ColecoVision
Z80 + TMS9928A + SN76489. Boots cartridges, no BASIC.
Open the ColecoVision in Retro Bench- Year
- 1982
- CPU
- Z80A @ 3.58 MHz
- RAM
- 1 KB static CPU RAM (2 × 2114); 16 KB VRAM (8 × 4116)
- ROM
- OS-7 BIOS, 8 KB
- Video
- TMS9928A (9918A on some boards): 16 KB VRAM, 32 × 24 text
- Sound
- SN76489: 3 tones + noise
- OS
- OS-7 BIOS; cartridge only, no BASIC
Chips
| Chip | Where | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Z80A CPU | U1 | Main CPU (8-bit, 40-DIP) |
| TMS9918A / TMS9928A / TMS9929A video display processor | U9 (TMS9928A) | Video display processor (VDP) with its own 16 KB DRAM bus. Composite out on 9918A; Y, R-Y, B-Y on 9928A/9929A. |
| SN76489 / SN94624 (TMS9919) sound generator | U20 (SN76489AN) | Three tone voices and one noise voice, written over an 8-bit data bus. |
| 4116 DRAM 16K x 1 | U10-U17 | Dynamic RAM, 16K x 1 (lower 16K on the Spectrum) |
| 2114 SRAM 1K x 4 | U3, U4 | Static RAM (ZX80 and ZX81 1K) |
| 9464C-0036 BIOS mask ROM (ColecoVision U2) | OS-7 BIOS, $0000-$1FFF | |
| 2764-pinout 8K x 8 ROM | U2 only after the EPROM conversion (solder traces cut, jumpers WJ4/WJ5 fitted). A stock board has the 9464C mask ROM, whose pins 2, 20 and 23 differ: see 9464C. | 8K x 8 ROM or EPROM in the JEDEC 2764 pinout. |
| 74LS138 3-to-8 decoder | U5, U6 | 3-to-8 line address decoder. |
| 74LS541 octal buffer (controller inputs) | U18, U19 | Buffers the controller port lines onto the data bus. U19 reads port 1, U18 reads port 2. |
Ports and connectors
- Power input (J3), Coleco 4-pin power socket, pins on the console
- Cartridge slot (J1), 30-contact card-edge socket UNVERIFIED
- Controller ports (J5 port 1, J6 port 2), DE-9, male on the console
- Expansion module interface (J2), 60-contact card edge on the main board (front, behind the door) UNVERIFIED
- RF output, RCA phono jack (channel 3/4 switch beside it) UNVERIFIED
- RF board riser (J4, internal), 8-pin riser from logic board to RF board UNVERIFIED
Power rails
| Rail | Expect | Measure at |
|---|---|---|
| +5 V | +5 V UNVERIFIED | Z80A pin 11 |
| +12 V | +12 V UNVERIFIED | 4116 pin 8 |
| -5 V | -5 V UNVERIFIED | 4116 pin 1 |
Symptoms
- Dead console, no boot screen: check Z80A, 9464C
- Won't boot (CPU RAM): check 2114, Z80A
- No picture: check TMS9918A, 4116
- Bad graphics (corrupt or missing): check 4116
- No color
- No sound: check SN76489
- Controllers dead: check LS541, LS138
- Cartridge does nothing: check LS138