Coleco Telstar Colortron
 | |
| A Telstar Colortron: RESET and the left paddle knob, the speaker grille, and the game select button, right knob and speed switch | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Coleco Industries, Inc., Amsterdam, New York[1] |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console (Pong-type TV game) |
| Released | 1978[1][2] |
| CPU | None; General Instrument AY-3-8510 game chip[2][3] |
| Memory | None |
| Storage | None |
| Display | Colour, RF output on VHF channel 3 or 4[1][4] |
| Sound | Piezo beeper in the console: hit, score and rebound sounds[1][2] |
| Input | Two paddle knobs on the console[4] |
| Power | Two 9 V alkaline batteries, or Coleco's 9 V AC adapter Model 2099 or 6041[1][4] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 6135 |
The Coleco Telstar Colortron (model 6135) is a colour Pong-type TV game made by Coleco and released in 1978.[1][2] It plays four bat-and-ball games (tennis, hockey, jai alai and handball) on a colour television, with two paddle knobs on the console, on-screen scores from 0 to 15 and two ball speeds. It runs on two 9 V alkaline batteries or a Coleco 9 V adapter.[1] Its games come from General Instrument's AY-3-8510, a 16-pin version of the AY-3-8500 that produces a colour picture by itself; Pong-Story knows of no other console that uses it.[5]
History
[edit | edit source]Coleco's guide for model 6135 is dated 1978.[1] Pong-Story places the Colortron in 1978, after the Telstar Colormatic, which had produced its colour with a separate Texas Instruments chip.[2][6] Arcade-History describes the Colortron as similar in many ways to the Colormatic.[3] The Telstar Marksman of the same year added a light gun and two shooting games.[7]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Part | Detail |
|---|---|
| Game chip | General Instrument AY-3-8510[2][3] |
| Picture | Colour: green background, white field and ball, red and black paddles and scores[3] |
| TV output | Game cable to an antenna switch box; factory set for channel 3, with a switch on the back for channel 4[4] |
| Sound | Piezo beeper in the console[2][3] |
| Power | Two 9 V alkaline batteries, one behind a slide-out door at each end of the base, or a Coleco 9 V AC adapter Model 2099 or 6041 in a jack on the back[1][4] |
The AY-3-8500 in Coleco's earlier Telstars is a 28-pin chip with six game-select inputs and separate video outputs for the ball, each player, and the score and field; a colour console has to combine these through a second chip, such as GI's AY-3-8515.[8] The AY-3-8510 has 16 pins, selects its games through a single pin and has one video output that is already in colour; it has no rifle games.[5] Coleco's own 1980 dealer catalogue does not use GI's part number: it calls the chip "the GX-10, a custom chip made for Coleco".[9] No data sheet for the AY-3-8510 has been found, and no schematic or board photograph of the Colortron has been published.
Controls
[edit | edit source]| Control | Positions | Function |
|---|---|---|
| GAME SELECT | Push button | Each press moves to the next game: 1 tennis, 2 hockey, 3 jai alai, 4 handball[4][10] |
| Variable Action Control and ON-OFF | INTERMEDIATE, PRO, OFF | One slide switch for power and ball speed; Intermediate is the slower speed[4][10][11] |
| RESET | Push button | Starts a new game[4][10] |
| Left and right paddle controls | Knobs | Move each player's paddle up and down[4][10] |
| Channel selector | CH 3, CH 4 | On the back of the case[4] |
Coleco's 1980 catalogue describes the skill control as covering beginner, intermediate and pro players, but the guide and the switch itself have only INTERMEDIATE and PRO.[9][4][11] The knobs and panel decals were fitted by the owner: each knob presses onto its post with a flat on the knob lined up with a flat on the post.[12]
Games
[edit | edit source]When the Colortron is switched on, any one of the four games may appear, and it is not always the same one. If only the scores appear, press RESET; then press GAME SELECT until the wanted game is on the screen. A game ends at 15 points. The ball then passes through the paddles without scoring, and after two seconds the score bounces and the boundaries disappear until RESET is pressed. In jai alai the ball changes colour after it strikes the back wall, to match the paddle of the player who must hit it next. Handball is a one-player game with two scores: points against the player on the left and consecutive hits on the right.[10]
Power
[edit | edit source]The two 9 V batteries clip onto snap connectors behind two slide-out doors in the base, and foam pads go in the bottom of the compartment.[1][4] Pong-Story reports that one battery runs the games and the other the sound.[2] Coleco sold its Model 2099 and Model 6041 9 V AC adapters as battery eliminators and warned that any other 9 V adapter could permanently damage the unit.[4] The Model 6041 label reads 117 V 60 Hz input and 9 V DC 200 mA output.[13] The guide does not give the plug polarity or the rating of the Model 2099. Coleco told owners not to leave batteries in an unused Telstar, and to replace the batteries first whenever it would not work.[1]
Battery doors go missing. A printable replacement door, drawn by an owner whose Colortron had lost one, is published under CC BY 4.0.[14]
Repair
[edit | edit source]Coleco's trouble-shooting sheet says the Colortron contains no serviceable parts and that opening it voids the warranty. After the 90-day warranty Coleco offered service for $10.00 up to one year from purchase.[15][16] No service manual, schematic or repair report for the Colortron has been found. Its repair guides are:
- Coleco Telstar Colortron General Maintenance: the battery compartments and doors, the adapter, the game select button and slide switch, the knobs and the channel switch.
- Coleco Telstar Colortron Troubleshooting Guide: Coleco's chart, normal behaviour that looks like a fault, and what can be checked without a data sheet.
- Coleco Telstar Colortron Capacitor Replacement Guide: what is known about the capacitors and how to record your own board's parts.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Coleco's installation instructions (Guide No. 76652), the accessory instruction sheet and the trouble-shooting guide (Guide No. 76690) are hosted here; see Coleco Telstar Colortron Documentation.[1]
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
A Colortron in a museum case, with its game cable -
The right-hand panel: GAME SELECT and its list of games, the right knob and the INTERMEDIATE/PRO/OFF switch
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Coleco Telstar Colormatic, the earlier colour model with the same four games
- Coleco Telstar Marksman, the 1978 model that adds a light gun
- Coleco Telstar Alpha, the black-and-white four-game model
- Category:Coleco
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Coleco Industries, Telstar Colortron Installation Instructions and Game Rules, Model No. 6135, Guide No. 76652, 1978, p. 1, File:Coleco Telstar Colortron Installation Instructions (Guide 76652).pdf: four video games (tennis, hockey, jai alai, handball), each in colour; automatic digital display scoring from 0 to 15; realistic audio sounds (hit, score and rebound); two ball speeds; battery operated with two 9 V alkaline batteries, not included; two rubber bumpers pressed and twisted into holes in the bottom ("Do not press too hard so as to damage front of the unit"); foam pads placed in the bottom of the battery compartment; slide out the battery doors and insert two 9 V batteries; avoid leaving batteries in an unused unit; "If your Telstar does not work, replace batteries as your first procedure".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Coleco Telstar Colortron" (retrieved 2026-10-18): released in 1978; one of the only systems built around GI's AY-3-8510, a derivative of the AY-3-8500; four games in colour; sound from a small piezo beeper; game selection by a push-button rather than a switch; two 9 V batteries, "one for the 'video' (the games), and one for the 'sound'".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Arcade-History, "Telstar Colortron [Model 6135"] (retrieved 2026-10-19): model 6135, 1978; two dials built into the system; General Instruments AY-3-8510; game selection button and reset; colours: green background, white field and ball, red and black for the paddles and scoring; piezo beeper; on-screen score.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Coleco, Guide No. 76652, p. 2: for extended operation a Coleco Model #2099 or #6041 9 volt AC adapter (battery eliminator); "Use of any 9 volt adapter other than Coleco Models #2099 or #6041 may permanently damage your unit"; bottom view with a slide-out door at each end and the battery snapped onto a clip; switch box connections (300 ohm twin lead; a 75 to 300 ohm balun for cable TV); pre-set at the factory for channel 3, with a channel selector switch to move to channel 4 where channel 3 is a strong local station; panel diagram: channel 3 or 4 selector switch and game cable at the rear, AC adapter jack ("use only Coleco AC adapter model"), reset button, left and right paddle controls, game select switch (1 tennis, 2 hockey, 3 jai alai, 4 handball), ON-OFF switch combined with the variable action control (INTERMEDIATE and PRO).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 David Winter, Pong-Story, "The AY-3-8500 chip: closer view" (retrieved 2026-10-18): the AY-3-8510 is a derivative of the AY-3-8500 in a 16-pin package, with a single pin to select the games, a single video output that is in colour, and no shooting games; released around 1978; the only system known to use it is the Coleco Telstar Colortron.
- ↑ David Winter, Pong-Story, "Coleco Telstar Colormatic" (retrieved 2026-10-18): model 6130, released in 1977; the same as the Telstar Alpha except for separate controllers and a colour picture produced with Texas Instruments' SN76499N.
- ↑ Arcade-History, "Telstar Marksman [Model 6136"] (retrieved 2026-10-19): model 6136, 1978; games jai-alai (squash), hockey, handball, tennis, skeet and target; AY-3-8512; colour graphics and a light gun.
- ↑ General Instrument, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 4, 5 and 25, File:General Instrument GIMINI TV Game Circuits (January 1978).pdf: the AY-3-8500 is a 28-lead dual-in-line circuit with six game inputs (pins 18 to 23) and separate outputs for the right player, left player, ball, and score and field (pins 9, 10, 6 and 24); System Diagram 2 and the AY-3-8515 data sheet show GI's colour converter turning these outputs into one colour composite signal.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Coleco Industries, Coleco Toys and Games '80 (dealer catalogue, 1980), p. 19, scanned at digitize.textfiles.com (retrieved 2026-10-19): "6135 - Telstar Colortron"; four games in colour; "The GX-10, a custom chip made for Coleco"; variable skill control "for beginner, intermediate and pro players"; requires two 9 volt batteries or Coleco Battery Eliminator/AC Adapter (neither included); Pack: 6, Weight: 11.0 lb.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Coleco, Guide No. 76652, p. 3: turn the power on at Intermediate or Pro; adjust the TV's colour controls, and on some sets the hue or tint control, turning automatic colour control off; Intermediate is the slowest speed and Pro the fastest; after 15 points the ball moves through the paddle without scoring, and after two seconds the score bounces and the boundaries disappear; on black-and-white sets do not turn brightness and contrast to maximum, and shut the Telstar off when not in use; any one of the four games can come on at power-on, and if only the score appears the reset button must be pushed; the GAME SELECT button advances one game per push; game rules, including the jai alai ball changing colour to match the paddle that must hit it next and the two handball scores.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Photograph by Sintegrity, File:Coleco Telstar Colortron right-hand panel.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons): GAME SELECT button with the list 1 TENNIS, 2 HOCKEY, 3 JAI ALAI, 4 HANDBALL; right paddle knob; INTERMEDIATE/PRO/OFF slide switch.
- ↑ Coleco, Accessory Instruction Sheet for Colortron Model 6135, Guide 76652, page 5 of File:Coleco Telstar Colortron Installation Instructions (Guide 76652).pdf: the decals are aligned against the inside edges of the panels and pressed in place; each control knob goes on its post with the flat surface on the knob aligned with the flat on the post, pressed firmly in place.
- ↑ Photograph by Evan-Amos, File:Coleco-Telstar-AC-Adaptor.jpg (public domain, from Wikimedia Commons): label "TELSTAR AC ADAPTOR MODEL 6041 ... INPUT: 117V 60Hz 5W OUTPUT: 9 V DC 200mA".
- ↑ Robert Trebor, "Coleco Telstar Colortron Battery Door Cover", Thingiverse thing 4710453, 2021, mirrored at the Internet Archive as thingiverse-4710453 (CC BY 4.0; retrieved 2026-10-19): a printable replacement for a missing Colortron battery cover, designed by its owner; "It's a snug fit so you might need a little flat head to get it off".
- ↑ Coleco, Telstar Trouble Shooting Guide, Guide No. 76690, 1978, page 6 of File:Coleco Telstar Colortron Installation Instructions (Guide 76652).pdf: "For units using batteries, replace batteries first before trouble shooting. DO NOT OPEN. THIS DEVICE DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY SERVICEABLE PARTS. Warranty is voided if opened or tampered with."; symptom and remedy chart; accessories No. 2099/6041 AC adapter (battery eliminator) and No. 6111 switch kit, $5.00 each, from Coleco Industries, P.O. Box 460, Amsterdam, N.Y.
- ↑ Coleco, Guide No. 76652, p. 4: a game pattern image may burn into the TV screen if the game is left on for a prolonged period; 90-day limited warranty; service policy at $10.00, with no obligation to service the game more than one year after purchase; returns to Coleco Industries, Customer Service Department, 35 Willow St., Bldg. #5, Amsterdam, New York.
