Entex Adventure Vision

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Revision as of 15:45, 1 June 2013 by Viper666 (talk) (Technical specifications)
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Entex Adventure Vision
[[File:Adventure Vision.jpg|230px]]
Manufacturer Entex
Generation Second generation
Release date 1982
Media type ROM cartridge
Predecessor Entex Select-A-Game

Entex, the company known for such handheld games as Space Invaders and Galaxiatt 2, released the Adventure Vision tabletop system in 1982. Unlike most stand-alone units, such as the Coleco line of tabletop arcade games, Adventure Vision was a cartridge-based system. However, only four games were released, all arcade conversions. These included Defender (the pack-in game with the system), Turtles, Super Cobra, and Space Force. All four games could be stored in a little compartment on top of the system.

The Adventure Vision was an obscurity and an oddity from day one, making it a highly prized item in today’s collector’s market. From a retail standpoint, it was hurt in part by the release the same year of the more popular Vectrex tabletop unit, which was larger, displayed sharper graphics, and had more support from its manufacturer, although neither system put much of a dent in the Atari 2600 juggernaut.

Technical specifications

Sporting a 6.5 x 4.5 inch screen, the Adventure Vision has a small, centrally located joystick at its base and a set of four directional/fire buttons on either side. The miniarcade is 10.5 inches in height and 8.5 inches wide and contains a single speaker that emits a surprising array of sounds. Players can keep the noise to themselves with mini-headphones (sold separately) or stifle the sounds completely by using the mute feature. The expansion port on the side of the unit went unused during the system’s lifetime.

Space Force cartridge

The system employs an unconventional method for displaying graphics: a whirling mirror, a red screen filter, and a row of 40 red LEDs containing more than 6000 points of light. The effect for each game is a 3D-esque screen full of red dots (which look best in the dark or in dim lighting) formed to emulate the basic look of its respective arcade original. The system sucks up the four D batteries pretty quickly, but can be plugged into the wall via an A/C adaptor.

  • CPU: Intel 8048 @ 733 kHz
  • Sound: National Semiconductor COP411L @ 52.6 kHz
  • RAM: 64 bytes (internal to 8048), 1K (on PCB)
  • ROM: 1K (internal to 8048), 512 bytes (internal to COP411L), 4K (cartridge)
  • Input: fixed 4 direction joystick, 4 buttons duplicated on each side of the joystick
  • Graphics: 150x40 monochrome pixels