[Coco] Just bought me a CoCo 3...

[Rob Rosenbrock]

Congratulations on the CoCo 3!

I bought my CoCoSDC from the same place. It doesn’t have a window for the drive select switches, but you really don’t need to change them unless you intend to flash ROMs into it. I bought mine with the SD card. I don’t regret it, but it is out of date - the archive has a newer file with more disk images. Download that and you’ve got a huge library.

I just got done connecting my CoCo 3 to a monitor. I tried several options to convert the composite signal but didn’t care for anything I tried. It works fine for playing some games, but you really need to use the RGB port on the bottom to read text in any of the widths. I settled on getting a switcheroo cable, a SCART/HDMI adapter, and a HDMI-to-VGA adapter. (I’m using an older monitor…) This solution gives me the best picture I’ve seen so far - comparable to the CM-8. Just keep in mind that each of these devices requires another outlet. The switcheroo also connects to the composite port, so if you need artifacting you just flip a switch.

> On Mar 1, 2023, at 1:06 PM, Kevin Havens W9JYD via Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:
> 
> Hey y'all. I have pulled the trigger and bought myself a "tested, working"
> Tandy CoCo 3 (128K) with an "untested" FD-502 controller and Drive 0
> (description said that the seller had no 5¼ floppies to test it out
> [neither do I] so it was as is). It also appears to come with a Wico
> Command and Control Atari 2600 joystick to CoCo adapter. (And according to
> some googling, Sega Genesis controllers will work I believe. Correct me if
> I'm wrong, please.)
> 
> I bought it from eBay. I know if I read this mailing list more often, I
> would've realized someone here is also selling CoCo swag but I probably
> missed out on it... Oh well.
> 
> But I also bought a CoCo SDC from retrorewind.ca (I didn't get the SD card
> with it, I've got plenty lying around) and some disk images from the CoCo
> Archive for when I was playing around with emulators.
> 
> I've had the CoCo 1 (26-3002 16k ECB) and CoCo 2 (26-3127B Korean 64k ECB
> with updated VDG and SAM) but never had a "bare metal" CoCo 3 unless it was
> through emulators mostly.
> 
> However, I do have a question. I have heard about CoCo 3 RGB to HDMI
> adapters out there. Can someone point me in the right direction to find
> them? I have a composite video to HDMI upconverter I found at a flea market
> but I don't think it would handle the high resolution that originally
> required a CM-8 or comparable analog RGB monitor...
> 
> It's high time I got back into the CoCo. I always have wanted a CoCo 3... I
> finally got my own now.
> 
> Thanks and very 73,
> Kevin Havens W9JYD
> 
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