Ingersoll TV GAME & other pong machines.

[electronicskip]

Picked up this Ingersoll Battle Command electronic TV Game a while ago with a bunch of other stuff but only just got around to testing it properly.
Ive always had a soft spot for these 70s tv game units like Grandstand,Acetronic Hanimex Binatone pong machines and i probably own about 20 or so different incarnations with dozens of carts for the programmable ones.

This one always reminds me of a CB Radio in style .
The picture is actually pretty good but unfortunately ive caught it with scan lines on my JVC Portable so looks rubbish.

Does anyone else collect these early machines? i think my first one was a Binatone Pong machine that i bought from Rumbelows when i worked for them way back in time.

[SiriusHardware]

I would say that unit is styled like a typical Uniden Bearcat (radio) scanner.

I had a Videomaster 'Superscore' with the optional light gun when they were contemporary, but I swapped it for a stereo cassette deck several years later.

The Superscore was quite unusual in that the player controls were 'rollers' built into the corners of the main console, although it did come with one plug in remote wired control of the type which most other such games came with.

[TonyDuell]

It's not something that I seriously collect but I bought a 'Videomaster Olympic II' a couple of years back. That one is interesting to me in that it doesn't use one of the LSI chips often used in such games, but rather it's an exercise in the misuse of 74C00 and 74C02 gates They're used as various oscillators, monostables, analogue comparators, etc.

[Roger Ramjet]

Wow ! The game in the post [1] piccy looks real cool.

I acquired a INTERSTATE game from a charity shop many moons ago, then my son bought me a TANDY game afterwards.I got them working and they did hold the grand children's attention for quite some time albeit very basic with only a mono output.

It's not high on my priority list, but would be nice to get one that displays in colour.

Rog

[Mark1960]

Originally Posted by TonyDuell

It's not something that I seriously collect but I bought a 'Videomaster Olympic II' a couple of years back. That one is interesting to me in that it doesn't use one of the LSI chips often used in such games, but rather it's an exercise in the misuse of 74C00 and 74C02 gates They're used as various oscillators, monostables, analogue comparators, etc.

That might make an interesting project to build if I ever get around to it.

[Buzby123]

Well, you learn something everyday.

I never knew there were domestic games machine built with raw logic chips, I thought they were all LSI devices.

[TonyDuell]

If you do try building the Videomaster Olympic, note that the chips have to be the 74Cxxx logic series not any other (maybe 4000 series would work). It uses the gates in very odd ways.

I think there were several magazine projects to build TV-tennis games using TTL, op-amps, etc. Probably a higher component count than the Videomaster Olympic, but as said projects didn't 'misuse' the chips so much, it might be easier to get modern substitutes.

Anyone (else) got a Vectrex?

[electronicskip]

Originally Posted by TonyDuell

If you do try building the Videomaster Olympic, note that the chips have to be the 74Cxxx logic series not any other (maybe 4000 series would work). It uses the gates in very odd ways.

I think there were several magazine projects to build TV-tennis games using TTL, op-amps, etc. Probably a higher component count than the Videomaster Olympic, but as said projects didn't 'misuse' the chips so much, it might be easier to get modern substitutes.

Anyone (else) got a Vectrex?

I have two Vectrex machines! plus a pile of boxed Carts with the overlays for the screen , also a multi cart with every game plus a few homebrews too.

Fantastic machine !

[Timbucus]

I have a couple of Pong machines; the Videomaster mentioned by Sirius and a version of the one that was sold widely under different brands mine is Ajax in this case:



I am still searching sheds and attics for my original one that Dad built me for Christmas in this photo from CCH:



and of course in the project queue I have a full original pong arcade board to build...

[Outrun_uk]

Too many pong machines, retro computers and even a few arcade machines! And yes, also a Vectrex - my friend Jim codes new games for them.

[electronicskip]

Originally Posted by Outrun_uk

Too many pong machines, retro computers and even a few arcade machines! And yes, also a Vectrex - my friend Jim codes new games for them.

In the same boat here , too many retro computers, pong machines, games machines , no arcade machines but i do have a Japanese Pachinko machine by Sankyo (not Sanyo) very loud ,very bright , lots of fun however.