--- title: VOLTMACE Database Games-Computer categories: - Consoles params: name: Database Games-Computer image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database-games-computer_1.jpg company: /companies/voltmace company_name: VOLTMACE tabs: - photos - hardware - software - emulators - links photos: - title: VIDEOMASTER DATABASE MODEL subtitle: '' text: The Database was first marketed by Videomaster, subsidiary of Waddington. image: /media/museum/photos/videomaster_database_1.jpg - title: VIDEOMASTER DATABASE subtitle: '' text: |- ... with Air Sea Battle cartridge inserted and plastic overlays placed on controllers Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/videomaster_database_2.jpg - title: BOX OPENED subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_box_1.jpg - title: QUALITY TEST subtitle: '' text: |- Here, in the Baldock factory, all consoles were tested one by one with a game. What is noteworthy is that the pinball game (available for the Interton VC-4000 for example) was never released for the Database. Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_factory_1.jpg - title: LOOSE PARTS... subtitle: '' text: |- ...ready to be assembled in the Voltmace factory Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_factory_2.jpg - title: EMPLOYEES RESTING subtitle: '' text: |- ...and drinking a cup of tea outside the Voltmace factory based in Baldock, UK. Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_factory_3.jpg - title: ASSEMBLY LINE subtitle: '' text: |- A technician is assembling the different parts of the Voltmace Database system together. Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_factory_4.jpg - title: ASSEMBLY LINE subtitle: '' text: |- Women assembling the different parts of the motherboard. Thanks to David Elvin for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/voltmace_database_factory_5.jpg hardware: - title: VOLTMACE DELTA CONTROLLERS subtitle: for Acorn computers text: 'Voltmace modified its Database controllers to be sold for micro-computers, mainly Acorn systems : BBC and Electron (with Plus-1 interface). As the keypad was of no use anymore, it was reduced to only 3 fire buttons.' image: /media/museum/hardware/voltmace_joysticks.jpg screenshots: - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_1_box.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_1_cart.jpg - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_8_box.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_8_cart.jpg - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_10_box.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_11_cart.jpg - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_12_box.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_12_cart.jpg - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_14_box.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_14_cart.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_16_cart.jpg - title: CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/voltmace_database_soft_17_cart.jpg emulators: - title: WinArcadia url: http://amigan.1emu.net/releases/ platform: Windows text: Arcadia 2001, Interton VC 4000, Elektor TVGC emulator! - title: AmiArcadia url: http://amigan.1emu.net/releases/ platform: Amiga OS text: Arcadia 2001, Interton VC 4000, Elektor TVGC emulator! links: - title: 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System FAQ url: http://www.consoledatabase.com/faq/1292/1292faq.txt text: Very interesting info by Dale Hansen about this whole console family - title: Binary Dinosaurs url: http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Pong/database.php text: This site has an interesting article about the Voltmace - title: Emerson Arcadia 2001 Central url: https://amigan.yatho.com/ text: World's largest Interton site - title: INTERNAL LINK url: https://www.old-computers.com/magazine/view.asp?r=2&a=7 text: We have made a page describing the VC 4000 and different compatible systems - title: Radofin 1292 FAQ url: http://www.digitpress.com/faq/1292faq.txt text: Excellent FAQ created by Dale Hansen - title: sig2650.wordpress.com url: https://sig2650.wordpress.com/ text: Website dedicated to Signetics 2650 based systems, by former Voltmace developper Derek Andrews - title: VC4000.de url: http://www.vc4000.de text: Website dedicated to the Interton VC4000 (in German) comments: - author: Derek Andrews (Canada) date: Friday 23rd April 2021 text: I am actively working on this system. I have a couple of consoles that I''m trying to get working with modern tv sets here in Canada. I have schematics of the circuit, documentation of the Leapfrog game that I wrote, I''m planning on making pcbs and cases for cartridges, and I''m even working on a new game concept. The purpose of my website is to encourage others to save these consoles and write new software. Check it out and use the contact form to get in touch. Happy to help anyone who needs it. - author: Colin Day (United Kingdom) date: Friday 13rd November 2020 text: I am currently in the process of repairing one of these. Would really appreciate a picture of the power supply if anyone has one? It runs on +18v and +9v with step downs internally to +6.2v. - author: Richy (Herts) date: Monday 16th April 2018 text: Awesome. Had this as a nipper in the 80s. Lived near Baldock so might explain why! I remember going to a local games "shop" / voltmace merchant (swear it was someones garage or house extension) and there was always the one shifty database title amongst the vast array of sexier looking atari 2600 games. I wasn''t interested in hearing any "compatibility" nonsence - i just wanted the spiderman game with green goblin on the box (it was packaging perfection ). Were voltmace and all the other UK cart machines 2600 inspired / direct clones anyway? - author: Nick Blackburn (Isle of Man, UK) date: Tuesday 10th January 2017 text: |- I Have a fully restored Voltmace that powers on but as I have no games I have no idea if it actually works! Was very grubby when I got it but now it looks great.\ Anyone got a few games spare?!! :) - author: david stokes (england) date: Friday 23rd March 2012 text: i had a database games computer just found it in my loft any idea how you tune it in on the tv are they worth any money - author: John Bell (UK) date: Tuesday 23rd November 2010 text: The Database system was actually made in the Philipines. My old company (Circolec in South London) was cotrscted to Videomaster for 3 years, servicing and repairing all of their games. We also sold thousands of obsolete games to market traders and small shops during that period. Our first contract with them was to repair and repack hundreds (maybe thousands!) of Starchess and pin pong games that had been damaged by floods in the Phiiipines. Waddingtons paid for them in advance and didn''t realise they were flood damaged until they arrived in the UK! related: - /museum/acetronic-mpu-1000-2000 - /museum/cabel-universal-game-computer - /museum/interton-vc-4000 - /museum/itmc-video-ordinateur-mpt-05 - /museum/korting-tele-video-computer-tvc-4000 - /museum/rowtron-television-computer-system - /museum/societe-occitane-d-electronique-oc-2000 - /museum/t-r-q-talleres-radioelectricos-querol-h-21-video-computer oc_id: 1189 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606202358/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1189 date: '2023-06-06' --- This obscure videogame system was made by Voltmace, a British company based in Baldock. Voltmace came into being in 1977 as a pure sales/marketing organisation - it offered sales facilities to companies who had a product to sell. They were contracted by one of the early pionneers in the video field to handle their product. Shortly after this, Voltmace came into contact with Teleng who were putting out one of the first programmable machines and there ensued a short but profitable association during which Voltmace sold many of the British made game machines. But later Teleng's parent company decided to close down the factory in Essex and gradually run down video game production in the U.K. Eventually, in 1980 Voltmace approached the Videomaster arm of the Waddington's company with a view to marketing their Database game machine - which was at the time being made in Hong Kong. Their first season with the Database was quite successful and when, in early '81, the chance came to purchase the machine in its entirety, Voltmace jumped at the chance. They could at last produce a British made video games machine in their Baldock factory and it was quickly arranged for all the tooling machinery to be shipped over from Hong Kong - by June '81 all the hardware needed was in Baldock and staff were recruited to start production. One of the drawbacks of the Database machine when it was being made in Hong Kong was a certain reputation for unreliability. Voltmace tried to resolve that by strict quality-control and good after-sales service. But the Database couldn't resist long enough against competitors like [Atari](/museum/atari-vcs-2600/), [Intellivision](/museum/mattel-electronics-intellivision/) and [Colecovision](/museum/colecovision/), and the '83 videogame industry crash surely doomed the Voltmace adventure... The other noteworthy Voltmace products were joysticks for popular micro-computers, mainly BBC systems. There were in fact Database controllers modified to be used with other systems. In fact the Database is software compatible with the [Interton VC-4000](/museum/interton-vc-4000/) and "clones". This doesn't mean that it can use the Interton cartridges, as they won't fit, but the internal specs and software are the same. The CPU is the 2650A from Signetics and the Video Controller is the 2636 from Signetics as well. About 40 cartridges has been released for the Interton VC-4000, but only 29 were available for the Database... It seems that a converter was available to play Interton cartridges on a Voltmace Database! Surprisingly, original games for the Database were programmed by Derek Andrews at the time : Leap-Frog, Crunch and a Defender clone (never released). See [Derek's interview](/magazine/interview-of-derek-andrews-programmer-of-leap-frog-and-munch-crunch-for-the-voltmace-database/) for more information. Like with all the systems of the "Interton family", there are two controllers with 12 buttons keypad + 2 fire buttons + a joystick. Controllers were designed to use informative plastic layers delivered with each games, used to show the function of each key. The control panel is composed of an ON/OFF switch and 3 buttons (Reset program, Select Game, Start Game). --- Thanks to **David Elvin** for most info
We need more info about this console ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.