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Scored an Intellivision Super Pro System


simbalion

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After checking out a few vintage game and toy shops tonight, the last shop I stopped in at had one of these peeking out from behind several higher priced vintage consoles. At $40, this was a bargain from that shop compared to the $95-$100 consoles surrounding it and is in great physical shape. I guess they priced it low due to the fact that they didn't see it as desirable, the power switch cap tends to fall off (not broke, just loose, and they couldn't get it to work on channel 3. They are right about that, it refuses to work on channel 3, but the picture on channel 4 is very, very good. It looks great, even on my LCD flatscreen and the controllers are good yet. I haven't compared them yet, but I swear this console weighs more than my original Intellivision. Also, it has only a four digit serial number: A 7571.

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Nice! I'd love to add one of those to my Intellivision collection, but haven't ever seen one outside of Ebay (where they tend to go for a lot more than $40).

 

I'd probably just glue that power switch with something like rubber cement that you could easily just pull off if you wanted to. But just to get it back to feeling normal.

 

Weirdly, none of my Intellivisions work on channel 3 anymore either.

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Ok, two quick pictures before bed. Here is the system itself right before my camera batteries died..

 

post-8339-0-93042100-1480220458_thumb.jpg

 

Popped in some better batteries and got this of the tag. Sorry, I know it's horrible, but you can at least make out the serial number. Unfortunately, my camera sucks at close-ups. It either blots things out with the flash or you get this...

 

post-8339-0-09918300-1480220563_thumb.jpg

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I really hadn't paid attention to this until now and just submitted my Tandyvision and Sears units. However, the model numbers for the Sears units on the site are listed as 49-75022? This isn't how mine is listed on the label. Mine clearly states the Model as 497.75022 on it. Why does the database appear to missing the first or second 7 in the model listing?

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Is the pro system the one that has intellivoice built in?

 

No Intellivision system that shipped with the Intellivoice built in. Mattel did prototyping for the Intellivision III that would have had the Intellivision built in (among other improvements). However, the Intellivision III that actually shipped many years later had no relation to the prototype; it was just the original Intellivision with a different and slightly changed plastic case.

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Played around with the system some more this evening. I found I can get it to work on channel 3, but the switch seems worn and it takes a lot of fuss to switch between channels. It looks a bit better on 4, so I am going to leave it there from now on. The controllers are very responsive. I would compare them to my Sears unit in response and the side buttons aren't as stiff as my original model Intellivision. The only issue I have found is that my Coleco Carnival cartridge won't work in the unit. Even with cleaning, all I get is a green screen. Did these units still have the lock-out in them for the Coleco carts? I need to dig out my Donkey Kong and try it, but I know Carnival works in my regular and Sears Intellivision consoles. Other than that, this looks like it might make a good work-horse unit. I just need to replace a couple rubber feet on the bottom to stabilize it more.

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If your channel 3-4 switch feels weird, leave it on the best channel and don't change. Those little slide switches get tight and then break and then you may end up losing both settings.

 

Silicone works good to glue plastic like the power switch ;)

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If your channel 3-4 switch feels weird, leave it on the best channel and don't change. Those little slide switches get tight and then break and then you may end up losing both settings.

 

Silicone works good to glue plastic like the power switch ;)

That was my thought about the switch after trying it, just leave it alone! I'll have to try either silicone or rubber cement for the plastic power switch cap. Want something that can be taken loose again if I ever have to crack the system open. Now, to experiment and see if my Donkey Kong cart will work in the system or not tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I am going say that the INTV Intellivision III/Super Pro System doesn't support the Coleco made carts.

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The Coleco incompatibility introduced with the Intellivision II had to do with modified ROM Exec code. The Intellivision II used a single 4K rom Exec chip where the original used two 2K ROM chips. The INTV systems used the original boards and most do not have Coleco incompatibility. I have heard of two other cases of an INTV system and Coleco Donkey Kong being incompatible.

 

There is a later INTV board revision that has a single exec rom chip. But that board uses a 28pin exec chip where the intellivision II exec chip has 40pins.

 

Is it possible to put an Intellivision II 4K ROM exec chip in an original board design that uses two 2K exec chips?

 

You should open up your INTV system and see what rom chips it has?

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I tried Donkey Kong on my Super Pro System and got the same result as with Carnival. I would say that this version doesn't like the Coleco games. Since it is working well otherwise, I am not going to chance cracking it open and fouling it up. The only thing I am pondering in the future is to perhaps recap the power supplies in this and my earlier units. Of course, that depends on my confidence with my skills.

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It would be interesting to see if there is a different EXEC in there, or a different motherboard.

 

If at some point you get LTO Flash! it would be interesting to see what happens if you were to somehow come across those ROMs and put them on it. LTO Flash! has a feature that fixes the "lockout feature" in the Intellivision II EXEC for those games. If it addresses the issue on your system, too that'd be a powerful clue supporting the guess that it is running an EXEC that either is the Intellivision II EXEC, or has the same "lockout feature."

 

Another game to check would be Word Fun. It also doesn't work on Intellivision II due to the EXEC change.

 

FWIW, other later Coleco games worked on Intellivision II, so if you come across any of those, it would be interesting to see if they work.

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Well, since they are being sold locally for $2-$5 each, I am planning on tracking down some more CIB games for the Intellivision now while I can still find them around here fairly cheap. I did a bit of an inventory today and have roughly 12 CIB games. Some others got the boxes trashed in storage (only 4) and one or two others are missing overlays and manuals. Finally, a bit of a challenge I can enjoy! Even if this system conks out, I still have a beautiful Sears system I can fall back on and of course my original I bought for $5 nearly 20 years back at a yard sale. Actually, if I can find another controller, I'd have two working Sears systems... Hmm.. make a note to keep an eye out for those as well... :) I have two complete, working Intellivision II's, but neither of them has as clear of a screen as this one or my earlier units.

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It would be interesting to see if there is a different EXEC in there, or a different motherboard.

...

I've only heard of this once, maybe twice before. You might have something unique.

 

If you have an LTOFlash/Cuttlecart3 you can run the attached 'csumexec' rom file. It should identify original/Sears/ExecII roms in your Intellivision.

csumexec.zip

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I don't have either of those, sadly. Yes, both carts worked perfectly in my Sears and original Intellivision systems. Basically, I am getting the same thing from them that happens in my model II's.

On another note, I got 7 decent, boxed Intellivision games with manuals and overlays for a grand total of $9.05 counting the sales tax. Most of the games at the shop I went to are priced at $1, even some still sealed in the shrink wrap! Highest I saw was $10 for a loose Ladybug, which I passed on. Unfortunately, I accidentally grabbed two US Ski Team Skiing carts. Oops! The twenty-something clerk who was assisting me said he was glad to see that corner of the store getting some love again. He can't figure out why people ignore anything older than Nintendo anymore. He said he might not be into them personally, but I noticed him get a bit amazed when he saw the overlays and detailed manuals in each game. Even the cute girl who checked me out went wow when she saw those. She said she never realized that games from that era could be so detailed in their controls.

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