Magnavox Odyssey²
 | |
| An Odyssey² with its two hand controls | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Magnavox (North American Philips Consumer Electronics) |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Released | September 1978 (United States)[1] |
| Discontinued | 1984[1] |
| Intro price | US$179.95[1] |
| CPU | Intel 8048 (Magnavox 612191-1) at about 5.37 MHz[2][3] |
| Memory | 64 bytes inside the 8048, 128 bytes in a 6810 RAM[3] |
| Storage | None; games on plug-in ROM cartridges[4] |
| Display | RF output on VHF channel 3 or 4[5] |
| Sound | Generated by the 8244, played through the television[3][5] |
| Graphics | Intel 8244 (Magnavox 612130-1)[2] |
| ROM | 1 KB inside the 8048[3] |
| Input | 49-key membrane keyboard; two eight-direction hand controls with one action button[6] |
| Power | External AC adaptor (702661-1 or 702661-2) feeding a bridge rectifier and 5 V regulator in the console[7][8] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | BJ7600 and BK7600 (service manual); BA7600, BB7600, BC7600 and CC7600 also recorded[4][9] |
The Magnavox Odyssey² is a cartridge-based home video game console that Magnavox, by then owned by North American Philips, began shipping to American retailers in September 1978 at a suggested price of US$179.95.[1] It is built around an Intel 8048 microcontroller and an Intel 8244 chip that generates both the picture and the sound, and it has a 49-key membrane keyboard in the top of the case.[3][6] Philips sold the same design in Europe as the Videopac G7000.[1] Magnavox's service manual, No. 6510 of November 1979, covers the BJ7600 and BK7600, which have plug-in hand controls; in the United States, consoles with the hand controls wired in are the more common type.[4][9]
History
[edit | edit source]Magnavox developed the Odyssey² with Intel and bought most of its internal components from Intel, including the 8048 and the 8244. Production problems with the 8244 delayed the launch, and the console reached shops in September 1978 with eight games. It sold about 100,000 units in its first year and 385,000 by the end of 1980.[1] The European Videopac G7000 went on sale in December 1978 but was recalled after 7,500 units because of a faulty power plug, and returned in the summer of 1979.[1]
North American Philips released The Voice, a speech synthesis module that plugs into the cartridge slot, in September 1982 with K.C.'s Krazy Chase.[1] A successor, the Odyssey³ Command Center, was shown at the Winter CES in 1983 but never sold in North America. In March 1984 North American Philips stopped all video game production, which ended the Odyssey².[1]
Models
[edit | edit source]The service manual names the BJ7600 and BK7600, and its schematic carries a separate block for "BA7600 versions" of the hand control inputs.[4][8] The Odyssey² Homepage lists the North American models it has recorded:[9]
| Model | Hand controls | AC jack | RF cable plug |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA7600 GY02 | Hardwired (black) | Male | Standard |
| BB7600 GY02 | Hardwired (black) | Male | Standard |
| BC7600 GY02 and GT02 | Hardwired (black) | Male | Standard |
| BJ7600 GY02 | Detachable (black) | Female | Non-standard |
| BJ7600 GY02 | Detachable (silver) | Female | Not recorded |
| BK7600 GY02 | Detachable (silver) | Male | Non-standard |
| BK7600 GY02 | Hardwired (black) | Male | Standard |
| CC7600 GY02 | Hardwired (black) | Male | Standard |
Magnavox's parts lists give the BJ7600 and BK7600 different AC adaptor input jacks (181250-1 and 181328-1), AC adaptors (702661-1 and 702661-2) and hand control plugs (181307-1 and 181307-3), which fits the female and male power jacks recorded for the two models.[7][2] The hardwired hand controls are not soldered in. They plug into a connector inside the case, so a broken one can be replaced after removing the bottom of the console.[10][9] Magnavox sold replacement hand controls as part 171572-1 for hardwired consoles and 171572-3 for the plug-in type.[11]
Consoles with detachable hand controls use nine-pin sockets of the same shape as the Atari 2600's, but Atari joysticks do not work on them without modification.[10] Early consoles, usually those with detachable hand controls, have a non-standard plug on the RF cable that needs Magnavox's own switch box.[10]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]
The console holds one main board, 703965, a separate RF modulator assembly, 703966, in a shielded box, and the keyboard, which connects to the main board through J7.[7][2] The parts list includes IC sockets for the 8244 (IC5) and the 8048 (IC7) and for no other chip.[2]
| Ref | Magnavox description | Part no. | Marking on the board photographed by Evan-Amos |
|---|---|---|---|
| IC1 | Color encoder | 612160-3 | 612160-3 |
| IC2 | Dual D-type positive-edge-triggered | 612200-1 | SN74LS74AN |
| IC3 | Quad 2-input positive OR gate | 612194-1 | Not read |
| IC4 | Quad 2-input positive | 612199-1 | Not read |
| IC5 | Graphics display | 612130-1 | Intel P8244, 612130-1 |
| IC7 | Microprocessor | 612191-1 | Intel P8048H, 612191-1 |
| IC8, IC14 | Gated input | 612197-1 | Not read |
| IC9 | RAM | 612192-1 | AMI S6810P |
| IC10, IC11 | Quad positive-edge-triggered D-type | 612261-1 | 612261-1 |
| IC12 | Decoder | 612230-1 | Not read |
| IC13 | Encoder | 612195-1 | Not read |
Clocks
[edit | edit source]The crystal Y1 (Magnavox 560404-3) runs at 7.15909 MHz.[2][12][3] The 8244 is clocked at 3,579,545 Hz, set with the trimmer C6 and measured at IC5 pin 1. The 8048's clock is checked at its XTAL 1 input, pin 2, and tuned for maximum amplitude and symmetry with L2, which the parts list calls a 5.37 MHz coil.[13][2][8] MAME runs the 8048 at three-quarters of the crystal frequency and the 8244 at half of it, which gives the same two figures.[3]
Video and sound
[edit | edit source]The 8244 produces separate red, green, blue, composite sync and burst gate signals. IC1, the colour encoder, combines them into composite video, which leaves IC1 at pin 5 and reaches the modulator's W2 input through R7. The video level is set with R4.[8][13][14] Sound comes from the 8244's SND output at pin 27 and reaches the modulator's W3 input through R49.[8][14] In the modulator the sound frequency-modulates a 4.5 MHz oscillator (L4 with the varicap D2), and IC6 (612178-1) amplitude-modulates a VHF carrier with the video and the 4.5 MHz sound signal together. The channel switch S3 sits in the modulator box.[14][7] The Odyssey²'s own sound is heard through the television's loudspeaker.[5]
Power
[edit | edit source].png)
The schematic draws Magnavox's AC adaptor 702661 as a plain transformer, T1, so the console receives AC from it. The supply runs from the adaptor jack J6 through the power button S1 to the bridge rectifier D2 and the 4700 µF 25 V reservoir capacitor C13, then to Z1, the 5 V regulator, which supplies the +5 V used throughout the schematic.[8][2] The Odyssey² Essentials FAQ gives the supply requirement as 12 V AC at 600 mA.[10] Z1 is mounted between two heatsinks.[2][12]
The Odyssey² Homepage records several adaptor labels, all with the Magnavox or Odyssey² logo: AA 9063-BK01, AK 9046-BK01 and AC 9063-BK03 with female plugs, AJ 9046 with a male plug, and AC 9084-BK02 with both.[9] The adaptor that came with The Voice also had both plugs.[6] Power supplies for the console are covered on Magnavox Odyssey² General Maintenance.
Hand controls and keyboard
[edit | edit source]Each hand control is a stick and an action button over a board, 703969-2, that carries eight momentary switches, S101 to S108, in a ring round the stick. A ninth switch, 160599-7, is listed separately.[15][7] The schematic shows five lines, up, right, down, left and action, switched to a common return.[8] On the main board each line passes through a 5.6 µH coil and has a 0.001 µF capacitor to ground before it reaches the gated input chips IC8 and IC14.[8][2] Creative Computing described the keyboard as 49 membrane keys with no tactile feedback.[6] The reset key on the keyboard is connected to the 8048's RESET pin.[3]
Known faults
[edit | edit source]- Sound but no picture: one owner on the EEVblog forum traced this to poor connections inside the shielded RF modulator box and fixed it by resoldering them.[14]
- SELECT GAME does not appear at power-on: Magnavox's checkout says to press the reset key, then check that the adaptor plug is fully home and the cartridge is seated.[5]
- No game picture after a cartridge was changed with the power on: switch off and on again. Magnavox warns that cartridges must only be inserted or removed with the console off.[13][16]
- Unreliable hand controls: the film contacts in some hand controls oxidise. Cleaning is covered on Magnavox Odyssey² General Maintenance.[17]
The full fault list is on Magnavox Odyssey² Troubleshooting Guide, and the capacitor values on Magnavox Odyssey² Capacitor Replacement Guide.
The Voice
[edit | edit source]The Voice is a speech synthesis module that fits into the cartridge slot and has its own cartridge slot, speaker and volume control.[6]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Magnavox Service Manual No. 6510 and the 1980 owner's manual are hosted on the wiki and described on Magnavox Odyssey² Documentation.
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
The main board from the power jack and hand control header edge -
Solder side of the main board -
The console with the bottom case removed -
Main board top view, Service Manual No. 6510, p. 6510-5
.png)
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Magnavox Odyssey² General Maintenance
- Magnavox Odyssey² Troubleshooting Guide
- Magnavox Odyssey² Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Magnavox Odyssey² Documentation
- Magnavox Odyssey² The Voice
- Magnavox Odyssey, the first Odyssey console
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Wikipedia, "Magnavox Odyssey 2" (retrieved 2026-10-19): development with Intel, US shipping from September 1978 at US$179.95, sales to the end of 1980, the Videopac G7000 launch and recall, The Voice and K.C.'s Krazy Chase in September 1982, discontinuation in March 1984, and the technical specifications (8048 at 5.37 MHz, 8244, removable and hardwired joysticks).
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, p. 6510-10: replacement parts lists for the 703965 main board (coils, capacitors, resistors, the video level control, semiconductors and connectors) and the 701702-7 antenna/game switch box. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 MAME source, src/mame/philips/odyssey2.cpp, hardware notes by Peter Trauner, Wilbert Pol and hap (retrieved 2026-10-19): Intel 8048 with 1 KB internal ROM and 64 bytes internal RAM, 128 bytes of 6810 RAM, Intel 8244 for video and sound, Odyssey² crystal 7.15909 MHz with the 8048 clocked at three-quarters and the 8244 at half that frequency, and the reset key tied to the 8048 RESET pin.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, first issue November 1979, p. 6510-1: general information (a programmable video game system using integrated circuits, with two plug-in player hand controls, an alphanumeric keyboard, an antenna/game switch box, an external AC adapter and a game cartridge) and the antenna/game switch box installation. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, p. 6510-2: connecting the hand controls, game cord and AC adaptor; channel 3 set at the factory; the channel selector switch in a metal box reached by removing the three screws in the bottom of the console; the checkout procedure (inspection, power off before inserting a cartridge, SELECT GAME, the reset key, the AC adaptor jack). Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Owen Linzmayer, "The Voice of Odyssey", Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games, vol. 1 no. 1, Spring 1983, p. 60 (retrieved 2026-10-19): the 49-key membrane keyboard, the eight-direction switch-type joysticks with one action button, and The Voice (price, cartridge slot, speaker and volume control, new AC adaptor with male and female plugs, Voice cartridges).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, p. 6510-9: replacement parts lists for the 703966 RF modulator assembly, the 702669 console unit (including AC adaptors 702661-1 and 702661-2) and the 702667 player hand control. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, pp. 6510-7 and 6510-8: Odyssey² schematic diagram (power supply, clock oscillator, colour encoder, 8244, 8048, RAM, hand control and keyboard inputs, RF modulator 703966-1 and antenna box), with a separate block for the BA7600 versions. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 William Cassidy, The Odyssey² Homepage, "Collectibles: U.S. Consoles" (retrieved 2026-10-19): North American console models BA7600 to CC7600 with their hand controls, AC jacks, RF cables, keyboards and logos; the AC adapter types and their labels; hardwired hand controls that connect inside the console through a molex-type connector.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 William Cassidy, Odyssey2 / Videopac FAQ List: The Essentials, version 19 October 2011 (retrieved 2026-10-19): Q9 to Q11 (The Voice and its games), Q47 (connecting to a TV, automatic switchboxes, non-standard RF jacks), Q48 (opening the console and replacing a hardwired joystick), Q49 and Q55 (standard joysticks are not compatible), Q50 (power supply requirements and substitutes) and Q51 (composite video and audio take-off points).
- ↑ William Cassidy, The Odyssey² Homepage, "Collectibles: Peripherals" (retrieved 2026-10-19): hand control types, the replacement hand controls 171572-1 (hard wire) and 171572-3 (plug-in) with instruction sheet EL3462-1, The Voice of Odyssey², the Dynacom Voice and the Odyssey³ Command Center voice module GE 7610.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Evan-Amos, photographs of an Odyssey² main board 703965-1 on Wikimedia Commons, 11 December 2018, hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 main board 703965-1.jpg and File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 main board power supply section.jpg: chip and capacitor markings read from the photographs (P8048H 612191-1, P8244 612130-1, AMI S6810P, 612160-3, SN74LS74AN, crystal 560404-3 marked 7.159090 MHz, Nichicon 4700 µF 25 V at C13, 22 µF 10 V at C49, GI 2W02 bridge at D2).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, p. 6510-3: service adjustments (the caution on the RF oscillator inside the metal shield, checking the board for shorts or cracks, monitoring total current drain, the 3.58 MHz clock set with trimmer C6 at IC5 pin 1, the microprocessor clock set with L2 at IC7 pin 2, the video level control R4), the important safeguards and the Odyssey² troubleshooting list. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 EEVblog Electronics Community Forum, Repair board, "Troubleshoot No Video - Magnavox Odyssey 2", November 2023 to May 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-19): a console with sound but no picture; wasedadoc's description of the video, sound and RF modulator signal path (composite video from IC1 pin 5, sound from IC5 pin 27, the 4.5 MHz sound oscillator set by L4 and varicap D2, the RF oscillator near 60 MHz set by L6, C17, C18 and C32, the channel switch across C32); the owner's fix by resoldering connections inside the shielded output box.
- ↑ Magnavox Consumer Electronics Company, Service Manual No. 6510: Odyssey² (BJ/BK7600) Video Game System, November 1979, p. 6510-4: RF modulator, antenna/game switch box and hand control (703969-2) board drawings. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Service Manual 6510.pdf.
- ↑ North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp., Odyssey² Owner's Manual, IB 3747-2 (BC7600), 1980, PDF pp. 4 to 10: box contents, TV antenna connector, rear of the console, connecting the console, the power switch (up is off, down is on), the channel switch, inserting a cartridge, safeguards and trouble shooting. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 2 Owner's Manual IB3747-2.pdf.
- ↑ Videopac / Odyssey2 forum (videopac.nl), Hardware board, "Repair/Servicing Odyssey2/Videopac Controller", posts by Blueleader (30 June 2014), Sweersa (1 July 2014) and Rene_G7400 (21 July 2015) (retrieved 2026-10-19): dismantling and cleaning the hand control, the speed nut, greasing the lever's hemisphere, cleaning film contacts with a glass fibre eraser and mechanical switches with P180 abrasive paper, and leaving the black disc unlubricated.
