website/content/museum/hanimex-hmg-7900.md

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Hanimex HMG-7900	Consoles	name company company_name tabs photos links docs comments related software oc_id source HMG-7900 /companies/hanimex Hanimex photos software links docs title subtitle text image HMG-7900 null title subtitle text image HMG-7900 #2 null title subtitle text image LEFT SIDE We can see here the first controller connector. null title subtitle text image REAR On the left is the TV cord and on the right is the power in plug. null title subtitle text image RIGHT SIDE Here is the optional second controller connector. But no games released for the HMG-7900 ever used two controllers! null title subtitle text image MOTHER BOARD The motherboard is labelled "11-00288-00 SD-200S Rev C". All these compatible systems have SD-200 mother boards. It means that the manufacturer may be Soundic, based in Hong-Kong, specialised in such systems. **1** - First player controller connector\ **2** - Cartridge slot (22 edges)\ **3** - Electo-magnetic shield\ **4** - Control panel flat connector\ **5** - RF TV video output cord\ **6** - Second player controller connector\ **7** - RF TV modulator\ **8** - ON/OFF switch\ **9** - Internal loud-speaker (very loud!)\ **10** - NEC D779C 300 chipset. This is supposed to be the central processing unit of the system. null title subtitle text image CONTROLLER The controller is composed of a 4 directions disc on which can be screwed a little stick, two fire buttons on each side (same function) and a knob to play breakout-type games. null title subtitle text image CONTROLLER #2 Here, the stick has ben unscrewed from the disc and stored / attached at the back of the controller. null title subtitle text image BOX null title url text INTERNAL LINK http://www.old-computers.com/magazine/view.asp?r=2&a=6 Essay about the HMG-7900 and compatible systems title url text IZA-WARE http://www.izaware.blogspot.com/ Some information about the the HMG-7900 with game videos ! title url text Odyssey http://www.ne.jp/asahi/cvs/odyssey/videogames/cv/setframe.html This nice japanese site has some well done page about the Epoch Cassette Vision, wich is somehow related to the HMG-7900 title url text OGASHIN's HOME PAGE http://homepage1.nifty.com/OGASHIN/CV.htm This japanese page has some Cassette Vision screenshots, just to give you an idea... title url cover text HANIMEX HMG-7900 USER DOCUMENTATION (FRENCH) http://izaware.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-24T23%3A50%3A00%2B02%3A00&max-results=3 /media/museum/docs/couvs/hanimex_hmg-7900_french-doc_p0_small.jpg [**HANIMEX HMG-7900 USER DOCUMENTATION (FRENCH)**](http://izaware.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-24T23%3A50%3A00%2B02%3A00&max-results=3)written by Hanimex  compiled/archived by Iza-Ware\  type of document : Unknown\  source : [Iza-Ware](http://izaware.blogspot.com/) **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :** author date text Claus (Germany) Monday 15th December 2014 This is a real GEM 8bit console my friends : RARE with FUTURISTIC DESIGN in silver / black color and for sure one of the most SLIM 8 bit video game consoles ever made. If you put this console side by side with a ''''Colecovision'''' or a ''''Fairchild Channel F'''' or a ''''Philps Videopac'''' or an ''''Atari 2600 / wood grain'''', you will understand what I mean. And what to say about he BOX of this console : Maybe the MOST BEAUTIFUL console box ever made : colorful with robots, planets, space / air crafts, space station, war boat and a Pac-man with a running Pac pellet... I don''t think that there is another console box in game history, that has a Pac-man figure on it or such a variety of so many colorful figures. Unbelievable !!! Just remember the dull and boring boxes of the most of 8 bit consoles, showing a family or kids playing a game on a TV - Really AWFUL. About the console capabilities ? Not to expect so much, but who cares - this is a Retro Artwork and not a Playstation 3. Unfortunately the game library of the console is very poor (only 10 games released). Some games like : ''''saucer''s attack / space invaders clone'''', ''''Martian / galaxian clone'''', ''''expedition / Berzerk'''' are good and quite interesting, although extremely difficult to find.\ CONCLUSION: STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to buy this console, but ONLY if it is BOXED. Many greetings to all the Retro lovers in whole world. author date text Fred (France) Thursday 22nd May 2008 Woooooooooow !\ Thanks so much old-computers.com\ Where could we get screenshots of the games ? this one was the 1st video game system I had ever...\ I'm 33, it was 25 years ago... I'm getting old ! author date text christian.p (France) Thursday 5th October 2006 OK. I remember. I still have one in my bedside table. When I moved out, I just took out the drawer and put it back in place. I never could dipose of it. I do not know if it's still functionnal but I promise to every 'old chip' lovers that I'll check and let you know right here as soon as I have time to. author date text Steve (Adelaide, Australia) Saturday 4th September 2004 A classmate of mine had one of these and it was a horrible system, the Atari 2600 was primitive system by 1987 and this was significantly worse than the Atari, and had very limited software support.\ I'm glad that the guy below was happy but I fear that many kids were given one of these consoles at Christmas, when what they really wanted was an Atari or a Commodore 64.\ If the graphics weren't so bad I might have something nicer to say about it. author date text gofo (france) Monday 30th September 2002 thank you old-computers.com,thank you!!!!!\ i forgot this console, but it was my first one!\ it was a shame to tell my friends that it was my only console, but now i'm proud : i found it in my attic after about 10years!and it s still working!!!\ thanx again!! /museum/itmc-sd-290 /museum/joueclub-sd-290 /museum/ormatu-electric-bv-video-spelcomputer-1001 /museum/rollet-videocolor /museum/soundic-sd-290-programmable-colour-video-game /museum/soundicvision-sd-200 /software/breakaway-also-known-as-mur-de-briques /software/outworlder-also-known-as-la-riviere-sauvage /software/saucer-attack-also-known-as-envahisseurs 696 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230605140008/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=696 2023-06-05

The Hanimex HMG-7900 is a low-range console with rather simplistic games. It was released around 1983. It is one of these cheap systems produced in Asia for people not able to buy more expensive systems of that time.

Though different in shape, the HMG-7900 is internaly the same system as the Rollet Video-Color and the ITMC-SD290. The HMG-7900 itself was sold under different brands throughout Europe (Soundic Soundicvision SD-200 in Scandinavia for example). There were surely all produced by Soundic in Hong-Kong as all the systems have code-names like "SD-2xx" (where SD would mean Soundic) on their electronic boards. These SD-2xx systems were not very powerful as even the Videopac systems were better... 5 years earlier!!

What is strange about these consoles, is that there are not clones of famous systems... The only system which is quite close in many points, though more powerful, is the japanese Cassette Vision from Epoch. The games plastic boxes are the same and the blocky graphics are very similar...

The HMG-7900 is rectangular shaped, gray coloured and rather small (32 X 18 X 7 cm). It was delivered with only one controller which connects to the left side of the system. There is a second connector (on the right side of the system) for a second player controller, but as all the games were for one player only, it was never used. The controller can be stored in its compartment located on the top of the console. It is composed of a 4-directions disc on which can be screwed a little stick. There is also a knob for Breakout-type games and two orange fire buttons (which have the same function) located on both sides of the joystick.

The control panel is made of three buttons and an on/off switch. The buttons are RESET, GAME SELECT and GAME START. GAME SELECT is used to select the different levels and options of the game.

The cartridge slot, protected by a trap door, is made of 22 pins and is placed at the top-left part of the console, just above the joystick storage compartment. Below it is written: "Programmable Color Video Game ".

Inside, the main chipset is a NEC D779C 300. Nothing is known about this one, it might be an all-in-one microcontroller... Hopefully Richard Gellman wrote to tell us more:

I did some searching on various internet resources to try and find out about the D779C CPU chipset. It seems to be completely obscure, and restricted to the ITMC SD-290.

NEC were known for cloning other CPUS; The D780C was a clone of the Z80. The D779C appears to be more a "system" chip, like a microcontroller. It may be a custom-made Z80 MCU with certain features removed for cost.

Unfortunately, as there is no information available I can not confirm this, so this is a "best educated guess".

The games are very simple and cover the great classics such as Space Invaders, Breakout, Missile Attack or Pac-Man (delivered with the system). But graphics, even in 8 colors, are poor. Concerning the PAC-MAN cover for example, all you can see is squares running after a cross... wow, that is almost virtual reality!

There was a total of 11 cartridges produced, though 5 more cartridges, for two players this time, were planned but never released (someone can confirm this?). These cartridges were: Football, Ski, Ice-skating (!), Car-Race and Tennis.

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.