---
title: Coleco Telstar Colortron
categories:
- Pongs
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1978'
cpus:
- General Instruments AY-3-8510 Pong chip
params:
  name: Telstar Colortron
  company: /companies/coleco
  company_name: Coleco
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Telstar Colortron
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Coleco
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1978'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: Tennis, Hockey, Handball, Jai Alai
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Two dials built-in the system
  - label: CPU
    value: General Instruments AY-3-8510 Pong chip or Coleco GX10 chip ?
  - label: SPEED
    value: Game selection button, Reset
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: Difficulty Beginner/intermediate/Pro
  - label: RAM
    value: On screen
  - label: COLORS
    value: Green background. White for the field and ball. Red and black for paddles and scoring.
  - label: SOUND
    value: Piezzo beeper
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 11 lb
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: RF TV video output
  - label: OS
    value: 2 x 9v cells (one for the system, and one for the piezzo beeper)
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: 9v DC
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: 'No'
  - label: PRICE
    value: Unknown
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - links
  photos:
  - title: BOX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: 'BOX #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BOX REAR
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  adverts:
  - title: 1980 COLECO CATALOG
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      extract from the 1980 Coleco catalog

      Thanks to [Digitize, Textfiles.com](http://www.textfiles.com/digitize/items/) for the picture
    image: null
  links:
  - title: The story of the Telstar systems
    url: http://www.pong-story.com/coleco.htm
    text: PONG STORY.COM has nice pages dedicated to the Telstar systems
  comments:
  - author: Alberto Negrete Mares (México)
    date: Thursday 7th January 2021
    text: Buenas tardes. Quiero saber cómo puedo conectar el juego a una pantalla de televisión, por favor y gracias
  - author: Nash (USA)
    date: Thursday 7th December 2017
    text: Oh man. I couldn''t remember what my first Pong console was, but this was it. I got it at a thrift store for pennies, battery door missing, but it worked fine. I wonder what happened to it...
  related:
  - /museum/coleco-telstar
  - /museum/coleco-telstar-classic-model-6045
  - /museum/coleco-telstar-colormatic-model-6130
  - /museum/coleco-telstar-ranger
  oc_id: 670
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230613152851/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=670
    date: '2023-06-13'
---

After the release of the [Telstar](/museum/coleco-telstar/) (the first "dedicated-chip" pong system) in 1976 which was a big success, Coleco conceived a whole range of pongs.

This pong have the same caracteristics as the [Telstar Colormatic](/museum/coleco-telstar-colormatic-model-6130/) (4 games) but the case is different. It is quite small and the controllers (dials) are built-in the console. It also has a digital pushbutton game selector, color (thanks to the AY-3-8510 chipset), and a special piezzo electric beeper (which requires an additional battery).

There's a 3 positions switch that controls difficulty (beginner : slow ball, big paddles / advanced : fast ball, big paddles / expert : fast ball, small paddles). If this is common to the first Telstars, this is quite different from most of the other pong systems which offer individual settings.

Promotional text says:\
"Telestar Colortron, a sellout in '79 and still going strong! Telstar Colortron features four exciting sports games - Tennis, Hockey, Handball and Jai Alai - all in brillant color! On-screen digital display scoring, realistic electronic sound effects. Variable skill control for beginner, intermediate and pro players. The GX-10, a custom chip made for Coleco, makes it all possible at an incredibly low price! Operates on two 9 volt batteries (not included). Full color packaging.

\- Four exciting sports: Tennis, Hockey, Handball, Jai alai\
\- Brilliant color (plays B&W on B&W TV sets)\
\- On-screen digital display scoring\
\- Electronic sound effects\
\- Variable skill control\
\- Requires two 9 volt batteries or Coleco battery eliminator / AC adapter\
\- FCC approved\
\- Full color packaging\
\- Ages 8 to adult"