Intellivision II and ECS...

[Platinum]

I just got an Intellivision II and ECS the other day off of ebay, it was in good condition and working according to the seller. I haven't recieved it yet but I'm concerned about two things.

1.) Is there a way to get 3rd party games to run on the Inty II?

2.) How relieable are the ECS's? I'm concerned that the keyboard may have a couple of non-functioning keys, just like some of my commodores and Ti99's. I'm not really sure yet as I have not tested it, but I just want to know what are the chances of this being the case.

Thanks.

[rgw825]

1.) Is there a way to get 3rd party games to run on the Inty II?

Like the Coleco games? I tried Donkey Kong with my ECS and Intv II and it wouldn't work. The ECS menu came up, but when i click cartridge the screen goes green.

[Platinum]

Yeah If I recall correctly SOME (please correct me if I'm wrong) coleco games do work on it, but not all.

[Steve W]

I believe the late release Coleco games might work on it, but not the early ones. And the ECS isn't all that reliable. At least not the one I have. The keyboard buttons work fine, it's just the machine will only run for around a minute before the screen goes black and it stops working. I'm guessing it's got something to do with the age of the microchips and overheating. It's a shame, because my favorite Intellivision game is the ECS game Mind Strike. It's a bit like Stratego with numbers as characters and with user configurable playfields plus the 99 boards included. And you can reprogram the AI, which is interesting.

[Platinum]

Oh really? That's definitely nothing I'd ever want to happen to my ECS.

[Platinum]

Okay, so I got the package, and the Intellivision works perfectly fine, but I got two questions.

1.) Where can I get a power supply that works for the computer module?

2.) How do I open up the Intellivision II? I unscrewed the screws on the bottom, and I pushed the tabs in on the back, but it still won't open. What is the next step?

[rgw825]

Okay, so I got the package, and the Intellivision works perfectly fine, but I got two questions.

1.) Where can I get a power supply that works for the computer module?

2.) How do I open up the Intellivision II? I unscrewed the screws on the bottom, and I pushed the tabs in on the back, but it still won't open. What is the next step?

For your Power Supply question i will direct you here. I ended up using a Nes Power Supply and it works great.
http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/118273-intellivision-ecs-power-supply/

[Tupin]

Okay, I got one of these and I have questions too. Why not just use this thread?

1. I can turn it on with the power switch, but the only way I can turn it off is via unplugging the power cord. How do I turn it off?

[ubersaurus]

Okay, I got one of these and I have questions too. Why not just use this thread?

1. I can turn it on with the power switch, but the only way I can turn it off is via unplugging the power cord. How do I turn it off?

Hold down the power button for a few seconds.

[Platinum]

Hey thanks guys, I figured out how to olen the unit, stupid me, I forgot the controllers were detachable. Also, I've got a lot of NES power supplies so it looks like I'm good to go.

Now, I ask...

What all can I do with the ECS? This may sound stupid, but from what little I've heard, I've only heard that it can do BASIC and something about a Tapedrive.

[Steve W]

You can hook up a cassette recorder to it if you've got the cable, but there's not a lot you can do with it. It's only got 2K of memory if I recall correctly, and an odd version of BASIC (all words are truncated to four letters). I used to fool around with it by typing in a program that lets you access whatever graphics are in memory in whatever game cartridge is plugged in. And there's some type-ins out there on the internet you can input, but they'll usually require a specific cart be plugged in so you can access it's graphics.

The ECS was a really limited machine compared to the "Black Whale", the original computer add-on they had planned. That thing was a powerhouse in comparison from what I've read.