Fairchild Channel F

Performa

Member
Many thanks to local retro collector Derrick, the Wisconsin Computer Club now has a beautiful Fairchild Channel F video game console in the fleet! Very excited to be able to share this spectacular piece of old hardware with you all at future WCC events!



The system was complete with controllers and a few game cartridges, or "Videocarts" for the system.



This is the System II, technically made by Zircon Corporation after Fairchild sold their gaming division to them in 1979, putting this one on the latter half of the system's life. The System II had some cost reductions and a few improvements to the design.

The full story is HERE on Wikipedia.
 

Performa

Member
More photos!



This is the Channel F controller. There is no "button" to speak of- but the joystick moves and rotates as normal, while also allowing you to press the whole thing in like a big button. It's very different from everything else, but it's also fairly intuitive.



Fairchild branded power supply. This is hard wired in.



The front of the machine, including the power switch and game select buttons.



An effort to get a look at the contacts deep inside the machine. I thought this shot came out better, I'll get a better one shortly.



The back of the system has these fixed "holders" which in turn hold the plastic molded joystick holders. One covers the RF outlet, so the choice of cables is a bit restrictive. It had 9-pin connectors, but these are not compatible with Atari/Commodore/Sega/etc.
 

Performa

Member
The Fairchild Channel F's Videocarts are quite a bit different than other cartridges, check em' out below!



Multiple games on every cart? Good value!



Instructions too! I kinda wish Atari had copied this for their carts.



End labels- take that Nintendo 64.



The edge connector for the cartridge is protected by this spring loaded door that covers the contacts pretty well.



Pulling it open reveals some very shiny contacts.



A quick look at an inserted cart, and how "deep" it fits into the console itself. The "eject" button just releases the cart so it can be slid back out.
 

Performa

Member
Finally, here it is on the Panasonic, the TV that was able to dial it in the best via the fine tuning menu.



It looks pretty good!
 
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