Keyboard Component Talk

[Rextro]

Nice. Ultimately it would be good to know if it reads and writes data. Where did you find yours?

 

One of my buddies got it for me a long time ago not sure where exactly he scooped it from. Thats exactly what im in the middle of testing at the moment. Trying to plqy crossword off of a caasette tape haha I hope I can get it going! So far Ive got it to the loading screen but I have to admit its very dirty been in storage for almost 11 years haha

[+nurmix]

One of my buddies got it for me a long time ago not sure where exactly he scooped it from. Thats exactly what im in the middle of testing at the moment. Trying to plqy crossword off of a caasette tape haha I hope I can get it going! So far Ive got it to the loading screen but I have to admit its very dirty been in storage for almost 11 years haha

I believe Crosswords requires the BASIC cartridge to run.

 

 

 

Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk

[mr_me]

One of my buddies got it for me a long time ago not sure where exactly he scooped it from. Thats exactly what im in the middle of testing at the moment. Trying to plqy crossword off of a caasette tape haha I hope I can get it going! So far Ive got it to the loading screen but I have to admit its very dirty been in storage for almost 11 years haha

I was wondering if it was a Canadian source. Do you have any other software? The BASIC cartridge?

Data tapes?

 

edit:

I think Nurmix is right about Crosswords being a basic program. But I think the French Tutor, and the Jack Lalanne Exercise Program, and Spelling run without BASIC

Edited June 6, 2016 by mr_me

[Rextro]

I believe Crosswords requires the BASIC cartridge to run.

 

 

 

Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk

 

AH! Perhaps that is the issue I don't have any of the BASIC Cartridges to run along with the tapes!

Maybe that is the reason I get "Tape Error"?

You may have solved the exact problem I was trying to fix! I must need Cartridges to Run both the tapes I have. That actually makes sense.

 

Edit:

 

I only own 2 Cassette's one is a Data Tape and the other is Crossword, I do not have any BASIC cartridges for it.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Rextro

[Rextro]

I believe Crosswords requires the BASIC cartridge to run.

 

 

 

Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk

 

Thank You Nurmix, this confirms it. Snipit from a nice article from Intellivisionlives.com:

 

"(Geography Challenge, Family Budgeting, Crosswords I, II & III) that required a BASIC cartridge to be plugged into the game port. With the BASIC cartridge, the user could also write his or her own programs."

 

This explains why the two tapes I have rewind and go perfectly until startup, Missing the darn Cartridge.

 

Still, I am VERY confident my Intellivision Keyboard Component is fully functional

[+nurmix]

 

Thank You Nurmix, this confirms it. Snipit from a nice article from Intellivisionlives.com:

 

"(Geography Challenge, Family Budgeting, Crosswords I, II & III) that required a BASIC cartridge to be plugged into the game port. With the BASIC cartridge, the user could also write his or her own programs."

 

This explains why the two tapes I have rewind and go perfectly until startup, Missing the darn Cartridge.

 

Still, I am VERY confident my Intellivision Keyboard Component is fully functional

It's possible that it will rewind and eject tapes, but not play them. One of the Keyboard Components I have on loan can slowly rewind a tape, but won't actually play it. Most likely it's due to a broken belt.

 

When you try to load something does the tape actually move?

 

 

 

Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk

[Rextro]

It's possible that it will rewind and eject tapes, but not play them. One of the Keyboard Components I have on loan can slowly rewind a tape, but won't actually play it. Most likely it's due to a broken belt.

 

When you try to load something does the tape actually move?

 

 

 

Sent from my Intellivision ECS using Intelli-Tapatalk

 

I wasn't paying that close of attention to it, was in AW of the green screen haha. But I do remember it moving, unsure of what stage it was in though.

[Deprekate]

 

The only thing I really want to do is clean it up, I need to clean inside the cassette port any recommendation of cleaning products or stick to the basics? Dry Cotton swaps and some wipes for the exterior?

 

Although I am not sure about the internals of the keyboard (yet), I have always used Caig DeoyIt D series to clean vintage terminals in electronics. And then to protect them from getting corroded (well corroded is a strong, more like oxidized) I follow it up with the Caig Sheild. There are a myriad of products, some for if you are working with gold contacts, etc. People here can tell you if this is a good route

[Rextro]

Before and After cleaning photos if anyone was interested in seeing it.

 

Almost ready to sell haha.

 

Thanks for the advice on cleaning everyone! Everything looks much nicer now.

[+Tarzilla]

 

Thank You Nurmix, this confirms it. Snipit from a nice article from Intellivisionlives.com:

 

"(Geography Challenge, Family Budgeting, Crosswords I, II & III) that required a BASIC cartridge to be plugged into the game port. With the BASIC cartridge, the user could also write his or her own programs."

 

This explains why the two tapes I have rewind and go perfectly until startup, Missing the darn Cartridge.

 

Still, I am VERY confident my Intellivision Keyboard Component is fully functional

Also, one of the two cassettes you have is not a program, it is a DATA STORAGE cassette (probably blank) used to save Basic programs or other stuff.

[+DZ-Jay]

Just bumping this thread up because I like the title and the topic.

 

One thing I always wondered is, are there any people around who actually owned and used a Keyboard Component back in the day? I've never met anybody who owned a KC and I don't think I've ever heard of someone who does. How could we track them down? I would like to hear their experiences using the device.

 

I know that recently(ish) someone posted his own personal experiences of what he remembers using the PlayCable unit back in the day, I would like to hear similar experiences of the Keyboard Component. I find this device fascinating, and I recall being enthralled by the catalogue descriptions when I was a kid. To me it sounded like science fiction stuff, you know, futuristic jet-pack and flying cars sort of thing.

 

According to the Intellivision Lives site, there were 4,000 units made. How many of those were sold? (The page says only "a trickle of them" were made available to consumers). Although most of them were eventually recalled, there should be at least someone left around who remembers how it was to use the Keyboard Component in practice -- even if they were 8 years old at the time.

 

-dZ.

[First Spear]

 

I think a "trickle" is relative compared to the 3 million Master Components that were sold, so I agree with dZ that there must be someone out there..,

 

I think that this is another case where Keith Robinson has the data. Mattel had to know where the units went originally and also had people sign waivers to keep or vouchers to return. Some data forensics on his would be cool.

 

I am almost volunteering for the effort to track people down, if such a data set could be shared...

 

 

Just bumping this thread up because I like the title and the topic.

 

One thing I always wondered is, are there any people around who actually owned and used a Keyboard Component back in the day? I've never met anybody who owned a KC and I don't think I've ever heard of someone who does. How could we track them down? I would like to hear their experiences using the device.

{snip} Component in practice -- even if they were 8 years old at the time.

 

-dZ.