joe liquor

I recently purchased a used ColecoVision system. I had no guarantee that it worked, but the main unit itself seems to be in excellent condition with signs of little use. It did not come with the RF convertor, but it did come with the generic RCA cord that connects the system to the RF convertor.

I thought that I should be able to get a picture w/no sound my patching the RCA directly into a video input on my TV. When I tried this I got nothing.

Am I right in assuming that I should at least get a picture plugging the RCA from the unit directly into the video input w/o using a RF convertor? If so, I'm guessing that the power supply might be bad.

Any help is appreciated.

Pitchman

No, you will not get a picture hooking up your CV that way. Your best bet is to pick up a videogame RF switch-box at Radio Shack. They make one with a coax connector and a pass-through for about $6 or $7. Connect the cable that came with your system to the switch-box. This setup works great for me.

Good luck!

Gary

joe liquor

Not that I doubt Pitchman's expertise, but before I go shopping at RS is this the consensus?

Pitchman

jpalm, I still have the original ColecoVision I bought back in 1982, along with an Atari 2600 module, a Steering Wheel, a Roller Controller and a pair of Super Action Controllers. In addition, I have around 100 cartridges (in boxes w/instructions and overlays) and several third party accessories like Amiga PowerSticks.

I have tried what you are suggesting and trust me, unless you do a board mod, your CV signal has to go through a switchbox (with your tuner set to channel 3 or 4) to display on a tv.

The Radio Shack part number for the switchbox you need is 15-1268A. You may want to upgrade your RCA cable, too. I picked up a Radio Shack shielded 12-foot cable with gold RCA connectors and it greatly improved my CV display. No, I don't work for RS (and truth be told, am not a great fan of theirs), but for some items like this, you can usually find what you need.

Cheers!

Gary

joe liquor

Thanks Gary....I actually went out and bought one on my lunch hour. I figured if it didn't work I could just return it. I'll give it a try tonight and let you know how things worked out. I'm just so damn anxious to play a CV again...I hope it isn't a bad power supply.

HN

Yeah, it'll work. i actually had to use an RF switch/modulator (yep, it was from radio shack too) for my DVD player b/c i had a crappy little tv to begin with.

--HN

joe liquor

Hooked it up last night and it worked. Played a little Defender, Zaxxon, and Squesh'em Sam for starters. Whoever said the Xbox/Gamecube/PS2 is so great has no idea what they are missing.

dek

They have Coleco for Dreamcast

Pitchman

Glad to hear it worked out for you! I can't tell you how many hours I've spent over the years playing Montezuma's Revenge, Miner 2049er, Ladybug, Frenzy, Venture, etc, etc...

Gary