Coleco Adam Computer Review - Gamester81

[@CaptainVideo1960]

I loved my ADAM. I remember carrying it home on the bus. I did have issues with the initial unit, but they kept exchanging parts that didn’t work and I ended up with a second generation printer which was way better than the one that came with it. I even bought a bolder type daisy wheel which made the printer typewriter quality. Even if it was slow, it was so much better than what came out of faster dot matrix printers. I made use of the word processor for all my college essays, used ADAM Calc to create a spread sheet to do my taxes, long before there was software for the job,(I should have marketed it, Damnit!), bought the modem and participated in early BBM groups, long before there was any social media. I think I bought all the productivity software and learned some Basic programming too. I got the extra tape drive and eventually the floppy disk drive and a color monitor. It was so far ahead of its time, it is a shame that it didn’t have the baking of a real tech company to make it great. I think for old times sake, I may try top

[@TheAtariCreep]

A buddy of mine had the complete Adam computer. We played the hell out of Buck Rogers (cassette). He told me recently found the system and (gulps) tossed it in the trash. Great review.

[@HerculesMays]

So tragic, there's really not a lot of Adams left anymore I think

[@JohnRiggs]

My first coleco vision was an Adam computer found at a yard sale (I think) Loved it! Never used the Adam part of the computer for anything, solely used it for games

[@oofta.gaming]

+John Riggs: RIGG'd Games Hey! Congrats on your channel! You are growing nicely! :)

[@thephillynut]

My first computer ever. I have a deep love for this comp. I'd love to own one again..

[@kawaiimariagamez872]

I did all my English reports on this. Imagine printing an 18 page essay! (The teacher knocked off points because he said I was double spaced, but that was the regular single space setting for the word processor.) Also, you need to consider how much dot matrix printers were going for at that time, and how revolutionary it was for a home computer to print letter quality, because the 9 pin dot matrix printers ... well ... I actually miss the sound of that hammer hitting the daisy wheel! LOL

[@kencreppin2146]

My knees are hurting from kicking myself in the butt. When I downsized from a house to an apartment, I disposed of absolutely mint versions of the Adam, C=64, C=128, Amiga 1000 and at least 2 examples of every 68000 based Mac. Wish I had kept them! All I did keep was a Mac IIci with a DayStar '040 and an 840av. Dumb, dumb, dumb....

[@Larry]

How do you keep such massive boxes in so good condition John? Not even any corner nicks or anything!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

+Larry Bundy Jr I was impressed to get a CV in a box with the original packing foam for under $30 despite having rips!

[@DEEdavE]

so stoked to see you about to hit 100k

[@notyoursavior78]

I've never owned a Colecovision but it is really such a respectable system. I almost got one off eBay several years ago.

[@joemorris1072]

Subscribed I think the reason Coleco bundled the printer with the computer, and put it's power supply in the printer, was just to make damn certain people bought the accessories. They were enforcing it in fact. It probably makes sense business-wise but it's dumb as f**k customer-wise when there were systems out there that were technically superior and didn't force you to buy the accessories.

[@vamtheanomaly]

I had the blue one. A lady that worked at the local arcade here actually bought it for me. She had 3 sons and was like a mom to me. I was totally shocked at the sheer size of it. I dont understand why they went under though, this computer was awesome.

[@Rasdock]

I wanted one because of the upgraded versions of DK and DKjr, but I never even bothered to mention it to my parents because of the insane price (plus, my dad worked at IBM, so that would be the only computer he'd consider). It's too bad they didn't do it in a more affordable, modular fashion. If I was looking at the typing part right and it was printing as you typed, behaving just like a real typewriter . . . well, that's pretty cool.

[@usudo2021]

My dad bought me the Colecovision over the Atari 2600. The decision was based on the ads promising the Adam plug in expansion for the Colecovision. Thanks for the video. It helps satisfy my curiosity.

[@JRthepyroguy]

nothing like old school electronics. kids these days won't know the struggle. good video. 👍

[@edgesdragon888]

Still have the ADAM expansion module #3 and the ColecoVision system. Both still work, or at least they worked the last time I used them a few years ago. I haven't checked recently with the ADAM because that printer is just too huge to lug around because of that power switch located only on the printer. That was weird. That base, though, doesn't go under the printer. It sits under the ADAM and ColecoVision combo to keep the connection between the console and module more stable.

[@heedmywarning2792]

I had the Adam when I was a kid in high school. My biggest gripes were: the loud printer, lack of a serial and parallel ports. I never had a issue with damaged tapes. Also, I had the Atari conversion 'thingie' that connected to the side of the unit. That was nice.

[@MattMcHugh-o1l]

I wrote most of my papers in college on this using the built in word processor. The daisy wheel printer took about 5 minutes to print a page and when it heated up, it could slip one letter, turning your printout to secret code. If I pulled an all-nighter, I had to build in two hours to print and re-print pages. I remember sitting there at 7:45am going..." Come on! Come on!"

[@emptysaint]

My very first video game/computer system. So awesome.

[@velocity73R]

I loved using LOGO on the ADAM, I went from programming little movies, to full blown space shooters. Great System!

[@ElfrickMendez]

I remember being fascinated by how the digital data drive fast-forwarded and rewinded the tapes back and forth automatically to load data, as opposed to the ordinary cassette tapes used with the Atari 8-bit computers and the Commodore Vic-20 and C-64. The Adam version of Donkey Kong had all four arcade stages, while the Colecovision version omitted the Cement Factory stage.

[@KabukiKid]

I vividly remember the Commodore 64 originally retailing for just under $600 when it first came out. Obviously, that dropped in the following years, but it was still the cheapest computer for what you got under the hood, at the time. ;-)

[@ReallyCoolSite]

The Coleco Adam got me through the last couple years of high school back in the day. I think my parents paid $50 for it at close out. I never did play games on it...

[@BBC600]

11:51 That's interesting that software immediately put the hammer to the paper. I know it was emulating a typewriter but later models of electric typewriters would let you fix a mistake with backspace provided the end of the line hadn't yet been reached (which was when it would print the line). At that rate what's the point of using that compared to a standalone typewriter? It seems to me maybe this software was more of a demo as other people seem to state they bought a separate word processor.

[@darinsfool]

Was my first computer, I loved it.

[@Markis5150]

Is it me or was there abit of a hitch in scrolling in the Adam version of Buck Rogers,next to the no hitch version on ColecoVision? Great video,thanks for sharing.

[@retreauxnintendeaux1663]

Great vid! I just snagged an ADAM from my local retro store from another customer trying to trade it in... I was the only one in the store that knew it was a Coleco ADAM! Needless to say the store wouldn't take it...I offered the guy ten bucks...he countered $15... I said SOLD!!!! Yea!!!!

[@wellwoodulookatdat4933]

The most frustrating part was there was glitches and Basic C+ programming would crash/not work properly. I copied the code for Hard Hat Mack but could never get it to work.

[@dancomer3815]

Awesome collection , thanks for sharing !!

[@Marchand848]

So cool!! I wanted that system so bad when I was a kid! Especially the white controllers. I didn't know anyone with an Adam and it wasn't for sale anywhere where I lived. but saw it on commercials every Saturday morning. How many electrical plugs did it have?

[@Sticky745]

I saw the title and I immediately thumbs up the video ! I love the colecovisio :)

[@AlanThompsonRegularNintendo]

I used to have one, and when we moved...it got tossed in the dumpster...it was so mad

[@mtshark7]

Awesome review John! I think my old elementary school had a Coleco Adam computer we used to use. We always messed around with that silly face game.

[@johneygd]

I will prefer the adam addon for the colecovision because you can extend the capabilities of the original system and those addam games will also work ond the colecovision that way. Now,there will be soon a 32KB expension module with new and expanded games for it released, so that's a great addition to your colecovision system aswell. A must have.

[@Henchman1977]

We had Adams when I was a kid. Have you seen the Atari adapter that fit into the expansion port on the right side of the unit? It allowed you to play 2600 games.

[@6672rock]

I think that was a totally black market thing. No store could legitimately sell that.

[@Henchman1977]

It was made by Coleco.

[@keiichi902]

I still have one, it was indeed made by Coleco.

[@RobNoonanic]

Great video Gamester. Keep up the good work.

[@plastique45]

You look like someone who should have a home improvement channel ô_Ö

[@__WJK__]

Hate stereo typing but was think'n same. Could also pass as a biker dude w/a repair shop!

[@jeffmelchior8573]

I remember a friend having one of these in 1985. I also remember wanting one even though I was well aware of the system's significant problems. Guess I just thought I'd luck out -- what can I say? I was 11.

[@TheDailyNostalgiaShow]

That was a impressive video. I had a Vic 20 and a C64 back then. That being said this was awesome to see. The only version of Buck Rogers I played was on the Atari 2600. It didn't have them extra explosions the Adam had.

[@thermafaxx1]

Great video, John. The Adam module by itself was 400.00.

[@mgabrysSF]

The Colecovision did have 8k of onboard rom (carts were 8 to 32k).

[@aidanmclaughlin8354]

My grandma got this for my mom uncle and other uncle in 1983 Christmas

[@TheAdam1701]

My first computer, loved it despite how much I knew it sucked compared to my friends Apple II's and Commodores at the time. I even got the 300 baud modem plug in! It was my first "On-Line" computer too. Eventually hyper-upgraded to an Amiga in '88 =)

[@messngretz]

wow, the Expansion Module version is really in amazing condition, no yellowing at all. Where did you find one in that condition? Even the boxes are in awesome condition!

[@waldod.8794]

Great review, John!

[@JakeVegas-d4o]

Let's get John to 100k he's so close

[@gingerrevenger]

Pretty cool system...we had commodore 64 before home built pc...kinda want to get a C64 back to relive the old days

[@mosenpai8216]

Hey John, longtime viewer, first time commenting. Love it when you do reviews on the these old systems. Would love to see a review of the amstrad gx4000 if ever get the chance.

[@valkeriesilk6136]

John, you look so tiny behind those boxes! ;)

[@SuperMoleRetro]

I wish they would have made a power supply without the printer as an option. My printer is bad, so now the ADAM computer is a paperweight.

[@ShamansMystery]

♥ the adam pc, wish i still had the one my mother bought, was our first pc.

[@cyraxnzed578]

love your videos bro, alot of the systems and games etc you review never made it to new Zealand. so for me these videos are very exciting.

[@johnnypierce1526]

Awesome video! Do the Adam cassette games wear out like audio cassette did? I was lucky to have a audio cassette to last a month. The more you played it the more degraded it got.

[@marcelocunha4379]

Hey! Have you been following the Adam Plus project? I would like to know your opinion about it.

[@loco_Fox]

great vid as always man! damn that thing looks heavy and awkward as hell! i grew up in the 80s with the IBM computers, oh the days where you bought speakers separately as well.

[@DerpMcTrollington]

they generate a mini emp when starting up; thats what erases the memory. i came here to see if that is mentioned.

[@dakotaharley1959]

Great video. A buddy of mine has an Adam that he got when he was a kid. Been trying to get him to sell it to me. Someday maybe!!

[@robertrogers4272]

I miss the ADAM I had when I was a kid I never had one issue with it. I am anal when it comes to removing games or any thing before I power off..Hope to get another one. I would love too see your thoughts on the TI 99 4A if you have one

[@geraldford6409]

The Floppy Drive used what appeared to be a standard telephone cable for data connection, quite advanced given the thick cables used by Atari and C64 at the time The high speed cassette drives were a cool piece of tech, addressing a lot of constraints of the early 80s- capacity, speed and cost. If they could have avoided the EMI erasure issue, I think they would have been regarded better. Other than the EMI issue, I don't recall really having a problem with mine if you cared for the cassettes as you should

[@hanyah916]

Reminds me of the computer setup in Weird Science

[@trzarector]

Classic Sega with the early sprite scaling Buck Rogers game! Great channel dude!

[@LockRockRCs]

Still have mine and works.

[@jerps93]

I learned something today.

[@stevennutz1109]

Epic this was my first computer/game system... blew my neighbors 2600 away!

[@MarvelDcImage]

They should have just have had their Adam system as add ons to the Coleco game system for a keyboard and printer, etc.

[@film79]

I remember my Dad bringing one of these home after seeing them on sale, I guess it was a year or two after they were released. The only thing is I swear you could play Atari, I think 2600, games on it. Was there some illegal aftermarket attachment that let you do that or maybe I am just confused and we had an Atari hooked up to the same TV.

[@Heavyzen]

You probably had Expansion Module 2. it allowed you to play Atari games.

[@TuxEarth]

Wait, isn't this the *third* time the Coleco Adam computer was reviewed on your channel?

[@tigheklory]

John if you are every out my way I will show you the Coleco Factory.

[@RetroGamerVX]

Hey, great review, but I thought you were getting rid of the Bart Simpson baseball cap look ;o)

[@steelx505x9]

Another Great Video John 👍

[@thealaskan1635]

I had the Colecovision when it came out.I was going to get the ADAM,but I took a look at the add on and decided it was too crappy for the price.So I sold my Colecovision and bought an Atari 800 instead.

[@FlintG]

I wonder if the adams family had an adam computer.

[@thegamingphile]

100k KZbin plaque coming!!

[@DafterPunker80]

How do you compare it with the Commodore 64? better? equal? or not better?

[@pfernandes8982]

Made my first game on the adam 1984

[@tbb033]

I wanted an Adam so bad when I was a kid. I don't even know why. Probably just because I wanted a Colecovision, I guess.

[@oofta.gaming]

Awesome shirt! I want one 👍

[@balrock3443]

I like the video. Its cool to see reviews on the older systems. My cousin had an ADAM back in the day. the games were a bit better than the regular old Coleco I had. But I remembering the ADAM not working 1/2 the time. and lets face it. I wanted games who cared about a typewriter and printer.... well at that time.....

[@Tolman18]

This needs more likes! I love retro systems! :)

[@RailRide]

Still have my Expansion Module 3 version. Went through my share of DOA units (actually the second one worked, but showed evidence of prior use (not to mention missing packing material). By this time I knew that the issues had been solved (computer and game mags at the time), and went to a different Toys R Us. Salesman there confirmed that the first batch had most every unit returned. Second shipment had no returns. I did a fair amount of programming in BASIC, until CP/M came out and along with the modem, was able to find stuff like database applications and modem software to use BBS's, which satisfied most of what I needed to learn to program for. Until that point I had made up a music application, rudimentary screen printing application and a drawing application in LOGO (among other "scratch an itch" programs). I made use of aftermarket accessories to boost the RAM to 320K (required an addresser wire connected to a serial port card), add a third and forth (720K) disk drive and a dot-matrix printer, not to mention a customized version of BASIC that allowed use of a 40-column text mode. The extra disk drives were made possible by an aftermarket supplier called Orphanware, that used custom roms that allowed the drives to report themselves to the system as fifth and sixth storage devices. With these I customized the save/load routines in my BASIC programs to show a display of available drives (up to twin tape and quad disk), automatically sensing whether there were disks in the drives or not and color-coding the display accordingly. (continued)

[@RailRide]

(continued) One quirk of the Expansion Module 3 version was with the Atarisoft version of Defender. Somehow the programmers read the joystick ports in such a way that the two joystick buttons bridged together, which meant that you'd set off your smart bombs with every laser blast. The two weapons only worked separately on the standalone ColecoVision console or the standalone ADAM. A little known feature of the system was that it could read from storage devices while the CPU was busy doing other stuff. This was used in tape-based "Super Games", in which you'd be playing the first level, and the second level would be loading in the background while the screen was still active, eliminating load screens. BTW, digital data pack speeds were as follows: 20 inches per second read/write, 80 IPS fast forward/rewind (regular audio cassettes ran at 1 7/8 IPS, and the only other device I know of that used speeded-up cassettes for data was the Fischer-Price PXL-2000 camcorder). Game tapes had 255 blocks with a directory block at the beginning, and data/ SmartBASIC OS tapes had the directory in the middle to minimize seek times. The heads could read either track without flipping the tape to access the second 128-block track. There were also short tapes with only 128 blocks intended for relatively small games like Donkey Kong. Coleco-supplied disk drives could only fit 160K on a 5 1/4" floppy. Coleco's own digital data packs were derived from 60-minute cassettes, but with thicker Lexan cases that felt much more solid than regular cassettes. The were drilled so they could only be inserted in the system the correct way, and to exclude the use of regular casseetes. The tape was formatted, and with a drill and good dual cassette recorder (with adjustable record levels), you could copy the tapes with a strong enough signal that the drive would recognize them, but the results were hit-or-miss. (continued...one more time)

[@RailRide]

(continued...) One limitation of the base OS was that space used by deleted files was not re-used by the system. True, you'd never have fragmented files this way, but you could also run out of room even though the directory said there were blocks free. The only difference between an active and deleted file was a control character at the beginning of the filename in the directory, and the only way to recover the space was to wipe the directory (and the files) and start over. Had I continued exploring BASIC programming, I would have eventually decoded the directory structure (I had tools that could show a dump of the contents of any tape/disk block) and maybe written a utility that would offload active files to another tape, nuke the original directory, then restore the files to the original media. I'm not sure the CP/M OS had that limitation--I don't recall encountering bogus out-of-space errors on the tapes/disks I used under that OS. My ADAM computing days lasted till 1999, when I crushed a contact in the expansion module connector trying to bend it to improve contact. I still have all the hardware, and could conceivably restore it to operation by jumpering around the broken contact, but never got around to it. There are still unique files still lurking on those tapes--I kept them in dust-free storage away from sunlight, excess heat and magnetic sources. Who knows, they might even still be readable today.

[@smokeyvv]

Coleco vision seems to run at a higher frame rate

[@BolofromAvlis]

I remember when the Adam came out. My brother was a huge Colecovision fan, boiut most of the attachments and games for it. The driving wheel was pretty awesome for it. But I remember him buying the Adam, hooking it up, and it not working. He took it back and got another and it didn't work either. The store didn't have any more if I remember right. I remember him buying a Commodore 64 an Atari 800 soon after that ( he eventually got both for awhile before he settled on his c-64 ) The Adam was a massive failure that Christmas. I remember the only thing saving Coleco was their Cabbage Patch Kids dolls sold like gangbusters that year which I guess kept them afloat a little longer. Such a sad end to such a great company. The Coleco was so great compared to Atari and Intellivision.

[@valkeriesilk6136]

+Mark Hanson More then half of the first 100,000 units were dead on arrival. Coleco later fixed most of the problems, but by then it was to late.

[@robertrogers4272]

Man I miss the ADAM I had one back in the day when it was new and sold it huge regrets

[@gurudru1977]

i had the Adam. played games on it as a kid but whenever my older brother was about to beat my high score i'd just stomp on the floor and the system would reset. lol

[@jimchabai3163]

In my city, there was an Adam Computer Users Groups well into the 90s. People loved this computer for some reason, and the high-speed tape drive.

[@geraldford6409]

I subscribed to a national ADAM Users Group newsletter circa 84-85, until I switched over to the Atari ST by Fall 1985. The ST was amazing for the price- PC's couldn't match its gfx, sound and features in ts price range until the early 90s- more than 6-7 years ahead. The Adlib sound wasn't common until around 1990, then the SoundBlaster soon after. Compared to CGA and basic EGA gfx, the ST and Amigas default graphics were a lot for the money, taking us through the end of the 80s and into the early 90s easily

[@mikhailmikhail8740]

John your too nice

[@nintenjoel]

Not gonna lie, I kinda wish I had one of these lol. Great video, as usual!

[@JakeVegas-d4o]

A store by me sells them for 675$. Still super expensive

[@GamingisAHobby]

Awesome review :)

[@geraldford6409]

THe ColecoVision was easily on par with the NES, but beat it to market, even counting the Famicom in Japan. If the ADAM had not done them in, would have been nice to see more CV carts with more memory, better graphics and sound as the 80s progressed, as the NES got

[@ooliveric]

i wonder if the Addams family owned an Adam Computer???

[@catgarcia2238]

Lame

[@ilcool90]

Less than 300 left to get 100K subs. You deserve it. Just please never hang out with resellers again

[@leebumble]

Yeah it's funny how taking the bite out of the apple got them kicked out of paradise!!

[@wessagussett1]

Gamester81, are you really cousins with Jake and Josh Harris of the Deadliest Catch?I heard you are

[@retropalooza]

Dont u need the printer to power the unit

[@apebitmusic83]

My music would have fit in nicely in this video!! :p

[@SikSlayer]

Great video as always Gamester, but please de-interlace your video before posting it! It hurts the PQ, especially when you're showing off the pieces.

[@DrakenFireen]

i recently got mine in Working condition WITH an atari Adapter to allow atari 2600 games to play, however i found the scrolling of the frames in the game BETTER then the Atari, but odd the system makes the frames a bit choppy or lagging of its own games. also i used a Genesis controller to play most games cause it still has that ability to use em from the other system. i did a fix for the Static discharge, i removed the tape drive and added a ferrite foil around the casing and added a Ground wire to the system ground to the casing of the drive itself, this prevented the charge to hit, also the printer fires heavier discharge and it degaused two tapes that were near it and Wiped my Ps4 hdd. the Old power brick for the Coleco vision game system can be used to power the Pc without the printer if you just want a stand alone gaming system, keep in mind you need to plug in to power, and unplug to power off the system.

[@KabukiKid]

Commercials for this back in the day were a riot because they loved pushing the selling point that it "ALL COMES IN ONE BOX!" heh As if that really mattered to anyone. :-) And yeah, the power supply was actually inside the printer, so if that ever crapped out, the entire system was dead. Everything also had to daisy-chain off of it, so if you had enough attachments, you basically had to have a really wide surface, since everything had to be in single-file down the desk/wall. heh So goofy. :-) I wonder if longer cords were ever made, so you could at least move some components to another nearby surface. heh But even worse than the power supply issue is definitely the shielding issue for cassette drive. heh As you mentioned, turning on the system with a tape still in the drive would potentially degauss it and you were SOL with a blank tape. heh Supposedly, they fixed that with later models. A friend of mine actually worked on the team designing the ADAM and she fully admits that there were some big goofs with it. Another memory I have from when this was new was the advertisement really pushed the fact that you could play Dragon's Lair on it! I believe it was even a home exclusive to the system... at least for a time. Eventually, the game was ported to most of the other computers of the day. I ended up playing it on the C64.

[@geraldford6409]

I think the ADAM would have done better if it had avoided the tape drive issue and the power supply had been in the tape drive unit or external brick vs requiring the printer boat anchor. There also should have been a lower cost package without a printer if an external power supply had been designed. Unless I am forgetting something, no major video game console of the 80s had a successful computer/keyboard add on. IN the early 80s "common wisdom" was to buy a fun/popular video game console that could be upgraded to a home computer, given the prices of the C64 and Atari 8 bit prior to 1983 or 84, when prices fell a lot. Once the AMiga and ST hit in 1985 and their prices dropped through 1986, tose took over the computer+games role for most regular working people. If you were a techie or had more money, you bought into a PC Clone or 16Mhz 286, or started buying parts from Computer Shopper to build your own IBM clone by the late 80s.

[@GamingDreamer]

ADAM = Ancient Domains A Mystery