Intellivision Keyboard Component
| Intellivision Keyboard Component | |
|---|---|
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| The Keyboard Component on its own, with the recess for the Master Component at the back and the cassette drive at the front left. Mattel photograph from the Owner's Book; no freely licensed photograph of the Keyboard Component has been found. | |
| Manufacturer | Mattel Electronics |
| Type | Computer expansion for the Intellivision: keyboard, second processor, RAM and cassette drive |
| Release date | 1981[1] |
| Discontinued | 1982[1] |
| Price | US$600[1] |
| Interface | Intellivision cartridge port, through a flat ribbon cable[2] |
| Compatible | Intellivision Master Component |
| Model | 1149[3] |
| Power | 120 V AC ± 10%, 60 Hz, through its own transformer[2][4] |
| Storage | Built-in cassette drive: two digital and two audio tracks, 30 minutes[5] |
The Intellivision Keyboard Component is Mattel Electronics' computer add-on for the Intellivision, model 1149.[3] The Master Component sits in a recess at the back of it and is screwed in from underneath, and a flat ribbon cable from the Keyboard Component plugs into the Master Component's cartridge port. The unit adds a 60-key keyboard, an 8-bit processor, 16K words of RAM, a computer-controlled cassette drive with two digital and two audio tracks, a microphone input and two expansion ports.[2][5]
Mattel promised the Keyboard Component from the Intellivision's launch in 1979 but sold it only in Seattle and New Orleans from late 1981, then cancelled it in 1982 and offered to buy the units back.[1] Its service manual covers module-level diagnosis and replacement; it is hosted with the other Mattel papers at Intellivision Keyboard Component Documentation. Care of the cassette drive and disassembly are on Intellivision Keyboard Component General Maintenance, the diagnostic routine on the Intellivision Keyboard Component Troubleshooting Guide, and what is known of its capacitors on the Intellivision Keyboard Component Capacitor Replacement Guide.
History
[edit | edit source]Mattel showed the Intellivision at the January 1979 Consumer Electronics Show as a modular home computer, with the Master Component and a Keyboard Component to follow, each at US$165; by June 1979 both were priced at $250. A breadboard Keyboard Component went into a Sears market research programme in August 1979. In December 1979 Mattel had working production-design units but chose to consolidate the circuit boards. The Keyboard Component was test-marketed in Fresno, California, from September 1980 with only the BASIC cartridge as software, and in late 1981 it went on sale at $600 in Seattle and New Orleans.[1]
Mattel's own quality report of 23 November 1981 counts 498 units in the market and 120 sold, 45 in Seattle and 75 in New Orleans, with a gross return rate of 10% (12 units), of which five were returns of the Keyboard Component itself.[6] A February 1982 overview gives the manufacturing cost as $506 to $530 a unit and ten hours of labour each, and lists a "difficult manufacturing process", "incomplete and inadequate test programs" and "poor quality of finished product (30% return test toy)". It puts the Keyboard Component's complexity at "approximately 10 times greater than Master Component".[7]
Customer complaints led the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. Mattel cancelled the Keyboard Component in August 1982 and offered to buy back every unit; owners who kept theirs signed a waiver releasing Mattel from further support. About 4,000 were made. Many were dismantled for parts, and Mattel's programmers used others as development systems. Mattel's Intellivision computer add-on became the cheaper and simpler Entertainment Computer System instead.[1]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Mattel's service manual treats the Keyboard Component as a set of replaceable modules inside an upper and a lower housing. Part numbers changed as the design was revised:[4][8][9]
| Module | Service manual (1980) | Drawing list (June 1982) |
|---|---|---|
| Logic board | "Computer II" assembly | "Computer III" assembly 1149-7809 rev E; schematic 1149-9819 |
| Keyboard assembly | 1149-9349 | 1149-9349, 60 keys |
| Switching power supply assembly | 1149-9219 | 1149-9219 rev N; schematic 1149-9209 rev H |
| Tape control assembly | 1149-9239 | 1149-9409 rev E; schematic 1149-9419 |
| Tape deck assembly | 1149-9129 | 1149-9129 rev F, with preamp assembly 1149-9199 |
| Transformer assembly | 1149-9269 | 1149-9269 rev C |
| Fuse | 3AG 5 A 250 V, normal blow, 0089-0803 | – |
| Microphone with stand | 1149-2499 | 1149-2499 |
A June 1981 engineering decision memo released the parts list for production. It made the Computer III logic board (1149-7809) and tape control assembly 1149-9409 the parts for future production, superseding the Computer II board (parts list 1149-9809) and tape control 1149-9609.[8] A Keyboard Component may therefore contain either generation of logic board.
Processors and memory
[edit | edit source]Mattel's specification gives the combined system two processors: the Master Component's 16-bit CP-1610 and an 8-bit processor in the Keyboard Component. The Keyboard Component has 16K words of 10-bit RAM, expandable to 1,000 pages of 8K through the expansion ports.[5] Wikipedia identifies the 8-bit processor as a 6502 and says the RAM is shared, so that it can hold and run program code for either processor loaded from tape.[1] The MAME emulator's notes on a prototype logic board list a 6502, ten MM5290J dynamic RAMs, two 2114 (1K × 4) RAMs for character memory, General Instrument mask ROMs and an Intel 2732 EPROM holding code for both processors, and an SMC CRT5027 CRT controller under a heatsink.[10]
Display
[edit | edit source]Mattel's specification gives a high-resolution text display of 24 lines of 39 characters alongside the Intellivision's standard 160 × 192 picture.[5] Wikipedia describes it as a 40 × 24 monochrome text display that can overlay the Intellivision graphics.[1] The screen is reached through a monitor program that switches between cartridge, tape, typewriter and BASIC modes.[11]
Cassette drive
[edit | edit source]The built-in cassette drive is fully computer-controlled. It records and plays two digital and two audio tracks in one direction, holding 30 minutes of programs and data.[5] Frank Palazzolo, who has recovered data from the tapes for MAME, describes it as a four-track drive in which one audio and one data track are read-only (the pre-recorded material) and the other two can be written, with data recorded in biphase-mark code at a nominal 3,000 bit/s.[12] Two dials on the left side set the volume: the front one for pre-recorded material and the rear one for material the user records through the supplied microphone.[13] Mattel's drawing list names a clutch belt (1149-4079), a flywheel belt (1149-4089) and an end-of-tape sensor in the tape deck.[9]
Connections
[edit | edit source]Ordinary game cartridges plug in through an opening on the right side of the Keyboard Component. Two I/O ports at the back, each under a protective cover, take peripherals and the BASIC cartridge.[14] The Master Component's mains cord plugs into an outlet inside the recess, so the Keyboard Component's own power cord feeds both units.[2] The Master Component's switch box cable reaches the television through an opening in the back of the Keyboard Component, using the supplied cable extender.[2]
Power supply
[edit | edit source]A transformer assembly feeds 17–23 V AC to the power supply board, which Mattel's service manual calls a switching power supply. It has a 5 A fuse (F1) and provides +5 V, +12 V and −5 V. The +5 V and +12 V outputs are adjustable.[15] Mattel's 1979 schematic of an earlier linear power supply, drawing 1149-9099, survives with its component values; see the Intellivision Keyboard Component Capacitor Replacement Guide for what it shows and how it differs from the production board.[16]
Diagnostics
[edit | edit source]Mattel's service centres used a Keyboard Component Test Cartridge (part 3399) in the right-hand rear port, a Keyboard Test Cassette (3396), a demonstration cassette and a video test cartridge (1718). The test cartridge runs a logic board self-test, then offers a keyboard test and a tape test.[17][18] The routine is set out on the Intellivision Keyboard Component Troubleshooting Guide.
Reliability
[edit | edit source]In Mattel's 1981 life test, 31.25% of the units had failed by 100 hours, every one of them with tape stalls or a torque adjustment fault. The failed units were repaired and put back on test, and failed again. By 200 hours 37.5% had failed, mostly with tape stalls, along with a unit that would not load the "M" tape and a new failure recorded as "CPU-2"; at 500 hours 31.25% failed, all with tape stalls.[19] A February 1982 review listed tape deck reliability, burn-in yields and compatibility between the Master Component and the keyboard among the current production problems.[20]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Intellivision Keyboard Component Documentation: Mattel's Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980), the 1979 power supply schematic, the Keyboard Component Owner's Book and the 1981–1982 internal plans and quality reports.
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The cassette mechanism, with the heads, capstan and pinch roller labelled (Mattel Owner's Book) -
Figure D of the service manual: the power supply board and logic board in the lower housing -
Mattel's 1979 power supply schematic, drawing 1149-9099
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Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Intellivision Keyboard Component General Maintenance
- Intellivision Keyboard Component Troubleshooting Guide
- Intellivision Keyboard Component Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Intellivision
- Intellivision III
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Wikipedia, "Intellivision", revision of 5 October 2026, section "Keyboard Component": CES 1979 prices, the Sears market research programme, the December 1979 board consolidation, the Fresno test market, the 1981 release at $600 in Seattle and New Orleans, the 6502 and shared RAM, the FTC investigation, cancellation and buy-back in August 1982, about 4,000 made, use as development systems; section "Entertainment Computer System". Used for history and dates.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, pp. 3–5: parts supplied, assembly with the Master Component (five 1/2-inch screws, power cord into the outlet in the recessed area, flat ribbon cable into the cartridge port), cable extender, power cord to a 120 V AC ± 10%, 60 Hz outlet. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, p. 2: model and serial number label, "Model 1149". File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980), pp. 2–2A: parts list with Mattel part numbers. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980).pdf.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, p. 30, "Specifications for your Intellivision system": two processors (16-bit in the Master Component, 8-bit in the Keyboard Component), 16K RAM of 10-bit words expandable to 1,000 pages of 8K, 60-key keyboard, cassette drive with two digital and two audio tracks and 30 minutes of storage, 160 × 192 standard resolution and 24 lines of 39 characters, two parallel I/O expansion ports. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ D. Bowen, "Intellivision Keyboard Quality", Mattel Electronics, 23 November 1981, page 1 of 4. In Keyboard Component Plans (1982), PDF p. 1. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Plans (1982).pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, "Keyboard Overview February 8, 1982", page 2, "Present Keyboard Status". In Keyboard Component Plans (1982), PDF p. 6. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Plans (1982).pdf.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mattel Electronics, engineering decision memo 1149-269, John Lishman, 25 June 1981: release for production of the Keyboard Component system level parts list 1149-9991; revision notes recording the Computer II, tape control and switching power supply parts lists (1149-9809, 1149-9609, 1149-9219) and their supersession by 1149-7809 and 1149-9409. Internet Archive item 19810625KeyboardComponent, from the collection of David P. Chandler.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 John H. Lishman, "Keyboard Component Drawing List" 1149-5829A, Mattel Electronics, 1 June 1982, pp. 1–3. In Keyboard Component Plans (1982), PDF pp. 15–17. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Plans (1982).pdf.
- ↑ MAME source file src/mame/mattel/intv.cpp (commit of 2 August 2026), comment "Intellivision Keyboard Component - Prototype" listing the ROMs and chips on the main board. Community reverse-engineering notes.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, pp. 5 and 29: the monitor frame and the cartridge, tape, typewriter and BASIC modes. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ Frank Palazzolo, "Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component", MAMEDEV forum, posts of 3 November 2016 and 20 June 2018 (retrieved 2026-10-19): four-track tape drive with two audio and two data tracks, one of each read-only; biphase-mark data at a nominal 3,000 bit/s; the KCMon cartridge image.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, p. 9: both volume controls on the left side; the front dial for pre-recorded material, the rear dial for material the user records. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Owner's Book, pp. 8–9: game cartridges through the opening on the right side; two I/O ports at the back for the BASIC cartridge, each under a protective cover. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Owner's Book.pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980), pp. 5–8A: power test, fuse F1 on the switching power supply, DC voltage tables 4.1 and 4.2 (+5 V and +12 V adjustable, −5 V not), 17–23 V AC at power supply board receptacle J1. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980).pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, drawing 1149-9099, "Schematic Diagram – Power Supply, Keyboard Component", checked 7 September 1979. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Power Supply Schematic 1149-9099 (1979).pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980), p. 1: tools and equipment, including the video test cartridge 1718, demonstration cassette, Keyboard Component Test Cartridge 3399 and Keyboard Test Cassette 3396. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980).pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980), pp. 5 and 9–13: test cartridge in the right-hand rear receptacle, logic board self-test, keyboard test and tape test. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Service Manual (1980).pdf.
- ↑ D. Bowen, "Intellivision Keyboard Quality", 23 November 1981, page 4 of 4, "Life test results to date". In Keyboard Component Plans (1982), PDF p. 4. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Plans (1982).pdf.
- ↑ Mattel Electronics, "Reduced Cost Keyboard: Evolution of Present Plan" (February 1982). In Keyboard Component Plans (1982), PDF p. 18. File:Mattel Intellivision Keyboard Component Plans (1982).pdf.