BACK TO THE PAST 
 
From the January 1990 issue of the 463 ADAM newsletter. 
By Dean Roades 

I have suggested in the past that you should be able to convert a TV into a low cost monitor.  All the equipment is there, it's just a matter of finding the right way to hook it up, right?  I know that this is a simplistic view, but how do you know unless you ask?  Anyway, Mark Wotring found a copy of 'Radio Electronics' from April 1983 which had an article titled 'Add a Video Input To Your TV'.  It has complete instructions, circuit board layouts, parts lists, etc.  If anyone would like to see this article, see me at the meeting.  I was thinking of trying this modification myself until I read the caption under one of the pictures - "Power for the input section can be obtained by inductive coupling to the flyback transformer" I realized very quickly that this was way, way out of my league.  BUT, it proves that my idea wasn't so crazy.  
R-E also had a special section on computers and software.  Remember 1983? These were the days of Commodore Vic-20, TI-99/4A, Atari 400, Timex/Sinclair TS1000, Radio Shack CoCo (Color Computer).  Our ADAM was just being introduced around that time.  There was an article about the ADAM, but all the information was based on Coleco's press releases.  I have included a reduced copy of this article in the back of the newsletter. 
The best part of these articles was where they talked about memory.  We have become blase' about the memory available today.  Our ADAM can be expanded up to 1 Meg, and many programs require at least a 64k expander.  Here are some quotes from 1983: 
 
"The Commodore Vic-20, which now sells at discount for about $179.00, is sheer dynamite for the money. ... It comes with 5k of RAM, which is more than adequate for a good amount of moderately advanced programming." 
 
"The only difference between that computer (TS1000) and the Sinclair ZX81 is that the Sinclair version has 1k of built-in RAM while the Timex version has 2k.  But that difference is more substantial than you might think - a skilled programmer can do a lot more with 2k of memory than he can with 1k." 
 
Concerning the Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III, 48k, 2 disk drives, $2295.00 - "Some sophisticated programs, such as word-processing or spreadsheet programs, really require at least a 64k machine to run properly."
E
I know that 5 years from now we will be laughing at 1 Meg, but it's fun now to look back.  
Mark also brought a copy of 'Electronic Games' from December 1983.  It included a 4 page color advertisement form ADAM.  I have included a reduced copy in the back.  Both magazines will be available at the meetings for your review.  Our thanks to Mark for finding and sharing these blasts from the past. 
 

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