A PERSONAL HOBBY COLLECTION CENTERED AROUND MY FIRST COMPUTER

 

The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. The Adam was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. It was available as Expansion Module #3 for the ColecoVision, converting it into a home computer, and as a standalone unit. As such, it had the benefit of being entirely compatible with all ColecoVision games and peripherals. The computer came with 64 KB of memory, a tape drive for a proprietary medium called Digital Data Packs, a daisy wheel printer, and productivity applications, along with two DDPs for SmartBASIC and Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Super Game. It was released in October 1983 with the initial price of $700.

  • CPU: Zilog Z80[32] @ 3.58 MHz
  • Support processors: three Motorola 6801 processors at 1 MHz (memory & I/O, tape, and keyboard control)
  • Memory: 64 KB RAM, 16 KB video RAM; 32 KB ROM
  • Expansion: 3 internal slots, 1 cartridge slot, and a 62.5 kbit/s half-duplex serial bus called AdamNet.
  • Both the stand-alone and expansion-module versions also have an external expansion port of the same type as the ColecoVision expansion port.
  • Secondary storage: Digital Data Pack tape cassette, 256 KB
  • Graphics: Texas Instruments TMS9928A
    • 256 × 192 resolution
    • 32 sprites
    • Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN
      • 3 voices
 

PROTOTYPES

     

 
 

PRODUCTION UNITS

 

 

USA

Canadian

 

Size Comparison

 

 

 

Coleco ADAM Standalone
 
 
 
     
Rare Brown Base ADAM
 

 

 

USA

Canadian

 

Coleco ADAM Expansion Module #3
 
 

 

 

 

ADAM/ColecoVision Combination Family Computer System Pack
 
 
   
 
 

 

 

French

 

CBS ADAM Expansion Module #3
 
 

For European ADAMs, Coleco provided "language cards" which had French or German versions of the SmartWriter ROM word processor, including alternate graphics character sets for use with corresponding daisy wheels for the ADAM printer. Three electrical signals necessary to access Ihese language cards are not implemented on ADAMs built for North America. The ROMs themselves, however can be pried out and put into the main ROM sockets on the lower circuit board, thus replacing the English version.