Newest owner of an Adam computer!

[Snowbound1996]

Happy to say I just bought a Coleco Adam today and it's such an interesting computer to have. Need to get a cable later today to hook it up to my tv, but it's been fun trying out the keyboard and seeing how it feels. 

 

Noe I got a long journey ahead to learn everything I can about this computer! :D 

[rietveld]

1 hour ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Happy to say I just bought a Coleco Adam today and it's such an interesting computer to have. Need to get a cable later today to hook it up to my tv, but it's been fun trying out the keyboard and seeing how it feels. 

 

Noe I got a long journey ahead to learn everything I can about this computer! :D 

You can connect it using a single RCA to RCA cable.  You will need the 5 pin  din plug for both audio and video but the single RCA will get you up and running on the TV  

[Snowbound1996]

56 minutes ago, rietveld said:

You can connect it using a single RCA to RCA cable.  You will need the 5 pin  din plug for both audio and video but the single RCA will get you up and running on the TV  

Yeah, my plan is to get a standard RCA cable just so I can try the computer out on my CRT by connecting it to RF with my coaxial adapter.

 

I intend to get the composite cable made for the Adam later on along with Fujinet, the NES style controller, and the Atarimax

[rietveld]

4 hours ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Yeah, my plan is to get a standard RCA cable just so I can try the computer out on my CRT by connecting it to RF with my coaxial adapter.

 

I intend to get the composite cable made for the Adam later on along with Fujinet, the NES style controller, and the Atarimax

You do not need a coax adapter if you connect the monitor RCA jack on the Adam  to the RCA video in on your TV

 

 

 

 

[Snowbound1996]

58 minutes ago, rietveld said:

You do not need a coax adapter if you connect the monitor RCA jack on the Adam  to the RCA video in on your TV

 

 

 

 

Ohh, would the signal be sharper that way? I connected the tv input to RF using coax and the quality was awful, could barely read anything on screen.

[rietveld]

21 minutes ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Ohh, would the signal be sharper that way? I connected the tv input to RF using coax and the quality was awful, could barely read anything on screen.

The picture will be crystal clear if you connect the Adam to a TV using the AV ports 

[Snowbound1996]

16 minutes ago, rietveld said:

The picture will be crystal clear if you connect the Adam to a TV using the AV ports 

I'll give it a try! So I'd plug in all 3 rca cables on the tv?

 

I imagine I'd get no sound though as I can only put 1 of the 3 cables into the monitor port obviously.

 

 

[Snowbound1996]

1 hour ago, rietveld said:

The picture will be crystal clear if you connect the Adam to a TV using the AV ports 

So, I tried using the monitor port with the RCA cables and I got an unusably fuzzy image through RF, and nothing at all when I tried hooking it up to the composite inputs on my tv.

 

I guess I'll just have to wait and get the composite cable made specifically for the Adam to get good video quality

 

(The picture with smartwriter visible was when I used tv input through rf)

Edited July 22, 2023 by Snowbound1996

[jblenkle]

Be sure and visit my web page for tons of old ADAM newsletters, other information and programs:

 

www.ColecoADAM.Net

 

[NIAD]

The video ports on the back of the ADAM are:

 

TV - use an old RF cable with and RF-to-Coaxial Adapter to connect to a TV. Best to buy an old RF cable as modern RF cables are iffy as far as supplying a good picture. Sound will also be provided.

 

MONITOR - use a Composite cable (the yellow colored connectors) like those used with DVD players. This port only provides video, so obviously no sound.

 

AUXILLARY - this is a 7-pin DIN connector (actually only 5 pins are used) that provides Composite Video with Audio. For years there has been a high quality cable sold on eBay for about $20 and I have one that I am very happy with. I don’t recall the seller, so just search for ADAM Monitor Cable. BE AWARE that Coleco improperly tapped sound for this port and volume output will be very low when using the Opcode SGM or Expansion Module #1 Atari Adapter. There is a mod available to fix this issue if you have the soldering skills and it available on the ADAM Archive in the Technical directory.

 

www.adamarchive.org

Edited July 22, 2023 by NIAD

[Snowbound1996]

2 hours ago, NIAD said:

The video ports on the back of the ADAM are:

 

TV - use an old RF cable with and RF-to-Coaxial Adapter to connect to a TV. Best to buy an old RF cable as modern RF cables are iffy as far as supplying a good picture. Sound will also be provided.

 

MONITOR - use a Composite cable (the yellow colored connectors) like those used with DVD players. This port only provides video, so obviously no sound.

 

AUXILLARY - this is a 7-pin DIN connector (actually only 5 pins are used) that provides Composite Video with Audio. For years there has been a high quality cable sold on eBay for about $20 and I have one that I am very happy with. I don’t recall the seller, so just search for ADAM Monitor Cable. BE AWARE that Coleco improperly tapped sound for this port and volume output will be very low when using the Opcode SGM or Expansion Module #1 Atari Adapter. There is a mod available to fix this issue if you have the soldering skills and it available on the ADAM Archive in the Technical directory.

 

www.adamarchive.org

Is there a list of known and capable modders that work on Adam computers? I'll definitely want to have audio for SGM and 2600 games. I'm surprised I never knew that was an issue until now

[NIAD]

22 hours ago, Snowbound1996 said:

Is there a list of known and capable modders that work on Adam computers? I'll definitely want to have audio for SGM and 2600 games. I'm surprised I never knew that was an issue until now

As far as modders you can post a request in this Forum or check to see if Lundy Electronics would be willing to Super-fy your ADAM. Also try Ruggers Customs.

 

As far as the low volume issue that I mentioned when using the Auxillary Port, you will have to turn up the volume which could introduce noise feedback… depends on the quality of the TV. Funny thing is that a lot of the early (1985 to 2005 or so) Composite Video with Audio mods for the ColecoVision were based off the way that Coleco tapped into sound output in the ADAM Stand Alone Memory Console, so those mods suffer from the low volume output as well when using the Opcode SGM and Atari adapter.

 

The mod to correct the issue is pretty easy and requires minimal soldering skills. iIRC the PDF file on the ADAM Archive is named C88 Sound Fix or something like that.

Edited July 24, 2023 by NIAD