Magnavox Odyssey 500
 | |
| An Odyssey 500 with its AC adaptor, antenna-game switch box and instruction booklet | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Magnavox Company |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console |
| Released | 1976[1][2] |
| Intro price | US$130[1] |
| CPU | None; eight integrated circuits (Magnavox IC1 to IC8)[3][4] |
| Memory | None |
| Storage | — |
| Display | Colour, RF output on VHF channel 3 or 4[5][6] |
| Sound | Beep from a built-in ceramic speaker, with an on/off switch[7][4] |
| Power | 9 V 200 mA AC adaptor (supplied)[5][6] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Predecessor | Magnavox Odyssey 400 |
| Model no. | BG7520[5] |
The Magnavox Odyssey 500 (model BG7520) is a dedicated home video game console made by Magnavox from 1976. It plays Hockey, Tennis, Smash and Soccer in colour, with automatic serve and digital on-screen scores, and draws the players as small figures instead of bars: a tennis player, a hockey player or a "ball player", chosen with a switch.[5][7][1] Each player has three knobs for vertical position, horizontal position and the ball's path. Unlike the Odyssey 100, 200 and 400, it has no battery compartment and runs only from its AC adaptor.[5][8][6]
History
[edit | edit source]Wikipedia gives a 1976 release at US$130 and describes the 500 as Magnavox's high-end companion to the Magnavox Odyssey 300 and Magnavox Odyssey 400, the first Odyssey game unit with colour graphics.[1] Pong-Story calls it the only system of its kind at the time, for the player figures that replaced the paddles.[2] Magnavox's service manual for the BG7520 is dated December 1976.[5]
Specifications
[edit | edit source]| Item | Minimum | Nominal | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulated supply at IC1 pin 3 | 4.5 V | 5.0 V | 5.5 V |
| Current drain | – | 185 mA | 200 mA |
| Vertical sync frequency | 59 Hz | 60 Hz | 61 Hz |
| Vertical sync pulse amplitude | 2.8 V | 4.0 V | – |
| Vertical sync pulse width | – | 200 µs | – |
| Horizontal sync frequency | 15.684 kHz | 15.734 kHz | 15.784 kHz |
| Horizontal sync pulse amplitude | 3.5 V | 4.0 V | – |
| Horizontal sync pulse width | – | 5.0 µs | – |
| RF carrier, channel 3 | 61.22 MHz | 61.25 MHz | 61.28 MHz |
| RF carrier, channel 4 | 67.22 MHz | 67.25 MHz | 67.28 MHz |
| RF output into 300 Ω | 2000 µV | – | 4000 µV |
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Integrated circuits
[edit | edit source]| Ref | Magnavox part | Functions (Magnavox) |
|---|---|---|
| IC1 | 612117-1 | Voltage regulator, horizontal sync generator, vertical sync generator, right wall generator, rebound circuitry |
| IC2 | 612116-1 | Video logic controller |
| IC3 | 612088-1 | Left wall generator, ball generator |
| IC4 | 612109-1 | Colour generator, colour sync generator, video summer |
| IC5 | 612115-1 | Character generator |
| IC6 | 612108-2 | Digital score generator |
| IC7 | 612110-1 | Character controller |
| IC8 | 612084-1 | Input and gate generator |
Most of the chip set is new. Only the ball and wall generator (612088) is the part used in the Odyssey 100, 200 and 400; the score generator is a -2 version of the Odyssey 400's 612108, and IC8 is the same part as the Odyssey 400's automatic serve chip, 612084.[4][9] The colour circuit in IC4 runs from a crystal, X1 (Magnavox part 560404-2), with a trimmer, C41, that sets the 3.58 MHz oscillator.[10][3][4]
Power
[edit | edit source]The Odyssey 500 runs from a 9 V, 200 mA AC adaptor that came with the console (Magnavox part 701284-6). It plugs into a socket above the CENTER and SPEED knobs.[5][6][4] The cabinet parts list has no battery holder.[8] The 9 V supply passes the power switch S1A and a 68 µH coil, L1, to IC1 pin 2, and IC1's regulator supplies 5 V from pin 3.[10][11] The console draws 185 mA, almost three times the Odyssey 400's 65 mA, and Magnavox's service manual warns that drawing excessive current at any time means replacing IC1.[5][3]
Controls
[edit | edit source]The top of the console has three knobs for each player (blue on the left, yellow on the right), the CENTER knob (R22, the left wall position) and the SPEED knob (R19), the GAME switch (Smash, Tennis, or Hockey and Soccer), the PLAYER switch (ball player, tennis player or hockey player) and the POWER/RESET switch (off, on and a reset position that springs back).[7][4][6] Soccer is played by setting the GAME switch to the hockey field and the PLAYER switch to the ball player; the player with ball control then also moves the goal opening up and down with the ball control.[6][7] The channel switch and the sound switch are on the board, under the bottom cabinet, in its upper right and upper left corners.[6][7]
There is no four-player option.[1] The left player is light blue with a black spot in the middle, so that the two players can be told apart on a black and white television; the right player is yellow.[7][6]
Scoring and serve
[edit | edit source]When the console is switched on, two large "W"s appear. Moving the POWER/RESET switch to RESET and releasing it clears the score and starts play. After each point the score shows briefly and the ball is served automatically from the side that lost the point. At 20 points a "W" appears on the winner's side, the players disappear, and the ball keeps being served without the score changing.[6][7]
Television connection
[edit | edit source]The console connects to the television's 300 Ω VHF terminals through an antenna/game switch box (701702-3) and game cable assembly 461218-5.[4][6]
Troubleshooting
[edit | edit source]Magnavox's service manual has no symptom chart, but it gives a voltage chart for every IC pin and transistor, the IC functions and the adjustments, including the colour adjustments. Symptoms, checks and the chart are on Magnavox Odyssey 500 Troubleshooting Guide; the electrolytic capacitors are on Magnavox Odyssey 500 Capacitor Replacement Guide.[3][11]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]Magnavox Service Manual No. 6506 for the BG7520 and the Odyssey 500 instruction booklet are hosted on the wiki and described on Magnavox Odyssey 500 Documentation.[5][6]
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Board top view with the service adjustments (Service Manual No. 6506, p. 6506-7) -
Main board, component view (p. 6506-8)
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Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Magnavox Odyssey 500 General Maintenance
- Magnavox Odyssey 500 Troubleshooting Guide
- Magnavox Odyssey 500 Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Magnavox Odyssey 500 Documentation
- Magnavox Odyssey 400
- Magnavox Odyssey 4000, the other colour model
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wikipedia, "Magnavox Odyssey series" (retrieved 2026-10-19), section on the Odyssey 500: 1976 release at US$130, model number 7520, colour graphics, the player and playfield switches, Soccer as the fourth game, and no four-player option.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Other Magnavox Odyssey systems" (retrieved 2026-10-19): the Odyssey 500 of 1976, its colour player graphics (tennis players, squash players and hockey players in place of paddles), and the table of Magnavox models.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, p. 6506-3: service adjustments (the warning on current drain and IC1, score indicator position, rebound, blanking with Figure 1, the instruction not to adjust the RF section, video level, 3.58 MHz oscillator, background colour, player size balance, right wall, goal opening) and the IC basic functions. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, p. 6506-9: replacement parts list (coils, capacitors with type, value, rating and part number, controls and switches, semiconductors, AC adaptor and miscellaneous) and the antenna/game switch parts list. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 The Magnavox Company, Service Manual No. 6506: BG7520 Odyssey, first issue, December 1976, p. 6506-1: general information (9 V 200 mA AC adaptor; Hockey, Tennis, Smash and Soccer; three styles of players; colour background and players, automatic serve, digital on-screen scoring) and the specifications table. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 The Magnavox Company, Odyssey 500 Installation and Game Rules, 1976: introduction and features (the colours of the playing fields, the three player styles and their sizes, the black spot on the left player, the reset, automatic serve and 20-point game), preparation for use (antenna-game switch, game cord, AC adaptor, channel switch, sound switch), adjusting the television, the control panel, the player control knobs and ball control, and the Smash, Tennis, Hockey and Soccer rules. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Installation and Game Rules.pdf.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, p. 2 (headed "6505-2" in error): typical operation (Tennis), the colours of the court and players, the black spot on the left player, the Soccer goal control, the sound switch, automatic scoring and serve, and the top view of the BG7520 with its controls and switches. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, back cover: cabinet replacement parts list. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6505: BG7516 Odyssey (Odyssey 400), November 1976, p. 6505-10: BG7516 replacement parts list, with IC6 612108-1 and IC7 612084-1. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 400 Service Manual 6505.pdf.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, pp. 6506-5 and 6506-6: BG7520 schematic diagram, with the power switch, adaptor jack J1, IC1 to IC8, crystal X1, the RF section and the antenna switch box. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Magnavox, Service Manual No. 6506, December 1976, p. 4 (headed "6505-4" in error): voltage charts for IC1 to IC8 and transistors Q1 to Q5 (VTVM; 9 V DC at IC1 pin 2; channel 4; sound on; Tennis; lowest ball speed; players centred), with notes 1 to 16. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 500 Service Manual 6506.pdf.