Telegames questions

[eegad]

Couple of Telegames Personal Arcade questions :

 

- Is there a list anywhere of games that don't work with it? I know that driving/rolling controller games do not. And I've read many homebrews do not (but that doesn't really matter to me). And obviously there are some issues because of the number pad on it. Is there a list of original Colecovision carts that can't be played properly on the unit because of number pad issues, BIOS problems, or anything else?

 

- I've read that there were 2 types of the console. The early one used a 4 prong, circular plug and a power supply that puts out both 5 and 12 volts. The later used just a 5 volt supply and simple power plug. Mine is the earlier version. Is there an adapter available that allows the early telegames power supply to connect to an actual Colecovision, and is the telegames power supply any better (or worse) quality than the original Colecovisions?

 

[doubledown]

Control-wise...any game that needs the EM#2, Roller Controller, or a SAC won't work with it.  Obviously any game with in-game keypad presses can be annoying (if allowable via the console's keypad), like Dam Busters, Ken Uston's BlackJack & Poker, War Games (and others) unless you're within 18" of the console.  I'm not sure if there are any games that flat-out won't work on it.  

 

A real ColecoVision (and/or ADAM) console needs +12VDC, +5VDC, and -5VDC, so if there is a Telegames power supply that outputs both +12VDC, and +5VDC...it would be missing the -5VDC, and wouldn't work for a ColecoVision.

[BassGuitari]

On 4/15/2021 at 2:45 PM, eegad said:

Couple of Telegames Personal Arcade questions :

 

- Is there a list anywhere of games that don't work with it? I know that driving/rolling controller games do not. And I've read many homebrews do not (but that doesn't really matter to me). And obviously there are some issues because of the number pad on it. Is there a list of original Colecovision carts that can't be played properly on the unit because of number pad issues, BIOS problems, or anything else?

 

- I've read that there were 2 types of the console. The early one used a 4 prong, circular plug and a power supply that puts out both 5 and 12 volts. The later used just a 5 volt supply and simple power plug. Mine is the earlier version. Is there an adapter available that allows the early telegames power supply to connect to an actual Colecovision, and is the telegames power supply any better (or worse) quality than the original Colecovisions?

 

I remember seeing a list of incompatibilities somewhere but can't find it at the moment. Offhand, I know Super Cobra cannot be played properly because it doesn't read one of the buttons on the DINA for some reason, and Flipper Slipper glitched out (or at least the Telegames version did). There are a probably a few other software incompatibilities I'm forgetting, but mainly, "compatibility" is a question of whether the game can be played adequately with the DINA's gamepad controller. (Mileage varies on how functional the keypad is as a gameplay device.)

 

No Colecovision/DINA power supply adapter exists. I don't know if the power supply itself is intrinsically better or worse than the Colecovision's, but it does have a nasty habit of frying the TMS9918 video chip, and sometimes the BIOS. (Word to the wise: pop some heatsinks on those suckers if you haven't already.)

 

Out of curiosity, on your system, does the RF signal drift? I have two DINA systems with the barrel-type power jack, and the RF frequency drifts as the modulator and voltage regulator heat up, requiring either the console or TV channel to be retuned, or fine-tuned if you've got a TV old enough to have manual fine-tuning. This is a known but peculiar phenomenon that seems to be unique to the DINA/Personal Arcade (I call it the "DINA Drift"). Years ago I had a system with the 5-pin DIN power jack like yours, although it didn't work, but I know it had a different motherboard design that was all one piece, whereas the other version has a separate board for all the RF components which connects to the motherboard. Just curious if there is a difference in RF performance/stability.

[eegad]

Regarding the drift question...

 

I don't notice drift while playing a game necessarily.  But if I turn the tv on and then the console,  i need to hit channel down then up again for the picture to come in.  Like the console isn't exactly putting out channel 13 signal,  so tv has to fine tune it in.  That type of thing does not happen with a real CV,  Atari,  etc.   

 

Also, wiggling the power switch affects picture clarity and color saturation while a game is running. So I guess same issue as a real CV? 

 

My system is a one board system, no separate RF board.  I only found that out yesterday when I opened it because the * key stopped working. Unplugged the ribbon cable to the numpad and it had visible corrosion on the ribbon contacts (though everything else inside looked perfect) . I was able to fiddle with it and get it working, but does anyone know if there's any possible way to replace/recondition that ribbon cable? 

[BassGuitari]

23 hours ago, eegad said:

Regarding the drift question...

 

I don't notice drift while playing a game necessarily.  But if I turn the tv on and then the console,  i need to hit channel down then up again for the picture to come in.  Like the console isn't exactly putting out channel 13 signal,  so tv has to fine tune it in.  That type of thing does not happen with a real CV,  Atari,  etc.   

 

Also, wiggling the power switch affects picture clarity and color saturation while a game is running. So I guess same issue as a real CV?

Interesting. My two-board systems come in fine on power-up but the signal drifts (colors start to wash out, sound gets staticy) and I have to redial Channel 13, and then it's fine again for a while. I'll have to do this three or four times until the system reaches its maximum temperature, at which point the picture is slightly fuzzy and washed out but acceptable.

 

They seem to behave differently on different TVs, too. On some TVs, Channel 4 actually works better than Channel 13; on others, it doesn't work at all. And some TVs do the Channel 13 thing better than others.

 

I haven't experienced the power switch thing, though. I'm guessing that's related to the three-voltage power supply used with the single-board version of the system (which is similar to what the Colecovision uses, right?).

[doubledown]

I remember the Dina I had, had a horrible RF output, so I just added the composite A/V jacks.  Not sure how different the different versions/systems are, or which version I had, but mine had a TMS9918 VDP, which outputs composite video natively.  No circuitry required, just install the jacks, and wire the video, sound, and ground.