Guidance on getting a Coleco ADAM please?

[Snowbound1996]

So, I was always fascinated when I learned about the dedicated, persistent community for this niche computer, and the ADAMCons that went on for decades. But what exactly draws you to the Coleco ADAM? I'm curious to get your views about this obscure, interesting computer.

I've found a complete, working Coleco ADAM fairly close to where I live for under 200 dollars Canadian, so the offer has me interested, but I think I have SO much to learn first about the ADAM. I'd love to know what the best mods you can get for it are, the best SD card solution, common problems with the hardware, and anything else that somebody should know as a newcomer to this computer.

(And how does this ADAM look?? Is the quality decent?) 

Thanks so much in advance! ^.^

Edited July 18, 2023 by Snowbound1996

[jblenkle]

Visti my web page for a lot of information on the ADAM. Tons of newsletters you can read and lots more!

 

www.ColecoADAM.Net

Edited July 18, 2023 by jblenkle

[Snowbound1996]

I've briefly checked this out a couple times before, but now that there's a fairly priced Coleco Adam nearby, I'll definitely read up on your website much more. Cool to know that it's yours

[Snowbound1996]

Also, one BIG reason I'm interested in getting a Coleco ADAM is for the many wonderful games made by Team Pixelboy...but where can I get them? I see on cvaddict.com that many (though not all) of the games are available as ROM files. How would you play the ROM files of games that are made for the SGM expansion module though? Would I need to try and find an SGM expansion module?

I'd really appreciate an answer to this, as being able to play all the Team Pixelboy games would be a huge motivation to get a Coleco ADAM.

[Captain Cozmos]

5 hours ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Also, one BIG reason I'm interested in getting a Coleco ADAM is for the many wonderful games made by Team Pixelboy...but where can I get them? I see on cvaddict.com that many (though not all) of the games are available as ROM files. How would you play the ROM files of games that are made for the SGM expansion module though? Would I need to try and find an SGM expansion module?

I'd really appreciate an answer to this, as being able to play all the Team Pixelboy games would be a huge motivation to get a Coleco ADAM.

The Mello SGM is a device that adds the missing parts of an MSX in order to play very large bank switched roms.
The games consists mainly of MSX titles that have been altered to utilize the bank switching scheme.
There are a few original games and the Coleco ADAM games as well.  Instead of using the DDP the ADAM games have been also altered to use the bank switch method.

From my understanding some of those games can work on an unexpanded ADAM because it already has the missing memory that the Colecovision does not have.
The sound chip from the MSX is what the SGM provides aside from the extra memory.

Ebay is the only place I know of that has the easiest method of getting an ADAM other than knowing someone to sell or give you one.
They are not the easiest to program because the emulators and tools are not up to speed but it is possible.  Sound and Music my my downfall.
As far as documentation, despite having a lot these days, you still have to sift through the weeds because a lot of it is missing and has to be taught word of mouth.
 

Atari Age is, or once was, the hub of Colecovision programmers that can help you out if they can.

Things have been kind of slow around here lately but AA is full of great guys and you won't find a better website with this kind of knowledge base.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Captain Cozmos

[Snowbound1996]

Oh thank you very much for your detailed response! 

 

Luckily I can avoid huge shipping costs and Ebay hassle since there's an Adam fairly near to where I live.

 

I just want to make sure I know as much as I can about it, and I can tap into the great homebrew games it seems to have.

 

Is the Mello SGM a different version of the SGM?

[+mytek]

All you need for the Adam in order to get the full SGM experience is to add an AY sound chip using something like this: PCBWAY ColecoVision Adam Sound Module. And if you can't build it yourself, maybe you could recruit someone on these forums to make one. Occasionally I see these come up on eBay, but I found nothing when I searched today.

 

The Adam already has the extra RAM required. In fact it actually has more than provided by the SGM.

 

For PixelBoy games... if you get an AtariMAX Ultimate SD Cart, you can then download many from these forums by using the search function on AtariAge. Search Term: Team PixelBoy News Bulletin

 

[Snowbound1996]

I had no idea the ADAM had enough ram to work with MSX ports on it's own and just needs the soundchip, that'll save me money for sure

 

Ohh and the Atarimax cartridge can handle the SGM games just fine huh? Nice!

 

Is there an easy way to get a new psu for an ADAM while keeping the printer intact?

[Pixelboy]

1 hour ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Ohh and the Atarimax cartridge can handle the SGM games just fine huh? Nice!

I see this confusion a lot with people who are new to the ColecoVision homebrew scene. Allow me to explain.

 

The SGM is just extra RAM and an MSX sound chip, as others have pointed out above. This has nothing to do with the AtariMax cartridge in terms of compatibility. The thing you want to look out for is MegaCart support. Originally, the ColecoVision was limited to 32K cartridges, and the MegaCart (created long after Coleco went out of business) is a bankswitched cart that breaks that 32K limit. The AtariMax cart supports the MegaCart architecture, but there are other types of bankswitched carts that are not as well supported, like the Activision PCB (supports the bankswitching aspect but not the EEPROM datasave feature).

 

Again, ROM bankswitching has nothing to do with the SGM. You can have a standard 32K game that requires the SGM, just like you can have a 128K (or even 256K or larger) cartridge that doesn't require the SGM.

 

[Snowbound1996]

I see! Thank you very much for explaining it all clearly for me.

 

Are you the creator of the Team Pixelboy games? I was wondering if it's possible to play Pixelboy and other homebrew games from people like Opcode with an Atarimax. I'm fine with paying for ROMS, I just always dislike when a homebrew game has a limited release and then becomes eternally unavailable for those that join the community later

[Pixelboy]

I prefer to call myself a publisher rather than a creator (because other people do the "creating", if you get my meaning) but yeah, I'm the guy behind Team Pixelboy. And yes, you can play just about any ROM on an Atarimax cart, including nearly all Team Pixelboy releases.

 

It's easy to find Team Pixelboy ROMs for free, just do a search on this forum with the keywords "Team Pixelboy News Bulletin" and look at the first post of news bulletins dated December 25th, between 2012 and 2022.

 

I'm not sure exactly how it works (didn't look too much into their club membership) but if you can get access to CollectorVision's ROM vault, you'll find quite a lot of ROMs which you can also put on an AtariMax cart. I'll let you investigate that on your own. 

 

[Snowbound1996]

Ahh I see, thank you so much yet again! So it's definitely sounding like I'd have a good selection of games with the Coleco ADAM. I honestly think I might go for it

 

Is it fairly easy converting MSX games to Coleco? Might be fun trying it myself someday

 

14 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

I prefer to call myself a publisher rather than a creator (because other people do the "creating", if you get my meaning) but yeah, I'm the guy behind Team Pixelboy. And yes, you can play just about any ROM on an Atarimax cart, including nearly all Team Pixelboy releases.

 

It's easy to find Team Pixelboy ROMs for free, just do a search on this forum with the keywords "Team Pixelboy News Bulletin" and look at the first post of news bulletins dated December 25th, between 2012 and 2022.

 

I'm not sure exactly how it works (didn't look too much into their club membership) but if you can get access to CollectorVision's ROM vault, you'll find quite a lot of ROMs which you can also put on an AtariMax cart. I'll let you investigate that on your own. 

 

 

[Pixelboy]

1 hour ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Is it fairly easy converting MSX games to Coleco? Might be fun trying it myself someday

Trust me when I say it's more "work" than "fun", even if you port something small like a 32K game. You really need to have a good understanding of the differences between the MSX and ColecoVision architectures. They're more cousins than brothers, in terms of hardware.

 

[Snowbound1996]

Also, one other big question I have is about the printer. What supplies do you need to use it? Would be cool having my first personal printer

[Pixelboy]

Well, if the printer itself is in good working order, all you need are ink ribbons and maybe daisy wheels with different text fonts. Not sure where you can find those online, but I do have a few of those myself, in storage somewhere.

 

[Snowbound1996]

Yeah I'm fortunate in that the printer seems to be in good shape so it'd be nice making use of it if I can. I'll try and look around online for ink ribbons. I never heard of those before

[rietveld]

8 hours ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Yeah I'm fortunate in that the printer seems to be in good shape so it'd be nice making use of it if I can. I'll try and look around online for ink ribbons. I never heard of those before

Bob S sells the ink ribbons

http://ann.hollowdreams.com/adamsupplies.html

 

 

[Snowbound1996]

Do you know where the soundchip goes? Is it an expansion you can put into one of those expansion slots you see when taking the cover bay off the Adam?

 

If it leaves the side expansion port open for the atari 2600 player, that'd be great

[+mytek]

14 hours ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Do you know where the soundchip goes? Is it an expansion you can put into one of those expansion slots you see when taking the cover bay off the Adam?

 

If it leaves the side expansion port open for the atari 2600 player, that'd be great

It does occupy the expansion port, and if I recall correctly, no there is no pass-through for something like the 2600 adapter. it's one or the another, but not both at the same time.

[Snowbound1996]

26 minutes ago, mytek said:

It does occupy the expansion port, and if I recall correctly, no there is no pass-through for something like the 2600 adapter. it's one or the another, but not both at the same time.

Aww I see, that's a small disappointment as I'd hoped I could have both in at the same time, but it's a small inconvenience at worst haha. Also, I just got my Adam today!