Coleco Telstar Classic
 | |
| Telstar Classic in its wooden case, with the speaker grille at the left of the name strip and the adapter socket at the right | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Coleco Industries, Inc., Amsterdam, New York[1] |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console (Pong-type TV game) |
| Released | 1976[2][1] |
| CPU | None; General Instrument AY-3-8500 game chip[2][3] |
| Memory | None |
| Storage | None |
| Display | RF output to a television on VHF channel 3, black and white[4] |
| Sound | Speaker in the console[4] |
| Power | Mains adapter, 115 V 60 Hz only[1][4] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 6045 |
The Coleco Telstar Classic (model 6045) is the first Coleco Telstar built into a wooden case, released by Coleco in 1976.[2][1] It plays the same three black-and-white games as the original Telstar (tennis, hockey and handball) on a television tuned to channel 3. Unlike the battery-powered Telstars, its guide describes it as "AC Operated 115V-60Hz Only", running from an adapter that was packed in the base of the console with the antenna switch box.[1][4]
History
[edit | edit source]Pong-Story describes the Classic as the same console as the first Telstar in a deluxe wooden case, sold at a higher price.[2] The Telstar was the first system to use General Instrument's AY-3-8500.[3] Coleco's guide for model 6045, Guide No. 57337D, is dated 1976 and lists factory regional service stations in Amsterdam, New York, and Tustin, California.[1][5]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Part | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game chip | General Instrument AY-3-8500[3][2] |
| Case | Wood, with a black name strip and woodgrain paddle panels[2][6] |
| Picture | Black and white; scores 0 to 15[1] |
| Sound | Speaker under the grille at the left of the name strip[4][6] |
| TV output | Game cable to the antenna switch box; channel 3[4] |
| Power | Adapter into the receptacle at the right of the name strip; 115 V 60 Hz mains only[1][4][6] |
GI rates the AY-3-8500 for a supply of +6 to +7 V and clocks it at 2 MHz.[7] Coleco's guide gives neither the adapter's model nor its output, and no schematic or board photograph of the Classic has been found.
Controls
[edit | edit source]| Control | Positions | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Game selector | TENNIS, HOCKEY, HANDBALL | Chooses the game[4] |
| Variable Action Control | BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, PRO | Beginner is the slowest speed with the largest paddle; Intermediate a smaller paddle; Pro the fastest speed[8] |
| RESET | Push button | Starts a new game and clears lines moving across the screen[8] |
| ON-OFF | Slide switch | Power[4] |
| Left and right paddle controls | Knobs | Move the paddles[4] |
Games
[edit | edit source]Tennis serves automatically towards the side that has just missed and ends when one side reaches 15; after that the ball still bounces but nothing scores until RESET. If the score does not go back to 0-0, Coleco says to press RESET repeatedly until it does. Hockey gives each player a goalie and a forward. Handball is a one-player game against the console.[8]
Repair
[edit | edit source]Coleco's guide says the Telstar contains no serviceable parts and that opening it voids the warranty. After the 90-day warranty Coleco serviced the Classic for $17.50, up to two years after purchase.[5] No service manual has been found. The Classic has its own repair guides:
- Coleco Telstar Classic General Maintenance: the wooden case, the mains adapter and its socket, switches and paddles, and the switch box.
- Coleco Telstar Classic Troubleshooting Guide: Coleco's trouble-shooting chart for the Classic, with bench checks for the AY-3-8500.
- Coleco Telstar Classic Capacitor Replacement Guide: what is known about its electrolytic capacitors and how to record your own.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Coleco's installation instructions, Guide No. 57337D, are hosted here; see Coleco Telstar Classic Documentation.
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
A Telstar Classic in a museum display -
The CLASSIC centre plate and woodgrain paddle panels
_2.jpg)
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Coleco Telstar, the same console in a plastic case
- Coleco Telstar Deluxe, the Canadian version
- Coleco Telstar Alpha, the four-game model of 1977
- Category:Coleco
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Coleco Industries, Telstar Classic: Installation Instructions and Game Rules, Model No. 6045, Guide No. 57337D, 1976, p. 1, File:Coleco Telstar Classic Installation Instructions (Guide 57337D).pdf: three video games (tennis, hockey, handball); automatic digital display scoring 0-15; three-position speed and paddle size; hit, score and rebound sounds; "AC Operated 115V-60Hz Only"; four rubber bumpers pressed into the corner holes of the bottom housing.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Coleco Telstar Classic" (retrieved 2026-10-18): model 6045, released in 1976; the same as the first Telstar but in a deluxe wooden case, and more expensive.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Coleco Telstar systems" (retrieved 2026-10-18): Telstar, released in 1976, played three games with three difficulty levels and was the first system to use GI's AY-3-8500; over a million units sold; variants sold as the Telstar Deluxe in Canada and by Montgomery Ward as "Telstar Video World of Sports"; Coleco's systems were sold partially assembled, with the knobs and decorative stickers fitted by the user.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 Coleco, Guide No. 57337D, p. 2: "Switch box and adapter are found in the base of your Telstar unit. Plug in adapter to wall outlet and insert jack into adapter receptacle on your game."; switch box connections and a 75 to 300 ohm balun for cable TV; channel 3; panel diagram (speaker, game selector TENNIS/HOCKEY/HANDBALL, AC adapter receptacle, left and right paddle controls, ON-OFF switch, Variable Action Control BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE/PRO, reset button, game cable).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Coleco, Guide No. 57337D, p. 4, "Telstar - Trouble Shooting Guide": "Do not open. This device does not contain any serviceable parts."; symptoms and remedies (no game or faint picture: switch box at Game, antenna lead, AC adapter plugged in, ON, channel 3, fine tune; picture rolls, bottom line off screen or buzzing: vertical hold, TV volume; stripes or dots: horizontal hold, colour intensity, fine tune and contrast; line moving across screen: reset, contrast; ball erratic or score not 0-0: shut off and allow to cool, not on top of the TV, depress reset rapidly); 90-day warranty; service at $17.50 within 2 years of purchase via factory regional service stations in Amsterdam, New York, and Tustin, California.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Photograph by Philmortonfan, File:1976 Coleco Telstar Classic.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons), read at full size: wooden case; name strip with a speaker grille at the left and a round socket at the right; centre plate with TENNIS/HOCKEY/HANDBALL, ON/OFF, RESET, CLASSIC and BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE/PRO; two screw heads in the lower edge of the wooden front.
- ↑ General Instrument, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 4-6, File:General Instrument GIMINI TV Game Circuits (January 1978).pdf: AY-3-8500 pin functions (VSS pin 2, sound pin 3, VCC pin 4, ball speed pin 7 open for low speed and grounded for high, bat size pin 13 open for large bats and grounded for small, sync pin 16, clock pin 17 at 2.012160 MHz ±1%, game inputs pins 18 to 23 grounded to select; reset input pin 25 momentarily grounded to reset the score counters and start a new game); standard conditions VCC +6 to +7 V, +12 V maximum; supply current 40 mA typical, 60 mA maximum at +7 V; control inputs need 1 kΩ or less to VSS; vertical bat movement; scores 0 to 15.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Coleco, Guide No. 57337D, p. 3: to play the game; reset starts a new game and removes lines moving across the screen; after 15 points the ball moves through the paddle without scoring; "If score does not immediately return to 0-0, depress Reset button repeatedly until it does."; shut Telstar off when not in use and move the switch box selector to TV; rules for tennis, hockey and handball.