Mattel ECS Documentation
The Computer Module Owner's Guide is Mattel Electronics' spiral-bound guide to the Intellivision Entertainment Computer System, the Mattel ECS. The illustrations are copyright Mattel Electronics 1983, Hawthorne, California; it was printed in Hong Kong with the print code 4487-6002. The hosted scan has 92 pages and includes the loose errata sheet, No. 4187-0170, that Mattel packed with it.[1]
Contents
[edit | edit source]From the guide's own table of contents, with the page numbers printed there:[1]
- Introduction, p. 1
- Chapter 1, Setting up your system, p. 7: the Computer Adaptor and keyboard, the transformer, start-up order, volume balance, cassette recorder and printer hook-up, turning the computer off
- Chapter 2, The main menu, p. 15
- Chapter 3, Keyboard controls, p. 19
- Chapter 4, Writing programs, p. 25
- Chapter 5, Colour, motion and sound, p. 35
- Appendix A, Dictionary of BASIC terms, p. 47
- Appendix B, Saving and loading programs, p. 79
- Appendix C, Memory, errors and glossary, p. 83
- Appendix D, Maintenance, p. 91
- Warranty, p. 93
After the warranties come the FCC Class B notice and a projection-television warning, and then the errata sheet: corrections to the text, the requirement for a cartridge in the adaptor's port, the cassette recorder specification and a list of recommended recorders.[1]
What this guide does not contain
[edit | edit source]It is an owner's guide and BASIC manual. There is no schematic, parts list, board layout or test procedure. The maintenance appendix covers cleaning only, and tells owners not to open the Computer Adaptor or the keyboard but to call a Mattel service number. The transformer's rating is not printed; the guide only says to use the transformer marked "For use with Intellivision Computer Adapter only".[1]
The scan has fewer pages than the printed numbering implies. PDF page 11 is printed page 10, PDF page 41 is printed page 44, and PDF page 76 is printed page 84, so a few printed pages are not in the file. The page numbers cited in the ECS guides are PDF page numbers.[1]
Pages that cite this document
[edit | edit source]- Mattel ECS: connections, ports, memory, cassette and printer, the cartridge requirement.
- Mattel ECS Maintenance: start-up and switch-off order, the balance test, cleaning, cassette tape care.
- Mattel ECS Troubleshooting: the start-up screen, the menu, error whistles and grey lines, the sound-channel split between the two chips, cassette and printer checks.
- Mattel ECS Capacitor Replacement Guide: the separate transformer, and the absence of any parts list.
Source
[edit | edit source]Internet Archive item Intellivision_Computer_Module_Owners_Guide_1983_Mattel_US, uploaded 2013 by the textfiles.com manual library. A German edition, Bedienungsanleitung für die Computer-Ausbaumodule (4690-0058), is on the Internet Archive as intellivision-bedienungsanleitung-fur-die-computer-ausbaumodule.[2]
Download: Intellivision Computer Module Owner's Guide (Mattel, 1983).pdf
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mattel Electronics, Computer Module Owner's Guide (1983, 4487-6002), File:Intellivision Computer Module Owner's Guide (Mattel, 1983).pdf: cover (PDF p. 1), table of contents (PDF p. 2), printed page numbers on PDF pp. 11, 41 and 76, chapter 1 (PDF pp. 8-14), Appendix D (PDF p. 83), warranties (PDF pp. 85-87), FCC notice (PDF p. 88), errata sheet No. 4187-0170 (PDF pp. 90-92).
- ↑ Internet Archive items Intellivision_Computer_Module_Owners_Guide_1983_Mattel_US (textfiles.com, 2013) and intellivision-bedienungsanleitung-fur-die-computer-ausbaumodule (2022; the uploader's description gives the code 4690-0058) (retrieved 2026-10-19).