.

General Instruments chip logo PC-50X Family General Instruments chip logo

  DW FACTS by Dark Watcher

Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy
Developer Manufacturer Release Date Country(s) Initial Price Model Number Game Releases Overall Rating
General
Instruments
Literally
Hundreds
May-82 Worldwide Varied Varied 7 Confirmed Carts N\A
Ratings Reviews Pictures\Media Specs\Manuals Games\Emulation Models Clones Links
PC-50X console - Radofin Telesports III
Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release.  Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality) N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile) N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use) N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation) N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects) N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability) N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging) N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library) N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides) N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?) N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?) N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games) N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system) N\A
Go To Top
Reviews

PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III (picture credits unknown)

  DW FACTS
 
- by Dark Watcher

The world was undergoing "Pong Madness". It seemed only natural that developers would create advancements to the original AY-3-8500 chip to incorporate color and even more games. This explains the amount of pong systems since each machine contained a different chip. However things were handled different in some areas particularly in Europe.

Europe did not see the release of the Intellivision and Atari 2600 till the early 1980s. This allowed Pong to have a longer success. Rather then creating a new machine for each new chip, developers took the General Instruments popular line of chips and slapped them into cartridges. These carts were not like ROM carts used in later systems. They simply housed a specific General Instruments processor chip with pin outs to interface with a console. These were the PC-50X line of cartridges (see the Games section for specifics).

With the PC-50X cartridges available, console manufacturers were able to produce a machine that could play several games and market them at a low cost. The units were made in various countries and were marketed by Creatronic, Hanimex, ITMC, Rollet, GrandStand, Soundic and lord knows how many other manufacturers.  There are literally over two hundred console variations that utilized this technology.

 
PC-50X Screen shotThe initial model SD-050 varied in terms of outward appearance (colors, etc), manufacturers names and slight modifications. However each unit had the same overall design with two detachable controllers with 10 buttons located on the top of the machine. These 10 buttons, which clearly identify a PC-50X based console, were used to select the different games available on each cart. The SD-050 model only produced black and white video.

New models such as the SD-070 and SD-090 appeared and sold well into the 80s since the units were far cheaper then the newer consoles making waves in the US and Japan. These newer models played the same carts, but added additional settings, sound and SECAM color (4 colors).

There were far too many PC-50X cart accepting consoles and it is difficult to list them all. Please check our Models section below for pictures of select models.
 

Go To Top
Pictures & Media

Various picture\media for this console.  Click pictures to enlarge.

PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
PC-50X - Radofin Telesports III
Go To Top
Specs

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

 Processor Type  Processor Speed  Other Processor Information RAM \ Video RAM
Chips on Cart (see chart below) N\A N\A None

Screen Resolution

Color Palette

Polygons \ Sprites

Audio
208 x 108 4 Colors N\A Internal (beep)

Media Format

Media Capacity

Games Released

Other Supported Formats

Cartridge N\A 7 Cartridges None

Internal Storage

External \ Removable Storage

Game Controllers

Other Game \ Peripheral Devices

None None Joystick plus Fire button Light Gun
Controller Ports Network Ports

Other Ports

Audio \ Video

Two (most detachable) None 5 pin DIN for optional Light Gun RF Connection

Power Supply - External

Other Outputs

 Other Details \ Notes

9v DC 200mA or
six (6) 1.5V UM-2 batteries
None None
Manuals
Not available.  Can you help us out?  You will receive full credit in addition to keeping the history of video gaming alive for all!  Please contact me.
Go To Top
Games & Emulation

Game screen shots\media released for this system.  Screen shots and cart pictures courtesy of our friends at Old-Computers,com.

The following lists the PC-50X line of cartridges.  The titles do change based upon the respective manufacturer, but the Reference and GI Chipset do not.

PC-50X Sample Cart (PC-502) Reference GI Chipset

General Title

Games

PC-50X Sample Cart (PC-505)
PC-501 AY-3-8610 Supersportic 10
PC-502 AY-3-8760 Motor Cycle 04
PC-503 AY-3-8710 Tank Battle 02
PC-504 AY-3-8603 Racing Cars 02
PC-505 AY-3-8605 Submarine 03
PC-506 AY-3-8606 Super Wipeout 10
PC-507 AY-3-8607 Shooting Gallery 03
Comparison screen shots of the original GI chip (AY-3-8500) used in PONG systems versus the upgraded chips (AY-3-8610+) used in the PC-50X line of consoles.
Soccer

Soccer - PONG Version

PONG Version

Soccer - PC-50X Version

PC-50X Version

Squash

Squash - PONG Version

PONG Version

Squash - PC-50X Version

PC-50X Version

Tennis

Tennis - PONG Version

PONG Version

Tennis - PC-50X Version

PC-50X Version

The following are some additional screen shots of games for the PC-50X cartridge family.
Basketball (PC-501)

Basketball (PC-501)

Destroyer (PC-505)

Destroyer (PC-505)

Gridball (PC-501)

Gridball (PC-501)

Hockey (PC-501)

Hockey (PC-501)

Motocross (PC-502)

Motocross (PC-502)

Night Sea (PC-505)

Night Sea (PC-505)

Sea Battle (PC-505)

Sea Battle (PC-505)

Space (PC-505)

Space (PC-505)

Stunt Cycle (PC-502)

Stunt Cycle (PC-502)

Third Party Emulators
Program Website Description

M.E.S.S.

http://www.mess.org/

Multi-Emulator Super System is a DOS based emulator capable of running many systems including this one. It has a Windows based GUI, and should be usable by most PC systems.
Go To Top
Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.  These are just a few of the releases for this system.  Pictures courtesy of our good friend Adrian Scheel.

Audio Sonic PP-790

Audio Sonic PP-790

Hanimex TVG 3000

Hanimex TVG 3000

ITMC SD-090

ITMC SD-090

LARK Programmable TV Game System

LARK Programmable TV Game System

Palson CX 306

Palson CX 306

Palson CX 336

Palson CX 336

Plladium Tele-Cassette Color
Prinztronic Tournament 2000 Programmable

Prinztronic Tournament 2000 Programmable

Programmable TV Game SD-050

Programmable TV Game SD-050C

SD-050 Programmable TV Game Console

SD-05 Programmable TV Game Console

Soundic Sports SD-070

Soundic Sports SD 070

 

Soundic TV Sports SD-090

Soundic TV Sports SD-090

Tectronic Programmable TV Game 868

Tectronic Programmable TV Game 868

Tempest Programmable TV Game SD-050

Tempest Programmable TV Game SD-050

Tristar SD-050

Tristar SD-050

Go To Top
Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).  Click pictures to enlarge.

There are literally hundreds of PC-50X clones - way too many to list.
Go To Top
Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name Website Description
Pong-Story.com http://www.pong-story.com/pc-50x.htm Great site for everything on PONG based systems
Old-Computers.com http://www.old-computers.com/.../view.asp?r=2&a=4 Excellent article comparing the various PC-50X games
Console Picture Page http://www.console-picture-page.de/catalog/ Excellent site with many more pictures of these systems!!
Go To Top

 

counter hit make
visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

Copyright 2008-2011 The Video Game Console Library.  This website and the information contained within it is protected by copyright. Reproduction of part or all of the
website contents in any form is prohibited unless expressed written consent of the author has been obtained in advance. Content of this website may not be copied
to any other publication (including electronic, hard copy or others). Interior deep linking or framing of this website is prohibited without permission of the author.