Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk II
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| The colour TVG-3600 Mk II, shown for comparison with the same model of light gun, the Thundercolt Super Marksman 304: no freely licensed photograph of the 2600 Mk II has been found | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Adman Grandstand (Adam Imports); made in Hong Kong according to Wikipedia[1][2] |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console (Pong-type TV game with light gun) |
| Released | 1977[1] |
| CPU | Not known; no photograph of the board has been found |
| Memory | None |
| Storage | — |
| Display | RF output to a television, black and white[2] |
| Sound | — |
| Input | Two hand controllers; Thundercolt Super Marksman 304 light gun[1] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | TVG-2600 Mk II |
The Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk II (Adman Grandstand TVG-2600 Mk II) is a black-and-white Pong-type TV game with a light gun, sold in the UK under the Adman Grandstand name in 1977.[1] Little has been published about it: one museum record with two photographs, and a row in Wikipedia's list of Grandstand consoles that cites the same record. The museum's photograph shows the same panel, game key and hand controllers as the colour TVG-3600 Mk II, without that model's COLOUR legend.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]The Centre for Computing History holds a TVG-2600 Mk II, serial number 93097, dated 1977. Its record lists tennis, football, squash and target shooting with the supplied light gun, and two handheld controls.[1] Wikipedia lists the "Adman Grandstand T.V. Game 2600 Mk. II" as a black-and-white console made in Hong Kong between 1977 and 1979.[2]
The light gun recorded by the museum, a "Thundercolt Super Marksman 304", is the same model as the gun photographed with the colour TVG-3600 Mk II, and the two models share the "TVG" prefix and the "Mk II" suffix.[1][4] No source found says whether the two share a board.
Hardware
[edit | edit source]No internal photograph, teardown or service information for the 2600 Mk II has been found, so its game chip is not known. Wikipedia's list of six games for it (tennis, football, squash, practice, target 1 and target 2) is the same as the game key on the 3600 Mk II, which uses a General Instrument AY-3-8500, and the museum's photograph shows the same game key on the 2600 Mk II's own panel. The 2600 Mk II's chip is not confirmed by any photograph.[2][4][3]
Games
[edit | edit source]| Source | Games |
|---|---|
| Centre for Computing History | Tennis, football, squash, target shooting with the light gun |
| Wikipedia | Tennis, football, squash, practice, target 1, target 2 |
| Game key on the panel (museum photograph) | Tennis A-B, football A-D, squash B-C, practice C-D, target 1-B, target 2-D |
Controls and light gun
[edit | edit source]The museum's example came with two handheld controls and a Thundercolt Super Marksman 304 light gun.[1] Its photograph shows the controllers, grey cylinders on grey leads, plugged into LEFT PLAYER and RIGHT PLAYER sockets on the panel, as on the 3600 Mk II, and an orange RESET and a blue SERVE button between them. How the gun connects is not shown.[3]
Power
[edit | edit source]No source found gives the 2600 Mk II's power requirements. The other Grandstand TV games of the period run on six UM-2 (C) cells or a 9 V adaptor (see Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II#Power), but read the label on the base of your own console before connecting anything, and measure the adaptor's voltage and polarity. Remove the cells for storage; see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage if they have leaked.
Repair
[edit | edit source]No service manual, schematic or capacitor data for the 2600 Mk II has been found, so there is no capacitor guide for it. The 2600 Mk II has its own repair guides, which point to the 3600 Mk II's where the two share a part:
- Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk II General Maintenance: the hand controllers, panel switches, light gun, power and opening the case.
- Grandstand TV Game 2600 Mk II Troubleshooting Guide: what should happen at power-on, a symptom table and what can be repaired.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]No instruction leaflet or service information for the 2600 Mk II has been found online.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II, the colour model sold with the same light gun
- Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk III
- Grandstand TV Game 2000, another black-and-white Grandstand TV game
- Atari Super Pong, a four-game Pong console of 1976, for comparison
- Category:Grandstand
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Centre for Computing History, "Adman Grandstand TVG-2600 Mk II", CH22783 (retrieved 2026-10-18): a Pong-style console from 1977 with tennis, football, squash and target shooting with the supplied light gun; two handheld controls; serial number 93097; light gun "Thundercolt Super Marksman 304".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Wikipedia, "Grandstand (game manufacturer)", table of integrated Pong consoles (retrieved 2026-10-18): "Adman Grandstand T.V. Game 2600 Mk. II", black and white, six games (Tennis, Football, Squash, Practice, Target 1 and Target 2), made in Hong Kong, 1977 to 1979. The row cites only the Centre for Computing History record, and its image link points to South-West Retro Computing Archive item 262, which is titled and photographed as a TVG-3600 Mk II, not a 2600 Mk II.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The two photographs on the Centre for Computing History record CH22783 (retrieved 2026-10-18), examined at the largest size offered: the console's panel with POWER, BALL SERVE (MANUAL/AUTO), BALL SPEED, BALL ANGLE and PLAYER SIZE under AMATEUR and PROFESSIONAL, GAME SELECT switches A/C and B/D, the game key (TENNIS A-B, FOOTBALL A-D, SQUASH B-C, PRACTICE C-D, TARGET 1-B, TARGET 2-D), an orange RESET and a blue SERVE button, and LEFT PLAYER and RIGHT PLAYER sockets with two grey cylindrical hand controllers plugged in; no COLOUR legend; and the light gun, a black pistol whose body is held by screws on its side.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Photographs by José Antonio Ortigueira Amor, File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (2).jpg and File:Adman Grandstand 3600 MK II Colour (3).jpg (CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons): the TVG-3600 Mk II's light gun, marked "THUNDERCOLT Super Marksman 304", and its game key; see Grandstand TV Game 3600 Mk II for the AY-3-8500 on that model's board.
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