The CompuMate SV010 was a home computer peripheral manufactured by Spectravideo International for the Atari 2600 home video game console. It was released on 6 January 1983 at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3][6][7][8]
 Atari 2600 Junior with the 'UNIVERSUM Heimcomputer' German clone of the CompuMate | |
| Also known as | CompuMate[1] |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Spectravideo[2] |
| Release date | 6 January 1983[3] |
| Introductory price | 79.99 US$ (today $244.7)[1][4] |
| Operating system | Microsoft BASIC[1][dead link] |
| CPU | Uses the base machine's MOS 6507 @ 1.19 MHz (Inside Atari VCS/2600/2600jr) |
| Memory | 2K built-in RAM, 16K built-in ROM[5] |
| Storage | via audio jack on tape |
| Display | 10 lines × 12 characters |
| Graphics | 40x40 pixels with 10 selectable colors |
| Input | 42-key Sensor Touch Keyboard, (2x) 9-pin sub-D connector, game cartridge connector, earphone mini-jack, microphone mini-jack |
| Dimensions | 13-1/2"W x 6"D x 1-1/2"H (W 343mm x D 152mm x H 38mm) |
In Germany, the CompuMate was marketed by Quelle, a catalogue company, as the Universum Heimcomputer. In Brazil (circa 1985), at least two clones of CompuMate were made: the Dactar-Comp by Milmar Electronics, and the CompuGame.[9]
Hardware
editThe ComputeMate consists of a membrane keyboard, output interfaces, and read-only internal storage. It connects to the console's module slot and to both controller ports. The user could optionally place the ComputeMate on top of the console—although not when used with the Atari 2600 Jr. model.[10]
The CompuMate has a 3.5-mm phone connector in order to connect a Compact Cassette unit for non-volatile data storage. Its read-only memory is preinstalled with three computer programs.
PAL and NTSC versions of the CompuMate were manufactured.[11][12]
Software
editThe CompuMate has three simple computer programs in its internal read-only memory:[13]
- Magic Easel, a drawing and animation program with a 40×40-pixel canvas and 10 selectable colors. It can animate up to nine frames in a repeating loop. It has two demonstration pictures: a world map and a snowman.[4][14]
- Music Composer, a software synthesizer with four demonstration songs: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "Long, Long Ago", "Jingle Bells", and "My Bonnie".
- Microsoft BASIC editor and interpreter[15][failed verification]
Spectravideo only published two programs for the CompuMate on Compact Cassette,[2] PictureMate (1983) and SongMate (1983).[16]
See also
edit- BASIC Programming cartridge for the Atari 2600
References
edit- ^ a b c (Advertisement) CompuMate Basic Keyboard Enhancer, Page 7, Electronic Games Magazine (August 1983), Internet Archive
- ^ a b Video games into computers:Spectravideo, By Myron Berger, Page 166, Popular Science, Oct 1983
- ^ a b "Spectravideo CompuMate". Archived from the original on 8 February 2002. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b CompuMate (SpectraVideo)[usurped], Part of the Secret to the VCS's Longevity, By Scott Stilphen, 2600 Connection
- ^ Atari 2600 peripherals: Spectravideo Compumate, Mostly Inclusive Atari 2600 Mapper / Selected Hardware Document, 2012-04-03, Kevin Horton aka kevtris, Version 1.00
- ^ Atari 2600 Spectravideo Compumate Keyboard Archived 10 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Geek Vintage
- ^ The history of Spectravideo, By Roger Samdal
- ^ Spectravideo CompuMate, AGH Museum
- ^ A history of Atari in Brazil.
- ^ How to Turn Your Atari Into a Computer(For Less Than $90), by Martin Bass, Appeared in the August/September 1983 issue of "Video Games Player"
- ^ PAL version, CompuMate
- ^ NTSC version, CompuMate
- ^ CompuMate, Battle of the Bits Lyceum
- ^ Subject: Compumate - the REAL "Music Machine"! (was "What's a Spectravideo Compumate keyboard for?", Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997, From: christian-oliver windler, Newsgroups: rec.games.video.classic
- ^ SongMate (SF-984)
- ^ PictureMate (SF-985)
External links
edit- Spectravideo CompuMate, Oldcomputers.net
- Atari 2600 VCS CompuMate, scans of instructions
- Atari 2600 SpectraVideo CompuMate - Demo on YouTube
- Compumate FAQ:BASIC PROGRAMME EXAMPLES FOR ATARI 2600 (BASIC PROGRAMMING & CompuMate). AUTHOR: Graham.J.Percy, Version 1.0, 25 September 1998. at the Wayback Machine (archived January 23, 2004)
- The CompuMate List(Loadable programs) - Atari 2600 - AtariAge Forums
- CompuMate Basic Programs
- Stella -- A multi-platform Atari 2600 Emulator Supports CompuMate emulation.
- z26 -- An Atari 2600 Emulator Supports CompuMate emulation.