F18A ADAM Adapter Board

The board that lets an F18A be fitted to a Coleco ADAM rather than to a bare ColecoVision.

Why an adapter

• The F18A is pin-compatible with the TMS9918A, but where that chip sits, and how the board around it is laid out, differs between machines.
• An adapter handles the mounting and the signals that differ, so the same video card serves the ADAM as serves the console.

What it gives

• Clean VGA output in place of a television signal - which on the ADAM matters more than on the console, since text is what the machine is for.
• No sprite flicker, and enhanced modes new software can use.

An 80-column display was the ADAM's great want, addressed in period by Eve's MON-80 and later by CharlesMouse's serial board - both catalogued here. A sharper 32-column picture is a different answer to a related problem.