Videobrain computer - power supply?

[+eebuckeye]

I bought a really nice Videobrain computer.. BUT.. no power supply!?! Ugh!! It has a funky connector too..

 

Any suggestions of how to get this powered?

 

Thanks!

[doctorclu]

Lack of standards back then? I know they could get a bit crazy. Try making a power supply for an Amiga 500/1200 sometime.

[carlsson]

 

 

The only interesting thing about the VideoBrain power supply is that it has the strangest plug I've ever seen. Instead of a normal tip, the VideoBrain power supply has four holes that fit snuggly into four pins on the console and then twist on to lock into place. I've never seen anything like it before, and needless to say finding a replacement plug is near impossible.

http://www.atariprotos.com/othersystems/videobrain/hardware/powersupply/powersupply.htm

 

Yet it looks like the connector has markings - AMP 7751 206060-1 or something like that. I found a few more references to the odd connector, but nothing about which voltages the console takes. While it is a very rare system, I imagine for functionality one could carefully mod it to use a different connector, as long as you know which voltages it should have.

[+eebuckeye]

Great info! Thank you!

[BassGuitari]

Congrats on scoring a VideoBrain!

[+eebuckeye]

Excellent condition (looks new) in box but getting a power supply appears to be pretty difficult.

[Bill Loguidice]

Hopefully it works. I had two units at one time, but had to Frankenstein them together to get one properly working unit. Unfortunately, VideoBrains are not the most robust machines in the wild, much like Otrona's and some others.

 

What cartridges do you have for it? Those few of us in the VideoBrain community are still looking for an APL/S cartridge to get dumped.

[+eebuckeye]

I just have the finance cartridge.

 

If they get dumped I assume the only way to use is an emulator, correct?

[Bill Loguidice]

I just have the finance cartridge.

 

If they get dumped I assume the only way to use is an emulator, correct?

 

All are dumped except for the APL/S cartridge. Emulator, yes, but also recreated as a cartridge for use on real hardware. That's the holy grail when it comes to the VideoBrain, because obviously it's not much of a computer without a programming language.

[+eebuckeye]

Is there anywhere to buy the cartridge recreations?

[karokoenig]

I love AtariAge. I didn't even know this thing existed up till today. What a funky machine.

[Bill Loguidice]

Is there anywhere to buy the cartridge recreations?

 

I'm not aware of any being made yet. It's possible, though (or has at least been discussed). You can join the VideoBrain/Channel F mailing list to query, though. https://beta.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/channel_f_and_videobrain/info

[ApolloBoy]

http://www.atariprotos.com/othersystems/videobrain/hardware/powersupply/powersupply.htm

 

Yet it looks like the connector has markings - AMP 7751 206060-1 or something like that. I found a few more references to the odd connector, but nothing about which voltages the console takes. While it is a very rare system, I imagine for functionality one could carefully mod it to use a different connector, as long as you know which voltages it should have.

That's an Amphenol 206060-1 connector and they're actually still made today so you could easily make a replacement PSU if you figured out the voltages. Amphenol connectors are actually very common in industrial and military applications so that's why they're still being made.

[carlsson]

Great info! I kind of suspected that, but didn't have time to investigate.

 

So $3.61 each on Mouser (just to pick one vendor out of a hat):

http://www2.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkey206060-1

 

But yes, anyone who got a working power supply should be able to either read ratings or measure them. I saw that Kevtris has deducted that the cartridge port contains 5V DC and 12V DC, which to me suggests that either you have DC inputs in the connector, or the venerable 9V AC + 16V AC combination found on the Interton VC-4000, Spectravideo SVI-318/328, VTech Creativision and a whole slew of other systems. Amperes may vary, usually the 9V AC line is rated higher than the 16V AC line, if it turns out that the Videobrain has the same voltages.

[MattPilz]

Bumping this very old thread as the topic of a VideoBrain came up in another... And then I found this one and see you are still active on AA so, just incase you're still wondering 6 years later... Here's some help!

 

I created my own power supply as I had two faulty original adapters. That is one of the most common failures of the VideoBrain, the adapters seem to give out.

 

The voltage readings you asked for are:

• Pins 1-2: 10VAC 16VA
• Pins 3-4: 15V 8VA

 

I found a standard 10V 15V Multi Output AC transformer... And wired it to the plug. The WIP photo was ugly but is below.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by MattPilz

[+eebuckeye]

Great info!  I still do not have a PSU though.. ?

[Tempest]

Welcome to the VB club.  

[+5-11under]

The VB was my first console. I thought it was going to be a computer, with the APL cartridge and Expander, but the C.O.M.B. company that I got it from, I guess ran out (or never had) those items. I later sold it to a collector who has a large old computer collection.

[Tempest]

5 hours ago, 5-11under said:

The VB was my first console. I thought it was going to be a computer, with the APL cartridge and Expander, but the C.O.M.B. company that I got it from, I guess ran out (or never had) those items. I later sold it to a collector who has a large old computer collection.

Wow really?  I don't think I've talked to more than one or two people who had a VB back in the day.

 

I got mine in the early 2000's and ended up getting an Expander 1 from Al of all people (why he had one I don't know) then slowly filled in the rest of my collection from random places.  At this point I'm only missing APL/S (which we finally have proof that it exists now) and the Expander 2.  I'm also missing the box for Financier and the system.  Ianoid has a prototype for a database program called Information Manager which might have been released, we don't know.

 

http://www.atariprotos.com/othersystems/videobrain/videobrain.htm

 

[+5-11under]

8 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Wow really?  I don't think I've talked to more than one or two people who had a VB back in the day.

 

I got mine in the early 2000's and ended up getting an Expander 1 from Al of all people (why he had one I don't know) then slowly filled in the rest of my collection from random places.  At this point I'm only missing APL/S (which we finally have proof that it exists now) and the Expander 2.  I'm also missing the box for Financier and the system.  Ianoid has a prototype for a database program called Information Manager which might have been released, we don't know.

 

http://www.atariprotos.com/othersystems/videobrain/videobrain.htm

 

I thought it was going to be a computer, and was disappointed when those bits weren't included. Nevertheless, we had quite a bit of fun with it, playing Gladiator and Tennis with friends/brother, or individually playing Pinball or Wordwise 1 or my favorite, Vice-Versa - after learning the ropes, I could beat the hardest level (requires some change in priorities, and a good stretch of time, often days without having a power glitch). I only had the relatively common carts.

 

The Videobrain got us past the pong clone, and lasted (at least) until my brother bought the ZX80 and later ZX81 (never had another console back in the day).

 

[Tempest]

10 minutes ago, 5-11under said:

I thought it was going to be a computer, and was disappointed when those bits weren't included. Nevertheless, we had quite a bit of fun with it, playing Gladiator and Tennis with friends/brother, or individually playing Pinball or Wordwise 1 or my favorite, Vice-Versa - after learning the ropes, I could beat the hardest level (requires some change in priorities, and a good stretch of time, often days without having a power glitch). I only had the relatively common carts.

 

The Videobrain got us past the pong clone, and lasted (at least) until my brother bought the ZX80 and later ZX81 (never had another console back in the day).

 

What year(s) was this?  What did you think of the quality of the games?  To me they're mostly pretty bad except for Gladiator.  Pinball is one of the worst to me because the ball just goes everywhere and drops down the drain so quickly there's no real gameplay to it.

[+5-11under]

2 minutes ago, Tempest said:

What year(s) was this?  What did you think of the quality of the games?  To me they're mostly pretty bad except for Gladiator.  Pinball is one of the worst to me because the ball just goes everywhere and drops down the drain so quickly there's no real gameplay to it.

Looking at the ad:

It looks like this was 1979-80.

It had more variety than Pong. I didn't have a 2600 or anything else to compare with, so at the time it was at least okay. A friend's 2600 seemed better to me, mostly in variety, but getting a gaming fix for less than 25 cents was always a good thing, even if the games weren't super.

• Gladiator was generally decent, but after a while did get a bit old, from predictability. Had to remember the best numbers, because there were hundreds of variations (using essentially a bit-by-bit selection method, so some combinations were basically useless).
• Pinball was okay, from what I remember. Nothing too great, though.
• Vice Versa (Othello) was the star for me. Spent many hours on this. The game used a "tree" system, so as you increased the difficulty level, the computer would look ahead more moves, and select the best based on that analysis. I wish I had Checkers, which I think worked in a similar way.
• Blackjack I had, too. It's Blackjack, and was fun to play sometimes.
• Wordwise 1 I also played quite a bit, IIRC. Unscramble the word.
• Music Teach I don't really remember too much. You could play a bit of music, although I'm not sure that was in this program, or in the built-in BIOS.
• Tennis was decent with friends, too. Like Pong, but the player could move in 2 dimensions.

I think that's all I had.

 

[MattPilz]

3 hours ago, Tempest said:

Expander 1 from Al

That is amazing, it is so rare and without one the premise of saving/loading apps is not feasible.

 

3 hours ago, Tempest said:

At this point I'm only missing APL/S (which we finally have proof that it exists now) and the Expander 2.

 

I wasn't even sure we knew that cart existed, doesn't seem anyone who has a copy has dumped the ROM. That cart along with documentation plus the Expander 1 (or modern alternative) would finally open the doors for some potential development without requiring obscure machine language efforts.

 

The cartridges are possibly my favorite design of the 1970s-80s. They look like mini VHS tapes in the box design.

 

Mine is having some "tearing" issues that concern me. As I run it I get visual artifacts running up and down. Am hopeful I didn't accidentally get static into the circuitry when plugging in a controller. Need to recap it either way and replace the dried thermal paste on the two chips. I have another parts one that can't get past a black screen, but am pretty sure the problem resides in one of the two proprietary chips (UV-201 / UV-202).

 

Quote

Music Teach I don't really remember too much. You could play a bit of music, although I'm not sure that was in this program, or in the built-in BIOS.

 

That program was what they demonstrated the VideoBrain with at CES to show how it could be a music teacher.

Edited April 13, 2022 by MattPilz

[Tempest]

34 minutes ago, MattPilz said:

That is amazing, it is so rare and without one the premise of saving/loading apps is not feasible.

Mine is serial #29!

 

35 minutes ago, MattPilz said:

I wasn't even sure we knew that cart existed, doesn't seem anyone who has a copy has dumped the ROM.

The cart still hasn't surfaced, but the manual did in an auction.

 

37 minutes ago, MattPilz said:

That program was what they demonstrated the VideoBrain with at CES to show how it could be a music teacher.

Do you know anything else about what was shown of the VB at CES?

[MattPilz]

1 hour ago, Tempest said:

The cart still hasn't surfaced, but the manual did in an auction.

 

Oh, hopefully eventually it makes its way to archive.org. It's an interesting programming language and I'd be intrigued to see what capacities or limitations it supported for the VB. I know it is also largely attributed to why the system failed, because every other platform had gone with BASIC. I don't monitor auctions too often but did see one recently for sale that had a cable and damaged manual from the Expander II but no actual Expander II. 

 

1 hour ago, Tempest said:

Do you know anything else about what was shown of the VB at CES?

I may have confused CES with a news clip from the time. Episode 18 of Floppy Days played an excerpt where they were demonstrating the VideoBrain to Jane Pauley on The Today Show in 1978. Unfortunately the video they reference has been removed from YouTube and now I can't find it, but you can listen to excerpts of it in the podcast. It may still be floating around these archives I just am not sure what date.