clone of Atari's TIA chip, there could be any number of minor problems that would be unique to this chip.  So the titles I just listed are not likely to be the only incompatibilities.  If someone were inclined to investigate further, I'm sure more could be found.

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I did notice and I should mention that although all of the titles listed above except Pink Panther are known to have other TIA incompatibilities, some of the issues that I witnessed were different from the usual behavior (and seemingly unique to Coleco's TIA clone).  Specifically...

 

Kool-Aid Man is unplayable due to being frozen at the intro screen.

 

Pesco lacks the stray dots but has some kind of vertical sync issue that causes the display to pulse or jump every few seconds.

 

Spider Fighter suffers from a rolling display at the attract mode.  Upon starting the game, it pretty much crashes or resets at the completion of one clock cycle.

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5 hours ago, Psionic said:

Kool-Aid Man is unplayable due to being frozen at the intro screen.

Remember that the left difficulty is used to freeze the game when in "A" position (which is "B" position on the Gemini, as they labeled the switches backwards!)

 

5 hours ago, Psionic said:

Pesco lacks the stray dots but has some kind of vertical sync issue that causes the display to pulse or jump every few seconds.

That's a bug in the game itself and not related to the Gemini. The game does not initialize the decimal flag correctly. The status of the CPU flags and registers at power on is undetermined and the game can randomly glitch like you experienced with any 2600 console. Just keep power cycling until it starts correctly (briefly trying another cart might help).

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On 3/13/2023 at 5:34 AM, alex_79 said:

Remember that the left difficulty is used to freeze the game when in "A" position (which is "B" position on the Gemini, as they labeled the switches backwards!)

 

Thanks...I forgot all about the difficulty switches and didn't realize Kool-Aid Man had a pause feature.  I tried it again and the game runs fine, which makes sense since I didn't experience a problem with Thunderground when testing these the first time.

 

On a related note, while testing out my Juniors, I thought one of them had an issue with Wall Ball as described here on Scott Stilphen's site.  But then I realized the pause feature had been activated via the color/b&w switch, which caused the game to load up exactly the way it does in this video.  Therefore, I wonder if certain TIAs really are incompatible with this game or if Scott just experienced the same thing I had.  It's definitely an easy enough mistake for anyone to make.

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17 hours ago, Psionic said:

Therefore, I wonder if certain TIAs really are incompatible with this game or if Scott just experienced the same thing I had.  It's definitely an easy enough mistake for anyone to make.

I think that is indeed the case, and the switch was set in B&W mode in that video.

 

Note that emulators Stella and Gopher2600 have options to emulate some of these TIA variations, so you can see how a game will glitch.

 

In Stella the options are in "Developer Settings"

stella_tia_settings.thumb.png.dab8d3b60957f6a84d33eacd0eac9a85.png

 

I Gopher2600 they're in "Preferences" (F10 key)

gopher_TIA_settings.thumb.png.b19672c6dbe7437b8f933f098cd393b2.png

 

Also keep in mind that may times these glitches are temperature related and the behavior changes as the chip warms up.

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