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Channel F - MAME machine

33662
channelf
Channel F
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GAME SYSTEM CHD BIOS DEVICE PARENT CLONE MECHANICAL SCREENLESS

Main data
Romset and name:
channelf Channel F
Short name:
Channel F
Manufacturer:
Fairchild
Year:
Genre:
Game Console
Category:
Game Console / Home Videogame
Serie:
-
Driver source:
fairchild/channelf.cpp
Language:
-
Similar games:
Input / Controls
Players:
Up to 2 players
Input:
Joystick 8 ways
Buttons / keys:
Coins:
0
Cabinet:
-
Free-play:
Not supported
Rankings
Average user rating:
AntoPISA BestGame:
-
MASH All-Time:
-
Video
Display:
204x232@60.530717 Hz, CRT 15kHz
Orientation:
Horizontal
Scrolling:
Unknown
Colors:
-
CPU:
Fairchild F8
Audio
Sound:
Audio chips:
Channel F Sound, Speaker
Romset
First release:
Mess 0.37b6 released on aug-23 2000
Last release:
Mame 0.264 released on mar-26 2024
Clone of:
-
Clones:
Bios:
Not required
Use rom of:
-
Use sample of:
-
Previous romset:
None
New romset:
None
Files
Dump:
GOOD
Required files:
Status
OVERALL:
GOOD
Emulation:
Good
Graphic:
Good
Color:
Good
Sound:
Good
Cocktail:
Good
Protection:
Good
Save state:
Not supported
Additional infos
  • History
  • Info
  • Score
  • PCB
  • Commands
  • Init
  • Driver
  • XML
  • Console published 48 years ago:

    Channel F © 1976 Fairchild.

    A home video game console.

    Built-in games: Tennis, Hockey

    Tennis: a simple Pong variant. Two players compete by passing back and forth a ball with paddles. If a player misses the ball, his opponent gets a point. In Tennis, the players can choose from 4 different game speeds. A round can be configured to end as soon as one player reaches a score of 15, or after a time limit of 2, 5, 10, or 20 minutes.

    Hockey: an extended version of the Pong concept. Two players try to get the ball to land in their opponent's goal. The paddles can be moved not only up and down, but all across the playfield. They can even be tilted to have the ball reflect in another direction. In addition to the main paddles, both players also have a special goalkeeper paddle that they can move up and down between the poles. There are four ball speeds to choose from. Matches end when either one of the players reaches a score of 15, or after a time limit of 2, 5, 10, or 20 minutes. If the game ends in a tie, the players can decide to play 1 minute of overtime.

    TECHNICAL
    CPU: Fairchild F8
    SPEED: 2 MHz
    RAM: 64 bytes
    COLORS: 8, only four different colors per line, unless black/white palette were chosen, then only these two colors on the whole line.
    SOUND: First models: played through the console, built-in speaker; System II: played through TV

    TRIVIA
    Released in November 1976 in the USA at the retail price of $169.95. For perspective, $169.95 in 1976 is equal to $725.32 in 2017.

    The unit was launched as the Video Entertainment System, or VES, but when Atari released their VCS the next year, Fairchild renamed its machine.

    The Channel F has the distinction of being the first programmable ROM cartridge–based video game console, and the first console to use a microprocessor.

    Sometime in 1979, Zircon International bought the rights to the Channel F and released the re-designed console as the Channel F System II to compete with Atari's VCS. This re-designed System II was completed by Nick Talesfore at Fairchild. He was the same industrial designer who designed the original game console. Only six new games were released after the debut of the second system before its demise, several of which were developed at Fairchild before they sold it off.

    The major changes were in design, with the controllers removable from the base unit instead of being wired directly into it; the controller storage was moved to the rear of the unit, and the sound was now mixed into the RF TV signal so the unit no longer needed a speaker. Electronics was also simplified with custom logic chips instead of standard logic resulting in a much smaller circuit board. This version also featured a simpler and more modern-looking case design.

    The Channel F was exported to Europe and licensed to several companies over there. Th elist of licensed Channel F consoles:
    Adman Grandstand Video Entertainment Computer (UK)
    Adman Grandstand Video Entertainment Computer System 2(UK)
    Barco Challenger (Belgium)
    Dumont Channel F (Italy)
    Emerson Channel F (Italy)
    ITT Telematch Processor (Germany)
    Luxor Video Entertainment System (Sweden)
    Luxor Video Entertainment Computer (Sweden)
    Nordmende Color TelePlay (Germany)
    Saba Videoplay (Germany)
    Saba Videoplay 2 (Germany)

    Cartridge list (for all Channel F systems):
    "Videocart-1": Tic-Tac-Toe, Shooting Gallery, Doodle, Quadra-Doodle
    "Videocart-2": Desert Fox, Shooting Gallery
    "Videocart-3": Video Blackjack
    "Videocart-4": Spitfire
    "Videocart-5": Space War
    "Videocart-6": Math Quiz I (Addition & Subtraction)
    "Videocart-7": Math Quiz II (Multiplication & Division)
    "Videocart-8": Magic Numbers (Mind Reader & Nim)
    "Videocart-9": Drag Race
    "Videocart-10": Maze, Jailbreak, Blind-Man's-Bluff, Trailblazer
    "Videocart-11": Backgammon, Acey-Deucey
    "Videocart-12": Baseball
    "Videocart-13": Robot War, Torpedo Alley
    "Videocart-14": Sonar Search
    "Videocart-15": Memory Match 1, Memory Match 2
    "Videocart-16": Dodge' It
    "Videocart-17": Pinball Challenge
    "Videocart-18": Hangman
    "Videocart-19": Checkers
    "Videocart-20": Video Whizball
    "Videocart-21": Bowling
    "Videocart-22": Slot Machine
    "Videocart-23": Galactic Space Wars
    "Videocart-24": Pro Football
    "Videocart-25": Casino Poker
    "Videocart-26": Alien Invasion
    "Schach Model 20]"(this chess game was a Saba German exclusive, it had #20 in the Saba Videoplay catalog)
    "Democart"
    "Democart 2"

    in 2009 a Pac-Man game was developed and released on a cartridge as Videocart -27 complete with box and instruction booklet.

    STAFF
    Designed by: Jerry Lawson

    CONTRIBUTE
    Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/?&page=detail&id=43196&o=2
    Informations provided by © Alexis Bousiges
    Informations provided by Contribute to the translation
  • Informations provided by
    Informations provided by / © Copyright of Fujix
  • Informations provided by
  • Informations provided by
  • Informations provided by Fabricio Coroquer, revisited from the work of
    NOTICE: The short version was discontinued in November 2019
  • Informations provided by Contribute
  • Informations provided by
  • Informations provided by
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Software lists:

If you notice any inaccuracy or error, please report

Data updated on march 26 2024


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Romset:
channelf
Title:
Channel F
Text:
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Channel F
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