arcadegeek23 Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 I have just purchased my first CoCo3!! I have very fond memories of hanging out in my neighborhood Radio Shack and playing on the Tandy computers. I started with a Vic 20 and then moved to PC. I have been collecting many of the vintage computers I followed but never owned and I am looking forward to spending time learning the CoCo. What I have seen of the CoCo games it looks to have a fun library. I have a CoCo3 with the 512k upgrade. Looking for suggestions on additional equipment I would pick up. Wondering what SD and multicart options exist. What’s the best joystick options? I have been hearing about OS9. Recommended Good books, YouTube Channels etc. I have been catching up on the CoCo Crew podcast and enjoying it very much. Thanks for any suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcadegeek23 Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 Update: I apologize for the redundancy on the request and found some good tips. I have ordered a Deluxe joystick as well as a Atari/Genesis adaptor, an RGB to scart cable for running to my framemiester. I have an email request in to order an SDC. Super excited to start my CoCo adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 (edited) Brush up on how drivewire 4 works it took me some head hitting desk before I got it going There is a few as solutions out there some emulate disk drives (so you don't have to cut a with a computer) some emulate carts I dunno if one does both or not Since that machine doesnt have a disk controller or did in rom you will have to bootstrap it from the tape port which doesnt take that long and it generally stays there even after reset as long as you don't cycle power Edited July 28, 2018 by Osgeld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColorComputerStore Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 >I have just purchased my first CoCo3!! Nice machine. >I have very fond memories of hanging out in my neighborhood Radio Shack and playing on the Tandy computers. That's how many of us got started. >What I have seen of the CoCo games it looks to have a fun library. The port of Donkey-Kong and Pac-Man are the exact arcade versions. They were transcoded. Watch Original Gamer Stevie on YouTUbe for many game demos. To explore more games. >I have a CoCo3 with the 512k upgrade. Looking for suggestions on additional equipment I would pick up. The stock 512K upgrade makes the machine run very hot. Consider getting a modern 2MB upgrade and sell the 512k off. >Wondering what SD and multicart options exist. CoCo SDC. Ed Snieder has production rights. Google Zipster Zone. >What’s the best joystick options? You must experience the pain of the analogs.. which are good for Polaris... Missile Command I don't like the Deluxe Joystick. They break easy Get a Atari or Genesis adapter. And then a good WICO joystick. >I have been hearing about OS9. It's the most advance 8bit OS. Like Unix on 80s hardware of 8bit. Look for the modern version called NitrOS. >Recommended Good books, For what? Check out CoCo Archive. Most books there for BASIC, Assembly, etc. >YouTube Channels etc. As mention, Steve's YouTube channel and his CoCO After Dark... and COCO Talk. And get the CoCo Crew Podcast. Start on episode 1. Join the CoCo facebook group. There are about 6 different ones. >I have been catching up on the CoCo Crew podcast and enjoying it very much. Ah, that's good. Buy the Rainbow magazine, Hot CoCo and Color Computer Magazine for more fun. >I apologize for the redundancy on the request and found some good tips. I have ordered a Deluxe joystick as well as a Atari/Genesis adaptor, an RGB to scart cable for running to my framemiester. I have an email request in to order an SDC. >Super excited to start my CoCo adventure. RGB to Scart to HDMI is wonderful. But a CoCo 2 for kicks too. Buy Ed' multi-pak. Multi-pak is a device that you can plugin multiple carts. His version will feature a sound card built-in. You will find a few things about the CoCo 1. There is alot of activity for new software and hardware 2. It has a very rich history 3. It is excellent for programming 4. With the exception of a few grumpy people, the community is VERY helpful 5. The CoCOFest show is a blast 6. We wil constantly learn an explore new things on this platform Have fun (new) CoConut Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 DriveWire is good for most things: https://www.frontiernet.net/~mmarlette/Cloud-9/Software/DriveWire3.html https://www.frontiernet.net/~mmarlette/Cloud-9/Hardware/Cables.html Then there's the CoCoFlash product. I find this one to be very difficult to load programs onto. So far, requests for real-world examples of how to get data onto this unit have gone unanswered for over a year. It does come with a manual, but it'll take some extensive digging and experimenting to get things working. At the very least though, it makes a good way to provide the CoCo 3 with the DOS that it needs so that it can more quickly make use of DriveWire (CoCoFlash includes DriveWire DOS pre-installed). I'm pretty sure there's also a dedicated cartridge out there that includes the DriveWire (HDB-DOS), so that's also an option. http://store.go4retro.com/cocoflash/ Another product (and one that I've heard a lot of good things about) is the CoCo SDC (not sure if it's still available though): http://www.cocowares.com/item.php?nombre=CoCo%20SDC And I'd highly recommend a joystick adapter so that you can use Atari and SEGA style controllers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359462640/permalink/10154171148002641/ Additionally, here are some resources that you might enjoy: http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/coco/Documents/Manuals/Hardware/ https://archive.org/details/rainbowmagazine http://www.cocowares.com/search.php?Vendedor=Ed%20Snider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcadegeek23 Posted August 4, 2018 Author Share Posted August 4, 2018 Thanks for excellent direction. Hope to get in some CoCo hours this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I forgot to mention games.... Here are some that I really like: Games that are specific to the Color Computer 3: Space Quest II King's Quest IV Donkey Kong (Sockmaster arcade conversion) Pac-Man (512K) Rogue Gantelet II The following are Color Computer 2 games. Many will work on the CoCo 3. Most of the ones that don't have patched versions available with a bit of searching: Dungeons of Daggorath Time Bandit Lunchtime Cashman Cyrstle/Ice Castles Shock Trooper Tut's Tomb Dragon Slayer Buzzard Bait Calixto Island Trekboer Dallas Quest Galagon Rommel 3D Gantelet Demon Seed Color Car Gold Runner (Tom Mix) Hall of the King series Speed Racer Marble Maze Qiks (Spectral) Phantom Slayer Sailor Man Sam Diamond Varloc Trapfall Pooyan Astro Fighter F-16 (Diecom) Whirlybird Run Pitstop 2 Lunar-Rover Patrol Maui Vice Brew Master 3D Brickaway And just in case you're not used to RS-DOS disk commands, here's a quick command list with examples: https://www.blitter.com/~nebulous/coco.html There's a nice program called Disk Utility by Spectrum Projects that makes life easier. It's listed on the following two sites: ftp://outwestbbs.com/coco.-.color.co/COCOUTIL/00index.html%3Fext=on$jezytihg http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com/coco/Disks/Utilities/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polyex Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OweBK5TVPdo&list=PLY1djKUzaK83lg_Hd6rVc4uNwkj5Hu4b8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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