ColecoVision Homebrew Kit CV (DIL / DIP EPROM)

The ColecoVision Homebrew Kit CV was a cartridge-development kit created for ColecoVision homebrew programmers and enthusiasts who wanted to produce their own physical game cartridges.

Documented in 2006 by Philipp Klaus Krause, the kit provided the electronic components and cartridge hardware necessary to construct two working ColecoVision cartridges.

Kit Contents

Each Homebrew Kit contained enough components to construct two cartridges.

For each cartridge the kit supplied:

• Cartridge case
• Screw
• Printed circuit board
• 32 KB CMOS EPROM
• 0.1 µF capacitor
• Logic chip

The cartridge cases were available in either black or red, depending upon the version of the kit. The printed circuit boards featured a gold surface finish.

32 KB EPROM

Program storage was provided by a 27C256 CMOS EPROM, with a capacity of 32 KB (256 Kbit).

The EPROMs were supplied erased so that a developer could program them with a completed ColecoVision game or other ROM image using an EPROM programmer.

Because the 27C256 is an ultraviolet-erasable device, the EPROM could subsequently be erased using an appropriate UV EPROM eraser and programmed again.

Assembly

The Homebrew Kit was intended for developers comfortable with assembling electronic hardware. In addition to the kit itself, construction required tools including an EPROM programmer, soldering iron and solder.

After programming the EPROM, the electronic components were installed and soldered to the supplied printed circuit board. The completed board was then installed inside the cartridge shell to produce a conventional physical ColecoVision cartridge.

Historical Significance

The Homebrew Kit CV represents an important stage in the development of the modern ColecoVision homebrew community.

Rather than providing only software-development tools, the kit addressed the final step of homebrew production: turning a completed ROM image into an actual cartridge that could be inserted into and played on an original ColecoVision console.

By supplying cartridge shells, professionally manufactured circuit boards, programmable memory and the supporting electronic components, the kit made small-scale physical ColecoVision cartridge production accessible to individual developers and enthusiasts.

The surviving assembly documentation is dated October 12, 2006, documenting the kit during the relatively early years of organized ColecoVision homebrew development.

Product: ColecoVision Homebrew Kit CV
Designer/Documentation: Philipp Klaus Krause
Documented: October 12, 2006
Type: Cartridge Development / Homebrew Production Kit
Platform: ColecoVision
Capacity: 32 KB per cartridge

EPROM: 27C256 CMOS

Cartridges per Kit: Two
Shell Colors: Black or Red
Assembly: User assembled and soldered
Additional Equipment Required: EPROM programmer and soldering equipment