Hardware

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Looking for CoCo help? If you are trying to do something with your old Color Computer, read this quick reference. Want to contribute to this wiki? Be sure to read this first. This CoCo wiki project was started on October 29, 2004. --OS-9 Al

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This page was last updated on 09/30/2024. Total Pages: 744. Total Files: 994.

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Home / Hardware - Hardware

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Hardware design and integrated circuits

Internally the CoCo 1 and CoCo 2 models are functionally identical. The core of the system is virtually identical to the reference design included in the Motorola MC6883 data sheet and consists of five LSI chips:

• MC6809E Microprocessor Unit (MPU)
• MC6883/SN74LS783/SN74LS785 Synchronous Address Multiplexer (SAM)
• MC6847 Video Display Generator (VDG)
• Two Peripheral Interface Adapters (PIA), either MC6821 or MC6822 chips

Audio Digitizers

• Delta Pro
• Max Sound - GimeSoft's audio recorder that used the joystick port.

Audio Output Devices

• Orchestra-90 CC (26-3143) - Software Affair Stereo Music Synthesizer DAC recreated by Zippster as the CoCoDAC-16
• Speech/Sound Cartridge (26-3144A) - General Instruments Music and Speech Synthesizer AY3-8913 Programmable Sound Generator (PSG) and an SPO256-AL2 Narrator Speech Processor
• Symphony-12 - Speech Systems' 4 x AY-3-8912 PSG for 12 channel sound, recreated as the Philharmonic-12
• Game Master Cart - RetroTinker's Flash ROM and SN76489AN Digital Complex Sound Generator (DCSG)
• CoCo PSG - Zippster's YM-2149 Software-controlled Sound Generator (SSG)
• MEGA mini MPI - Zippster's YM-262F OPL3 FM Synthesizer
• The Voice - Speech Systems' Speech Synthesizer with the Votrax SC-01
• Super Voice - Speech Systems' Speech Synthesizer device that could sing with a Votrax SC-02 / SSI 263A
• Real Talker - Colorware Voice Synthesizer with the Votrax SC-01

Bus Expander

• Tandy Multipak (26-3024)
• Tandy Multipak (26-3124)
• Colorburst By Maxsys
• Howard Medical Slotpak
• Orion Technologies XPort
• CoNect Xpander
• CoNect Y Box
• Y-Cable
• Solderless Proto Board

Computers & Clones

• TRS-80 Color Computers (A list of all available models)
• Dragon
• MC-10 Micro Color Computer
• CP400
• TDP-100
• LZ Color64 Brazilian clone
• Dynacom MX-1600 Brazilian clone

Tandy/Radio Shack Tape Drive Systems

• CTR-80A
• CCR-81 (26-1208)
• CCR-82
• CCR-83

Other Tape Drive Systems

• Exatron Stringy Floppy

Floppy Disk Controllers

• Other Floppy Disk - notes and information about the CoCo FD controllers

Tandy/Radio Shack floppy disk controllers

• 26-3022
• 26-3029
• FD-500 (26-3129)
• FD-501 (26-3131)
• FD-502 (26-3133)

Third party floppy disk controllers

• SDC Floppy Emulator
• Disto Super Disk Controller
• Disto Super Disk Controller II
• Disto Mini Controller
• J&M/Owl-Ware
• Hard Drive Specialists
• Sardis Technologies 'no-halt' Controller

Hacking floppy disk

• Hacking Disk 40, 80 Track, 2 Sides
• 26-3029 CoCo Disk Controller High Density Modifications - (source)

Alternate floppy disk controller ROMs

• ADOS/ADOS-3
• RGBDOS
• JDOS
• MYDOS
• CDOS
• OWLDOS
• HDB-DOS

Hard Drive Controllers

• Disto Hard Disk II Adapter
• Tandy Hard Drive Controller
• CoCo XT / CoCo XT-RTC by Burke & Burke
• KenTon - SCSI
• Gleside IDE Interface
• Cloud-9 SuperIDE Interface
• Cloud-9 TC^3 SCSI Interface
• Owl-Ware

Input Devices

Joysticks
Paddles

Tandy / Radio Shack

• Joystick
• Deluxe Joystick
• Color Mouse (1 Button)
• Deluxe Color Mouse (2 button)
• Tandy Hi-Res Joystick Adapter
• Pistol Grip Joystick
• X-Pad
• Archer Cat. No. 270-9207. With both a Tandy 6-pin DIN and an IBM PC 15-pin connector, plus a "Tandy/IBM" switch on underside.

Third party

• CoCo-150 - Flight Sim Yoke, Alban Scientific, The Rainbow Feb 1985
• The Glove
• Le Stick
• Wico Deluxe Joystick
• WICO Computer Command Trackball
• WICO Computer Command Analog Joystick
• HJL-57 upgrade Keyboard
• HJL NumberJack numeric keypad
• Koala Pad
• Diecom Light Phaser Interface
• Comrex ComMander Deluxe
• Altai DR-2B
• Spectrum Mach II Joystick
• Spectrum Paddle
• Spectrum Stick
• MAXX Flight Control Yoke - 1991 Software Buyers Guide p. 71 listed it as CoCo compatible. Cat. No. 900-2176
• Advanced Gravis Mark VI Competition Joystick - RSC-22 p.38 listed Tandy-specific version Cat. No. 900-2380, also advertised in The Rainbow starting around Feb 1989.
• Endicott Joystick
• JARB Dual Joystick Unit. "Single unit assembly enhances playability of multi-joystick/player games; convenient press-to-fire buttons." Ad in November 1982 Rainbow p. 71

Accessories

• Atari to CoCo Joystick Adapter
• Colorware Super Hi-Res Interface
• Hawksoft Dual Hi-Res Joystick Adapter
• Puppo Keyboard Adapter
• OWL Keyboard Adapter
• Cloud-9 AT Keyboard Adapter
• Joy-Mouse Interface - Adapter from Micro-Labs allowing a CoCo-standard joystick to connect to a TRS-80 Model III or 4.

Memory Upgrades

• Tandy 512K Upgrade
• Performance Peripherals 512K Upgrade
• Cloud-9 Triad 512K SRAM Upgrade
• Boyson Tech Boomerang 512K Upgrade
• Disto 512K Upgrade
• Disto 1MB Upgrade
• Disto 2MB Upgrade

MIDI Interfaces

• CoCo MIDI
• MIDI Maestro and MIDI Maestro+

Monitors and displays

• Radio Shack
  • 26-3010 - TRS-80 Color Video Receiver introduced in the 1981 Radio Shack Computer Catalog RSC-4 and the 1981 Radio Shack main catalog.
  • 16-230 - 13" color TV, model number TC-130. Introduced in the 1983 general Radio Shack catalog, and shown as the CoCo's display in that same catalog's back cover. Also shown on the cover of 1983's Radio Shack Computer Catalog RSC-8 and once in the CoCo section where the Color Video Receiver was still more prominent. Not fully shown in the interior of an RSC until RSC-9 later in 1983.
  • 16-231 - a 13" TV. Introduced in the 1985 Radio Shack main catalog. Shown as the display in the CoCo's listing in that same catalog as well as (in 1985's RSC-12 Computer Catalog) on both the cover and the CoCo's own listings.
  • 16-232 - a 13" TV/Video Monitor. Introduced in the 1986 Radio Shack main catalog. Shown as the display in the CoCo's listing in that same catalog as well as in 1986's Radio Shack Computer Catalog RSC-15.
  • 16-233 - a 13" TV, model number TC-171. Introduced in the 1988 Radio Shack main catalog. Also shown as the display in the CoCo 2's listing in that same catalog and in 1988's Radio Shack Computer Catalog RSC-19.
• Tandy
  • 26-3512 CM-8 Specifically made for the CoCo 3. Affordable but no composite input, thus many CoCo 1/2 programs would show in black-and-white.
  • 25-8056 RGB-11 Listed in the Color Computer Archive. Perhaps only for composite input use rather than RGB.
  • 26-3211 VM-2 Monochrome (green-screen) composite. Had "Tandy TRS-80" branding; part of the brief attempt to hold on to "TRS-80" while still moving to "Tandy" instead of "Radio Shack". Introduced in RSC-14 in 1985; intended for the Tandy 1000 and the Model 100's Disk/Video Interface rather than the CoCo, but when the CoCo 3 complete with composite port came along two years later, it could be an inexpensive option for those intending their CoCos for productivity, telecom, text adventures, and monochrome graphical games like Daggorath and Nebula, and wanted the higher resolution than a TV could provide.
  • 25-1020 VM-4 Successor of the VM-2. Introduced in RSC-17. Mentioned by Marty Goodman as being "perfectly compatible" with the CoCo 3 - but, again, being monochrome, was not ideal for most games or graphics. Perhaps any monochrome composite monitor would work.

• Magnavox
  • 8CM505
  • 8CM643
  • 8CM515 - Analog RGB and composite color. The August 1987 Rainbow ran a favorable review by Ed Ellers (p.140-141) and a recommendation from Marty Goodman (pp. 70,73,75). Cloud-9 still offers a CoCo 3 adapter cable.
  • 1CM135 - Replaced the 8CM515, adding stereo sound input, Commodore-style S-Video with chorma-luma input, and CGA RGB. Recommended by Marty Goodman in the March 1991 Rainbow.
• Sony
  • KV-1311CR. Howard Medical Computers and Spectrum Projects sold CoCo 3 cables for the analog RGB connection.
  • KX-1211HG

• Teknika
  • MJ305 [1]

• 15KHz SVGA Monitors

Arithmetic Processor Units

• CoCo AM9511 Pak

Multi Devices

These are items that serve more than one purpose, such as Cloud-9's SuperBoard.

• SuperBoard
• FHL Eliminator
• Disto MEB

Printers

• CoCo Printers

RS232 Devices

• Deluxe RS232 Pak
• Direct Connect Modem Pak
• Orion Technologies RS232 Pak
• Disto RS232 Pak
• PBJ Dual Serial Port Pak
• Kenton Dual Serial Port Pak
• Quad Serial Port Pak - Who made this?
• CoCoPro! RS232 Pak
• CoNect Dual RS232 Pak
• CoNect RS232 Pak
• CoNect 16550 Pak - what is the official name?
• Metric Model 101p Serial to Parallel Converter
• Dayton Industries Blue Streak Ultima Serial to Parallel Converter
• CoCo USB Serial Pak

Video Digitizers

• Rascan
• DS-69 Digisector

Video Out

Historical Solutions

• PBJ Wordpak/Wordpak II
• Lucas Industries 2000 AutoDim
• RGB to VGA Converter
• CoCo 3 RGB to CGA/EGA Adapter

Build it yourself

• CoCo 1 Monochrome Video
• CoCo 1 composite video
• Coco 1 S-Video Circuit, Simplified (requires disabling RF) Convert to Composite by adding a 470pf capacitor between the yellow and blue lines and replace the S-Video connector with an RCA connector with center connector on the yellow side of the new capacitor.
• CoCo 1 and 2 S-Video and Composite Out Circuit
• CoCo 2 S-Video and Composite Out Circuit
• CoCo 1 or 2 YPbPr/YUV Component Out Circuit
• CoCo 3 RGB -> SCART Use with a SCART to HDMI adapter.

Current Solutions to Purchase

• Video without RF Box Use existing RF out on your CoCo 1, 2, or 3 into your TV tuner.
• RGBtoHDMI Requires Pi Zero, RGBtoHDMI hat board, and Analog board. Mostly used with CoCo 1s and 2s, but can also be used for PAL CoCo3s to simulate NTSC artifact colors.

CoCo 1 or 2 Only

Note that these CoCo 1 and 2 solutions require installation.

• CoCoVGA for CoCo 1, 2, MC-10, Dragon A FPGA-based solution that outputs VGA.
• CocoDV for Coco 1 or 2 An FPGA-based solution that plugs into the MC6847 Video Display Generator IC socket on the board and provides HDMI video. Also adds extra functionality like sprites and fonts. Order via email from AC-8 Bit Zone.
• Composite Video Out boards for CoCo 2

CoCo 3 Only

• GIME-X for CoCo 3 Replace your GIME chip with this FPGA-based solution that adds VGA output. Also has even more video modes and allows overclocking the CoCo.
• RGB2NTSC CoCo3 to (a better) Composite and S-Video
• Switch-a-roo CoCo3 to SCART cable Use with a SCART to HDMI adapter.

Light Controller

• X10 Lighting Control
• Remote Command Controller 26-1182

Mods & Hacking

• CoCo Turbo Light
• DCModem to RS232 Pak
• Disk Drive power LED
• CoCo repack in PC
• Speech & Sound Pack Modification for High Speed
• CoCoEPROMpak Schematic board
• Fahrfall New Game Cartridge and pak
• Nowhereman999's Color Computer 3D printable Raspberry Pi case