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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- Here's a look at the Adam which didn't fare well for Coleco in the 80's. Nonetheless it's an interesting early 8 bit PC and we'll go through it's features.
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Thanks for doing the Adam. I bought mine in 1986 for $200 and did my thesis on it. It was nearly complete when the tape drive ate the tape. I cried. And then slowly pulled the tape out, rewound it with a pencil, and it still worked. I got my hard copy with the daisy wheel. The end.
Arti --Thank you so much for dragging up one of my worst computer memories: I'm a computer tech now, but in my early years I did more coding. And one of my first "Big" programing jobs was for a company that built custom staircases. They asked me is I could write a program to estimate the material list for a staircase with particular set of measurements and specifications. I said "Sure," then they brought out the Coleco Adam...I asked "What is that?" Answer "This is our computer." First time I had ever come across the Coleco Adam. They gave me the computer to take home. I spent months coding on that piece-of-5**t computer. Crashing, failing tape drives, failing tapes, slow... Sometimes the computer just wouldn't boot or even power on. I remember having to call them and say "I can't get the computer to start." They eventually got their software. But using it on that computer was painfully slow.
Anyway, again, thank you.
I must have been the lucky ones. I loved my Adam. I bought one in my senior year of HS AND never had a problem. I used it for games and school work through college. Great printer for the time and even learned basic language while I had it. Lol, I had my first resume on that thing. Eventually, it got stored in the shed for a couple of years. I Pull it out, and it still worked. I felt it kept up or out performed my buddies C64 for game play. Yes, the tape drive was loud and the printer, but for half the cost of a C64 I was fine with it. I even programmed a rudimental DD game.
That mandatory printer-as-power-supply was the death of that machine. What a crazy setup. I have an Adam system and find the high-speed tapes pretty neat (although a major design mistake is the tapes being corrupted if inserted during power-up!)
The weirdest thing about the computer to me is that it's a Z80 machine but the BASIC is fully Applesoft compatible, including graphics and disk commands! Obviously the POKEs and PEEKs and CALLs need different memory locations, but the BASIC itself is Apple II compatible!
FYI, Fujinet is available for the coleco adam. It provides internet connectivity using adam net. The fujinet unit also provides local storage via SD card.
Wow, no wonder this machine never went anywhere, it's a very oddball contraption !!!!
Shelby over on Tech Tangents had developed a power supply replacement for the ADAM so the printer isn't necessary to power it if you don't have one or it's broken.
I've seen people expand ADAMs to use modems & hard drives & run CP/M & operate BBS systems. Might also have RAM expansions.
Also don't leave data tapes in the drives when turning it on or off...
That floppy drive is a rare beast. Treat it with care. 👍
I went to the Adam factory liquidation auction, in Amsterdam NY if merember correctly, in 1985 or 1986. Bidding went too high on a lot of stuff but still managed to win a few lots. Only made maybe $500 profit from the whole thing. Only regret though is not bidding on their "homebrew" keyboard tester; I'd have been the only bidder and would have had a cool historical curio. Anyway...
Beware the PSU of the Adam. It throws a very strong EMP when it turns on, and can damage magnetic media in or near the system.
I was working in Sears office products the Xmas these things came out. It was anybody's guess whether they would meet production goals. I Remember we got two units for the Xmas rush and both of them sold immediately. I had heard that there were reliability issues and tried talking a few customers into buying Atari instead. In any case, both units were sold, and both of them came back after xmas with dead units. Both of the boot tapes had been fried because the people ignored the instructions that said never start the machine with a tape in the drive. The Magnetic flux on start-up wiped out the data on the tape. I wanted to buy one of the returned units but Sears was committed to returning them for repair.
It wasn't magnetic flux on start up. It's a power surge going to the data heads which does it.
@@Mrshoujo Splitting hairs today are we?
You turned the machine on with a data tape in the drive. Never do that.....
I paid 299 formin in th day