Fairchild Channel F
The Fairchild Channel F was the first game console with interchangeable modules. The system was released in August 1976 by Fairchild Semiconductor for the price of $ 169.95 in the U.S. under the name Video Entertainment System ( VES ). As Atari a year later his video (VCS ) brought computer system on the market, Fairchild renamed the console.
The Channel F console
The Channel F was based on the Fairchild F8 CPU, invented by Robert Noyce, before he left Fairchild to found his own company, Intel. The device containing a plurality of chips that have been wired together to form a CPU, and the first game on ROMs. With its colorful graphics, it surpassed the visual level then- Pong machines and the very first console, the Magnavox Odyssey. Sound effects was issued through an internal speaker, not the TV.
Only 26 different software titles released for the system ( at a price of $ 19.95 each), despite its initial popularity. However, these were mostly bad reviews. However, a games module contained mostly multiple games, the first module, for example, Tic -Tac -Toe, Shooting Gallery, Doodle, and Quadra - Doodle.
The biggest effect that the Channel F was on the market was that it Atari sat under time pressure to publish the home console in development VCS. The VCS also used interchangeable game cartridges, and it was clear that it was necessary after the appearance of the Channel F to publish the console before the market would be flooded with such game consoles. Due to a financial crunch a sale Atari was needed to obtain the necessary capital. When the Atari VCS was released a year later, it showed the Channel F graphically superior.
The Channel F System II
Fairchild decided to continue to compete with the VCS, and developed the Channel F System II The biggest changes were limited to the design. The gamepads were no longer firmly attached to the console, while the sound has now issued through the TV speakers, so there is no built-in speaker more was needed.
1979 Zircon International bought the rights to the Channel F and Channel F System II brought the on the market. Only five game titles released for the system, before it finally failed.
Various licensed versions of the system appeared in Europe, including the Luxor Video Entertainment System ( Sweden), Grandstand ( UK), the Saba Video Play and the ITT Tele -Match Processor ( Germany ).
Specifications
- CPU chip: Fairchild F8 ( F3850 ) clocked at 1.79 MHz
- RAM: 64 bytes
- Video: 128 × 64 pixels ( visible 102 × 58 ), 8 colors ( max. 4 per line)
- Audio: Built-in speaker
- Input: 2 with the console wired controller
- Output: Composite video signal via RF modulator
The Games