Coleco ADAM TMS-RGB Mod Possible?

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

I tried to clean and reseat the chips from the ADAM board, but I still got the black screen.

 

 

[NIAD]

If you press the CARTRIDGE RESET does the ColecoVision Bios screen display?

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

1 hour ago, NIAD said:

If you press the CARTRIDGE RESET does the ColecoVision Bios screen display?

I tried, but it doesn’t show up at all.

[NIAD]

I would venture a guess that the Adam Logic Board is still good. On the CV Board, it is hard to say exactly  what happened, but I would remove all mods to it and then give a a thorough testing. If everything checks out as good, then the mod you installed is the culprit.

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

@NIAD The Adam was working fine with the mod right before it has the black screen issue.

[NIAD]

13 hours ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

@NIAD The Adam was working fine with the mod right before it has the black screen issue.

I understand that but you have to rule out any possibilities that the RGB board you installed is the culpit especially since the system was working before you installed it and for a short period after.

 

Remove the RGB mod, remove any expansion cards that might be installed, disconnect the Data Drive and Keyboard, connect to a TV via RF and then power on the system and see what you get. If it works, remove the RF cable and connect a Composite cable to the Monitor port and test again. If it works, reconnect the Keyboard and test. If it works, reconnect the Data Drive and test.  If everything is working using these steps, then reconnect the RGB mod being mindful that you don’t create any shorts or damage any traces.

 

Be extra mindful of the plastic ribbon cable that joins the Adam board to the CV board and that it is snuggly connected.

 

if you have an ADAM Printer to power the system, I would also consider disconnecting the internal power supply if you are still having issues. It looks like Jim Walters performed this mod and I know he thoroughly tests the whole system out, but you never know especially since you opened her up to perform the RGB mod.

 

i know all too well how much this sucks, how time consuming this all will be as well as aggravating, but at this point, there is no good alternative.

 

Good Luck.

 

 

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

1 hour ago, NIAD said:

I understand that but you have to rule out any possibilities that the RGB board you installed is the culpit especially since the system was working before you installed it and for a short period after.

 

Remove the RGB mod, remove any expansion cards that might be installed, disconnect the Data Drive and Keyboard, connect to a TV via RF and then power on the system and see what you get. If it works, remove the RF cable and connect a Composite cable to the Monitor port and test again. If it works, reconnect the Keyboard and test. If it works, reconnect the Data Drive and test.  If everything is working using these steps, then reconnect the RGB mod being mindful that you don’t create any shorts or damage any traces.

 

Be extra mindful of the plastic ribbon cable that joins the Adam board to the CV board and that it is snuggly connected.

 

if you have an ADAM Printer to power the system, I would also consider disconnecting the internal power supply if you are still having issues. It looks like Jim Walters performed this mod and I know he thoroughly tests the whole system out, but you never know especially since you opened her up to perform the RGB mod.

 

i know all too well how much this sucks, how time consuming this all will be as well as aggravating, but at this point, there is no good alternative.

 

Good Luck.

 

 

Sadly, I do not have an ADAM printer. By the way, what if it doesn't work after I remove the RGB mod?

Edited October 20, 2020 by Retro_Game_Lover96

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

Here is my board.

I socketed some of the chips (such as the VDP chip right before I added the RGB mod board.)

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Retro_Game_Lover96

[ChildOfCv]

2 hours ago, NIAD said:

Be extra mindful of the plastic ribbon cable that joins the Adam board to the CV board and that it is snuggly connected.

Plastic cable, eh?  Those things seem to disintegrate over time, so that could even be where the problem lies.

 

Just wondering, if you unplug the Adam board, will the CV part work as a ColecoVision?

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

Just now, ChildOfCv said:

Plastic cable, eh?  Those things seem to disintegrate over time, so that could even be where the problem lies.

 

Just wondering, if you unplug the Adam board, will the CV part work as a ColecoVision?

I doubt it.

[ChildOfCv]

57 minutes ago, ChildOfCv said:

Just wondering, if you unplug the Adam board, will the CV part work as a ColecoVision?

Looks like the card edge connector is almost pin compatible with CV.  The difference is that the Adam's version has some bus transceivers for data, address, and control lines, pins 41 and 42 are used to switch direction, pin 40 was repurposed as a buffered IORQ line, and the reset circuitry is on the Adam board.

 

The CV board would work by itself, but needs the expansion connector for power and ground.  If you had a spare 60-pin connector, you could easily wire it up to power the board.

[NIAD]

3 hours ago, ChildOfCv said:

The CV board would work by itself, but needs the expansion connector for power and ground.  If you had a spare 60-pin connector, you could easily wire it up to power the board.

For years, eColeco sold such Stand-Alone Memory Consoles with a power supply as a ColecoVision only gaming system.
 

Over the years, swapping out bad Adam Logic Boards left him with a lot Memory Consoles without the Adam Logic board so he had to come up with some kind of solution to sell these off.

[NIAD]

4 hours ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

Here is my board.I socketed some of the chips (such as the VDP chip right before I added the RGB mod

 

Did you check everything you did for a bad solder joint, short, lifted trace, etc. If you can’t find any, then I would say you’ll have to scope everything. One way or another, you got a lot of detective work ahead of you that I do not possess the skills to help you out with but others like ChildOfCV does.

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

Just now, NIAD said:

Did you check everything you did for a bad solder joint, short, lifted trace, etc. If you can’t find any, then I would say you’ll have to scope everything. One way or another, you got a lot of detective work ahead of you that I do not possess the skills to help you out with but others like ChildOfCV does.

I fixed some of the broken traces with using a conductive micro tip pen and some wires, and then I checked the connections with my multimeter, so they're fine.

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

Last time, I tried to install a socket for the bios chip, but I kind of goofed up the traces, I fixed it, but I am not sure it looks right.

I think the traces are different compared to the standard Cole Vision's.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Retro_Game_Lover96

[ChildOfCv]

1 hour ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

Last time, I tried to install a socket for the bios chip, but I kind of goofed up the traces, I fixed it, but I am not sure it looks right.

I think the traces are different compared to the standard Cole Vision's.

 

 

Did you test to see if the original BIOS chip would still work?

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

16 minutes ago, ChildOfCv said:

Did you test to see if the original BIOS chip would still work?

I didn’t because of the black screen.

[ChildOfCv]

Does either reset switch work?  (in other words, can you reset into computer mode?  Cartridge mode?)

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

6 hours ago, ChildOfCv said:

Does either reset switch work?  (in other words, can you reset into computer mode?  Cartridge mode?)

It won’t while it still has the black screen issue. And at least the Atari expansion module works fine.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Retro_Game_Lover96

[NIAD]

2 hours ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

It won’t while it still has the black screen issue. And at least the Atari expansion module works fine.

Hmm, what video output (RF, Composite - Aux or Monitor port on back of Adam, TMS-RGB) are you using for the EM#1 Atari expansion?

As I’m sure you know, this unit only uses power and video from the CV or Adam.

 

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

37 minutes ago, NIAD said:

Hmm, what video output (RF, Composite - Aux or Monitor port on back of Adam, TMS-RGB) are you using for the EM#1 Atari expansion?

As I’m sure you know, this unit only uses power and video from the CV or Adam.

 

Aux Composite for Atari Module for Cole Adam.

[ChildOfCv]

7 hours ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

It won’t while it still has the black screen issue. And at least the Atari expansion module works fine.

Then it may not be the Coleco ROM or socket... unless there are shorted connections.  You could remove the chip and adaptor board and use a multimeter to check for shorts.  For each pin on the socket, see if it is also connected directly to a different pin.  Also, with neither the adaptor board nor the BIOS chip in, see if you can boot into computer mode.

 

Also check the plastic ribbon cable.  If there are any signs that it is splitting apart, it needs to be replaced.  You could also make sure each pin on the connector is connected to the ADAM board.

Edited October 21, 2020 by ChildOfCv

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

I checked all of the pins from the connector, and they're fine.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Retro_Game_Lover96

[Retro_Game_Lover96]

I think the internal power supply would've caused the ADAM to have black screen or something.

[ChildOfCv]

6 hours ago, Retro_Game_Lover96 said:

I think the internal power supply would've caused the ADAM to have black screen or something.

What voltages do you measure from it?

 

The expansion module needs +12V and +5V, so if it works, then both of those must at least be at a functional level.  I don't think EM1 needed -5V though.

Edited October 22, 2020 by ChildOfCv