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Tutorvision games - Interest check


Alex.Pace

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The rom files posted here will run on a standard Intellivision. The graphics will be messed up as seen at the end of the video. There's no way to add the extra gram through the cartridge port. Someone would have to rewrite the program to use less gram if that is possible.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/274349-tutorvision-games-on-real-hardware/

Thanks for that mr_me & Lathe26. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Edited by Utopia
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  • 3 weeks later...

 

Sweet dude. I've already got some encouraging news but I need to make one small tweak to the ROM to make it work on a TutorPro (which I just call an INTV88 motherboard; stealing from others here).

 

If this checks out on a few more consoles, I think we have a one-step TutorPro/Tutorvision detection ROM :)

I -FINALLY- got around to running this ROM (laptop rebuild + work + street walking kept me busy) and it worked great on my system. Thanks!

 

post-37124-0-32249300-1519713468_thumb.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is the highest serial number for model 3504 A in the database and it's branded "INTV System III".

 

A 171447 Canada Steve Jones

 

I always thought that even if they were to use the same tutorvision mainboard in these Intellivisions there was a chance these boards might be jumpered to disable the extra gram. I'm not sure if there is such a jumper. And I'm not sure if they were aware of the incompatibility with extra gram; it affected very few cartridges. There also seems to be some evidence that some INTV systems had Intellivision II execs in them. I always wondered what that board looked like.

 

just tested this System 3 today, took a while to find as it is in an older Intelly 1 box, sadly it's an intelly 1 inside too.

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just tested this System 3 today, took a while to find as it is in an older Intelly 1 box, sadly it's an intelly 1 inside too.

Thanks, and I'm guessing the serial number prefix is RH and not A ie. it's made in Hong Kong. Looks like the last Intellivisions were made in USA serial numbers A031xxx.
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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

I have a Super Pro that is a full Tutorvision but the graphics display as blocks. Text shows fine. Has anyone heard of this issue? Does anyone have an idea what it would take to fix?

 

Desoldering the current GROM chip and soldering in a Tutorvision GROM chip. Obviously, Tutorvision GROM chips are very rare.

 

I think I misunderstood on the first reading. Do you mean that the images are look blocky / goofy but the text font looks rounded like DOS's CGA/VGA font (rather than the text looking like the normal blocky Intellivision font)?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Rather than keep people in suspense, here's my analysis of the Super Pros on eBay.

 

These items that show signs of being or not being a Super Pro Tutorvision. In some cases, sellers have inadvertently taken photos that help diagnosing which bucket the console falls into.

 

Super Pro System A 7940 Metal shielding through vents

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-Very-Rare-Consol-Video-Game-In-Box-Model-3504/292319947898

Super Pro System A 8244 Not a Tutor Pro, visible circuit board doesn't match

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-III-INTV-3-Video-Games-Model-3504-Console-Bundle-/282634828110

Super Pro System A 8800 INTV88 capacitor seen though vents

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-with-21-Games-Console-Video-Game-Box-Model-3504/173004152474

Super Pro System A 11403 Mattel font, Hockey shows 159 pixels width

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-Console-Video-Game-System-Great-Condition/311950478740

Super Pro System A 16690 Mattel font

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-III-INTV-3-Console-29-Games-See-description/132339644830

INTV System III RH 094516 Mattel font, Baseball shows 159 pixels width

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-INTV-III-3-System-Console-Tested/122838406709

 

In a nutshell, 8800 is a Super Pro Tutorvision, 8244 might be, and the rest likely aren't. This assumes that there not other undiscovered combinations of Tutorvision parts (ex: maybe they later created a metal shield, maybe some had the Mattel font / GROM, etc, etc).

 

Here's another serial number added to the list:

 

Super Pro System(?) A 008598 Not a Tutor Pro, it is a INTV 1987 REV A board with a black metal shield

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-console/302897947793

 

JoeZ's Tutorvision Reverse Engineering doc has been updated with this serial number.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Here's another serial number added to the list:

 

Super Pro System(?) A 008598 Not a Tutor Pro, it is a INTV 1987 REV A board with a black metal shield

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intellivision-console/302897947793

 

JoeZ's Tutorvision Reverse Engineering doc has been updated with this serial number.

 

... and one more to add to the list:

 

Super Pro System A 8652 INTV88 capacitor seen though vents, opened and confirmed to have INTV 88 board

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-RARE-Intellivision-Super-Pro-System-INTV-System-III-Model-3504-Console/263977716128

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Unfortunately, 8652 is a non-functional unit. It only displays a solid green screen when you turn it on (tried the usual cartridge wiggling, cleaning, etc). On the upside, the video does glitch when reset is pressed so there is something partially working. Some repair work is likely necessary. Minor: the red LED does not light up either.

 

Here are some photos:

 

post-37124-0-86807300-1539666278_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-30760700-1539666274_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-40930400-1539666276_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-70888400-1539666281_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-35767800-1539666284_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-02365300-1539666286_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-87110200-1539666288_thumb.jpg

 

post-37124-0-71663100-1539666290_thumb.jpg

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Unfortunately, 8652 is a non-functional unit. It only displays a solid green screen when you turn it on (tried the usual cartridge wiggling, cleaning, etc). On the upside, the video does glitch when reset is pressed so there is something partially working. Some repair work is likely necessary. Minor: the red LED does not light up either.

 

It looks like the STIC1A ASIC is not fully seated. At least from the photos, it appears that the corner nearest the "A" in STIC1A is a bit raised.

 

If you have a PLCC extraction tool, I'd say "pop it out" and have a look at both sides. (And if you do, take a photo of the bottom if there's anything interesting there.)

 

The EXEC (RO9580/P586) I believe is just EXEC 1, not the full WBEXEC. But, it's a 9580, so it has capacity for 8K decles. I wonder if they put anything in the other 4K? P587 is the WBEXEC.

 

The EXEC is socketed, which is interesting in its own right. Skippy (the first board I analyzed) had it soldered in.

 

This is date code 8912, which is the earlier of the two date codes we've seen. I think we've seen 8912 and 8930. IIRC, we haven't seen other date codes.

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Unfortunately, 8652 is a non-functional unit. It only displays a solid green screen when you turn it on (tried the usual cartridge wiggling, cleaning, etc). On the upside, the video does glitch when reset is pressed so there is something partially working. Some repair work is likely necessary. Minor: the red LED does not light up either.

 

 

I wonder if this one can be combined with the one I gave to intvdave to make a complete working unit? Depending on what happens to be wrong with each, that is.

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I'm always fascinated to see the date-code spread on these, BTW. The CPUs invariably have 1983-ish date codes, except by the end. For example, Skippy's CP1610A has an 8927 date code (27th week of 1989), while Lathe26's has an 8327 date code on the CPU (27th week of 1983). (Aside: Weird Al would approve of the 27s there.)

 

You don't really ever see date codes for the middle years. It seems like there's a bunch of NOS (new-old stock) and then suddenly new date codes, at least for the main components. Heck, many of the RAMs have 1982 date codes.

 

Looking at the chip date codes for the newest chips might give us better insight than the serial numbers. Much of this board's content is from halfway through 1989. The GROM is 8927 also.

 

This machine was built no sooner than 1989 week 27. At the same time, the GROM and EXEC were socketed like a prototype. We know the next (final?) revision of the STIC1A has datecode 8930 (and the marking "BV2"), so it probably was built before week 30, or at least not much after week 30 once the 1989-week-12 chips got used up.

 

FWIW, I've seen another 8912 datecode STIC1A with the marking "08E023-4". I wonder if that second marking is a lot code or something. It seems unlikely they'd have two different variants of the STIC1A built in the same week.

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  • 1 month later...

Yes. Most IntyBASIC games don't work if they use the boilerplate NTSC/PAL detection code. See here:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/274451-tutorvision-detection-rom/?p=3938243

 

I've tried numerous IntyBASIC games via LTO Flash! and a few via cart directly. I hope to find some time to do a game-by-game test via LTO Flash! but that'll take a bit of time. One result of that process will be updating the databases at my website that contain all sorts of compatibility information. Naturally there will also be some games that require direct cartridge testing as well.

 

Of course, any game that uses standard fonts will look different, as we've seen. Worm Whomper is indeed pretty wonky looking.

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