How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Discuss Your Gaming Environments and AV Setups
Post Reply
Menegrothx
Next-Gen
Posts: 2657
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:22 am

How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Post by Menegrothx »

Since getting all three consoles consoles individually modded will take quite a lot of money and some effort (need to find people to mod my consoles), I was starting to wonder if there is a more convenient way to hook up these old consoles to a new TV.
Image
Image
Classic game room shows how to hook up an old console to a VCR. By the looks of it my intellivisions video cable is exactly like that. Yet I can't hook it up to any of the TVs in my house, neither new ones nor the old one (I use it for playing games via RF cable). I cant hook it up to my VCR either. Like you can see in the picture, there's no coax input like in the video, it says aerial (it wont screw onto it, I've tried). Or well, there is. It's the black one below "audio out R/L", but the thing can't be screwed on to that one either.

I've tried a plain RF cable from the Intellivision to my old TV but that naturally didn't work.

Are there any small devices (I don't feel like tracking down a 15 lb VCR just to play some Intellivision games) that accept the Intellivision/Colecovision/Atari 7800 video cable and convert the video signal to yellow/white/red RCA that can be plugged into a modern TV?
My WTB thread (Sega CD/Saturn games)
Also looking to buy: Ys III (TG-16 CD), Shadowrun (Genesis) Hori N64 mini pad and Slayer (3DO) in long box/just the long box
User avatar
CRTGAMER
Next-Gen
Posts: 11933
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:59 am
Location: Southern California

Re: How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Post by CRTGAMER »

All HDTVs have a RF coaxial input for cable TV. You can add a good quality shielded RF switchbox to support the older consoles and maintain your cable input. Older console single RCA cable is actually a RF signal, usually channel 2 or 3 or 4.
Image
If your TVs have a BNC connector for the "aerial" just get a RCA to BNC adapter.
Image
Image
CRT vs LCD - Hardware Mods - HDAdvance - Custom Controllers - Game Storage - Wii Gamecube and other Guides:
CRTGAMER Guides in Board Guides Index: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 5#p1109425

Image
Image
User avatar
Hobie-wan
Next-Gen
Posts: 21705
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Under a pile of retro stuff in H-town
Contact:

Re: How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Post by Hobie-wan »

@CRT

He's in Europe, so presumably that's why his RF connector is different. I don't think it is BNC.
User avatar
isiolia
Next-Gen
Posts: 5785
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 1:52 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Post by isiolia »

Europe uses a different connection for the antenna than the F connector used in the U.S.

You can get adapters for a couple bucks (example) just search for f connector to pal adapter or similar. If you don't yet have the coax to F connector adapters, you might just be able to find ones that go straight to the PAL antenna style.

'course, that won't handle any NTSC/PAL signal differences there might be between the devices, if there are any.
Menegrothx
Next-Gen
Posts: 2657
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:22 am

Re: How to hook up Intellivision/Coleco/7800

Post by Menegrothx »

isiolia wrote: You can get adapters for a couple bucks (example) just search for f connector to pal adapter or similar. If you don't yet have the coax to F connector adapters, you might just be able to find ones that go straight to the PAL antenna style.

'course, that won't handle any NTSC/PAL signal differences there might be between the devices, if there are any.
Thanks, something like that might work. Although I would rather get a composite converter if possible, since RF doesn't work on my modern TVs as they cant find analog channels. I'm not sure if my old TV can handle NTSC consoles the same way my modern TV can.
My WTB thread (Sega CD/Saturn games)
Also looking to buy: Ys III (TG-16 CD), Shadowrun (Genesis) Hori N64 mini pad and Slayer (3DO) in long box/just the long box
Post Reply