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Grandstand Programmable Cartridges

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Grandstand Programmable Cartridges
Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (2)
Inside the Supersportic PC-501 cartridge supplied with a Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070: one General Instrument AY-3-8610 and a few passive parts
Manufacturer Made in Asia for the PC-50x family of consoles and sold under many brands
Type Plug-in game cartridges, each holding one General Instrument game chip
Compatible Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070, the Grandstand SD-050 and Programmable (SD 90 type), and other PC-50x consoles
Model PC-501 to PC-508

The Grandstand programmable cartridges are the PC-50x game cartridges used by Grandstand's programmable TV games, the Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 among them. A PC-50x cartridge holds no ROM and no program. Each one contains a single General Instrument (GI) game chip that generates a fixed set of games by itself, so changing the cartridge changes the whole game circuit.[1][2] Eight cartridges were made, numbered PC-501 to PC-508.[1]

The same cartridges fit many Asian-made consoles sold in Europe under different names, and the same cartridge can carry different titles and labels and come in black or cream cases. Pong-Story gives the PC-501 as an example: it exists with and without a Hanimex label, under the names Supersportic and Supersportif among others, and Rollet sold it under its own number, 4/305.[1] Which numbers Adam Imports sold in Grandstand packaging is not documented. The photographed SD070 set came with the Supersportic PC-501, whose label carries no Grandstand name.[3][4]

How a cartridge works

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Pong-Story describes the chip in each cartridge as containing "most of the game circuits", so that "the console is more an interface than a real videogame system".[1] The console provides the controls, power and the connection to the television.

The photographed Supersportic PC-501 shows the construction:[3][4]

  • One board, marked PC-501 and REV B, with the GI AY-3-8610 as its only chip. Its date code is 8034.
  • An edge connector with contacts numbered 1 to 18 on one side and 19 to 36 on the other.
  • Two trimmers, reached through holes in the label marked "Left bat adjust" and "Right bat adjust". The owner describes them as setting the vertical position of the bats.
  • A shell that opens with one screw and contains two springs.

Pong-Story describes PC-50x boards as bakelite with "poor quality solders".[1]

PC-50x cartridge comparision
A PC-501 Supersportic (right) beside two cartridges for other systems that also hold an AY-3-8610: the Palson CX 336 "Cassette Supersport" (left) and the Radofin "1001 Superstar" (centre). The three formats differ in size and shape (José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, CC BY 4.0).[5]

The eight cartridges

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PC-50x cartridges and their GI chips
No. English titles French title Games GI chip Rarity (Pong-Story)
PC-501 Sports, Supersportic Supersportif Ten: eight ball-and-paddle games and two target games AY-3-8610: named by Pong-Story for its example and seen in the Grandstand-supplied cartridge[1][3] Common
PC-502 Motor cycle Motocyclette Four motorcycle games; Pong-Story calls it a Stunt Cycle clone Not named on the cartridge page. Pong-Story's chip list gives GI's four-game motorcycle chip, used in Atari's Stunt Cycle, as the AY-3-8760, with the AY-3-8765 as its PAL version; Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8760[1][6][7] Common
PC-503 Tank Battle Bataille de chars Two tank battle games AY-3-8710: named by Pong-Story[1] Very rare
PC-504 Racing cars, Grand Prix, Race Car GP Course de voitures GP Two car racing games Pong-Story identifies it with the "Race" game of its chip list, the AY-3-8603 Roadrace; Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8603[1][6][7] Common
PC-505 Submarine Bataille navale Naval battle games: three according to Pong-Story, two according to Wikipedia Pong-Story identifies it with the Submarine chip, the AY-3-8605; Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8605[1][6][7] Common
PC-506 Super Wipeout Jeu de destruction Not described by Pong-Story; ten according to Wikipedia Not named by Pong-Story. Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8606, GI's ten-game Wipe-Off chip[7][6] Common
PC-507 Shooting Gallery Jeux de tir Target shooting games for a light gun Not named by Pong-Story. Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8607, GI's target-shooting chip[7][6] Rare
PC-508 Fundamental 6 jeux de base Six basic games Not confirmed. Wikipedia gives the AY-3-8500, citing a collector's blog that worked it out from box artwork, not from an opened cartridge[7][8] Very rare

Titles, games and rarity are from Pong-Story's cartridge page unless stated.[1] Chips in bold are named outright for that cartridge; the others rest on Pong-Story's cross-references to its chip list or on Wikipedia's table, whose rows are not individually cited.[7]

The Supersportic cartridge

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The Supersportic PC-501 came with the Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070.[4] Its label numbers ten games, which the SD070's ten game buttons select:[3]

Supersportic (PC-501) games, as numbered on the label
No. Game No. Game
1 Squash 6 Basketball
2 Hockey 7 Soccer
3 Tennis 8 Gridball
4 Target II 9 Basketball Practice
5 Target I 10 Practice

GI's 1978 data for the AY-3-8610 gives the same ten games, with bats that move both vertically and horizontally, automatic on-screen scoring from 0 to 15, and a ball that speeds up after seven hits unless the fast ball is inhibited.[9]

Care and repair

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  • Clean the edge contacts with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud, and let them dry before inserting the cartridge.
  • If a cartridge works only when pressed or moved in the slot, open it (one screw on the Supersportic) and inspect the solder joints under a magnifier; reflow any that are dull or cracked.[1][4]
  • Turn the bat-adjust trimmers only if a bat cannot reach the top or bottom of the playfield, and only a little at a time.[3][4]
  • The GI chips are long out of production. A cartridge of the same number from any PC-50x console is the practical replacement for one with a dead chip.[1]

Console-side checks, including how to tell a cartridge fault from a console fault, are on Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 Troubleshooting Guide.

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Pong-Story, "PC-50x cartridges" (retrieved 2026-10-18). Each cartridge contains a single General Instrument chip which holds most of the game circuits, so that "the console is more an interface than a real videogame system"; the cartridges fit many Asian-made systems sold in Europe under different names and exist in black and cream cases with different labels; table of the eight cartridges with French and English titles and rarity (PC-501 Sports/Supersportic, PC-502 Motor cycle, PC-503 Tank Battle, PC-504 Racing cars/Grand Prix, PC-505 Submarine, PC-506 Super Wipeout, PC-507 Shooting Gallery, PC-508 Fundamental); "PC-50x cartridges contain a bakelite circuit board with poor quality solders"; the PC-501 exists in two colours, with and without a Hanimex label, as Supersportic, Supersportif and others, and Rollet released it as 4/305; the PC-501 example contains an AY-3-8610; PC-502 is a Stunt Cycle clone; PC-503 uses the AY-3-8710; PC-504 is the RACE game and PC-505 the Submarine game of the "PONG in a Chip" page.
  2. ↑ Pong-Story, "SD-050 clones from Europe" (retrieved 2026-10-18). SD-050 systems use PC-50x cartridges containing a GI chip, not a ROM; the ITMC SD 050S as a typical example: made in Hong Kong, six 1.5 V UM2 cells or a 9 V DC 200 mA transformer, cartridges PC-501 to PC-508, two detachable joysticks with serve buttons, UHF channel 36, a five-pin DIN socket for the gun, settings for bat size, serve, ball speed, power, reset and volume. No Grandstand model is described on the page.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Photographs File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (1).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (2).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (3).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (4).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (5).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (6).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (8).jpg, File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (11).jpg and File:Grandstand Colour Programmable SD070 (12).jpg (José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons), examined at full resolution. Box: "GRANDSTAND Colour Programmable MODEL SD 070", "10 Exciting Colour Games Cartridge", "Cartridge Loading VIDEO SPORTS CENTRE", "Endorsed by". Base label: "UHF CH-36 / 625-I PAL System / POWER SOURCE: Use 6x1.5V UM-2 batteries or AC adaptor 9V DC 200mA" with a plug drawing marked negative on the sleeve and positive on the tip; "SOUND CARRIER ADJ" label; "BATCH NO. 08-80-02". Control panel: SERVE (AUTO/MANU), TEAM L, TEAM R and SPEED (PROFESSIONAL/AMATEUR), POWER, VOLUME slider, RESET and game buttons 1 to 10. Rear: DIN socket and "DC-9V" socket. Main board solder side: "SD-070", "REV F", serial label 46. Cartridge label: "SUPERSPORTIC PC-501", "Left bat adjust" and "Right bat adjust" holes, games 1 to 10 (Squash, Hockey, Tennis, Target II, Target I, Basketball, Soccer, Gridball, Basketball Practice, Practice). Cartridge board: "PC-501", "REV B", a General Instrument AY-3-8610 with date code 8034 as the only IC, two trimmers (one marked 500K), edge contacts numbered 1 to 36, two springs in the shell.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, "Consola Grandstand Colour Programmable (Model SD 070) (Video Sport Centre) (Endorsed by Kevin Keegan) (1980)", Retro Ordenadores Orty (collector's blog, in Spanish), March 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-18). First-hand description of the photographed set: made in Hong Kong and sold by Adam Imports in 1980, also in Spain with Spanish instructions; a late version of Soundic's SD 070C, batch 08-80-02, serial number 46; supplied with the Supersportic (PC-501) cartridge, two joystick controllers, the manual, a Kevin Keegan poster and a sales leaflet; the leaflet lists the console alongside the 3600 Mk II and the Video Entertainment Computer (1980-1981); PAL System I picture, with no sound on continental PAL G televisions; internal speaker with volume control; detachable joysticks on DIN-7 sockets on the sides; DIN-5 socket for a light gun, 9 V DC centre-positive socket and RF lead (UHF channel 36) at the rear; six LR14 cells; SOUND CARRIER ADJ hole under the ADJ label on the base (in the battery compartment on earlier versions); four screws hold the lower case, one of them inside the battery compartment; three screws and two clips hold the main board to the upper case; the speaker is screwed to the lower case; main board marked 11-00110-13, REV F, SD-070; the PC-501 cartridge has two holes for adjusting the vertical position of the bats, opens with one screw, carries board 11-40140-02 REV B and a General Instrument AY-3-8610 (8034) as its only IC; the console works.
  5. ↑ File:PC-50x cartridge comparision.jpg (José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons), examined at full size: Palson "Cassette Supersport", Radofin "1001 Superstar" and "SUPERSPORTIC PC-501" cartridges side by side, each a different size and shape; the uploader describes all three as containing an AY-3-8610.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Pong-Story, "PONG in a Chip" (retrieved 2026-10-18). History of the single-chip ball-and-paddle circuits: Texas Instruments' TMS-1955 and TMS-1965 (1976) were "both pin compatible with the General Instruments AY-3-8500"; the AY-3-8500 plays four ball-and-paddle games and two target-shooting games, plus a seventh undocumented game, Handicap, when none of the six is selected; it was used in "hundreds of different game systems"; GI chips with a -1 suffix are the 525-line (NTSC) versions; GI chip list including the AY-3-8603 (Roadrace), AY-3-8605 (Submarine), AY-3-8606 (Wipe-Off), AY-3-8607 (target shooting), AY-3-8610, AY-3-8700/8710 (tank battle) and AY-3-8760/8765 (motor cycle).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Wikipedia, "PC-50x family" (retrieved 2026-10-18). The consoles have no central processor; the games are in General Instrument AY-3-8xxx chips in the cartridges; "SD" in the model names stands for Soundic (Hong Kong), the real maker; Grandstand rows for an SD-050 (colour, UK), a "Programmable game" (colour, UK) and the "Colour Programmable SD070 / Video Sports Centre SD070" (colour, 1978); a cartridge table giving the chip in each PC-50x cartridge. The table rows are not individually cited.
  8. ↑ Sly DC, "PC-508 Fundamental cartridge", Sly DC's Retro Gaming Blog, 19 November 2016 (retrieved 2026-10-18). Collector's blog: the PC-508 is the rarest PC-50x cartridge, with six games (Tennis, Hockey, Handball, Squash, Target 1 and Target 2) according to the labels of its Poppy and Unimex equivalents; the author concludes it holds an AY-3-8500 by comparing the screen pictures on console boxes with GI's 1978 catalogue. No opened cartridge is shown.
  9. ↑ General Instrument Corporation, GIMINI TV Game Circuits, January 1978, pp. 26-29, PDF hosted by Pong-Story (retrieved 2026-10-18). AY-3-8610 and AY-3-8610-1 ("Superstar"): ten games (tennis, hockey, soccer, squash, practice, gridball, basketball, basketball practice, one- and two-player target); 625-line (AY-3-8610) and 525-line (-1) versions; two-axis player motion; "intended to be battery powered"; 28-pin pin-out with VSS on pin 1 and VCC on pin 16; game selection by connecting one of four strobe outputs to one of three select inputs; bat position set by a variable resistor and capacitor; VCC +6 to +7 V, -0.2 to +12 V maximum on any pin, power supply current 60 mA maximum at +7 V.


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