[Coco] Which do you prefer and why? CoCo 1/2/3

[Steve Strowbridge]

It's hard to pick just one, if you want to run the real software on the
real hardware, you really should have two; a 64K CoCo 1/2 and then a 512K
CoCo 3 with 6309 to be 100% covered with 100% of your hardware and software
options.

If budget is a concern, 64K CoCo 2's are on eBay all the time for an
average of $50, and many time you can get a bundle with accessories and
software for well under $100 and 90% of everything I've purchased from eBay
worked.

CoCo 3's on eBay are some what uncommon, and usually get into intense
bidding wars.
A "Stock" 128K CoCo 3 will average for about $100, but even on those the
biddings can get into 2-300
An "exceptional" CoCo 3, either very white, still in box, a bundle, and
upgraded one, etc. usually start around $300 and go up in the bidding wars.

It would be nice to say 1 CoCo can run "all software" but there are a few
programs that won't work on a CoCo 3 that used specific modes of the CoCo
1/2 (mostly the semi-graphics + text modes) and few rare instances on
specific memory calls, etc.  While those are a minor amount, and possibly
not of any significant concern, we can't truthfully say that a CoCo 3 is
100% CoCo 1/2 compatible, but it's damn near close.

If you get a stock 128K CoCo 3, you can run a "lot" of CoCo 3 games, but
the later ones, and the better ones all demand 512K, I think OS9 runs best
with a lot of RAM.  The good news is, if you get a stock 128K CoCo 3, the
512K Triad boards from Cloud 9 (and even CPU upgrades) are affordable and
readily available.

My first eBay grab was a 64K CoCo 2 that worked (even had a composite mod),
came with a flat panel TV, a cassette recorder, cables, manuals and more,
and that was around $100 plus shipping, and the obsession grew from there :)

What I use most of the time right now for pleasure and to make YouTube
videos is my fully loaded CoCo 3, which I got off eBay from Neil Blanchard,
it's a 512K 6309 beauty, and I usually run it with an RGB to S-Video
adapter Ed Snider made, and do a live capture and preview to through my PC
USB capture device, I can also capture other CoCo's and retro RF based
systems with another USB capture device that's an old analog TV tuner that
supports the 240p format of vintage systems, so I rarely play CoCo's on
actual TV's but watch them via software on my modern PC, but I am playing
on real hardware and using real CoCo joysticks.



Steve Strowbridge, aka
The Original Gamer Stevie Strow
http://ogsteviestrow.com
ogsteviestrow at gmail.com


On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 12:13 PM, Deny Wilson <deny.wilson at gmail.com> wrote:

> In 2004, I paid $45.50 USD for my CoCo 3 on eBay. $9.75 for the Disk system
> (I believe that was 2 drives with an FD-501). $87 for the MPI. $83 for the
> CoCo 2 w/Accessories (not sure what accessories were there). I paid more
> for the CCR-81 than I did for the floppies. Insane.
>
> On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 9:52 AM, Mark D. Overholser <
> marko555.os2 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > On 25-Apr-17 19:41, John Lochey via Coco wrote:
> >
> >> Hi all, I'm wondering the "CoCo Demographic" on this list. Which
> >> machine do you primarily use and why? CoCo 1/2/3?
> >>
> >> Right now I have a CoCo 2, but I'm gunning for a CoCo1 and CoCo3 on
> >> eBay.
> >>
> >>
> >> Johnny
> >>
> >>
> > I am New to the CoCo, I got my first CoCo, a CoCo 3 in the Summer of 2013
> > as an "Extra Computer" with an Apple //e Platinum System...   I wasn't
> sure
> > what to do with it, since it wasn't an Apple ][, but after finding it
> had a
> > Motorola, 6809 chip, I was interested in learning 6809 Assembler..
> >
> > Since then I added a Late Model 64K Extended Basic CoCo 2 with the Lower
> > Case, and an MPI ( Not CoCo 3 Ready ), and in the Summer of 2015 got a
> 16K
> > Standard BASIC CoCo 2 with a Bonus ( Non Working ) 4K CoCo 1, that worked
> > Fine after it arrived, and in the Fall of 2015, another MPI that
> > coincidentally, is CoCo Ready...
> >
> >
> > In December of 2016, I added to my Collection one of the last Tano 64K
> > Dragons from California Digital..
> >
> >
> > The CoCo 3 is the one I have Out on the Desk, ( actually it's sitting on
> > an Apple Color Monitor ][e that I use as it's Display ) with the CoCo
> SDC.
> >
> > I like the CoCo 2 64K, because it will run a few things the CoCo 3 won't,
> > and I like the CoCo 1, because it's 4K, and it Totally Classic, like my
> > 1979, 64K Apple ][...
> >
> > MarkO
> >
> >
> > --
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> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
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> >
>
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