[Coco] Remembering the Deluxe Color Computer....

[Nick Marentes]

 > Sorry if I am incorrect on this, but the coco2 COULD do 40 column 
text on a
 > graphic screen (pmode4 I think). Didn't Telewriter and some other 
software
 > (screenmaster or something) do this? I've been following the Deluxe coco
 > thread with some interest. I'm surprised the Deluxe coco had a serial 
port
 > but this mod never made it to the coco3.


No, the CoCo1/2 had the dreaded 32 column VDG screen. (I hate the 6847!)

The 40 (51?) column screen was a bit mapped screen. Not a real text 
mode. You could make an 80 column screen from it (but the text would be 
near to unreadable).

 From a video display point of view, the CoCo 1/2 was pitiful and 
archaic compared to most of the competing computers of the time (not 
counting budget systems like the sinclair).

Thank God for the CoCo3 and it's GIME!    :)

Serial ports and Sound chips were put aside due to cost and the idea 
that under software, these could be had with the bit-banger equivalents. 
Also, opened the door for peripheral sales such as multipak, RS-232 
card, Sound and Speech and Orchestra 90 cards.

I am curious to know if the Deluxe CoCo was destined to have the 
Motorola R.M.S. chipset which never shipped. It was to have VDG 
capability and much of the architecture of the GIME with more color and 
sprites. May explain why the Deluxe CoCo never came out if the video 
chip was too expensive and canned.

I wonder if the GIME ended up being a reduced R.M.S. chipset design 
which finally came out for the CoCo3.

Here is a link to my website of a document about the R.M.S. chipset.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nickma/ProjectArchive/graphics/256mode/RMS_Chipset.jpg

and

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nickma/ProjectArchive/graphics/256mode/Hind_Sight.jpg

Nick