Coleco Telstar
Encyclopedia
The Telstar is a series of video game console
s produced by Coleco
from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Telstar Pong
clone based on General Instrument
's AY-3-8500
chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Telstar branded series.
The large product lineup and the impending fading out of the Pong machines led Coleco to face near-bankruptcy in 1980.
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s produced by Coleco
Coleco
Coleco is an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as "Connecticut Leather Company". It became a highly successful toy company in the 1980s, known for its mass-produced version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar and...
from 1976 to 1978. Starting with Telstar Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
clone based on General Instrument
General Instrument
General Instrument was an electronics manufacturer based in Horsham, PA specializing in semiconductors and cable television equipment. The company was active until 1997, when it split into which was later acquired by Vishay Intertechnology in 2001, CommScope and NextLevel Systems General...
's AY-3-8500
AY-3-8500
The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
chip in 1976, there were 14 consoles released in the Telstar branded series.
Models
- Telstar (model 6040, 1976): Three Pong variants (hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, handballAmerican handballAmerican handball is a sport in which players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using their hands.- History :...
, tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
), two paddlePaddle (game controller)A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen...
controllers fixed on console. This was the very first game to use the AY-3-8500AY-3-8500The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
chip. - Telstar Classic (model 6045, 1976): Same as the Telstar, with deluxe wood case.
- Telstar Deluxe (1977): aka "Video World Of Sports", same as the Telstar but brown pedestal case with wood panel, made for Canadian market with French and English text.
- Telstar Ranger (model 6046, 1977): Four Pong variants (hockey, handball, tennis, jai alaiJai alaiJai alai is a sport involving a ball bounced off a walled space. It is a variety of Basque Pelota. The term, coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also often loosely applied to the fronton where the sport is played...
) and two gun games (target, skeetSkeet shootingSkeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports . There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status , and many with only national recognition.- General principles :Skeet is a recreational and competitive activity where...
), black and white plastic case, includes revolverRevolverA revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
-style light gunLight gunA light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
and separate paddle controllers. Uses the AY-3-8500AY-3-8500The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
chip. - Telstar Alpha (model 6030, 1977): Four Pong variants, black and white plastic case, fixed paddles. Uses the AY-3-8500AY-3-8500The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
chip. - Telstar Colormatic (model 6130, 1977): Same as the Telstar Alpha but with detached wired paddles as well as color graphics. Uses the AY-3-8500AY-3-8500The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator which would then display the game on a domestic TV set. The AY-3-8500 contained six...
game chip and the Texas InstrumentsTexas InstrumentsTexas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
SN76499N chip for color. - Telstar Regent (model 6036, 1977): Same as the Telstar Colormatic but no color and black and white case.
- Telstar Sportsman (1978): Similar to Telstar Regent, but with an additional light gun and different setting switches.
- Telstar Combat! (model 6065, 1977): Four variations on Kee GamesKee GamesKee Games was an arcade game manufacturer that released games from 1973 to 1978. Kee was headed by Joe Keenan, a long-time friend of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Keenan managed to hire several defectors from Atari, and began advertising itself as a competitor...
' TankTank (arcade game)Tank is a two-player arcade game by Atari Inc. subsidiary Kee Games, originally released on November 5, 1974 and designed by Steve Bristow and Lyle Rains...
, four fixed joysticks (two per player), uses a General Instruments AY-3-8700 Tank chip. - Telstar Colortron (model 6135, 1978): Four Pong variants, in color, built in sound, fixed paddles, uses AY-3-8510 chip.
- Telstar MarksmanColeco Telstar MarksmanThe Telstar Marksman is a first-generation video game console that featured a light gun. It was released by Coleco in 1978. Because it had manufacturer-set amount of games, it is considered a dedicated console. It was part of a series of Coleco Telstar Pong-based consoles; it is essentially a...
(model 6136, 1978): Four Pong variants and two gun games in color, larger light gun with removable stock, fixed paddles, uses AY-3-8512 chip. - Telstar Galaxy: Separate joystickJoystickA joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
s and fixed paddles, uses AY-3-8600 game chip and AY-3-8615 color encoder. - Telstar Gemini (1978): Four pinballPinballPinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
games and two light-gun games in color, light gun, two flipper buttons on left and right sides of case, pinball launch button and field adjustment sliders on top, light gun, uses a MOS TechnologyMOS TechnologyMOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
MPS 7600-004 chip. - Telstar Arcade (1977): Cartridge-based, triangular case includes light gun, steering wheel with gear shift, and paddles, one on each side. Each cartridge includes a customized MOS TechnologyMOS TechnologyMOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
MPS-7600 chip (one of these chips was the 004 used by the Gemini). The chip contained custom logic circuits driven by a basic processor which ran a very small program stored in ROM.
The large product lineup and the impending fading out of the Pong machines led Coleco to face near-bankruptcy in 1980.
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