atarimind Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Is there any other controller that can replace this to play the Coleco games? If not, how much are these controllers usually go on ebay? Anyone happen to know who can sell them? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarimind Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 No takers here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
video game addict Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Check Matt's page he's got one listed there, maybe ya'll can work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG/Snyper2099 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Check Matt's page he's got one listed there, maybe ya'll can work something out. 917470[/snapback] Sorry, I just sold mine with the smurfs save the day cart, intructions, and cable for $95. I'd say that's the going rate. If you are patient you may score a loose one cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarimind Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 So there is no replacement to the Kid Vid controller, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 So there is no replacement to the Kid Vid controller, right? 917777[/snapback] The KidVid is basically a glorified tape deck with a special cable to plug it into the Atari joystick port. Whether you can substitute a standard tape deck has been debated in the past and I don't know if anyone has actually ever tested it or not. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JStoll Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 (edited) Is there any other controller that can replace this to play the Coleco games? If not, how much are these controllers usually go on ebay? Anyone happen to know who can sell them? Thanks! 916470[/snapback] I do not know how the Kidvid communicates with the game other than the fact that the cable has two jacks on one side - one headphone and one even smaller - and the other side plugs into the second joystick port of the 2600. Perhaps someone could explain how it works? I could be wrong, but however it communicates, I'm sure there was something out there using the same technology. I just dug out a Tandy trs-80 cassette deck from the basement and noticed that it has the same size jacks on the side, but instead of the smaller one being "game" it is "rem", and the spacing is such that you can't just use the original Kidvid cable. However, I will try to test it out today. If anyone is more familiar with the Kidvid or the trs-80 deck, they might be able to tell us immediately if the "rem" jack is the equivalent of "game" on the Kidvid. Unfortunately I don't even know if this trs-80 deck still works, but I will keep you posted. Basically, what you're looking for is a tape deck that has a speaker/headphone output, and a jack slightly smaller (in this case labelled "game"). I would recommend looking at portable cassette decks for different consoles/computers/etc, and also try to find a pinout of the Kidvid cable (or look for one - the joystick side says "Coleco" on it and the other says nothing, just has the two audio/data plugs). I would be suprised if the Kidvid was designed in such a way that it was not possible to use something else with a little elbow grease. Edited August 25, 2005 by JStoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prodos8 Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I believe you'll find the headphone jack on the kid vid cable is for stereo, so unless your trs-80 tape deck is stereo it won't work properly IMO. Somewhere, a while back, I read that the tapes are in stereo with one channel for the audio sound and the other the data (the beeps and pops) for the VCS. So, you might be able to substitute a walkman with a remote jack or something similar. Then again I could be wrong. Also, since I've never used one of these, does the sound come from the tape deck speaker or is it somehow piped through the TV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 (edited) Any tape deck with remote dictation function will work. The cable is only used to send signal to and from the ATARI to tell the system when to advance the game play screens. Sound is all out of the tape deck speaker for the data part it's all out the 2 jacks. Here is how to build your own cable as ANY old dictation capable tape deck will work, also attached is a pic of the one I built for myself and some other goodies you might want. Cheers & Fave Fun, Shawn Sr. Edited August 25, 2005 by silver_surfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarimind Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 And how about the joystick? Can you use a standard joystick in port 1? If this is thecase, the only hard thing to get is the cable (I am assuming that finding an old tape deck on eBay shouldn't be difficult). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 And how about the joystick? Can you use a standard joystick in port 1? If this is thecase, the only hard thing to get is the cable (I am assuming that finding an old tape deck on eBay shouldn't be difficult). 918630[/snapback] Yes, just a standard joystick is fine. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarimind Posted August 26, 2005 Author Share Posted August 26, 2005 That's cool.... so if there anybody that would like to sell a cable, please PM. Unluckily, I have never done that before and I am not sure how to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazzeri Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 On 8/25/2005 at 2:43 PM, Shawn said: Any tape deck with remote dictation function will work. The cable is only used to send signal to and from the ATARI to tell the system when to advance the game play screens. Sound is all out of the tape deck speaker for the data part it's all out the 2 jacks. Here is how to build your own cable as ANY old dictation capable tape deck will work, also attached is a pic of the one I built for myself and some other goodies you might want. Cheers & Fave Fun, Shawn Sr. Necro-bump! Is this schematics still available, @shaun? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bah Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) read to the end. there is more than just a cable. Edited November 28, 2019 by bah i want to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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