--- title: Superlectron TV Challenger Series 3000 (TVC-3000) categories: - Pongs origins: - Europe years: - '1977' cpus: - AY-3-8500 from General Instruments ? params: name: TV Challenger Series 3000 (TVC-3000) image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_front_s.jpg company: /companies/superlectron company_name: Superlectron specs: - label: NAME value: TV Challenger Series 3000 (TVC-3000) - label: MANUFACTURER value: Superlectron - label: ORIGIN value: Europe - label: YEAR value: ? 1977 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Tennis, Hockey, Squash, Solo (one player squash) - label: KEYBOARD value: Two hardwired (not unpluggable) rectangular controllers with knob and serve button - label: CPU value: AY-3-8500 from General Instruments ? - label: SPEED value: serve (on controllers), reset (on device) - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: On/off, ball speed reg/pro, angles reg/pro, bat size reg/pro, serve reg/pro - label: RAM value: On screen - label: COLORS value: Black & white - label: SOUND value: Built-in speaker - label: I/O PORTS value: RF TV video output - label: OS value: 9V PP-3 batteries - label: POWER SUPPLY value: 220V / 9V AC/DC adaptor - label: PERIPHERALS value: 'No' - label: PRICE value: Unknown tabs: - photos - software - emulators - links photos: - title: FRONT subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_front.jpg - title: CONTROLLERS subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_controllers.jpg - title: BOTTOM subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_bottom.jpg - title: BOX subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_box.jpg - title: DOCUMENTATION COVER subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_game_manual.jpg - title: INSTRUCTIONS subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_instructions_1.gif - title: PLAYING HINTS subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Predseda** for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/superelectron_3000_hints.gif screenshots: - title: TENNIS subtitle: '' text: |- There is one bat per side, a top and bottom boundary, and a center net. The individual scores are counted and displayed automatically. Considering the option where all bats and four angles are used, after the reset has been applied, the score will be 0-0 and the ball will serve arbitrarily to one side at one of the angles. If the ball hits the top or bottom boundary it will assume the angle of reflection and continue in play. The player beeing served must control his bat to intercept the ball. When a hit is detected by the logic circuit, the section of the bat which made the ball contact is used to determine the new angle of the ball. To expand on this, all bats are divided logically into four adjacent sections of equal length. When using the four angle option, it is the quarter section of the bat which actually hits and determine the new direction of the ball. The direction does not depend upon the previous angle of incidence. With the two angle option, top and bottom pairs of the bats are summed together and only the two shallower angles are used to program the new direction of the ball. The ball will be then sent back to the other player, bouncing on top and bottom noudaries as necessary until it reaches the other player. This action is repeated until one player misses the ball. The circuitry then detect a score and automatically increments the correct score counter and updates the score display. The ball will then serve automatically towards the side which has just missed. This sequence is repeated until a score of 15 is reached by one side, meaning the end of the game. The ball will still bounce arround but no further hits or scores can be made. While the game is in progress, 3 audio tones are generated by the system to indicate top and bottom reflections, bat hits and scores. image: /media/museum/software/gi_ay-3-8500_tennis.gif - title: FOOTBALL subtitle: Also called soccer and hockey text: With this game each player has a keeper and a striker. The layout is such that the keeper is in his normal position and the striker is positioned in the opponent's half of the playing area. When the game starts, the ball will appear going from one goal line to the other side. If the oppoenent's striker can intercept the ball, it will shoot it back towards the keeper. If the ball is missed, it will go to the other half of the playing area. The first team's striker will have then the opportunity to intercept the ball and deviate it at a new angle according to the playing option used. If the ball is intercepted by the keepr or it bounced back by the end-field boundary, the same striker will have another opportunity to intercept the ball and send it back to the keeper. A score is made by shooting the ball through the defined goal area. The circuitry then detect a score and automatically increments the correct score counter and updates the score display. The ball will then serve automatically towards the side which has just missed. This sequence is repeated until a score of 15 is reached by one side, meaning the end of the game. The ball will still bounce arround but no further hits or scores can be made. While the game is in progress, 3 audio tones are generated by the system to indicate top and bottom reflections, bat hits and scores. image: /media/museum/software/gi_ay-3-8500_football.gif - title: SQUASH subtitle: '' text: This is a two players games. Players alternately hit back the ball into the playfield. The right-hand player is the one that hit first, then it goes over to the other player. Each player is enabled alternately. image: /media/museum/software/gi_ay-3-8500_squash.gif - title: SQUASH PRACTICE subtitle: '' text: This game is similar to Squash except that there is only one player. image: /media/museum/software/gi_ay-3-8500_squash-practice_ss.gif emulators: - title: www.pong-story.com url: http://www.pong-story.com/pcpong.htm platform: Multiplatform text: Several pong emulators (simulators) presented here links: - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: '' related: - /museum/a10-telespiel-9010 - /museum/alex-video-spiel-tg-621 - /museum/apf-match - /museum/apf-tv-fun-model-401 - /museum/audiosonic-pp-800 - /museum/bentley-compu-vision - /museum/blaupunkt-tv-action - /museum/coleco-telstar-alpha-model-6030 - /museum/conic-tv-sports-tg-621 - /museum/conic-tvg-209 - /museum/dms-telesports-mini - /museum/grandstand-t-v-game-model-3000 - /museum/hanimex-666 - /museum/hanimex-7771 - /museum/hanimex-t-338 - /museum/intel-germany-super-tele-sport-d-688-36 - /museum/interton-video-2400 - /museum/jostykit-multi-tv-game-hf-344 - /museum/magiclick-teleclick - /museum/match-sd-01c - /museum/mbo-tele-ball - /museum/mbo-tele-ball-ii - /museum/mbo-tele-ball-iii - /museum/mentor-sport-tg-20 - /museum/novoton-tj-141 - /museum/novoton-video-sports - /museum/playtech-telesport - /museum/polistil-v-g-2 - /museum/r-f-t-bss-01-bildschirmspiel-01 - /museum/radofin-electronics-limited-tele-sports - /museum/riva-t-800c - /museum/roberts-paddle-iv - /museum/roberts-rally-iv - /museum/sands-3000 - /museum/societe-occitane-d-electronique-oc-4 - /museum/sonolor-telematch - /museum/sportron-101u - /museum/tele-flip-paris-video-sport-fy-707 - /museum/thomson-jv1t - /museum/ultrasound-tele-sports - /museum/ultrasound-tv-9010 - /museum/universum-tv-multi-spiel-handheld - /museum/universum-tv-spiel-1004 oc_id: 1184 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230613002706/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1184 date: '2023-06-13' --- Early pong system marketed in Europe, maybe more specifically in West Germany, featuring the 4 classic pong games : tennis, hockey, squash and solo. Some marketing extracts : "The TV Challenger 3000 series with regular and professional playing features built into each game" - "TRIPLE SOUND : Your TV Challenger sounds off on ball contact with walls, bats and after a scoring point" - "Easy to connect and operate" - "Four games with triple sound and scoring right on your tv screen" **Predseda** from Prague, who sent us these pictures and info, comments: This device has a very interesting history for me, because it was owned by the current director of the world famous "Spejbl & Hurvinek marionette theatre", who bought it personally in the late 70´s in Wolfsburg in once Western Germany. She kept it in perfect condition, including box and manual and about week ago she gave it to me together with a Commodore 64 C - although we have never met before!