The PiCOLECO by aotta (Andrea Ottaviani) is an open-source DIY flash multicart designed for the ColecoVision and Coleco ADAM systems. Note that it is actually a USB-C flash drive-based flash cart, rather than using physical SD cards.
How it Works
The cartridge is built around a low-cost micro-controller that emulates standard game ROM logic directly into the ADAM or ColecoVision cartridge slot:
- The Brains: It uniquely utilizes a cheap, "purple" Raspberry Pi Pico clone board. (Warning: Official green Raspberry Pi Picos have a completely different pinout; using one will damage the hardware).
- Drag-and-Drop Storage: It features roughly 14 MB of onboard flash storage—plenty of space to hold the entire vintage retail catalog. It acts like a standard thumb drive when plugged into a PC via USB-C, allowing users to simply drag and drop .BIN or .ROM image files onto it.
- Menu Interface: When booted on a ColecoVision or ADAM console, it generates an on-screen menu system. Users use the native hand controller to browse directories and launch games.
Capabilities & Limits
- Standard ROM Support: It functions beautifully for all classic games utilizing up to 32 KB configuration sizes.
- Bank-Switching Constraints: Because the Raspberry Pi Pico clone has limited internal RAM, it cannot natively handle massive 128 KB or larger homebrew multi-ROM packages. However, firmware updates (such as version 1.0a+) have introduced partial bank-switching support for up to 128 KB MegaCart files.
Where to Find It
Because the architecture is entirely open-source, you can interact with the project in two ways:
- Build Your Own: Download the source code, 3D-printable housing blueprints, and PCB fabrication files directly from the aotta PiCOLECO GitHub Repository.
- Buy Pre-Assembled: If you do not want to solder, pre-built units inside 3D-printed shells are regularly sold by retro boutiques like Tindie and 8-Bit Milli Games.
