Fairchild Channel F System - Gamester81

The Fairchild Channel F came out in 1976 and is one of the first systems with interchangable cartridges.
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[@circletree]

my parents owned a furniture store in the 1970s and they sold these in the store....i would hurry there after school each day to play it on the huge console TV. I loved the drag racing game, the early version of paint, and blackjack.

[@camillesmith310]

The lead engineer of the Fairchild F was Mr. Gerald A. Lawson!

[@1moreToney]

+Camille Smith Never heard of the guy until today. A Black man.

[@Dios67]

Jerry was definitely involved but the prototype was invented by two engineers at a company called Alpex. it was leased to Fairchild who created the Channel F. More info here- www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge

[@Gamester81]

Thanks for the compliment my friend. Good luck with your search for this system.

[@badassmotha2k]

This is the third time I looked up an old piece of hardware and ended up clicking on a gamester81 video without realizing, even tho I'm a subscriber. Its a nice surprise.

[@peterp21]

Very very cool video. I always enjoy watching vintage console reviews. Especially the lesser known systems that came out the same time as Atari 2600 or even preceded it. BTW, that was a particularly nice specimen you picked up. Can't believe it has all the original manuals and advertising. Wow.

[@PatrykdeRosa]

my middle school friend had this console. he also had the Atari 2600, but we enjoyed playing this as well. thanks for taking me back!

[@15Th15f0rR34l]

RIP Gerald A. Lawson :(

[@mireaux7]

thanks for posting this vid. its good to educate todays youth about gaming's beginnings. most kids today know nothing of any system before playstation 1. any console before atari 2600 is pretty much a rare collector's item today. still got my 2600 with about 35 games..works like a charm. theres just something about simplistic addictive gameplay that today's complex & intuitive games just cant hold a candle to.

[@KingpinOfSteel295]

Fairchild 30+ years old still works Xbox 360 3 years old. Has red ring of death Wtf lol

[@CentiZen]

The fairchild has around 100,000 transistors in it, while the 360 has 165 million in just the main CPU. There's just so much more in that system to fail.

[@amberb9701]

+Centi Zen It has nothing to do with what's in it. It's Microsoft's fault for designing the system with loose heat sinks and lead-free solder.

[@CentiZen]

Chris B So your telling me you think an 8080 chip would fail in the same way if it was designed with loose heat sinks and lead free solder? I don't disagree with you, but saying it has nothing to do with what's in it is wrong.

[@amberb9701]

Centi Zen No. Chips below 100 MHz don't require the same heating solution as modern chips.

[@tvandlust]

Great review man. Don't forget -- the knobs on the controllers also pull up! My fiancee compared the controllers to a Bop It, haha.

[@SalveMonesvol]

These games display a series of very interesting concepts, from acceleration to bullet time, really interesting indeed.

[@LordStormdragon]

I feel like such a dork - I have one of these and couldn't test it because I couldn't find the power button - I thought the switch in the back was a Channel 3/Channel 4 switch! You rock!

[@e5frog]

It's also supposed to be the first consumer videogame that you can play against the machine/program (AI).

[@Gamester81]

The games are ok. I recommend this system if you plan on collecting, but replay value isn't that strong.

[@Gamester81]

Cool I'll check it out. Thanks.

[@exodia9817]

The company that Fairchild sold the rights to the Channel F to was a watch making company called Zircon.

[@Chubzdoomer]

This looks like a seriously underrated console, especially considering it's technically the first ever cartridge-based one.

[@sinistermoon]

Way awesome man. I have always wanted one of those. That tank game looks awesome. Way cool video.

[@e5frog]

It's a "Video Command" it was released by Zircon after they took over the Fairchild System. There are two different types, one with and one without an extra red firebutton on the front upper part of the handle.

[@Gamester81]

@ashenclone Actually both pretty much hit the market at the same time.

[@theawesomegamr]

my favorite part of the intro was the vectrex :D I AM TOTALY IN LOVE WITH THE VECTREX!!!

[@BlinkerUser]

I had one of these as a kid! I could never remember the name of it, just that it had a triangle shaped joystick on top. Sweet!

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

So which came out first Channel F's Desert Fox or Atari 2600's Combat?

[@CMBRetrospective]

Great video man, looks like a cool super retro console!

[@TheDevilBurning]

8track + gamers = Vintage Fairchild Channel F System LOL awesome video never even heard of this system man! i saw another guy comment that you have the rarest game systems and by god he was right!

[@RetroGameLivingRoom]

Hey man. I wanted to tell you that the console does have an on/off switch in the back. I have the same one as you.

[@warrengonline]

I had this system, some family in Ocala was having a yard sale and I ALWAYS begged my parents to stop when I was with them. Well, one day my Mom went into town and stopped at a yard sale with out me. 'The Seller' saw my Mom looking at it and pawed it off on her for like $20 buck and gave her a "foot controller" (LIES). Being the curious kid, I learned that my Mom was lied to, but I did not have those controls - I had to use the Star Control pad to play game. AWKWARD, but fun as a kid.

[@illustriouschin]

As far as the Pong centric systems go this one is fairly impressive i think. I don't know what it is fully capable of but i like how the pixels are square rather than rectangular like what the Atari 2600 had.

[@masterdouglas]

You and this video are mentioned in the Channel F chapter in Before The Crash.

[@redroweneht]

Great review dude, I would love to get one of these

[@noname4422]

The Fairchild Channel F came out in 1976 and is one of the first systems with interchangable cartridges. Not one of. The first.

[@retrojoe1590]

I'm really diggin' the controllers.

[@alphamale1865]

i had one of these when i was a kid in the 70s no idea where is anymore.

[@Gamester81]

@JOESONYNERD Hey Joe, yes $40 is a great deal. Pick it up if you can still.

[@greghol]

1:35 Come again.. The two (Noyce and Gordon) who left Fairchild to form Intel did so in 1968. So the Channel F was in development since 68? 8 years? Don't think so. The Channel F uses the Fairchild F8 CPU which was a response to the Intel 8008 CPU. Backwards.

[@ATARI800XLfan]

Nice video. I was wondering would you recommend getting the system if I already have a Atari 7800.

[@Hurts2P]

Hey Gamestar81. Do you know who's eyeball is in this video at 5:42.Would you like to know?

[@King_K_Rool_]

that looks amazingly sleek for a console from the 70s

[@AutoWorldTube]

This system better than a wii !

[@jonpelachick5193]

How can I hook up one of these to a CRT TV without the switchbox? The video cable is not the standard RCA style, so is there any adapter that I can purchase that will convert it to standard male coax?

[@ΑΛΥΌΛ]

i love this system i always wanted to play this console where did you buy it gamester81

[@Maus5000]

Now I know this is a question asked to you all the time, but did I make a good deal? I got one in the oribinal box complete with 4 boxed games for $150.

[@Ready03]

Nice video and review.

[@tannerin]

I'd love to try out one of these. And people thought the Atari 2600 was original!

[@jackson5116]

You don't consider Odyssey's games as cartridges?

[@noscirenamra]

nice! tnx men for the review

[@raztendo3540]

I just bought the Luxor entertainment system boxed, and that was the name before it changed to Fairchild. I think my luxor is pretty rare?? What u think???

[@Petemejia77]

That's a neat-ass controller!

[@e5frog]

I assume you mean it's the type that has a button apart from the model that doesn't have a button (you press knob down for fire).

[@benjaminshinobi]

Jerry Lawson, rest in peace!

[@scruffziller]

Wow. One of the guys who designed this system helped started INTEL.

[@e5frog]

I don't understand how it would look like a Fairchild Channel F controller, do you have a picture? You can write web-adresses if you put random spaces in the address...

[@wmft2024]

Not true...the Odyssey 1 was the first cart game system

[@eateroftheflame]

33 years and it still works, Microsoft should learn from these things.

[@Maus5000]

@ATARI800XLfan I'm just gonna add my two cents and say that the pong game on this is one of the most bad ass pong games ever made.

[@estlibold]

does this console had any kind of sidescrollers? i suspect not. if so, can it be possible to create a sidescroller on this thing?

[@davinsroom]

Yes, just a simple arcade joystick with a button next to it. Not a fighter-style joystick with a trigger button.

[@ZavenT]

@Gamester81 I saw one for $150 in box, is that a good deal? Im not going to buy it but just asking

[@chrisdietrich2010]

I got one of these at a garage sale for $5 in the 90's. Regret selling my console collection in 2001

[@mp4podcastDOTcom]

Fairchild Channel F System 33 years old and still works and your XBOX 360 is three years old and Red Ring. LOL I had two XBOX 360 that RED RING on me.

[@MegaAstroFan18]

You and Inecom should team up for a review.

[@meanmanturbo]

Hah, this system was actually license built in Sweden under the Luxor brand. Oh, those were the times when it was actually commercially viable to do that kind of thing for such a small market.

[@theboys9657]

Different no on and off switch

[@NightSprinter]

I've the Channel-F II, and a friend gave it to me for a holiday gift. He got it with five games (including rare titles like Alien Invasion) for only .. ten dollars I think? (He found it at the Goodwill he works at).

[@Bucsfan5tampa]

Does he still do video game reviews

[@super00su]

@Gamester81 8:39 Desert Fox is just like Call of Duty, free for all, kill, you get a point, you die you come right back, the one at the end that has the most kills wins...LOL

[@robertleeluben]

I played on one a few times when I was a kid, the joysticks were pretty nice iirc.

[@davinsroom]

Thanks for the info! On mine there's only 1 button besides the joystick, no more.

[@rick242113]

I bought one of these when my kids were young in the 70s and 80s. We had more fun with the maze game. I just got rid of it last year. Should have kept it.

[@joshuavideogames]

High definition graphics!

[@retroHC]

Wow. I have one of those somwhere.

[@51rickjames]

i want this so bad

[@neonrider93]

do you have pac man on the channel f? i'd like to see a review of it

[@dragon__blades]

r.i.p. jerry lawsen creator of the first video game cartridge :(

[@Dios67]

Not really but Jerry was involved. Two engineers at a company called Alpex invented the prototype and leased it to Fairchild. More info here- www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge

[@FairPlay137]

Man, things were more durable back in the day...

[@King_K_Rool_]

@SOUTHWESTENZ awesome controller

[@morganmetzger5832]

First system with cartridges my butt. My odyssey from 72 has cartridges. Flippin internet with its misleading info. Spreads like a plague.

[@BeerBellyDK]

Nice one.. Here in Denmark it's called the SABA Videoplay.. It does not look nearly as cool as your version.. Just black and boring.. Still the same yellow cartridges though.. I really really wan't one, but they are kind of hard to find in our little country.. I will probably end up finding one in Germany.. Anyway, keep the reviews coming, they are great, and i love hearing the history of these old machines.. :)

[@Ded5833]

RIP Jerry Lawson.

[@MasterKofficial]

nice one. i have the german license version called "Saba Videoplay" with 6 games in Box :)

[@davidfox8791]

Spaceinvader Was a good game for the Channel f and pacman

[@Nubbpiraten]

No problems :)

[@PimblyCharles]

This was Jeff Gerstmann's first console

[@davinsroom]

I have a C64 joystick that looks just like one of those controllers!

[@goodveiwer1881]

it was the 2nd one interchangeable carts the Odyssey was 1st

[@leliebre]

R.I.P Gerald from Spain

[@CyanideSublime]

It looks like a shipping scale.

[@dogeymon83]

I like how casually you say, ".....the RCA 2 which is a piece of shit." LMAO!!!!!

[@lloydsoldout]

got one today CIB at a flea market for $15! :)

[@CyclopticPanda666]

My dad got it when it first came out on his 13th birthday, and found it a few months ago at my grandmas I was upset because the audio worked, but the video didn't work it looks far superior to the atari 2600, and u can even play virtual blackjack on it. The second oldest system I have is the n64. I don't have a 360 or a ps3 though.

[@fjccommish]

What if the controllers break?

[@AdamZLaJuene]

there is a power switch on the back

[@carnstar]

lol i love how gamester talk nice a relaxed but what made me laugh is how hes saying "which is a piece of shit!... ill make a review on it later lol... just how he was really mad about the rca lol

[@DarkAvatar1313]

looks like a 70's style PS3 to me

[@Hurts2P]

opps, Gamester I meant sorry

[@Wolfen443]

Very cool, 2 cavemen disliked the machine that made possible for them to play every game they have to choose from now.

[@Ryio5]

you look like my neighbor.

[@nemoskia98]

i know this video is like 4 years old but you fucked up that intro. You forgot to edit out the audio of background noises when you added in the music

[@6423nintendo]

12th man dawg. Take off the cards hat man. Lol

[@Alexdemoted]

Lmfao @ 9:29